Marian had no idea how much time she'd lost under the influence of the slave trader's drugs, but she rolled her eyes and let out a furious little huff when she came to, realizing that he had indeed made a profit off her.
Rapidly blinking her eyes, she took in her new costume and her surroundings.
She wore a similar revealing outfit to the blue embroidered silk her captor had dressed her in before, only now she was clothed in scarlet. The gold stomacher still cinched her waist, hiding her scars. She felt exposed, but she was far better covered than most of the other women surrounding her.
Dozens of beautiful young women, most of them Saracens, lounged about the spacious and luxurious chamber, in varying states of undress. Several, completely naked, splashed in a huge pool, while others lay gossiping beside it. Other women beautified themselves or each other, combing hair, darkening lashes with kohl, or painting their lips. The air was heavy with perfume and opulence, and Marian realized with loathing that she must be in some rich man's harem.
Marian was surprised to see several men bustling about serving the women grapes, figs, and dates, unconcerned about the nakedness. The men looked soft, and hairless, like infants. Their voices were high, like those of young boys. Everyone spoke Arabic.
"Nourriture?" a high pitched voice asked, just behind her.
Marian wheeled about to face one of the hairless men, excited to hear him address her in French. At last she could communicate!
She suddenly realized she was hungry, but refused his offer of food. "You speak French?" she asked the man, herself employing the language.
"A little," he replied.
"Then can you please tell me where I am? I should not be here at all!"
"You are in Cairo, in The Citadel," the eunuch replied, coldly. "You are very fortunate to be living in the Sultan's palace."
"The Sultan! Do you mean Saladin?"
"Sala hadin," he corrected. "You are the newest member of his brother's harem. Your master, the great Al-Adil, will no doubt arrive shortly, to inspect you. I hope that you are well versed in the erotic arts."
Marian's jaw dropped, and her mind raced, trying to think up a way to escape.
"If you please him," the eunuch continued, "you will be given private apartments within the harem, and myself for a servant. If not, you will sleep here, a common odalisque. I suggest you please him."
An older, richly dressed woman swooped by, studying Marian through an eagle eye. The eunuch dropped to the floor, bowing before her.
"Aiza Ramir," he told Marian, after the woman swept by. "Al-Adil's first wife."
"How many wives does he have?" Marian asked, "not that it matters. I will not be a part of his harem. I am married myself, and-"
Before she could finish, she found herself surrounded by a large group of curious women. The eunuch, bowing, edged away backwards.
"Don't go!" Marian begged in French, shaking off the women's hands as they began poking and prodding her.
The women giggled and cooed, admiring her beauty. Marian had no wish to hurt them, but she couldn't stand being touched by them either, as if she were their new plaything. Not yet fully recovered from Gisbourne's wound, she nevertheless had enough strength to leap over them, turning flips to get away, as she'd done as the Nightwatchman.
The women grew silent, in amazement. Then, all at once, they began chattering in Arabic. Marian wished she'd learned the language. Robin knew it! She should have asked Djaq to teach her, when she had the chance.
But Marian had little time for regrets. A trumpet sounded, and all the people, eunuchs included, dropped to their knees. A huge set of double doors swung open, and Marian impulsively ran toward them, meaning to escape. Instead, she ran straight into the arms of a richly dressed, swarthy, Saracen man.
"My lovely English prize!" he cried out in her language, with pleasure. "You will learn, running to greet your master is not done here, though I do find it charming."
"Get off me!" she cried, guessing the man was Saladin's famous brother, Al-Adil.
"I am not 'on' you yet, but that is what I am here for. Come. You are even more beautiful than I was told."
"I am no member of your harem, for you to command at your pleasure!"
"Pleasure? We have not yet begun to sample it. You are spirited, I see. Not what I was told. I heard you were vague and placid, when you were purchased."
"I was drugged."
"I see. But love is a drug, too, that can make you placid again. Come. We shall sample it together, in all its varieties."
"What you suggest has nothing to do with love, and nothing to do with me! You do not own me! I will not be put on a shelf, to be taken out and played with when your fancy dictates! I am a married woman, and not helpless. I'm warning you. If you do not let me go, I will kill you."