The Elusive Bride

by Stephanie Laurens

  Bister nodded. “So the major thinks.” He tipped his head to the men across the camp. “That’s why he’s laying it all out for them—how best to attack and what to watch for from the cultists. We haven’t seen the last of them, for sure.”

  The celebrations continued over the meal and on into the night. Emily considered them a trifle overdone. There was, however, no carousing. Cathcart had mentioned there’d be no spirits, beer, or wine carried with the caravan, which, in light of the men’s revelry, Emily could only view as to the good. If there had been ale, they would have been drunk, and there were still cultists out there.

  Sitting with the older women outside their tent, she eyed the male gathering with a jaundiced eye. She battled not to scowl, or worse, pout.

  If there was celebrating to do, she wanted to join in.

  That wasn’t, however, the nomads’ way.

  Then Gareth stood. She saw Ali-Jehan say something, to which Gareth replied. When the Berber sheik started to get to his feet, Gareth dropped a hand on his shoulder, clearly telling him to not disturb himself—he, Gareth, would see to it, whatever it was.

  Emily tracked Gareth as he beckoned Mullins and Watson, and two of the guards, then led the way out of the circle of tents.

  Pickets? Emily hoped so. The notion of more cultists lurking among the dunes wasn’t going to make sleeping easy. None of the other women, except perhaps Arnia and Dorcas, truly understood the danger.

  But if the other men who had departed with Gareth were going out to keep watch…

  Turning her head, she waited until she could catch Anya’s eye. “Is it permitted to walk around the tents to stretch my legs? They’re rather cramped after spending all day on top of Doha.”

  Anya arched her brows, but then nodded. “It is permitted, but do not dally, or we will have to send others to find you.”

  Emily waited for no more, but quickly got to her feet. When Dorcas looked at her inquiringly, she shook her head. “I won’t be long.”

  Wrapping her chador over her head and shoulders, as she’d seen other women do around the camp, she walked down the avenue between two tents and stepped into the moonlight beyond.

  The night would have been pitch-black if it hadn’t been for the large moon, hanging low on the horizon. Emily duly gave thanks as she skirted the tents, hoping…

  “Where are you off to?”

  Gareth stepped out from the gap between two tents as Emily whirled to face him.

  “Oh! There you are.” She smiled.

  He frowned. “You shouldn’t be out here—it’s not safe.”

  He’d been in the dark space striding back to the camp’s center when he’d sensed…something. Movement, perhaps. He’d glanced back, and seen her pass by. The moonlight had played on her pale hair, her fair skin.

  She’d drawn him like a beacon; turning on his heel, he’d backtracked.

  He halted just beyond the rear of the tent as she backtracked, too, drawing near.

  Her eyes searched his face. “I thought you were setting pickets.”

  “I was.”

  “Then it’s safe enough, surely?”

  He felt his lips thin. “Possibly.”

  She smiled, as if she understood the contradictory impulses clashing within him. Keep her safe. Ravish her.

  He reminded himself that the honorable tack was to keep her safe from him, too.

  She stepped close—close enough that he could sense her alluring warmth. Close enough to lay a small hand on his chest.

  He stepped back, back into the shadows between the tents.

  She followed, her hand never losing contact. He felt the touch almost as acutely as if it were skin to skin.

  “I watched the fight from atop Doha. It was…” Eyes darkening, she broke off with an evocative shiver. “Frightening.”

  “Frightening?” That shiver made him long to sweep her into his arms. He clenched his fists against the impulse.

  She nodded. “Swords, scimitars, unarmored bodies. Not a good combination.” She lifted her chin, eyes locking on his. “Not when the bodies are people I care about.”

  He stilled. He told himself not to ask, not to expose his vulnerability. “You care about me?”

  She held his gaze steadily. “Yes.”

  His heart leapt, swelled.

  He reached for her as she pressed closer, lifting her face to his.

  Effortlessly tempting him to bend his head and cover her lips with his.

  In the instant before he did, she brought him back to earth. “Of course.”

