Sacha. Husband. She grinned as she realized how foreign the two images were to each other.
However, if Viane was the woman her wild cousin wanted, then Tess had to help him win her.
Chapter 6
An hour later Tess heard the sound of horses’ hooves on flagstone and men’s voices even before she reached the front door, and Sacha was riding out of the stable as Tess reached the courtyard where thirty or so robed, mounted men were milling about. Galen, mounted on Selik, walked the horse over to her.
“You’re leaving too?” she asked, trying to keep the shock and disappointment from her voice. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t like farewells. I’m taking Said with me, but I asked Kalim to deliver a note to you later.”
“How kind.”
Galen muttered a curse. “I’m only traveling as far as the border. I didn’t like the report Kalim brought back from the hill tribes. Sacha’s going back to Tamrovia on my behalf, and I must assure him safe conduct through Tamar’s territory.”
“You have no need to make explanations. I’m not arguing with you. I shall be glad to be on my own again.” She lifted her chin. “I simply think it would have been courteous of you to tell me in person.”
“I said I have no use for farewells.”
“Nor for courtesy either.” Her voice was faintly tremulous, and she steadied it before she continued. “We all must do things we don’t like. Why else am I in Zalandan?”
“To plague and torment me? Very well, I was discourteous, but I had no wish to hurt you. Will you wish me good journey?”
“Certainly. Good and speedy journey, my lord.”
He hunched his shoulders as if buffeted by a cold wind. “It’s as well I’ll be traveling in desert country.” When she didn’t answer, he went on, “If you have need of anything, go to Kalim. He’ll be in charge during my absence.”
“I’m sure he’ll do very well. His arrogance almost equals your own.”
“Tess, dammit, this is for the best.” His dark eyes glittered in his taut face. “My patience is nearly gone. I need to be away from you for a time.”
“And, naturally, the decision is always yours. You make me feel like a chess piece moved across the board according to your own rules.” She gazed at him directly. “I think it’s time we started a new game, my lord.”
“Indeed?” He went still, and then recklessness suddenly flickered in his expression. “We’ll discuss it when I return in a week.”
She shook her head. “Impossible from Tamrovia. Why, it took us five days from the border to reach here.”
“But I had no strong incentive then.” His gaze narrowed on her face. “Now, I have every reason to hurry back.”
Heat tingled through her, and her lungs seemed to constrict. “You do?” she whispered.
“Oh yes.” His gaze held hers. “And do you know what that reason is?”
She was beginning to have an excellent idea. The tension with which she had become so familiar had returned, settling upon both of them like a sensual cloak. She realized with surprise that this was precisely the reaction she had wanted to stir in him. Perhaps Sacha was right, and she had wanted to prod the tiger. She swallowed, feeling the dark excitement envelop her as she looked at him. “I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”
“You’re damn right I am. Shall I put it in your own words?” He smiled. “I’m done with dithering.”
He and Sacha rode out of the courtyard then, the men following in loose formation. Her heart pounded, the exhilaration of the adventure to come making her almost dizzy with excitement.
She impulsively took a half-step forward and then stopped. She couldn’t go after him. He would only send her back. She had to wait for his return.
Dear Lord, how she hated to wait for anything!
Well, she must resign herself to it and find some occupation to make the time pass quickly.
She turned and ran up the steps into the palace and then through the corridors until she reached Viane’s chamber.
Viane was on the terrace, and looked up in surprise when Tess blew into her presence like a storm-driven leaf, cheeks ablaze, eyes sparkling.
“I’ve decided that we’ve been entirely too lax in our efforts with Alexander and Roxanne,” Tess announced as she marched toward the aviary. “It’s time we set our minds to teaching them their duties.”
“Why can’t you understand? I tell you I wish to speak to your—” Tess looked beyond the woman servant who had opened the door to see Yusef coming down the steps to the foyer. “Never mind. There he is.” She brushed by the protesting woman and rushed over to Yusef, who appeared to be frozen on the third step. “I’m glad you’re here. I couldn’t seem to make her understand that I had to come in and speak to you. I was sure I’d have to—”
“Majira!” His open mouth shut with a snap. “I cannot blame her. Virtuous women do not pay visits to men in Zalandan.”
“Not only in Zalandan. Women are surrounded by iron bars and silly rules wherever they live.” She waved a dismissing hand. “No matter, I’ve learned to escape most of them. One absolutely must be determined and persevere.”
“I … see.” Yusef waved the servant away and descended the last three steps. His alarmed gaze searched the hall behind her. “Dear God, where is your escort?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I had no need of guards to come to visit you.”
“No?” Yusef asked weakly. “I may have need of guards if the majiron hears you’ve paid me a visit without them. It’s not fitting for—”
“You sound just like Said.” Tess made a face. “Sweet Mary, I’m beginning to detest that word. I refuse to encumber myself with a covey of roosters clucking around me.”
The suspicion of a smile broke through the shock and disapproval on Yusef’s face. “I believe roosters crow, not cluck.”
“The distinction is of no importance. You haven’t asked me why I’m here.”
“Terror struck me dumb.”
She chuckled.
