The Panther and The Pearl by Doreen Owens Malek Read Free Book Online

and make him...”
    Sarah waited.
    “Hot,” Roxalena concluded. “Who knew it would be you?” She lifted the diadem from her hair and handed it to a waiting servant, dissolving into chuckles again.
    “Roxalena, I’m glad you find all of this so amusing, but being paraded in front of your father and his guest like a fatted calf...”
    “What’s that?” Roxalena inquired, removing her earbobs and sitting next to Sarah on the divan.
    “Never mind,” Sarah said.
    “My father was only accommodating his visitor,” Roxalena went on, as if Sarah hadn’t spoken. “Kalid saw you in the crowd and wanted to get a better look at you. He requested that you be brought into the antechamber so that he might examine you.”
    “That he did,” Sarah said dryly.  
    Shirza appeared in the doorway, carrying an elaborately carved wooden tray.
    “What is it?” Roxalena asked her.
    “A gift for Miss Sarah from my lord the Pasha of Bursa,” Shirza recited ceremoniously, kneeling and proffering the tray.
    Roxalena giggled and elbowed Sarah in the ribs.
    “Please,” Sarah said, closing her eyes.
    “Bring it in here,” Roxalena said eagerly, eyeing the tray’s contents avariciously.
    Shirza entered and placed the tray on a table inlaid with ivory, setting it in front of the divan.
    “Bursa perfume, made for the house of Shah’s women alone, blended of the essence of jasmine and rosemary, sandalwood and ambergris,” Shirza said, indicating a carved crystal bottle. It was decorated with cobalt flowers and capped with a silver stopper.
    Roxalena nodded approvingly. “Very costly,” she said.
    “A jeweled hairpin, for a lady with such wealth of tresses will surely have need of it,” Shirza went on, indicating a golden bodkin, such as Oriental women used to skewer a bun, displayed on a white linen napkin. It was studded with diamond chips and featured a pigeon’s blood ruby at its rounded crest.
    “Tasteful,” Roxalena said.
    “And coffee from Yemen, specially prepared,” Shirza concluded. “Kalid Shah instructs that it is for the palate of Miss Sarah alone, as it is his special gift to her.” Shirza poured the dark, steaming liquid from the jezve into an enameled cup which already contained a quarter inch of froth. She handed the cup to Sarah.
    “Well, drink it,” Roxalena said, smiling. “It would be an insult not to do so.”
    Sarah drained the small cup, grimacing at the bitter taste. She would never get used to Turkish coffee.
    Shirza waited expectantly.
    “Have you nothing to say to the sender of these offerings?” Roxalena asked Sarah, wide eyed with innocence. “It would be very bad manners not to respond to such lavish presents.”
    “Tell Kalid Shah I thank him very much for his courtesy,” Sarah said tightly.
    “That is all?” Roxalena asked.
    “That is all.”
    Shirza bowed and left the room.
    “Kalid will be disappointed,” Roxalena said gravely.
    “What would he expect me to say?” Sarah asked, yawning.
    “That you will join him in his chamber for a night of passion?” Roxalena suggested.  
    “Very funny. To tell you the truth, my first instinct was to send it all back, but I realize that such an act would not be in accordance with your customs.”
    “Certainly not,” Roxalena said, shocked. She watched as Sarah rose and then staggered slightly.
    “Whew, I must be more tired than I thought,” Sarah said, passing a hand over her eyes. “I’d better go to bed.”
    “What about all this?” Roxalena asked, indicating the tray.
    “Keep it for me. In the morning we’ll try the c’s and g’s again.”
    Roxalena made a face.
    “Good night,” Sarah said in Turkish.
    “Good night,” Roxalena said in English.
    In the hall the eunuchs who accompanied the harem women everywhere fell into step beside Sarah and followed her to her room. By the time she approached her couch she was so dizzy that she sat down harder than she had intended. Then she found she could not get up again to