The captain of the ship had teased him when he got on board as he’d seen the kiss they’d shared on the dock. ‘Nice looking woman you have there, I can see why you’d want to a piece of that before you left.’
Richard looked at him, raising an eyebrow. ‘That is my wife you are talking about.’ The man sniggered and walked away.
The nights were the worst, at least at home she was in the next room and he knew where she was, what she was doing and that she was safe. Now he felt so far from home and alone. Arriving in the palace he was greeted by Omar who showed him to his room.
‘Excuse me,’ the man said, ‘You are here about Catherine?’
‘Yes,’ Richard said, ‘I am here to claim monetary compensation for her kidnapping and the hell her parents went through.’
Omar looked down, sadness written all over his face. ‘I tried to help her, Arif wanted to run away when the Sultan had claimed her but they did not get very far in their escape attempt.’ He chewed his bottom lip, clearly struggling with the next question. ‘What of Sarah?’ he finally asked, ‘Is she well, did Peter make the money he wanted and give her a good life?’
‘You knew her parents?’ Richard asked.
Omar nodded. ‘The Sultan played with them but gave them so much in supplies, I think he was trying to cover them for his planned kidnap of the daughter.’
‘They lost everything,’ Richard replied, ‘One of Richard’s business partners took everything while they were involved in the search for Catherine. They suffered every day until she was returned to them thanks to the selfishness of the Sultan.’
Tears welled up in Omar’s eyes and Richard felt sorry for his outburst. ‘I apologise. You are not to blame and you clearly care about the family. I just wish this had not happened to any of them.’
Omar nodded. ‘I care about them a great deal, I tried my best to take care of Catherine while she was here. I am so pleased she is back with her mother. Was the child’s birth without worry?’
‘She has a son, a beautiful healthy boy named James,’ Richard said.
‘James,’ Omar echoed, ‘A good English name. Please, if there is anything I can do for you while you are here you only have to ask.’
He turned to leave. ‘She is married to me now,’ Richard said suddenly, ‘I appreciate your care of her and the attempt to get her home to her parents.’
Omar smiled. ‘I was only too pleased to help, both mother and daughter meant a lot to me. I am pleased she is married to someone who is willing to fight for her. Arif will make things very difficult for you while you are here, he was not happy I helped return her to her parents.’
‘Understood,’ Richard said with a nod, wondering for the first time if he was the best choice to be negotiating the settlement. Had Simpson been younger he would have no doubt travelled himself but the fear he would find the journey too much was great.
It was two more days before Arif sent for Richard. Omar was right about Arif making things more difficult. Richard hoped the negotiations would be easy, the message they had received back had been that he was open to talks so the delay frustrated him.
He also missed Catherine and James terribly and this was not helping. Omar had been back a few more times to check on him and make sure he was comfortable but more than anything he just wanted to get a deal finalised and get home to his family.
When Arif finally sent for him he was relieved. Arif however was in a playful mood, he had come to realise why his father had been so manipulative. It was fun playing with people and now he was the Sultan, anyone was a target.
‘So you are here to discuss compensation for the lovely Catherine’s family,’ Arif said, ‘She gave myself and my father many hours of pleasure, I am more than happy to provide for them.’ Richard’s stomach tied up in knots and the temptation to be rude was building but he held it in for Catherine’s sake.
‘I was thinking that there should also be compensation for Catherine herself,’ Richard replied, ‘After all she was deprived of a childhood with her parents and had no choice when it came to marriage.’
Arif nodded. ‘That is fair, I will be generous to her and her child. Tell me Richard Black, is she well, is she happy?’
‘Both,’ Richard replied, having already taken a dislike to the young Sultan, ‘She has a healthy child and is happily married.’
Arif looked surprised. ‘She has remarried, already? Her husband is a lucky man, her blood runs hot. There are many here who miss her in their beds.’
Richard glared and Arif laughed. ‘I think you are the husband? Congratulations, she is a wonderful woman and I’m sure as you’ve found out very satisfying in the bedroom.’ The look on Richard’s face gave Arif all the ammunition he needed. ‘Ahhh you have not taken her to your bed?’
He smirked while Richard shuffled his feet. ‘With all due respect Sultan, I am here as the Stanton family lawyer to negotiate a settlement on their behalf. Catherine’s marriage to me is none of your business.’
‘Oh but it is, you are acting as father to my child, are you not?’ Richard felt sick. ‘She has not told you I am the child’s father. I understand. It is best people think the child is my father’s to avoid tainting his memory.’
Arif grinned and Richard looked at him, trying to sort out everything he had just learned, swirling round in his head and making him dizzy.
‘Let us sort out the details later, now I feel like food. Are you hungry Richard? We could partake of a meal together and I will tell you about the palace and all the people who shared Catherine with my father. She was very memorable.’
‘If you were so enamoured of her, why did you send her home?’ Richard asked, unable to keep quiet any longer.
