The Sultan's Bride (3 page)

‘So it is my little
princess,’ he said with a grin.  Even Sarah’s face broke out into smile at
the sight of her daughter’s enthusiasm.  She had not smiled much on the
trip, Peter hoped the combination of being out of the dust and staying
somewhere so luxurious would make her happy.

Catherine had taken in every
sight with awe and both Peter and Sarah were glad her daughter was getting the
opportunity to see another part of the world.  She had spent most of the
trip with adults and was bored a lot of the time.  Sarah, having insisted
on her continuing her reading and writing lessons had tried to keep her
entertained but the little girl had been ready to go home for some time. 

This place was different
though.  They had seen a lot of settlements in their travels but this was
nothing like any of the others.  Sarah felt this was somewhere she could
finally feel clean again, having had enough of sand and dust to last her a
lifetime.  Longing for a bathtub and a clean bed, this must be the place.

Eventually they stopped after
winding through several corridors.  ‘This is your room,’ the man said,
‘There is a room next door for the little girl, with an adjoining door to your
room so you can have some privacy.’

He looked at Sarah. ‘I will
arrange for a bath to be brought in, no doubt you are dusty from travelling and
need to wash.’  Sarah went bright red and he dropped his eyes.  ‘If
there is anything else you need I will send a servant to take care of any needs
you may have.’

‘We will be fine,’ she said
stiffly. 

‘I will also send some food
to your rooms; dinner has already been taken by the Sultan.  You will be
summoned tomorrow to meet him and discuss business.’

Peter nodded, and he left
glancing again at Sarah, clearly enjoying the effect he was having on
her.  The bathtub arrived shortly afterwards and was filled with hot water
by the servants and Catherine, protesting that she wanted to see more of the
palace was stripped and put in first.  ‘Somewhere under all that dirt is a
young lady,’ said her mother as Catherine complained about being
scrubbed.  Her hair soaped and cleaned her mother brushed it until the
dark curls shone while she dried and finally a clean nightgown was placed over
her head. 

She made Peter get in next
while she turned the beds down and sorted their night attire and clothes for
the next day.  There was a knock on the door and food appeared for them
and while the others ate she climbed in the tub.

Cleaning herself she closed
her eyes and thought of the man who had shown them to their rooms. 
Something had stirred deep inside her and she had to suppress sighing at the
thought of him touching her.  It shocked her that she even thought about
it, in the years she had been married to Peter, no other man had crossed her
mind but this man had had an immediate effect on her.

Instead she focussed on
washing her hair and dressed, joining her family at the table.  The food
was a good selection of meats and bread with fruits for afterwards.  It
felt good for all of them to have a good meal, at a table after some very long
days of travelling.

Catherine was nearly asleep
at the table and her father, smiling, lifted her gently and took her into the
next room to sleep.  She was asleep before her head hit the pillow and he
kissed her gently on the forehead before leaving the room. 

‘Fast asleep,’ he said,
wrapping his arms around his wife and kissing the back of her neck. 

‘She was so tired,
Ajara
for a few days will be good for all of us I think,’
she said, turning towards him. 

Reaching up, he stroked her
face with the palm of his hand and she closed her eyes.  ‘I am tired too
my love, join me in bed?’

She enjoyed sex with her
husband sometimes, he was gentle and caring but after she had nearly died with
Catherine’s birth it was not as enjoyable as it once had been and almost seemed
an unnecessary evil that she must endure for him. Real moments of intimacy
seemed few and far between.  She had not seen the point in being intimate,
there was no likelihood of a child at the end and wasn’t that was it was meant
to be for?  Tonight however, felt different.

Peter put his arms around
her, raising her nightgown and touching her.  Instead of her body going
stiff at his touch as it usually did, she relaxed and for the first time in a
long time she wanted him to never stop.  Closing her eyes she thought of
the other man again and her mind wandered thinking of his hands on her, his
teeth grazing her nipples, his fingers probing between her legs and she let
herself go.

‘My love,’ Peter murmured,
‘You have never responded like this.’  He was clumsy and she realised that
she needed to move to get the feeling she wanted.  Her hips moved up to
get his fingers to find the right spot and she was suddenly lost.

Mounting her quickly he
pushed into her and she pushed back.  ‘Perhaps it is because you are tired
and bathed you are so relaxed,’ he whispered, excitedly.  ‘Oh Sarah,’ he
cried as he spilled into her. 

He covered her face with
kisses and pulled her nightgown back down.  She lay still for a while, her
eyes still closed before slowly opening them and kissing him back.  ‘I
love you Peter,’ she said softly. 

‘I love you too sweetheart,’
he said before they drifted off to a deep sleep, making up for all the
sleepless nights while travelling.

They were woken next morning
by Catherine, bounding onto the bed. 

‘Did you sleep well Mama?’
she asked. 

‘Very well,’ said Sarah, with
a laugh. ‘What about you my darling?’

‘It was the best sleep I have
ever had,’ she declared.

Breakfast was brought in and
the family dressed, ready to be summoned.  It did not take long and the
man had returned from the day before to Sarah’s embarrassment.  He led
them through more corridors until they arrived at the Sultan’s private
rooms. 

Hassan waited outside for the
family to arrive, ‘The Sultan is awaiting our presence, and he is in a very
good mood and excited to meet you all.’  He leaned over and tickled
Catherine under the chin.  Catherine beamed.

The big doors were opened and
they found themselves standing in a large room.  A meeting table was at one
side with enough chairs to seat several people.  There was a bed on the
far side of the room, a large four poster with net curtains similar to the one
in their own room but much bigger.  It was clear the Sultan conducted both
business and pleasure in this room.

