"Shiek" - читать интересную книгу автора (Connie Mason)

"Berber bitch! How dare you treat me with disrespect? Wait until I tell Jamal. Then we'll see who has the last laugh." She charged across the garden, and ran headlong into Jamal.

"Oh, my lord, praise Allah you're here."

Jamal's knowing gaze traveled over Saha's drenched caftan, and he knew without being told that Zara was the cause of her vexation. "What has upset you, Saha?"

Saha pointed an accusing finger at Zara. "Your Berber slave has insulted me. Look what she did to me!" She held out her damp caftan with thumb and forefinger. "The witch threw tea in my lap."

Jamal wanted to laugh but knew it would only make matters worse. Zara would never learn obedience if he made light of her escapades, though in truth they amused him.

"What do you suggest I do, Saha?"

Saha's smile was not pleasant. "The bastinado, my lord. Ten strokes on the soles of her feet should be sufficient."

Jamal blanched, stunned by Saha's viciousness. Ten strokes of the wooden rod upon the soles of Zara's tender feet would cripple her. "Aren't you being a bit harsh?"

"Zara deserves it, my lord," Leila contended. "She refused to serve me when I bade her bring me a wet cloth to bathe my face."

"She would not fetch me a fresh apple," Amar added. "Zara is a slave, is she not? She has been disobedient and sullen. After she is severely punished, you'd be wise to sell her."

Jamal turned his dark gaze on Zara, who didn't seem at all repentant. "You have displeased my women, Zara," he said sternly. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Zara gave him a contemptuous smile. "I have no desire to please your women. You do that well enough without my help."

Jamal nearly burst, trying to contain his laughter. Attempting to sound stern, he said, "Sarcasm does not become you, Zara."

"Zara is stubborn and fractious," Leila said sulkily. "Send her away."

"Aye, my lord," Zara agreed sweetly. "Send me away. Your wager is all but lost, and I will be free shortly anyway."

"What wager?" Saha wanted to know.

"Enough of this bickering," Jamal ordered. He preferred not to divulge the terms of the wager he'd made with Zara. He was having such dismal luck seducing her that he'd rather it didn't become common knowledge.

"You are going to punish Zara, aren't you?" Saha asked, clinging to Jamal as she stared meltingly into his eyes.

"Aye, Zara will be punished according to her infraction," Jamal intoned grimly. "Come with me, Zara."

Zara wondered if she had gone too far. She didn't relish being punished, but the look on Saha's face when she'd dumped tea in her lap was almost worth it.





CHAPTER 6