‘It was not of my choosing. There was the risk that carrying what was thought to be my father’s child the councillors would see her as a threat to my taking power so she had to go in a hurry. In the tradition of my people, the laws we have always followed, the old harem must make way for the new. Some of my father’s wives are still here, now as servants as there was nowhere to send them but the rest went home to their family. ‘
His face fell. ‘I would have given anything to keep Catherine here, she was carrying my child and I wanted to, I really did but she had to go I see that now. I’ve tried to forget her but I would have her back here in a heartbeat if I could, perhaps I could change the law..’ his voice trailed off before he snapped out of it.
‘If it was what she wanted and the way was clear would you let her go?’ he asked.
Richard was surprised at the question and didn’t know what to say at first. ‘If she was that intent on coming back then I would not be able to stand in her way. Obviously I’d prefer it if she stayed with me, I have provided a good life for her and the child and she is fond of me.’
‘I am the love of her life,’ said Arif arrogantly, ‘I am the Sultan now, what I say should go.’
‘You cannot make her come to you if she does not want to, no matter the rules.’ Richard said, unsure of how Catherine would feel if she had the option to come back.
Arif, now distracted had forgotten about his promises of dinner. ‘You may go back to your room now,’ he said, ‘I will summon you again when I am ready to discuss the amount of money.’
Now he wanted Richard to know he was in charge. Richard almost felt sorry for him, he was far too young to be the ruler of the region. He turned before he reached the door. ‘He’s a boy by the way,’ he said through gritted teeth, ‘in case you wanted to know what your child turned out to be. A healthy boy by the name of James, looks just like his mother.’
Arif just looked back at him as if the information was not of any importance.
The week Richard spent negotiating the settlements seemed to drag on forever. Arif constantly baited him and planted more and more ideas about Catherine’s promiscuity. The perfect picture in Richard’s head of Catherine was tainted more than ever and all he wanted now was to go home.
In their final meeting, Arif agr
eed upon a settlement. ‘I have also been thinking about Catherine and my child. Despite having had to send her home I think they should be with me.’
Richard looked at him. ‘My wife will not be returning to Ajara and neither will her son at any time.’
‘The boy is the heir to the throne, the wife I took has not quickened with child. I feel it would be right to have them here.’
‘Your rules, your traditions, what of them?’ Richard asked.
‘I am Sultan now, I make the rules and I will make my own traditions. I want Catherine and the boy here.’ Arif said sulkily. ‘You are her husband, you can tell her what to do.’
‘That’s not how I work, if she decides to come back here then it will be of her own free will, not because I tell her to or because you issue instructions,’ said Richard angrily.
He had already realised he was dealing with a child. Arif might be the Sultan but losing both his parents had not aided his progress. Omar had already told him the councillors he had fallen out with had been imprisoned
On the final night Arif sent a young woman to his room. When she stepped into the room and greeted him she dropped her clothing, standing before him naked. ‘What are you doing?’ he asked, ‘cover up and leave.’
‘The Sultan sent me to please you sir, he said I was to do anything you required of me.’
Richard sighed. ‘I require nothing of you, I’m sorry. I am a married man.’
‘You are married to Catherine aren’t you?’ she said quietly. He nodded. The woman beamed. ‘She was very dear to me, we were very good friends.’ She moved closer ‘I am Alena, when the other wives went home there was nowhere for me to go so I stayed here, as a servant.’
She moved, standing directly in front of him now, the blond triangle of hair between her legs just below his eye level as he sat on the end of the bed. ‘Catherine would understand you taking me for pleasure,’ she murmured, ‘I know you have been away for a long time now and must miss her.’
When he didn’t move she put one leg onto the bed and began to touch herself. ‘Please stop,’ said Richard, feeling himself harden at the sight, ‘I am a married man.’
Alena stopped. ‘You are a good man,’ she said. Placing her foot back down onto the floor, she moved to pick up her robe. ‘Perhaps you need someone to talk to instead,’ she said.
‘From what the Sultan has told me Catherine was with him and his father as well as all the women in the harem and I don’t know who else. He tells me he’s the father of my step son when I was under the impression his father was Catherine’s husband’
She looked at him. ‘The Sultan we were married to was not a pleasant man all of the time, the harem women all took care of each other, loved each other. She is not a bad person and I am sure she is waiting for you at home. Was Catherine given to you or did she choose you?’
His brow furrowed. ‘I chose her, I wanted her to have her own home and I wanted her to myself.’
‘She was not forced into marriage with you?’ He shook his head. Alena smiled. ‘Then she has given herself to you willingly.’
‘The Sultan wants her to return to him, he says he’ll throw out the rules preventing her being here so she can come back.’
Alena took his hand in hers, sitting beside him on the bed. ‘She is better away from this place, it is not a good place for a nice person. I love her, I really do but I beg you hold onto what you have and never let her return.’
‘Was it really that bad?’ Richard asked, sorry now he hadn’t let Catherine tell him her full story.
‘The Sultan took who he wanted as a wife, no matter who they were or if they were promised to another. Catherine spent her whole life loving Arif and was destined to be his but the Sultan changed his mind and claimed her as his own.’
‘She was betrothed to Arif?’ he asked, confused. ‘Not officially but there was always an understanding they would be wed,’ she replied
Richard leaned forward, looking at the floor while the thoughts processed in his head. ‘Did he force her?’ he asked.
