fearful that he had that?rarest of creatures on his hands-an intelligent woman. Drawing a?deep breath, he plunged into the business at hand.
For the next few weeks Skye spent most of her days with Khalid?and Jean, closeted in the library, and she suddenly understood the?true nature of her husband’s business. She was shocked for a while.?Then, realizing that Khalid had not invented prostitution, she ac-?cepted it.
She quickly understood that each house Khalid owned had to be?treated as a separate entity. Those located on the waterfront, serving?sailors of all nations, were provisioned far differently from the House?of Felicity. The waterfront brothels served only beer, but in the?House of Felicity and its two sister houses, the menu was quite? varied. Even the women varied with the different establishments.?On the waterfront, pretty but sturdy peasant girls were the choice,?girls who might easily service two dozen men a day without ill?effect.
Young women bought for Khalid’s more elegant brothels were?all beauties carefully schooled in proper Arabic and French so they?might converse well. They were also taught good manners, hygiene,?and elegant ways of dressing. Their sexual skills were excellent.?The men who bought their company bought it for an entire evening.
All of Khalid el Bey’s waterfront brothels worked their women?five days a week and allowed them rest for two days. This neces-?sitated keeping records on who was working and who was not. Each?of these women received a hundredth portion of the fee collected?for her services each night, and at the end of five years was given?her freedom and the monies accrued. Most married and settled down.?Some, however, took to the streets and were quickly lost. Others?hired themselves out to lesser brothels and quickly found themselves?overworked and disease- ridden. Most brothel keepers were not as?careful with their women as Khalid el Bey, who kept two Moorish?doctors on his staff and had his women checked weekly for the pox.
All of this meant voluminous records, and Skye found herself?becoming very interested in her husband’s business dealings. His?brothels involved not only the care and well-being of people and?property but the provisioning of those people and the upkeep of the?oroperty.
Problems were tripled in the more elegant brothels, for the women?here had to be exquisitely clothed and jeweled. They needed oil baths and wore only the finest perfumes. But despite his vast outlay,?Khalid el Bey was a rich man. Profits far exceeded expenses. And?these profits had to be invested.
This was the thing that interested Skye the most, the investment?of her husband’s funds. Some of the money was placed with a?goldsmith, Judah ben Simon. Some of it had been put into portable?wealth such as loose gem stones. The rest was invested with the?adventure ships belonging to an Englishman called Robert Small.?It was shortly after their return from the Pearl Kiosk that Skye met?this bluff sea captain.
One night as she and Khalid sat listening to love songs sung by?a sweet-voiced slave girl, an uproar ensued from the courtyard of?the house. Her husband leaped to his feet laughing and Skye could?hear a booming voice saying, “Now, laddie, your master may be?a-laying,with one qf his fancy pieces, but believe me, he’ll stop to?see me. Out of my way! Damme, Khalid, you old Moor. Where are?you?” The door to the chamber flew open and’ a tiny-legged man?strode into the room.
He was a most fantastic sight. His colorful clothes included puffed?and slashed red velvet breeches, black silk stockings, a red velvet?doublet embroidered in gold and silver thread, a long cape, and a?flat hat with an egret plume. On a tall man the clothing might not?have been so fantastic, but Robert Small stood only five feet tall.? Powerfully built, he had sandy-brown hair and his eyes were a?snapping blue. His round, weathered face was mischievous and?kindly while also being the homeliest Skye had ever seen. The little?man was as freckled as a thrush’s egg. “Ha! There you be, Khalid,?and as usual you’ve got some rare beauty by your side.”
“Robbie, you’re a wicked old man, and so I’ve no compunction?in springing this surprise on you. The ‘rare beauty’ is my wife!”
“God assoil my soul, Khalid el Bey! True?” The bey nodded, and?the Englishman bowed low to Skye. “My humblest apologies,?madam. I hope you’ll not think ill of me.” Then, realizing he’d?spoken English, he said, “Khalid. I know not what language your?lady speaks. You’ll tell her for me?”