Yusef merely shook his head.
“You seem somewhat perturbed, so I’ll get straight to my reason for visiting you,” Tess said. “I wish to use your roof.”
“What?”
“I noticed when Galen and I visited Kalim that this house is very tall. Its roof is higher than any in town. I need it to launch Alexander.”
“Alexander?”
“My homing pigeon. Well, he’s not that yet, but he will be when I’ve finished training him properly. Viane and I actually have two, but it seems Roxanne is regrettably lacking in natural instinct, so we’ve had to concentrate on Alex—”
He said quickly, “You cannot come here. It would not be fitting.”
“You mean I must find another house? Oh dear, I’m sure I won’t be able to find another roof this suitable, and it will be most awkward going from house to house asking strangers if—”
“No!” Yusef interrupted. “You cannot do—” He stopped as he saw her determined expression and gave a deep sigh. “How long would you need to use the roof?”
She brightened. “Oh, not long, I’m sure. Perhaps only a few days, if I came every afternoon.”
“And when the majiron returns to the city, you must immediately cease your visits.”
She nodded. “I’m sure Alexander will be clever enough to learn the trick of it long before the week is out.”
“I hope so,” Yusef sighed again. “I can send the servants away to avoid gossip and only hope no one else notices you.” He glanced at her red hair blazing in the sunlight streaming into the foyer. “Though that’s probably too much to ask.”
“I’m sure everything will go splendidly.” She smiled at him. “I do thank you, Yusef. I knew I could count on your help.” She moved briskly toward the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow just after noon.”
Yusef nodded gloomily. “I’m afraid you will. I’ll be waiting, Majira.”
The sand in the dunes shifted, lifted, then swirled in
the moonlight with eerie grace.
The desert seemed empty, but that impression might be wrong. Galen gazed out into the darkness.
“Do you think Tamar’s out there?”
Galen turned to see Sacha strolling toward him from the encampment. “Probably, we’re on his territory.”
“Will he pose a problem?”
“Not unless the whim takes him.” He shrugged. “I’ve posted many sentries tonight. After we cross the border into Tamrovia tomorrow, there won’t be any danger.”
“Except total exhaustion.” Sacha’s brows were lifted as he looked at Galen. “I’ve never seen you push the men so hard as on this journey.”
“I wanted to get you safely to the border. News travels fast among the tribes, and there was a chance Tamar might have guessed the reason for my marriage and decided to cause trouble.”
Sacha continued to look at him skeptically.
Galen shrugged. “Very well. So I’m restless and want to get back to Zalandan.” He turned and strode back toward his blanket by the fire. “I’ve been away too much these past months.”
A smile tugged at Sacha’s lips. “Ah, how fraught with responsibilities and the burden of state affairs is the life of a ruler.” Sacha dropped down on his blanket and curled up with his backside to the fire. “What a relief it is to me that I’m just a dissolute popinjay who does only what he wishes to do.”
Galen realized ruefully that Sacha knew why he wanted to return quickly. They had been too closely associated for too long. Sacha had to see that lust was driving him back to Tess. He wondered why he hadn’t answered him with the earthy bluntness that was common between them. Sacha knew Galen needed a woman frequently, and was probably aware that since he had reached Zalandan he hadn’t visited any of the kadines who usually serviced him.
It wasn’t only because of his desire not to heap shame upon Tess that he had not indulged, he told himself. He had also been busy. There had been no time to—
How long did it take a man to wrest his satisfaction from a willing woman? Merde, he was lying to himself as he had to both Tess and Sacha. He didn’t want a kadine. He only wanted Tess.
He had wanted her since that first night in the stable, and the fever had grown until he couldn’t look at her without his loins readying.
As he was readying now just thinking about her.
He muttered a curse and turned to face the fire.
The flames shone as brightly as Tess’s auburn locks. No, Tess’s hair shone with a deeper, softer fire.
He closed his eyes tightly, trying to push the thought of her from his mind. It would be different once he had bedded her. The hold she had on him would lessen, the lust fade, the tenderness—
He would not think about the tenderness she stirred, or the amusement she prompted. It was perfectly reasonable for him to be eager to be with her after only a few hours apart. She glowed with the joy of life, and naturally such joie de vivre would draw him to her. Still, it was best not to dwell on anything but his physical response. Lust could be satisfied. Lust could not hurt him.
The hell it couldn’t. Right now it was damnably uncomfortable, he thought grimly. However, the wait was almost over. When he returned to Zalandan, he would be able to satisfy the hunger he had kept at bay for almost a month.
He firmly locked away thoughts of Tess. Tomorrow he would start back to Zalandan, but it would be so long before he reached there … before he could be with Tess.…
Someone was following her!
Tess hastened her pace as she turned the corner. It was the time of the evening meal, and the streets of Zalandan were deserted. The entrances to the shops were dusky caverns on either side of the street. She shivered with apprehension.
She could have been wrong about the footsteps that slowed and quickened in tempo with her own. Why should anyone be following her? Her hand instinctively went to the golden pendant around her neck. She had discovered in the last few days that although Zalandan might have its share of scalawags, she could move about Without anyone bothering her. The pendant. She was sure it was responsible for her freedom. It was invisible armor enveloping her. Galen’s armor.
