The Golden Barbarian by Iris Johansen Read Free Book Online

forth, her hands clasped behind her back. “It could never work. My father would capture us before we reached the border.”
    Galen shook his head. “The border is only a day’s ride from here.”
    “He would follow us to your Zalandan.”
    “He might be tempted,” Galen agreed. “But once in Sedikhan I anticipate no problem. We’re a warrior breed. Your Tamrovians are soft in comparison.”
    She lifted her chin defiantly. “Then why do you need us as a show of power?”
    “An invisible sword is as good as a real one, if the enemy believes it’s pointed at his heart.”
    “Wouldn’t your show of force be useless if the other sheikhs realized Tamrovia was against this marriage?”
    A flicker of surprise crossed his face. “Very perceptive. Yes, it would. But it won’t happen. I only need six months to soothe your father’s ire and make him tolerate me as a son-in-law.”
    “You won’t have six months.”
    “Yes, I will. Perhaps a little longer.” He paused. “It depends upon when he decides to send word to the convent that you’re to come home to Tamrovia.”
    “But he’s already brought—” Realization dawned. “Sacha?”
    “He paid a visit to his uncle and took the opportunity to write a letter to the Mother Superior and affix your father’s seal to the letter.”
    She remembered Pauline’s sudden desertion at the last moment. “And Pauline?”
    “She would have been in the way on the journey to Zalandan. I assure you that she was more than content with the compensation we forwarded her.”
    “I see. You’ve been very thorough.”
    “But eminently civilized,” he said mockingly. “My father kidnapped my mother and forced her to wed him after my birth. But I’m not my father. I’ve always found choice is far better than force.”
    She gazed at him shrewdly. “As long as the choice is in your favor.”
    “Why should marriage not benefit both of us?”
    She nibbled at her lower lip. “Why me?”
    “You’re the only daughter of the brother of the king of Tamrovia.” He met her gaze. “And you impressed me as possessing a certain boldness and sense of purpose that would be essential to my plan.”
    “Three years and I’m free?”
    He nodded. “You won’t find your life in Zalandan intolerable. We have certain comforts.”
    “Could I have a horse? A wonderful, beautiful horse like Telzan?”
    A tiny smile appeared on his lips. “It’s just as well I have little vanity, or I might be insulted that you require a four-footed bribe to wed me.”
    “Could I?” she persisted.
    He nodded gravely. “One beautiful horse. I have a golden palomino mare that would suit you admirably.”
    Excitement and fear churned within her. “I don’t know.…”
    “One more thing.”
    She looked warily at him.
    “I’ll require a child as quickly as possible.”
    She stared at him in uncertainty. “A child?”
    “You seem surprised. I don’t believe I’m being unreasonable.”
    “No, every man wants a son.”
    “It doesn’t have to be a son. Just a child to strengthen the bond. Your father would have agood deal more trouble making a match for you if you were carrying another man’s child.” He stood up. “And in my people’s eyes a child would prove the strength of the alliance.”
    It had been drummed into her from childhood that it would be her duty to bear her husband as many children as she was capable of bearing, but the possibility had seemed as nebulous as the man who would give them to her. “A child …”
    “The babe would be no bother to you. I’ll keep it in Sedikhan when you leave.”
    For some reason that thought brought a wrenching pain.
    Galen’s gaze narrowed on her face. “What’s wrong?”
    “I don’t know.” She spoke haltingly. “But it hurt me when you took Apollo and Daphne away. What if … I might want—”
    “I suggest we discuss the disposition of the child when it becomes a reality.” He smiled. “By ‘as quickly as possible,’ I didn’t