Skye's eyes again stole across the room to feast for a brief moment upon Niall. She knew that he must be feeling foolish in his Eastern dress, and she wished she could tell him how magnificent he appeared with his tanned chest. He looked thinner, and she wondered if he was getting enough to eat, then chided herself for a fool. If only he would look at her instead of paying such outrageous attention to the red-haired princess. Skye thought if her husband touched Turkhan with another intimate touch, or gave her one more secret smile, that she was going to throw herself across the room and strangle the smug bitch! Kedar's voice snapped her back to her role.

"The princess sets a satisfactory table, but I should far rather feast upon your flesh, my jewel." His voice was husky with desire.

She raised her sapphire eyes to him, and smiled a slow and seductive smile. "Would you shame me before that woman, my lord?" she murmured low. "I am for your pleasure only, and not the eyes of prying voyeurs, my lord." Her red mouth pouted adorably, and Kedar wanted her desperately. Her pure female fragrance wafted up at him, and he grew dizzy thinking of what it felt like to be deep inside of her.

Niall Burke stared for a second at his wife, and ground his teeth silently as Kedar fondled her with a familiar hand. In his mind he had accepted what Skye had done in order to reach him, but accepting the fact was far different from watching the reality. Hamal's brother was an attractive man, and obviously a potent one. He openly handled Skye with the pleasure of a man who is fond of his favorite possession; and she seemed to enjoy it. She smiled seductively at him, and murmured in a low musical voice words that could not be distinguished. Niall wanted to leap the distance between himself and Kedar so he might stick a knife into the bastard's gullet.

"You are deep in thought, Ashur," Turkhan's voice brought him back.

"I dream of tonight, if I dare, my princess." He touched her face with the back of his hand, smoothing it over her soft skin.

“Tonight," she whispered conspiratorially, "we shall spy upon our guest, the three of us, and then we shall all play together, my glorious one. I shall exceed your dreams, Ashur, my beloved."

Boldly Niall leaned forward and kissed her upturned mouth quickly. "Your pardon, my Princess, but I could not resist."

Turkhan laughed shakily, and tapped his cheek with a long sharp nail in mock chastisement. Then she turned to Kedar. "Which of these women is the one Hamal tells me your uncle in Algiers gave you?" she asked him.

"You may present yourself to the princess," Kedar said to Skye.

She arose gracefully, walked across the floor, and fell to her knees in total obedience. "Highness, I am Muna," she said, her head bowed to the floor, her body bent.

"Stand up so I may see you, girl! You are reputed to be most fair, but how can I tell when you are in that position?"

Skye stood up, and posed tall and proud before Princess Turkhan. Her chin was high, her silken hair flowing about her like a dark cape. Her beautiful eyes, however, were lowered lest she offend her hostess.

Turkhan let her glance slide critically over the woman who stood before her. That she was extravagantly beautiful was irritatingly obvious. Her well-shaped limbs were quite visible through the gossamer of her pantaloons, and Turkhan could see that she was finely made. "Where did your uncle obtain such a prize?" she demanded of Kedar.

"She was a captive in Algiers, Highness," he answered. "It was by chance he saw her, and knew that she would please me, which she well does."

"You have trained her that quickly?"

"She is of noble birth in her own land, and really quite intelligent," Kedar replied. They spoke about Skye as if she were not even in the room, or worse, were an inanimate object; and as they blithely continued to discuss her fine points, Skye let her eyes stray to Niall once more.

Her heart struggled within her as he stared directly back at her, his silvery eyes bright with his longing. She felt tears pricking behind her eyes, and she fought furiously to keep them from showing. Niall! She cried his name silently.

Dear God, he thought, how can she be so very beautiful despite everything? Oh, sweetheart, I want you so much! If only they might make good their escape this very minute. Instead, he would be forced to watch while another man made love to his wife. If that didn't drive him mad then nothing ever would. I love you, Skye, he said in his heart.

Kedar was holding forth. "Each one of my women has a weakness, Highness. It is always useful to discover what form of pain terrifies. I would never whip Muna, even with a carefully plied lash, for just look at her skin. Turn, my jewel, and let the princess see." Skye moved obediently, dragging her eyes reluctantly away from Niall. "You see, Highness, the skin is flawless. It would be a crime against Allah himself to destroy such beauty wantonly, and yet still a deterrent is needed. In Muna's case it is the bastinado. She does not like the bastinado-do you, my jewel?"

