The Sheik and the Slave (28 page)

“
Come
here,
”
he beckoned
Safiya to him. He lay upon the pillows, watching her dance.

As she came to him, her body honey-colored and slim, he
shook his head. What was this? Who was she? Where was Katharine?

Safiya joined him on the mound of pillows, smiling and
willing.

“
My
lord?
”
she asked.
Her voice was small.

She moved the silk abaya up her thighs and placed his hand
on her thigh.

“
Safiya?
”
he said. He heard the
question in his voice.

The blue eyes weren
’
t
blue but brown and her hair wasn
’
t
golden. What was this? He shook his head as the young girl played her part as
she had been told to do. She moved the abaya up over her body and lay naked
underneath him.

“
My
lord, I
’
m yours.
Take me,
”
she said.

The room was spinning and his head felt fuzzy.
Why did
Katharine look so different,
he wondered. But he missed her so. She meant
everything to him.

“
Katharine,
”
he murmured as he
pressed the girl
’
s
legs apart and mounted her. He heard her cry out as he broke her hymen. Then,
he blacked out.

***

“
The
drug was supposed to be an aphrodisiac, not make him unconscious,
”
her father yelled at
Khaldun.

Safiya washed the blood from her thighs as the two men
bickered.

“
The
deed is done, though,
”
her uncle said.
“
She
has been penetrated.
”

“
Yes,
but no seed,
”
her
father said harshly.
“
Without
seed, she is just another harem girl. We need his seed.
”

Her uncle nodded in agreement.

“
It
will be done,
”
he
said.

***

That night, Safiya lay in bed. She was groggy and tired. She
wondered absently how she was to get the sheik
’
s
seed.

“
Safiya,
”
she heard someone
whisper.

“
Yes,
uncle?
”
she asked.
She sat up in bed.

He had entered her room so quietly that she had not even
heard him.

“
You
are a virgin no longer,
”
he said as he smiled.

“
Yes.
That is so, uncle. But, no seed,
”
she replied.

He smiled and undressed slowly as his niece inched away from
him on the bed.

“
No,
”
she said as she shook
her head.

“
I
have been waiting a long time for this day, my lovely niece,
”
he said to her.

“
I
will tell my father!
”
she hissed at him.

She hid underneath the blanket, which he quickly stripped
away from her beautiful body.

“
I
will say you bewitched me. Who will believe a little girl over a grown man?
”
he told her.

She fought him briefly, but she was no match for his
strength. Suddenly, when she had given up, her slim thighs were spread apart
for him.

“
Oh
my dear, you are so tight!
”
he said. He grunted as he went deep within her body.

Safiya cried out, but it was in satisfaction, as her body
arched into her uncle
’
s.
Her slim legs were parted wide as her hairy older uncle took his time fucking
her. When Khaldun finally climaxed, he pumped his seed deep within his niece
’
s body. Now they could
claim the seed was Mohammed
’
s
and none would be the wiser.

“
Cheer
up, my little niece,
”
Khaldun told her as he dressed.
“
To
all the world, you now carry the next Sheik of Arabia in your belly.
”

Chapter
19

Penelope ran swiftly down the long, barren hallway. Her
heart raced, but she didn
’
t
think twice about her actions. She had to speak to the Mother Superior. She
pulled the woolen shawl closer to her small, bony chest. The drafts in Father O
’
Day
’
s monastery were chilling
and damp. Her bones ached, though she was a young woman.

Father O
’
Day
had separated the novices and the Mother Superior from the rest of the
monastery and they had remained separate since their arrival. The trip to
Ireland had been uneventful, and the stranger had remained unconscious through
it. The Mother Superior had been very worried about her, and all knew the woman
was pregnant from her rounded belly.

Father O
’
Day
’
s reputation as a godly
man and one of medicine was an established fact, and the Mother Superior was
very grateful to him for his assistance.

Penelope knocked upon the wooden door once-twice.

“
Yes?
”
asked Mother Superior
with a gentle voice.

“
Please,
Mother Superior. Come at once! The woman has woken and she is upset. No one can
understand a word she is saying.
”

Abigail sighed and the chair creaked as her weight shifted
slightly.

She had been so concerned for her safety during the voyage
to Ireland, and once they had arrived, the Father had set to work. He had
shocked the women by refusing to bleed Katharine, saying that she needed
nourishment and rest.

She followed the novice down the stone hallway and thought
again of the girl with delicate features and sunlight hair. She was a lady; of
that she was certain. But what had become of her family? Had she made an
impudent match and married a brute who turned her out?

Though she wore no ring on her hand, it could easily have
been lost or stolen. Maybe she had been separated or taken from her loved one?
That seemed a more likely occurrence, as she had arrived at the Abbey in a
state of unconsciousness.

Perhaps savage bandits had set upon her, taken her clothes,
abused her and left her for dead. Maybe a wicked stepmother had thrown her out,
for the young woman
’
s
beauty had overshadowed her own. Abigail chuckled at the last thought, which
was pure fairy tale. But perhaps she had been attacked and dumped at her doors.

These questions had plagued her ever since she had
discovered the girl bleeding on the front steps of the Abbey. That she had been
pregnant and bleeding from between her legs had frightened Abigail immensely.
She had managed to stem the blood by stuffing cotton inside the woman but had
known that her knowledge was severely limited. Thus, she had written to Father
O
’
Day, whose
reputation had grown as a man of medicine.