  Of course? Because he was the one standing between her and frightening cultists? Because…?

  He decided he didn’t need to know. He could think about it later. She was here, with him, and she wanted him to kiss her—wanted to kiss him.

  Before he could act, she closed the distance, pressed her soft lips to his. The pressure, light, beguiling, called to him, and he kissed her back.

  Angled his head and took charge of the kiss.

  Took what he wanted—what, suddenly, he realized he needed.

  She gifted him with her mouth, tempted him with her tongue, sank into him as he drew her close.

  He slid his arms around her and locked her to him.

  Flush against him.

  Sensation flashed, streaked through him. Passion erupted, powerful, explicit, focused.

  She broke from the kiss. Gasped, “I wanted to celebrate with you, but I was trapped on the other side. With the women. I wanted—”

  He kissed her again, more ravenously. More rapaciously.

  She answered in kind.

  And rocked him back on his mental heels.

  Desire flared, hot and arcing, achingly potent, burning and sweet.

  In Cathcart’s salon they’d both stepped back, but this…this was fire and life, and everything he wanted.

  Everything he needed.

  And she wanted it, too.

  She couldn’t have made her wishes clearer, and with his own need pounding a tattoo in his blood, he couldn’t deny what he felt. Didn’t want to.

  No longer had the power to.

  He couldn’t step away.

  The kiss deepened, not gently, not slowly, but in spiraling leaps. His hands found her breasts, closed, kneaded. Her fingers slid into his hair and she clung, evocatively gripped.

  Held him to her, to the kiss. Anchored him within the whirlpool of passion they’d unleashed.

  His hands slid over her, learning, needing to know, wanting to possess.

  That she was with him was never in doubt. Her lips were as hungry as his, her mouth as demanding. She pressed herself to him, flagrantly imprinting her flesh on his, the giving tautness of her belly impressing itself against his aching erection.

  No invitation had ever been so explicit.

  Then she made it more so.

  She reached between them, and touched, stroked.

  He shuddered—and couldn’t recall ever shuddering in quite that way at any woman’s touch before.

  Her touch…he craved it. Craved her in a way that shocked even him.

  Filling both hands with the lush promise of her bottom, he lifted her against him, shifted his hips evocatively, provocatively, and sensed her aroused gasp.

  Holding her there in one arm, locked helplessly against him, he sank his free hand into her hair, palmed her skull, and kissed her—voraciously.

  He tensed to turn, to press her back against something solid…

  There wasn’t anything solid around.

  “The night air is fresh and cool, don’t you think?”

  The words, uttered in Anya’s calm voice, hauled them both from the kiss.

  Lifting their heads, they stared, first at each other, then out along the gap between the tents, toward the voice.

  But there was no one there.

  “Perhaps the miss is still walking around the tents—she might be on the the other side.”

  “Katun,” Emily whispered. Licking her lips, swollen she wa
s sure, she looked into Gareth’s face. “I have to go.”

  He nodded.

  He set her down, but the reluctance with which his hands released her told its own story—one that gladdened her heart.

  She shook out her skirt, resettled her makeshift shawl. Looked up at him, then stretched up and brushed her lips across his. “Until next time.”

  With that, she stepped out from between the tents, looked, and saw the two older women strolling slowly, their backs to her. Dragging in a breath, feeling her head clear, she set out in their wake.

  They’d guessed, of course. Anya and the other older women eyed her with bright-eyed interest as they all settled in their customary sleeping positions around the large tent.

  “That major—he is a handsome one.” Bersheba made the comment to the tent at large, but her eyes were on Emily, carefully folding her skirts and blouse before snuggling into her blankets.

  Marila snorted. “He is courageous—that is more important. You heard the sheik—the major is a great warrior.”

  Emily could feel Dorcas’s and Arnia’s gazes, equally intrigued, join the older women’s, all trained on her face.

  “But men are men, great warriors or not,” Katun stated. “They need to have their…egos stroked. Frequently.”

