was actually Spanish. He had been born?Diego Indio Goya del Fuentes near the city of Granada, the second?son of an old and noble family. He was well educated for his time,?and might have gone on to marry and lead the circumspect life of?a sixteenth-century Spanish nobleman. Then fate, in the guise of a?beautiful Moorish girl named Noor, had intervened in the young?man’s life. They had been desperately in love, but Noor had been?as firm in her faith, Islam, as any devout Christian was in his.
Diego Goya del Fuentes had long been betrothed. Now his sisters?took malicious delight in teasing his fiancee about Noor. The fiancee,?a prim, religious girl, felt it her moral duty to inform the Inquisition?of the existence of the Moorish maiden. On the day that Noor was?burned at the stake as a heretic, Diego stood helpless on the edge?of the city square, his hooded face wet with tears, watching as the?gentlest, kindest person he had ever known was burned to death.?She was tortured cruelly, yet as the flames licked her graceful body,?her sweet voice lifted in a song of praise to her god, Allah. That?day, Diego Goya del Fuentes disappeared from Spain forever.
He wandered for several years through Europe and the Middle
East, finally settling in the city of Algiers. He changed his name to?Khalid, the title “el Bey” being his by virtue of a journey to the holy?cities of Mecca and Medina. He converted to Islam in honor of?Noor’s memory, though he felt no strong religious leaning.
His feelings for women were ambiguous. On one hand, he re-?membered his lost love and her gentle sweet ways. On the other,?he recalled his sisters’ malice, and the cruelty and ignorance of his?fiancee. Perhaps this explained why, though he enslaved women?into the profession of prostitution, he was a kind and good master.
Skye had touched him as no woman had since Noor. Her help-?lessness appealed to him, and this was why he now carefully in-?structed Yasmin about her care. But Yasmin argued, “Why do you?fuss so over this one girl, my lord? She is like a thousand others.”?The Circassian voice was spiteful, and Khalid el Bey hid a smile.?Yasmin had been in love with him for years but he felt no more for?her than he had for the others. No woman had claimed his heart?since Noor.
“Skye is like a child now,” he explained patiently. “Although she?recalls some things, her loss of memory has wiped out all carnal?knowledge. She knows nothing and has no prejudices. If we handle?her carefully, we may mold her as we desire.” He cleverly empha-?sized the
“This would really please you, my lord?”
“Yes, Yasmin, it would. Skye is not simply a pretty face or body.?I sense a good mind behind those lovely blue eyes, and that is what?her specialty shall be. Like the courtesans of ancient Athens Skye?shall entertain the gentlemen with a skilled body and with her in-?telligence as well. She will not be used for those of our clientele? whose tastes run to the bizarre, but rather for elegant men, men of?culture-such as the Ottoman commandant of the Casbah. Or perhaps the sea captains who come to us from the Italian states, France,?or England. Together, Yasmin, you and I will make Skye an intriguing, exciting, much-sought-after woman.”
“I will do my part, my lord Khalid. I will teach her all I know.?Even certain things I have kept from the others. Skye shall be unique,?and she shall be perfection.”
He smiled his wonderful smile at her. “You have always exceeded?my faith in you, since the very beginning, Yasmin. Thank you.” He?twice clapped his hands sharply, then sent the answering slave for?coffee. Turning back to the woman, he asked, “The women now in?the House of Felicity are satisfactory?”
“Except two. The English girl, Sweet Rose, has fallen in love?with one of her gentlemen, and consequently is balking at her job.
With your permission I can correct that, for the gentleman involved?wants to buy her and add her to his harem.”
“Sell, but accept only the highest price for her. After all, we’re?losing a good investment. What of the other girl?”
‘The gypsy Rhia is not adjusting, my lord. I think I must rec-?ommend severe punishment in her case.”
“Why?”
“I sent her along with two other girls to a party of half a dozen?young Turkish officers. They had requested they be allowed to play?the rape game. We assigned them to the Suite of Clouds. It was?arranged that, as the girls sat at their leisure, the Turks would break?in and ravish them. It is a harmless game, and the officers involved?are regular customers of ours, all highly recommended. While the?other two girls fell in with the spirit of the game, shrieking and?protesting prettily before yielding, Rhia screamed in earnest and?fought wildly, severely scratching two of our guests about the face.?Naturally they subdued her, and I am pleased to say that all six of?them enjoyed her despite her protests. But the other girls, of course,?felt slighted. They were angry that she should draw all the attention?to herself in such a fashion. The officers complained, too, that?afterward she wept as one demented. I finally had to remove her?from their presence, and send in another girl.”
“Has she ever before partaken of this sort of fantasy, Yasmin?”
“No. She was, of course, half wild when she came to us. But?she’s been treated well and has done very well with the gentlemen?individually. I believed her ready for this sort of thing.”
“What is her specialty?”
“Oral gratification, my lord, and I understand she is quite good?at it.”
Khalid el Bey thought a moment. “She was probably raped some-?time in her life. The fantasy in which you placed her brought back?the memory and hence her terror. Do not put her in such a situation?again. Let her do what she is good at.”
“You are too soft, my lord. Rhia offended our guests. When they?ask, what shall I tell them has been done?”
“Do not wait for them to ask. Send a message to the two who?were scratched that the matter has been taken care of, and offer them?each an evening of pleasure at our expense.”
“It shall be as my lord has said,” answered Yasmin.
Khalid el Bey rose from the cushions and helped the Circassian?to rise. “You must return now, I know,” he said quietly, gently?dismissing her. “You will come tomorrow and begin your instruction?of Skye.”
“As my lord commands,” she said, bowing out of the room.
He almost sighed his relief. She was beautiful and loyal, but of?late she had become clinging and presumptuous of their long as-?sociation. He wasn’t quite sure what he would do about her. To free?her would only give her ideas above her situation, for she was a?slave, born of slave parents. He smiled, thinking back to those many?years ago when he had gone to a Circassian breeding farm with an?Egyptian friend. His friend was a slave merchant in Alexandria, a?connoisseur of beautiful young men and women, who preferred?buying directly from the breeder so he might have the best selection.
The owners of the farm had paraded before their valued customer?and his guest a variety of exquisite virgins and youths. Yasmin had?been among them, and Khalid’s friend remarked on her, saying that?they had shown her to him in his two previous visits.
“Alas,” sighed their host, “she is lovelier than an April morning,?but I cannot seem to sell her. I have just about decided to breed her?with our best stud.”
“What are her bloodlines?” asked Khalid’s friend.
“Pythias out of Iris,” came the reply.
“Whew!” exclaimed the Alexandrian admiringly.
Khalid el Bey had no idea what they were talking about, but there?was something touching about the little slave girl. “What is her?age?” he asked.
“Fifteen,” came the reply.
“A bit old. Is she a virgin?”
“Sir!” The farm owner was indignant.
Khalid el Bey laughed. “I will take her, my friend. I simply wish?to know what it is I am buying.”
An outrageous price was named which Khalid el Bey scoffed at,?reminding the slave breeder of the girl’s age and the possibility of?her being barren if he bred her rather than sold her. They haggled?back and forth until finally a price was agreed upon that suited?Khalid el Bey but, according to the merchant, impoverished him.?The money was exchanged, and Khalid el Bey found himself the?owner of a beautiful Circassian slave girl with long blond hair and?Nile green eyes.
When they returned to Alexandria he set about introducing her?to the joys of physical love. She had been taught its many arts but?had never used them. She knew the human body and its sensitive?areas well. Her skillful
