"Stephen Goldin - Storyteller" - читать интересную книгу автора (Goldin Stephen)

тАЬThat is ever the lot of women,тАЭ Rabah said.

тАЬWell, it won't be that way for me. I shall control my own destiny. I'll love whom I please and take my
pleasure where I like. No man will control me."
тАЬBrave words, Your Highness."

тАЬBut you disapprove, is that it?тАЭ Princess Oma said, reading the older woman's tone.

тАЬI would counsel wisdom to back up the bravery,тАЭ Rabah said as her hands soothed the tension of anger
from Oma's lithe body. тАЬIt's the way of the world that men believe they have control. To defy that would
be to stand against the current of a powerful river; if one but swims the river instead, it's easier to reach
one's destination."

тАЬI don't want to marry Haroun. I hear he's perfectly awful, and he does cruel things to slave girls."

тАЬYet you helped me convince your father to betray his agreement with Ahmad."

тАЬI didn't want to marry Ahmad, either,тАЭ Princess Oma said with a pout. тАЬI don't want to marry anyone.
Why should I be shackled to only one lover all my life when my husband can have many wives and
concubines? I want the freedom to love whom I choose, when I choose, how I choose. Is that so
terrible?"

тАЬNot at all,тАЭ Rabah said. тАЬBut in the world as it is, we women must practice a little caution.тАЭ She
hesitated a moment. тАЬCould it be that Your Highness is afraid of a man's love?тАЭ Rabah knew that Oma
had been raised among women; the only men she saw were eunuchs, some of her tutors, and her father.
Some trepidation on her part would be perfectly natural.

тАЬI've never tried any men, of course,тАЭ Oma said. тАЬA princess's maidenhead is a valuable commodity, and
I'm not going to throw it away on a whim."

тАЬIf you'll accept my word for now, the love of a man can be just as exciting as the love of a woman,тАЭ
Rabah told her.

тАЬThank you. I'll look forward to it. But may Oromasd grant that my first experience not be with Prince
Haroun."

Rabah's strong hands manipulated the muscles of Oma's back, relaxing the last of the tension beneath the
taut young flesh. For several moments the two drifted in silence. Then Oma spoke again.

тАЬThey say Ahmad used powerful sorcery to escape my father's trap. Do you believe that?"

тАЬMany things are possible."

тАЬAhmad, a sorcerer. Why, he could swoop into the room this very minute and cast a spell on us so
neither of us could move. We'd be helpless before him and he could ravish us both on the spot if he
chose, don't you think?"

тАЬIf that frightens you, all the more reason to go to Ravan. No magic can touch you in the Holy City."

тАЬFrighten? Rabah, that would be the most exciting thing that ever happened to me.тАЭ She sighed. тАЬBut it