  “It wouldn’t surprise me,” Anya said, “if after the battle today, in which he and my Ali-Jehan led our men to victory, the major was in need of a degree of stroking. Men, after all, are very predictable in their ways. They crave having their bravery acknowledged.”

  “Especially by those they seek to protect,” Girla put in.

  “Especially if those are also ones they seek to impress,” Katun stated. After a heartbeat, she added, “With their prowess.”

  Emily wriggled into her blankets. “I daresay you’re right. Good night.”

  She laid her head down, tugged the blankets over her shoulder, and prayed the dark had hidden her flaming cheeks. Older women, it seemed, were incorrigible the world over. What was rather more interesting was that male behavior seemed equally universal.

  Seven

  26th October, 1822

  Early afternoon

  Anya’s tent in our camp at a desert oasis

  Dear Diary,

  We arrived at the oasis just after noon. There’s a clear lake, somewhat larger than I expected. It must be spring fed, and is surrounded by palms and various plants that form a ribbon of greenery around its shore. There are two other caravans, both smaller than ours, also camping here, but there is more than enough lakeshore for all. I gather it is customary to spend a few days here, allowing both animals and humans to recoup before trudging out across the desert once more.

  The respite is welcome. I swear I sway to Doha’s rhythm even when I am not in the saddle. Even more wonderful there’s water enough to bathe, something I intend to take full advantage of. Despite the tribulations, I must admit I have found living among the Berbers easier than I’d thought.

  Likewise, it has, apparently, been easier than I’d expected to make up my mind about Gareth. Given my behavior last night—and I would behave the same given the same opportunity—I have to conclude that my mind has made itself up and is convinced beyond doubt that he is my “one”—the gentleman for me.

  No matter that rationally I feel I should be cautious, with respect to him there is nothing of caution in me. After our interlude in Cathcart’s salon I felt sure I would need time to consider before taking the next step—that step which, once taken, cannot be undone—but no. As was made transparently clear to me—and to Gareth—last evening between the tents, I am ready and willing to lie with him.

  Not that that is something that can occur while we travel with the caravan, but I had thought it would take more than watching him fight in my defense to convince me.

  Apparently heart is not necessarily dependent on mind in this matter.

  E.

  When she emerged from Anya’s tent, Emily discovered that most of the men of their party had decamped, leaving only a small number on guard.

  She paused beside Arnia and Dorcas, where they sat on rugs helping some of the other women prepare the evening meal. “Where are they?”

  She didn’t need to specify who “they” were.

  Arnia snorted, an eloquent sound. She didn’t look up as she replied, “The major sent scouts out. They returned to report there was another band of Berbers, of the same tribe that attacked us yesterday, camped a little way ahead, and they have more cultists with them.”

  “Naturally,” Dorcas said, slicing a cleaned yam into a pottery bowl, “our men were all keen to turn the tables and attack the others before they can attack us.” She looked up at Emily. “That’s where they’ve gone.”

  Emily frowned. “It’s almost like a game to them. A chess game, perhaps, but a game nonetheless.”

  “Our men, their men.” Arnia shrugged. “All are warriors. They live to fight.”

  “That is truth.” One of the Berber women nodded sagely. “Any fight is welcome to them, but they are happiest when they fight to defend us.” She, too, shrugged philosophically. “What would you? It is their role, so they are pleased to be useful.” With a gesture, she encompassed the circle of women happily preparing the meal. “As are we. We are not so different in that.”

  Emily hadn’t thought of the matter in that light. After a moment, she nodded in acknowledgment, and moved on, strolling along the lake’s edge to where Anya and the older women—the dowagers—sat on rugs in the shade of a palm grove.

  Anya waved her to join them. She sank down onto a rug next to Girla, whose fingers were busy knotting a fringe. Emily sat with her arms around her drawn-up knees. Resting her chin on them, she gazed out over the lake, gently rippling in the faint breeze, and let her mind wander.

