boat to the river then, but Bothwell thought the women looked weary.
'We'll stop and camp here the night,' he ordered. 'Come morning we'll be fresh, and on our way at first light. Asher, help the women set up camp while Conall and I go hunting for our meal.'
They decided to camp within the cave. There would be less chance of their fire being spotted, of wild animals, or of being caught in a sudden rain. Susan cut reeds from the riverbank and bound them to make torches for the cave. With Asher Kira's help she gathered firewood. Asher then left them to try his hand at fishing, and Cat gave her young tiring woman leave to bathe while she finished up within the cave. The lessons she had learned riding the Scots borders with Bothwell served her well now. She built a fire, lay out the cooking gear, and took a jug to the river.
Directly below the cave lay a small crescent-shaped sandy beach which bordered a shallow pool within the river made by an almost circular formation of rocks. Susan bathed in the pool and Cat promised to join her shortly.
Returning to the cave, she placed the jug on a rock ledge so that no one would trip over it, then looked about to see if she had forgotten anything. The fire burned hot in a carefully dug pit. On opposite sides of the fire the iron spit holders were imbedded firmly in the ground, the spit, a wooden spoon, and an iron pot nearby. When the men returned, the women would be ready for them.
Satisfied that she had done her part, Cat was ready to go swimming. Suddenly she heard a high scream of terror from Susan. Without thinking, she ran out of the cave and leaped down the small incline to the beach below. Too late, she realized her mistake. She was weaponless except for a dagger, having left her scimitar in the cave. There was a man on the beach and two more in the water, chasing after Susan, who swam frantically this way and that, trying to escape. The man on the beach turned to face Cat. Drawing her dagger, she crouched to meet him.
'The mermaid has a boy companion with her,' he called in Turkish to his companions. Cat realized now that they were Ottoman soldiers, and not Illyrian bandits as she had first assumed.
Deepening her voice, Cat shouted, 'Leave my sister be! We are loyal citizens of the sultan-may Allah grant him long life! Is this how the sultan's soldiers behave? Attacking helpless travelers?' Her voice rang with scorn.
They looked surprised, and for a moment Cat thought they might leave them in peace. Then one of the men waded from the water and made straight for her. Cat gasped, for the man stood close to seven feet tall. It took all her courage not to break and run. When he was quite close she called out, 'Stop! Come no further or I'll slit your belly wide open!'
The giant stopped, eyeing her with some amusement. 'I think, my young fighting cock, that you are really in no position to give orders. But my curiosity is aroused. You're not Illyrian, so why are you here?'
'We're from Tricca,' answered Cat, 'on our way to visit our grandmother, whose second husband is Illyrian. We came up the Peneus with a friend, a river trader. We have been walking for two days now, and our grandmother's house is but a few hours from here. My sister wanted to bathe before going on.'
The giant smiled slowly, and a knowing fear clutched Cat. 'I am Omar,' he said. 'A captain with the Illyrian regulars. We have been here in the mountains collecting the sultan's tribute from the local tribes. With Illyrians we must maintain good manners, lest we cause the sultan difficulties. Their women are forbidden contact with us, and we do not molest them. It has been weeks now since my men have enjoyed female companionship. Your sister is very pretty.' He turned to his men. 'Get the river nymph,' he commanded sharply. Then he turned to Cat. 'Pretty young men also make good sport,' he laughed, jumping forward.
Cat's knife bit into his arm. Omar cursed roundly but kept coming. Several more times she bloodied him, but he kept forcing her backward until she found herself against the embankment below the cave. For a moment they stood still, facing each other. Her heart was beating wildly, and she was panting with fright and exhaustion. She could hear Susan screaming, and she trembled.
She leaped at him but he turned quickly, grunting with surprise as the knife buried itself deep in the muscle of his shoulder. With his good arm he hit her a fierce blow on the side of the head, and she fell to the ground. Her turban and bandanna fell away onto the ground.
There was a moment of silence while the captain removed the knife from his shoulder and dabbed the wound. Then he glanced back at the half-conscious woman at his feet. He shouted his delight. 'By Allah! Another woman! A fighting wildcat, but a female!'