Once they had settled inside the Irish monastery walls, separate
from the men, novices Penelope and Edith and taken turns watching over the
women while Father O
’
Day
had prescribed bed rest and soothing Chamomile tea.

The Abbess spent her time in prayer and reading to the young
woman who had troubled dreams and cried out often. Abigail would pat her hand
and murmur to her that all would be well. She prayed for her during this time.
The woman had been through much and was now all alone.

“
Ma
petite,
”
she called
her often.

She thought once that the woman might have been a
high-priced mistress who had become pregnant with the man
’
s child, though she
doubted it. She remained certain that someone loved this woman very much and
that she had been ripped away from him. She knew she had a romantic heart, but
she remain convinced of this as being the truth. She wanted nothing more than
to reunite them.

It was a cold night. Abigail moved a shawl closer around her
shoulders and gripped the book in her cold hands. The winds seemed to howl
through the stone monastery and the chill was almost unbearable. In her own
Abbey, she allowed herself the luxury of a fireplace, and she missed it dearly.

When she stopped reading to close her eyes, she set the book
on her lap. As she reached for it again, she glanced quickly at the girl lying
quietly on the bed. Between her legs, the cotton was stained with dark blood.
The book dropped to the floor as she ran to find Father O
’
Day. She clasped her
cross in her hand as she ran down the hallway.

She found Penelope reading the Bible in her small cell and
breathlessly said,
“
Go
get Father O
’
Day.
Quickly!
”

Father O
’
Day
entered the room and looked at the women.

“
I
can
’
t have anyone
stay who fears blood,
”
he said.
“
Mother
Superior?
”

“
I
will be fine, Father.
”

“
And
you?
”
he asked
Penelope as he laid his instruments out.

“
I
think I will be okay,
”
she whispered.

“
If
she starts to faint, Mother Superior, I want her out. What I
’
m about to do here is
very serious. This young woman may not survive,
”
he told her calmly.

He moved more cotton between Katharine
’
s legs to stem the flow
of blood and moved her shift up over her abdomen. He moved his hands over the
swollen belly and ascertained the baby
’
s
body within her.

He held the razor up for inspection; Mother Superior averted
her eyes quickly and shuddered. He made an incision about the size of a hand
width to the left side of Katharine
’
s
abdomen to avoid the location of the heart.

Father O
’
Day
then oiled his hands, opened the abdomen to move back the intestines, and
opened the uterus.  He tilted her body back during the procedure, which allowed
easier access to the uterus. He asked Abigail and Penelope to rotate her back
to her side.

Penelope vomited, but wiped the back of her mouth with her
hand and continued. Abigail placed clean towels around Katharine for the blood
loss. Father had the women rotate Katharine again to her side and removed the
newborn. He placed the bloody baby in her arms as he quickly produced a needle
and silk thread. He closed the wounds with four stitches, leaving sutures. He
then covered her wound in a plaster made from eggs, fabric of hemp, and clay.

Meanwhile, Abigail had used warm water to clean the tiny
baby boy, and she wrapped him in a woolen blanket. He cooed softly.

“
He
’
s lovely,
”
whispered Penelope, but
both women turned to look at Katharine, who was deathly pale.

“
Father
O
’
Day?
”
Mother Superior asked.

The man
’
s
kind eyes met hers.

“
I
don
’
t know how she
will fare, Mother Superior. Time will tell. She will have to be very strong.
”

He collected his instruments that were now covered in blood.
He noticed the bleeding had subsided, which was a good sign.

Abigail snuggled the little boy and turned to him.

“
God
bless you, Father.
”

“
And
you, Mother Superior,
”
he replied before he left the room.

Abigail cuddled the little newborn as Katharine slept on.
She prayed even in that moment that she would live to see her child.

***

“
Please,
please. Where is my baby?
”
Katharine asked the young girl before she had scampered off.

Katharine watched an older woman enter the room but when she
repeated the question, the woman just shook her head. Abigail didn
’
t recognize the language
at all and backed away. She knew what would placate the woman.

Katharine sat back on the bed. The pain in her belly was
intense and she fought hard to stem the tears. She covered her face and sobbed.
Everything was gone. First Mohammed, and now their child.

***

The Abbess entered the room and saw the Irish girl Oona
feeding the baby. They had engaged her to breastfeed when Katharine had
remained unconscious even after the Cesarean section. Her daughter had been
born dead, but her breasts still had milk. Father O
’
Day had asked for her help. She was a
simple, plain girl, and she loved the baby like it was her own. He gave her a
reason to live.

He
’
s
beautiful,
Abigail thought.

She had never seen a baby like him. He had dark, sun-kissed
skin with a small mop of brown hair, but his eyes were blue like the sea.

“
Hello,
Oona,
”
Abigail said.

“
Hello,
Mother Superior,
”
Oona replied.

“
When
he
’
s done feeding,
we must go see her. She needs him now,
”
Abigail told her.

Oona smiled back.

“
Of
course.
”

***

Mohammed awoke to a pounding in his head. He grimaced
slightly and reached for her. He longed to hold her against him, to mold her
slender shape into his. He wanted to press into her until he was falling into
that deep abyss, with her blonde skeins of hair falling all around them as he
made love to her. He wanted her sea blue eyes dark and dilated with love.