  After a time, Anya said, both voice and face serene, “If, as we must hope, our men return victorious, there will be celebrations again tonight.”

  The other women nodded. Katun said, “They will expect it—it is their due, after all.”

  That, Emily could understand, but…“Why is it that men seem to believe that protecting a woman somehow makes her…theirs?” She felt a blush heat her cheeks, but persisted. “They protect you, defend you from attack, and then growl and scowl if you do something they don’t like.” She glanced around the circle, saw no one laughing, not even smiling. All were listening, some nodding in understanding. “It’s almost as if once they’ve fought for you, they’ve won you—that after that they somehow, in some unspecified way, own you.”

  Her heart may have made up her mind regarding Gareth, but she hadn’t forgotten his dog-in-the-manger behavior over Cathcart, something she’d been reminded of only a few hours before, when they’d arrived at the oasis and Gareth had once again transformed into a bear, dispersing the young Berber men who had gathered around eager to help her from Doha’s saddle.

  She didn’t like being treated in such a patently possessive way.

  Katun heaved a huge sigh. “It is the bane all women must bear.”

  Anya’s lips lightly curved. “All women whose men are warriors, at least.” The others nodded. Anya’s old eyes met Emily’s. “It is the price one pays to have a warrior as your mate. He will protect and keep you safe, but in return…” Her smile widened. “They are, in truth, such oddly vulnerable creatures, at least where their women are concerned.”

  “Their woman becomes their one true vulnerability,” Girla offered, “so as warriors to the core, of course they guard her most fiercely.”

  “From anything and everything—real or imagined.”

  The others laughed and nodded at Katun’s bald statement.

  “It is truly said,” Anya concluded, “that the true value a warrior places on his woman is revealed by the depth of his…what is the word?”

  “Possessiveness?” Emily suggested.

  Anya pulled a face. “I was thinking of protection, but possession? That is true as well, I suppose. It is the other side of the c
oin, no?”

  Emily thought, then nodded. “Yes, you’re right. Where one ends and the other begins…with warriors, the line is blurred.”

  On top of a dune some miles from the oasis, Gareth, Ali-Jehan, and Mooktu passed Gareth’s spyglass among them as, on their bellies in the sand, they assessed the strength of the band of Berbers and cultists gathered in the dip below.

  “There are many more of your cultists than I had expected to see.” Frowning, Ali-Jehan lowered the spyglass. “If they had such numbers, why did they not make a better show against us yesterday?”

  Gareth had been wondering the same thing. There were significantly more cultists than tribesmen below. He took back the spyglass, again assessed the numbers. “In light of what we’re seeing, I suspect yesterday was a feint—a battle they never expected to win, but one to make us feel they pose no real threat. That’s why the other Berbers left so abruptly—they were committed only while the cultists were there to see. Once the cultists fell, they didn’t need to remain.”

  “So it was by way of a charade, in the hope we would…what is the phrase, let down our guard?”

  Gareth nodded.

  “There’s too many of them,” Mooktu murmured. “And those cultists down there—most have the look of assassins.”

  Gareth had noted the same worrying facts.

  Ali-Jehan frowned. “We might be able to take them, yet…” He waggled one hand. “With my mother and the other women in the camp”—he looked at Gareth—“and your women as well, I would prefer not to engage this group. I know my cousins the El-Jiri, and they are fierce warriors. If you say those others are also very able, then…”

  When Ali-Jehan unexpectedly fell silent, Gareth glanced at him. “Can we avoid them?”

  Ali-Jehan met his eyes, pulled a face. “No. The El-Jiri know my routes well, and they know the area around here as well as I.” He looked down at the camp. “Nearby is a fine place for an attack.”

  Gareth hesitated. He and Ali-Jehan had got on well from their first meeting. They were much of a kind, warriors in more or less civilian guise, responsible for a band of civilians who traveled with them. They were of similar age and, Gareth judged, not all that dissimilar in character. With that last in mind, he ventured, “Is there any way we can contact your cousins down there—some way that won’t alert the cultists?”