The Bartered Bride by Mary Jo Putney Read Free Book Online

refashioned into a sash that emphasized her slim waist, and one ripped sleeve tying back her unkempt hair, she actually looked rather dashing, if one overlooked the raw flesh that circled her wrists.
    Keeping his gaze from following the deep V of the shirt's neckline, he offered his comb. "Sorry I didn't think of this last night."
    "A comb." She took it reverently. "You are a saint."
    "Hardly." He'd merely learned a few things during his years of marriage. "My steward, Suryo, should be here soon. He'll find you breakfast and anything else you need. He's a master forager. By this time he'll have made friends with the chief cook, the head groom, and the captain of the guard." And he would discover half the secrets of the palace in the process.
    She untied her hair and began combing the tangled ends. The thick waves were brown, not black, with auburn and golden highlights that marked her as a European. "What happens next, Gavin?"
    "I'm to join Sultan Kasan for his morning meal. I'll ask him again about allowing me to buy your freedom."
    Quiet as a cat, Suryo entered the room, a basket in one hand. He showed no surprise at the sight of the giant cage or its occupant. After Gavin introduced the two to each other, Suryo bowed. "I had heard you were here, puan." Puan meant lady, as tuan meant lord. He opened the basket to reveal bread, rice, fruit, and a jug of hot tea. "Would you care to breakfast?"
    "Efficient as always." Gavin poured some light, sweet tea into a small cup and passed it through the bars to Alex.
    She sipped the drink with a sigh of pleasure. "I suppose that everyone in the palace knows that a foreign woman is caged here like a wild beast."
    "The kitchens of a king know all that happens in the palace," the Malay agreed. Though the room offered no concealment for eavesdroppers and there could be few people in Maduri fluent in English, Gavin dropped his voice when he asked, "What do the sultan's people think about Kasan?"
    "He is a good ruler, though perhaps not a good man," Suryo said slowly. "He can be cruel, and toys with people like a tiger toys with its prey. In his mind, he and Maduri are one, and he will be ruthless for his nation's sake. Though he is a great sportsman and gambler who loves to win, he respects those who have the skill and courage to defeat him. A dangerous man, Captain, perhaps a tyrant, but not a vicious madman."
    That confirmed Gavin's own impressions, and offered guidance for dealing with the sultan. "If I refuse to work for him, will he strike me dead on the spot? "
    "I do not think so," Suryo said seriously.
    Gavin found that less than reassuring, but before he could ask more, one of the sultan's slaves appeared in the door and bowed deeply. "Captain Elliott," he said in bazaar Malay. "His Highness awaits."
    Gavin glanced at Alex. Sounding as if she was trying to convince herself, she said, "There is no reason for him to keep me a slave." Gavin hoped she was right. But his sailor's instinct for trouble told him it wouldn't be that simple.
    A leisurely repast in a palace in paradise should have been relaxing, particularly with balmy tropical breezes wafting through airy rooms decorated with gilded statues and silk rugs that would be worth a fortune in the West. Nonetheless, Gavin was knotted tighter than a sailor's rope. Though neither he nor Suryo thought the sultan was the sort to kill a man for disagreeing, that didn't mean it couldn't happen if the sultan was feeling bloodthirsty today.
    As the last course of fruit dishes was removed, Gavin watched a jewel-bright songbird swoop inside to steal a tidbit, then land on the head of a gilded statue. An ancient goddess of fortune, perhaps, since her outstretched palm held a pair of the twelve-sided Maduri dice.
    He hoped the goddess would favor him today, since he'd need all the luck he could get. The lengthy private meal had confirmed that Kasan wanted Gavin not only as an honest trader, but a window to the West-an ambassador to represent