Chapter 9
Before them the city of Fez nestled and clung to a cuplike valley, descending from Fez Eldjid, the newer town on the heights of the hills, to the crowded rabbit warrens that made up the most ancient part of the city at the bottom of the valley along the river. At first approach Skye could see only a long line of tall towers and walls surrounding the city, which was seemingly invisible behind the ramparts. She shivered, wondering if once she was behind that seemingly impenetrable barrier she would be able to escape.
As they passed through a huge horseshoe gate into Fez Skye saw that, unlike the cities along the coast, Fez was a dour place. Its buildings were a dirty white with green tile roofs, and from the street the plainness of their walls was broken only by doors. There were no windows visible anywhere, and the facelessness of the structures was rather frightening. Throughout the city stands of trees-cypress, ilex, date palms, and various fruit trees-were welcome green islands dotting the hillsides that tumbled downward into the old city.
Skye would quickly discover that though none of Fez's homes had windows on the street side, the beauty and luxury of their interiors were astounding. She would also find that the wealthy now built their homes in Fez Eldjid escaping the overcrowding of the old city where the magnificent Qarawiyin Mosque, the university where Osman had taught, and all the main bazaars and markets including the famous Quaisarya, the silk market, were also located. For now, however, all that mattered was the fact that she was in Fez, and somewhere in the city Niall Burke was held. She wondered how long it would be before Kedar's young brother, Hamal, would contact her.
Kedar's home was a marvel of several connecting structures built around flowering and fountained courtyards and lush gardens. From the street it was as anonymous as all the other buildings around it, but once inside she found herself in a paradise of incredible beauty. The floors were all laid with small black and white tiles in a geometric pattern. Some of the floors were covered with thick, lush rugs in reds, blues, and golds, or blues, golds, and dark green. The walls were partially tiled in yellow, white, and black, and whitewashed above the tile except in the public rooms where the walls above the tiles had designs carved into their stone. The ceilings in all the rooms were painted magnificently in various colors, in incredible geometric patterns and designs.
Dagan had escorted Skye and Zada to the women's quarters of the house, a separate wing consisting of baths, kitchens, gardens and terraces, salons, dormitorylike bedchambers, and private bedchambers.
'How many women are there in the master's harem, Dagan?' Skye asked as they had hurried along behind him.
'I am not certain of the correct number, my lady Muna, but it is over forty, I know.'
Two coal-black eunuchs pulled open a gilded wrought-iron double gate, allowing them entry into the harem area. Dagan brought them to the main salon, where at this time of day most of the women were settled chattering, sewing, playing musical instruments, or reading. At their entrance there was immediate silence and hostile eyes swung toward Skye, assessing her beauty and her worth to Kedar, and instantly classing her an enemy.
Dagan grinned delightedly to discomfit them. 'The master sends you all his greetings upon his return, ladies. This lovely creature by my side is the lady Muna, a gift to our lord Kedar from his uncle in Algiers. She is in his favor.'
'Perhaps along the trail, where the only other choices were diseased nomad wenches, sheep, and camels,' said a voluptuous blonde with almond-shaped black eyes. She looked insolently at Skye, and popped a small apricot into her mouth.
'How do you keep your hair
The blonde gasped and scrambled to her feet. 'How dare you!' she shrieked as she leapt the small distance between Skye and herself, her fists upraised.
Skye didn't wait. Hooking her fingers into the blonde's hair she grasped hard, and flung her opponent across the room. 'How dare you!' she replied. 'In my own land I am a great lady. Here I have found favor with my lord Kedar. We need not be friends, but you will treat me with the respect duc my station. I am not, like you, some peasant wench thrust into a better situation. You will remember that in the future.'
The blonde sprawled among a pile of pillows, arms and legs akimbo, her mouth open in complete surprise. The room was deathly still, and then there was a throaty, amused laugh as a tall, very elegant woman stepped forward from among a group of women. 'Welcome to Fez,' she said. 'I am the lady Talitha, now only occasionally in our lord Kedar's favor, praise be to Allah.' Talitha's skin was the color of molten gold, her black hair cut short so that it clung caplike to her skull in kinky curls. Her eyes were a wonderful shade of light green. With a smile she turned to Dagan. 'Is she to have a private chamber?'
'Yes, lady, and you will see that none of the others mark her. He is adoring of her flawless skin.'
'I shouldn't wonder,' Talitha said. 'Don't worry, Dagan, I will care for her as if she were my own child.' She then turned her gaze upon the other women in the room. 'You heard,' she said in a suddenly hard voice. 'Anyone who touches Muna will answer first to me and then to our lord Kedar. Frankly I don't believe any of you soft, overripe bitches are capable of taking on this one, but be warned nonetheless.'
'You will be safe now,' Dagan said, and then he left Skye and Zada.
'Come with me,' Talitha said, and they followed her from the salon. “There is a lovely room available overlooking the mares' meadow and the mountains beyond the city walls.'
'Are you in charge of the harem?' Skye asked.
'I have the honor and the burden of being Kedar's harem mistress,' Talitha replied drily. 'I was the first woman he ever bought. I have two daughters by him, but as his appetite has grown his need for me is less.'
'Do you love him?'
'No, but I am grateful to him. I was born in a brothel in Rabat. My mother was a whore of Berber and Negro origin. My father was her French lover. I know that for certain because my mother did not enter the brothel until after my father left her, and she was already pregnant with me. She was a beautiful woman, and so she went to the finest brothel in Rabat and offered to sell herself to them if they would wait until she had borne her child. They gave her the gold on which to live comfortably until I was born, and then she joined them. I was raised there, and Kedar bought me from the brothel owner who felt that, at twenty, I was a bit too long in the tooth to satisfy his customers. I am therefore grateful to the master. I have a good home. My children are safe, and I am respected. Ah, here we are.' She flung open a beautifully paneled wooden door, and they entered into a lovely bright room. 'What about you, Muna?'
'I am a captive,' she said. 'The lord Osman bought me to give to the lord Kedar.'
'For a captive you speak our language quite well,' Talitha remarked.
'I was in the bagnos for several months, and I fortunately have an ear for other tongues.'
'Were you ill that you were kept in the bagnos, or,' here she cocked her head, 'were you, as I suspect, loath to accept your portion.'
Skye laughed. 'I needed convincing,' she admitted. 'You must understand, Talitha, that I am an Englishwoman, a respectable widow with children. The thought that I should never see my babies again, never return to my own land, was not only frightening but heartbreaking to me.'
'But now you accept your fate?' Talitha looked a little disbelieving.
'What choice do I have?' Skye asked.
'And our lord Kedar?'
'He is different from any man I have ever known,' Skye said slowly, not quite sure what it was Talitha wanted her to say.
Talitha laughed. 'He is a hard man, Muna, but believe me, there are worse masters. All Kedar demands is perfect obedience in his bed. The rest will be easy if you are not a gossip, for he hates those whose tongues wag incessantly.
'You'll probably be spared his company for a while, however, as you have had him all to yourself these last two months. Kedar needs variety and, like a large honeybee, he will now begin to go from flower to flower until he is sated once more.' She smiled mischievously at Skye. 'I imagine you can use the rest, Muna. Our lord and master