But Galen had been gone for three days. Perhaps the man following her was more interested in the gold of the necklace than the warning it sent out to—
“Stop!” The voice behind her was harsh, male, commanding.
Her heart leaped, and she broke into a run.
“Majira!”
The voice was familiar, she realized with relief. She turned to see a tall, robed figure stalking toward her. Kalim.
“Kalim, you frightened me. I didn’t expect—” She drew a trembling breath and drew herself up proudly as she saw his forbidding expression.
“You should not be wandering in the streets.”
“No harm has come to me.”
“I’m responsible for your safety—and your behavior—while the majiron is gone.” His lips tightened. “From now on you will not leave the palace.”
A flare of anger seared through her. “I will go where I wish.”
He smiled mirthlessly. “And you wish to go to the house of Yusef Benardon.”
Her eyes widened in shock. “Merde, have you been spying on me, Kalim?”
“I have only been doing my duty to the majiron.” He paused. “It aroused my curiosity when the grooms at the stable said you hadn’t taken Pavda out since the majiron left the city.”
“So you followed me today.”
“For your own protection.” He inclined his head. “Naturally, I assumed you were on your way to a special shop or to the bazaar to buy trinkets.”
“Why would you assume that?”
“I should not, I realize, considering who you are. Western women seldom have innocent pleasures in mind when they leave the safety of their husband’s chamber.”
Her gaze narrowed on his face. “What do you mean?”
“I think you know.”
“Say it.”
He smiled crookedly. “Yusef is young and strong, a bull of a man. The ladies have always liked him.”
“Go on.”
“The Majiron is away, and Western women do not like to wait for their pleasures.”
“I believe you know very little about Western women,” she said hotly.
His smile faded. “Enough to know that I will not permit my friend to be dishonored in the eyes of the El Zalan. You will not go again to Yusef’s house.”
“I will go where I please.”
“Go again and you will find him dead.”
Her eyes widened in shock. “What?”
“I cannot touch you without the majiron’s permission, but otherwise my authority is absolute. I can dispose of Yusef.” He paused. “As I would any threat to the majiron.“
She shook her head dazedly. “Just because I visited him?”
“Because you’ve spent the past three afternoons alone with him. I admit you have been discreet, but if it continues, it will become known, and the majiron will suffer shame.”
“And a man dies to prevent that from happening?”
“Casual infidelity is not sanctioned here as it is in your own country.” His eyes glittered in his stern face. “And Galen will not tolerate it in you. He allows you much freedom, but he won’t allow you to take another man.”
She drew a trembling breath, trying to smother her fury. “You insult me.”
He gazed at her impassively.
“Would you believe me if I told you that I have not been unfaithful?”
“Lies come easily to Western women.”
“Impossible.” She threw up her hands. “I refuse to waste breath denying your foul accusations.” She turned on her heel and strode quickly up the street.
“You will not go back to Yusef’s house,” he called after her.
“I’ll do exactly as I choose.” She glared back at him over her shoulder. “I won’t allow you to interfere in my life, Kalim.”
“Visit him again and I’ll de
liver his head to you in a basket.”
Stunned, she gazed at him, a shiver running down her spine. For the first time she believed he actually would carry out his threat. “You’re a savage without conscience.”
“At times.” He smiled. “But be warned that Galen taught me from boyhood. Compared to him when he is enraged, I’m quite tame.”
“Is he here?” Tess burst onto the terrace, her gaze searching the shadows beneath the pepper tree. “Did he come back?”
“An hour ago.” Viane’s delighted smile lit her face as she hurried out of the aviary. “It’s the third time, Tess.”
“And you fed him the grain?”
Viane nodded. “As soon as he perched beside Roxanne.”
“Only an hour?” Tess frowned. “He didn’t make very good time. I released him from Yusef’s roof over two hours ago. He must have been meandering.”
Viane laughed. “What difference does it make? I think it’s magical that he found his way home at all.”
“It’s instinct, not magic.” Tess shrugged. “But perhaps feeding the grain will help make him more eager. The Count said that was the secret of training them.” Another frown wrinkled her brow. “But I’m beginning to believe pigeons are very stupid. Yusef’s house is only an hour’s walk away. I almost made it on foot before he got here.”
“On foot?” Viane’s eyes widened. “You walked through the town? You know that is not fitting. I would never have—”
“I was quite safe.” Tess mentally cursed her unruly tongue. She hadn’t meant to let Viane know that she hadn’t ridden Pavda through the town. Viane was anxious enough that Tess moved about without Galen’s permission, and now she would fret. “The first time I rode Pavda to Yusef’s house, the jouncing seemed to upset Alexander. It took a terribly long time to quiet him before I felt I could release him.”
Viane shook her head. “Well, as long as you took the groom—”
“I think Alexander’s ready for a longer test,” Tess broke in quickly.
“What did you have in mind?” Viane asked warily. “Yusef’s house is almost at the city gates.”
“Then it’s clear we must go beyond the city gates,” Tess said lightly.