‘There is no need, sir,” said Skye sweetly. “I fully comprehend?you, and am not in the least offended. It’s quite natural you should?think me a whore, considering the nature of my husband’s business.?Now, however, you will excuse me, for I imagine you’ve much to?talk about with my lord.” She rose gracefully and, smiling mis-?chievously, left the room.
The little Englishman chuckled. “How,” he asked, “did a renegade?Spaniard-tumed-Arab end up with an Irish wife?”
“Irish? Skye is
“God almighty, man! Didn’t she tell you?”
“She doesn’t know, my old friend. Several months ago I bought?myself a rather bedraggled and frightened waif from a corsair captain.?He had gotten her from an outbound captain who claimed to have?captured her in a skirmish. He knew nothing of her history. When?Skye regained her full senses she had no memory excepting her? name.”
“And so you married her! Lord, man, you’re a romantic at heart.”
“Wrong!” Khalid el Bey poured the Englishman a tiny cup of?sweet Turkish coffee. “I had intended to make her the finest and?most expensive whore the world had ever seen.”
Robert Small sucked his breath in sharply. “Did you indeed,?laddie? And pray tell what stopped you?”
“I fell in love with her, my friend. Not with just her face and?luscious body, but with the woman I began to see emerging. She?is without guile, and generous as well. She is also the least greedy?female I have ever known, and when she looks at me with those?marvelous blue eyes of hers I am lost, Robbie! Very soon, the?thought of anyone other than myself touching her enraged me. I?found that I wanted children and a loving wife, like a normal man.”
“God help you, then, my friend, for you have a weakness now,?and your enemies will use it against you. As long as the great?Whoremaster of Algiers showed no vulnerability he was inviolable.”
“Don’t fret, Robbie, I have no enemies. Even my women respect?me.”
“Don’t be a fool, Khalid!” It was said sharply. “All wealthy and?powerful men have enemies. Look closely to yourself and to that?beauty you’ve married.”
For a few minutes the two men sat silently sipping their coffee,?then Robert Small spoke. “I’ve made you richer again, Khalid. The?ships we sent to the New World have returned laden with precious?metals, jewels, and furs. The ones that traveled south returned with?spices, slaves, and gemstones. I have, as usual, saved the cream of?the female slaves for you to see.”
Khalid el Bey was all business now. “Did we lose any ships or?men?”
“No ships, but three men were lost on the
“Good! And you, Robbie, how was your voyage?”
The captain chuckled and stretched his short frame out on the?pillows, his hands behind his head. “Ah, Khalid, I wish you’d been?with me. How often you’ve warned me of men’s greed, and the?vulnerability that greed brings in. And you were right! I found us a mine manager in the Spanish Americas who is a younger son with?no hope other than to end his days a rum-soaked wreck. His oldest?brother, their father’s heir, married the girl he loved, and then ar-?ranged for him to be sent from Spain. He burns for vengeance, and?so he has agreed to help us obtain six shiploads of gold for a per-?centage and passage back to Europe. It was a cheap price to pay,?Khalid. We filled three ships this trip, and I’ve already sent three?other ships.”
“And how did this young don cover the theft? And how can we?be sure he’ll not betray us?”
“The first theft was covered by causing a mine to cave in. It’ll?take months to clear it out, by which time we’ll have returned for?the second load from the other mine. It will not matter if the Spaniards?learn then that they have been robbed, for we’ll be all long gone by?that time. The young don has a half-Spanish, half-Indian mistress?he intends to marry and take to Paris with him. He can live quite?well on what we pay him.
“The mines he oversees give up the purest gold I’ve ever seen,?Khalid! The other ships in our fleet have carried back the finest furs?imaginable, along with basketsful of turquoise, coral, jade, ame-?thyst, emeralds, and topaz. I have, as usual, saved a choice selection?of furs and gems for you, along with some excellent Indian pearls?and spices from the Southern fleet. Everything else has been disposed?of through our regular channels, and your monies are already with?your banker.”
“You are generous, Robbie, and quite thorough, as always. Per-?haps you will allow me to do a little something