Standing in the middle of the
room was a man of similar stature to their guide but even more handsome. 
Sarah wanted to melt into the floor when he looked at her with his dark,
penetrating gaze.

‘Welcome to my kingdom,’ he
said in perfect English.  ‘Peter Stanton, it is good to meet you, I have
heard so much about your business and I look forward to trading with you.’

Peter smiled. ‘This is my
wife, Sarah and our daughter Catherine.’

The Sultan bent to Catherine
and took her hand.  ‘I have a son about your age; perhaps he could be your
playmate while your father and I talk business.’  Catherine nodded happily
as the Sultan sent for the Sultana and his son.

‘This must be Mrs Stanton,’
he continued, ‘I do hope you enjoy your stay in my palace, and that it provides
you with comforts you must surely have been missing since you started your
travels.’ 

She smiled. ‘I am sure we
will be very comfortable.’ 

‘I am pleased,’ he declared
and the big doors opened again while a woman and a young boy were ushered
in.  ‘This is my Sultana, she will take you on a tour of the palace if it
would please you,’ he said to Sarah. 

‘I think I would like that
very much’ she said, nodding.

The two families studied each
other closely. Sarah Stanton had long brown hair and big blue eyes.  Her
daughter had inherited her looks but where Sarah was attractive, Catherine
would be stunning.  Peter Stanton was tall and his daughter had inherited
that height.  Despite them being of a similar age she was noticeably taller
than the boy who had been brought in.  They smiled at each other shyly
when they heard they were both eight.

‘This, Catherine Stanton is
my son
Arif
, you two can more than likely get up to
much mischief around the palace but I think you will like having someone to play
with.’  Catherine nodded enthusiastically and smiled at the boy.  He
looked down and kicked his feet against each other. 

‘
Arif
,
one day you will be Sultan, you need to be more confident,’ his father
said.  The little boy burned red with embarrassment but Catherine,
obviously the more outgoing of the two took his hand and he smiled at her,
before leading the way out of the room.

The Sultana led Sarah out the
door to take their leave of the Sultan and Peter to somewhere where the
children could play and the women could talk.  The Sultan turned to Peter
and Hassan. ‘Now, perhaps we can sit and discuss our business?’

The women went along some
more passageways before arriving in a small garden area.  There was a
table with some drinks and a large grassy area for the children to run
around.  Catherine squeezed her mother’s hand, astounded at the sight of
so much grass in an area so dry.  Sarah smiled down at her.

Adults seated, the children
soon overcame their shyness and were soon running and hiding behind the plants
that were scattered throughout the garden.  ‘This is just lovely,’ said
Sarah. 

‘There is a river not far
north of here, we get our irrigation and water from there,’ said the Sultana,
‘There are settlements around that provide our crops from the same river.’

Sarah smiled and watched her
daughter dart across the grass, her shoes long since discarded and her dark
hair streaming behind her.  It had been tied up only minutes before and
tidy.  She would have to comb that thoroughly tonight she thought. 
It did her heart good to see her little girl so happy; she and
Arif
were getting along so well that she happily agreed
when they asked if he could give her his own tour of the palace.

‘My name is Irina,’ the
Sultana said.  Her English was almost as good as the others they’d
encountered but she had a much thicker accent.  She was beautiful Sarah
thought, her large brown eyes framed by long lashes, her thick black hair wound
up in a bun behind her head. 

‘I am Sarah,’ she replied,
‘May I ask how you all speak such good English?  Everyone else that we’ve
met we’ve needed translators.’

Irina looked at her and
smiled. ‘My husband, the Sultan attended school in England for a while, I had
hoped we would send
Arif
also but with him being our
only son he will not be permitted to leave.  The old Sultan had traded
with a group of Englishman and it proved to be very profitable so he saw one of
his sons learning the language an advantage.’ 

‘Such a shame
Arif
cannot do the same thing,’ Sarah said, watching
servants moving throughout the area, in and out of doors into the palace. 
‘My husband was the second born, the less important so he was allowed to leave
Ajara
for a time to study, when he became Sultan he felt it
important that we all learn so we could continue to trade with the traders that
travel through our lands.  I suspect he also just liked the
language.  The servants don’t speak it generally but there are some in the
palace that may help with translation.’

Sarah nodded.  ‘How many
people live in this palace?’ she asked nervously, trying to make
conversation.  ‘I do not know the number but it is large’ said Irina,
‘There are a lot of rooms that you will never see with many servants.  Then
there is the harem.’

Sarah went white, she had
heard stories about harems but did not realise they were real.  ‘The
harem?’ she asked. 

‘I am my husband’s first
wife, there are others,’ Irina said, ‘I could provide him with only one child
so every so often he takes a new wife to try for another, thus far he has been
unsuccessful.  I understand that is not the custom of your people.’

‘No, it is not,’ Sarah said,
‘I am my husband’s only wife and will be until the day I die.’ 

‘If you are curious I can show
you the harem.  Men are not allowed there and the other women are not
allowed out but I can take you in.’
  Despite
her
curiosity Sarah shook her head. Irina smiled. ‘There is plenty more to see
throughout the palace, we will go on our own tour shortly.’

The children were running
everywhere.
Arif
was very pleased to have someone to
share his home with.  He went from room to room, pointing out the
important ones before showing Catherine the secret of the palace, hidden in
some of the rooms were passages to other rooms.  They were scattered
throughout the palace and no one knew how many there were or where they all
went.

When the palace was built he
explained
,
the Sultan wanted a passage between his
room and the harem so he had one put in.  He was the only man who ever
knew where all the other passageways were and they were all in convenient
places so he could make his way to different rooms and no one would know. 
Particularly helpful when visiting the bedrooms of visiting dignitaries wives
while their husbands were otherwise occupied.