"No, my lord," Skye whispered.

"You have used it on her?" Turkhan was interested.

"Have you ever known a willing captive?" Kedar remarked. "In Muna's case I must admit that she was a trifle reluctant, but of course that is no longer so-is it, my jewel?"

“Thou sayest, my lord," Skye replied.

"I prefer the use of opiates and hashish myself," Turkhan said. "To use physical force upon a slave is an admission of having lost control." She looked at Skye casually. "You may return to your master, girl. Now my beautiful Ashur was not easy at all-were you, my handsome one? Until recently he fought me at every turn, but then he finally accepted his fate. He has been my joy ever since."

"A man that powerful could be dangerous, Highness," Kedar said. "Better he were in the mines, or sat upon an oarsman's bench in a galley. I wonder that you keep such a creature about."

"Ashur illustrates my point perfectly, Kedar. I have never physically mistreated him. I have not had to, for my sherbet and special comfits keep him totally under control. If you do not believe me then ask your brother."

"Why even bother to argue the point further," Hamal said. "You both have your methods, and they work for you. You are content with Muna, my brother, and you with Ashur, my Princess." He smiled his sweet smile at both of them. "Kedar," he continued, "will you speak a little to my Princess of the trading routes that you use when going to the coast?"

The servants began to clear away the remnants of the meal from the low tables, and to replace the main course with bowls of fresh fruits. There were bunches of fat, green grapes, perfect little pink-gold apricots, big dark figs, and sticky-sweet dates. There were plates of ram's horn pastries, and bowls of pistachio nuts and sugared almonds. A wizened old man squatted in a corner making coffee, which was soon served in tiny porcelain cups. The coffee was incredibly hot, and very bitter.

"You must drink at least two cups," Talitha said as she heavily sugared both their cups. "Kedar will expect a full performance from us tonight. It would not do to disappoint him, Muna."

Skye drank the coffee with the air of one condemned. She had practiced making love with Talitha for two days now, but she could still not reconcile herself to the act of intimacy with another woman. She knew that there were women in this world who much preferred women lovers, but Skye O'Malley was simply not one of them. She dreaded what was to come, and had thought hard as to how she might escape the onerous task without offending Kedar. She had not, however, been able to find an excuse that he would consider acceptable.

The princess had not arranged for entertainment, and so after they had finished the meal they sat but a brief time talking before Turkhan arose, putting an end to the evening. "Tomorrow, Kedar ibn Omar, we will speak more fully. Your brother will bring you to me. Good night." She left the room trailed by her two favorites.

Kedar might have been irritated at having been dismissed so perfunctorily; but the good meal and his two women had mellowed him. He was feeling very relaxed, and was now ready to begin a round of sensual adventures. Followed by Talitha and Muna, he hurried from the dining room and back to his own chambers. As they entered the room Zada and Dagan rushed forward to serve their master and his concubines.

"Bathe quickly," Kedar commanded them. "You also, Zada."

When they were safely in the women's bath Talitha remarked, "He is in rare form tonight if he wants all three of us. We shall be lucky to satisfy him by dawn. Most men grow less passionate with the advance of the years, but Kedar grows more so. Imagine what he will be like at sixty, although I don't expect we shall be here to see it!" Then she and Zada laughed, but Skye didn't think it very funny.

"Be silent," she said to them. "The lord Kedar is with Dagan just on the other side of this wall, being bathed himself. What if he should hear you, and be offended?"

"You are correct," Talitha said, and the three grew silent as they washed themselves. When they had finished they cleaned their teeth with ground pumice, chewed several mint leaves to sweeten their breaths, and brushed their hair free with brushes moistened in musk and attar of roses. Then, not bothering to dress, they returned to the bedchamber where Kedar, similarly refreshed by Dagan, awaited them comfortably seated upon his couch smoking hashish through a water pipe. The gray-blue smoke perfumed the room and curled gracefully up about his head. He, too, was unclothed.