Reaching down, he pulled Cat up by the arm and, catching her face between his thumb and forefinger, looked hard at her. 'By Allah!' he muttered almost to himself. 'You're a beauty! A real little prize.'
Numb, she stood quietly as he quickly and expertly stripped her naked. 'Allah bless me! My fortune is made,' the captain chortled as he ran his hands over her shrinking body. She shivered as feeling began to come back to her. 'Easy, my beauty,' he said quietly. 'You need have no fear of me, and I'll protect you from my men. You're worth more to me as you are than bloodied by them. They'll sate their lust on the other.'
She saw with horror that Susan had been dragged from the water and now lay on her back, held by one man while the other prepared to rape her. Her servant's plight roused pity in Cat, pity for the girl who had known only rape and depravity from men, never any tenderness or love. At least I have had that, thought Cat.
'Come!' The voice startled her from her reflections. The giant pulled her a little way down the beach and, sitting, drew her down into his lap. She braced herself for the struggle to come. His laughter rumbled as he saw her face contort with fear. 'Don't be frightened, my beauty. I'm not going to force you, though Allah knows you would tempt a holy man. Alas, I have not functioned as a man since a fever took me several months back. Still,' and he chuckled again, 'I know other ways to make a girl happy. When my men sleep tonight perhaps we'll try some, eh?'
Cat shuddered. 'What are you going to do with me?' she asked.
'Why-sell you, woman! Allah! Have you never looked in a mirror? You will bring me a fortune, though whether I can get a better price for you in the open market or from Fatima the procuress I will not know until we reach Apollonia.'
Helplessness swept over Cat. Oh, God, she wailed silently! Not again. Then she caught herself. The captain and his two men were not aware that the helpless women they had captured travelled with three men. If she could only keep them here until the others returned, she and Susan had a chance. But once the two soldiers finished amusing themselves with Susan, their captain would want to be on his way. There was only one way to keep him here, and though she shrank from it, she knew she must detain them.
The captain was fondling her breasts. He might be temporarily impotent, but the thought was strong. So much the better. Saying a prayer for the men's quick arrival, Cat made her voice softly innocent and said hesitantly, 'I have been a widow two years now, captain, and my husband was a very simple man. What… what…' She stopped. Lowering her eyes as if in confused embarrassment, she giggled nervously. 'What did you mean when you said there are 'other ways' to make a girl happy?' she finished in a breathless rush.
Captain Omar's piglike little eyes narrowed and then began to glitter with anticipatory delight. 'A widow for two years? A pretty girl like yourself, and no suitors to play with?'
'I was in mourning, and then my father became ill and my sister and I nursed him until he died. There was no time for suitors,' she finished modestly.
'Surely your husband was a lusty man, and showed you many a fine bed trick?'
'Oh, no, captain! My husband was many years my senior. He was a wealthy man when I married him, and father got a very good bride price for me. When my poor husband died, however, he had lost his wealth through poor investments. Had my dear father not taken me back, I should have been destitute.'
'You're no virgin still, are you?'
Cat knew she dare not lie. 'Oh, no, captain! My husband did his duty by me once weekly.'
'Once weekly? Once weekly!' roared the giant 'Allah, woman! If you had been my wife I'd have fucked you three times nightly and double on the sabbath!' He chuckled. 'So you were wed to a graybeard who could barely do it, and here you are a lusty, hot young widow, innocent of all the nice things a man can do for a woman to make her feel good. Tell me, my pretty one-would you like me to do some of those things to you now?'
Cat hid her face in the giant's shoulder. Taking coyness for assent, the captain chuckled again, the deep rumbling sound of a pleased tomcat, and ran a thick finger along the line of her tightly closed legs. Cat closed her eyes and concentrated on not screaming.
In the woods, downstream of the river, Asher Kira had heard Susan shrieking. Quickly, but cautiously, he had hurried to investigate. Shocked by the scene before him, the gentle young banker soiled himself. In his youthful fantasies he had imagined the taking of a reluctant woman, bat the unpleasant reality of rape terrified him. Gasping