‘The Sultan did not have to force anyone, he was handsome and charming but you knew if you refused punishment would await. Catherine loved him too, we all did.’
He closed his eyes, the bastard had not only kidnapped her but he’d forced her to marry him, breaking her heart in the process. What if Catherine did want to come back and he held her back? Would she grow to resent him?
Then she left him with his thoughts, and he wasn’t proud of them. He wanted to believe Catherine would love him but once she found out she could come back to Ajara what would her reaction be? Perhaps the only way to find out would be to let her go and pray she stayed.
As Richard went to leave the following morning, Arif met him outside the stable where he was collecting his horse. ‘Please give Catherine this letter,’ the young man said, ‘I will wait for a response or her return to me. I will give up my harem if she requires me to and she will be Sultana. I will imprison anyone who objects as I did to my father’s advisors who wanted to dispatch with her life.’
Richard nodded. ‘I will give her the choice, either she will sail when the seas allow it or she will send message of her decision.’
Arif smiled, the arrogance returning to his demeanour. ‘She will choose me, you will go home and say goodbye to her.’
‘We will see,’ Richard said, the odds were not in his favour but he would not show any signs of weakness to the little tyrant. He mounted his horse and turned to leave, pressing the mount to a gallop and leaving the Sultan in his dust.
Chapter 27
The market was a bustle of activity, but Catherine loved seeing the eastern arts and crafts for sale. Everywhere, stalls did a brisk trade of different household items and everything reminded her of her time in the palace.
Richard had been gone two months now and she realised that he would now be in Ajara. She no longer cared about the settlement he had gone to negotiate, she just wanted him back. Her heart was aching for him now and she realised the times they had spent together had meant more than just friendship. He would see when he came home just how much she loved him.
When she stumbled across the stall of wooden objects she nearly laughed out loud. On display in the middle of the markets was exactly what her friends had asked her about. The wooden phallus’ were sitting on a shelf at the back of the stall but she could see gaps along the wall where individual ones had been removed, presumably purchased.
‘Can I interest you in something?’ a voice said from within the stall. It was a young man, from the east as he had a tinge of accent, tall and very handsome. She could just picture him selling the objects to unsuspecting women and laughing about it afterwards.
‘Those objects on the back shelf,’ she said, ‘do you tell your customers what they’re really meant to be used for?’
The look on the young man’s face made her laugh. ‘I’m not sure what you mean,’ he said uncomfortably.
She leaned forward. ‘I was in the harem at Ajara, I know what they are used for.’
He recoiled and she laughed out loud. ‘You cannot tell anyone Miss, if word got out…’
‘I have a group of women who would be very interested in these, I would be happy to send them your way. May I look at one?’
Handing one to her she ran her hand across the surface, it was completely smooth. ‘This is very well made,’ she said, ‘Perfect for my friends who want them. Who makes them, is it you?’
He shook his head. ‘It is my father,’ he said, ‘he used to make them for a harem in a province not too far from Ajara.’
‘I would very much like to meet him,’ she replied.
He led her through the market, to a little house nearby and she entered the house as he told his father where she was from. The old man smiled widely and held his arms out in greeting, putting his hands on her arms. ‘I have never met anyone who was in a harem, I just made their…’ He thought about the word he was looking for. ‘Toys.’
S
he laughed. ‘That is a most appropriate word for these,’ she said, ‘since I have returned a group of friends have shown interest in acquiring these. I would like to send them to your stall to purchase them. No one else has to know about them. They are such beautiful workmanship.’
‘Please, take that one,’ he said, ‘I would be pleased to supply your friends if they so wish.’ She left, looking forward to the next meeting of the group to show them and pass on her findings.
When the night came and all was quiet Catherine went into Richard’s room to close the curtains. Still thinking about the stall holder and the business opportunity it could present she sat on the bed. Finding it infinitely softer and more comfortable than her own narrow bed in the next room she smiled, realising there was still quite some time before her husband returned and she could enjoy the comfort at least while he was away.
She fluffed up the pillows before returning to her room, collecting the phallus the stall holder had given her before returning to Richard’s room. Stripping off her clothes she slid between the sheets naked, touching her nipples, pinching them before moving her hand between her legs.
She soon found what she was looking for and thinking of the man she missed so much she started to finger herself, rubbing her clit, moving her hips until she reached climax. Plunging the phallus between her legs she held it with one hand, thrusting it in and out of her while continuing to rub.
‘Oh my love,’ she cried as she came again, ‘Come home to me my love.’ Tired she curled herself around the pillow, and closed her eyes to dream of the man she loved, so far away from her.
Richard was relieved to get back on the ship after his week with the Sultan. He had cases packed with gold and a small box that Alena had given him before he left. She had said it was for Catherine and he put it away in his cabin rather than stow it with the cargo.
Curiosity got the better of him and halfway through the voyage he opened the mysterious container. Inside were some new shifts and his eyes widened when he saw the see through fabric they were made of. Alena had said the parcel was a gift with love and he assumed she meant for Catherine to wear them for him when he got home.
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