The Sultan's Bride
Read The Sultan's Bride Online
Authors: Ariadne Wayne
The Sultan’s Bride
By Ariadne Wayne
Copyright © 2013 Ariadne Wayne
Kindle Edition
Published by
Northnet
Limited
All
rights reserved. No part of this book may be produced in any form or by
any means without the prior written consent of the publisher, excepting brief
quotes used in reviews. If this book is found on a torrent site then
please respect the author and buy if you enjoy.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places,
and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or
dead, is entirely coincidental.
This book is dedicated to my friends and family who
have been supportive without even knowing it. Especially my husband who
thought I was spending all my time mucking around on Facebook when I was
actually writing.
Chapter 1
London
1830
Peter Stanton later described
the night his daughter Catherine was born ‘the longest night of my life.’
Sarah had been in labour for two days and it was midnight on the second day
when he said a final prayer for his wife and child to come out of this alive.
It had not taken long once
they were married for Sarah to fall pregnant. He had gone into the
marriage with much enthusiasm for his young bride and had felt like he was the
luckiest man on earth when she had told him she was with child.
The pregnancy has taken its
toll. Sarah had been sick throughout the day for months and had spent the
last few weeks resting for hours at a time. Peter doted on her all the
while, knowing that once the baby was born the colour would come back to her
cheeks and she would be more herself again.
From Sarah’s perspective the
months of pregnancy had been tough on her but she looked forward to having her
child in her arms and having someone dependent on her. She had grown to
love Peter but he was so involved in his business that he had not had much time
for her since they’d been married. The times they were together were
wonderful and he was so attentive but with those moments coming few and far
between she ached for her child to fill the gap.
Peter had been told only
hours before that the baby was breech, putting both the baby and his wife at
risk and he was torn in two knowing he could lose one of them or both.
Sarah Parker as she had been known was the daughter of his neighbour, younger
than him by seven years and was approaching her 19
th
birthday as she
lay waiting for the birth of her child.
‘She’s too young to die. I
love her too much,’ Peter said. He prayed, his thoughts a mess. He
had proposed to her when she was only 17 after her parents had both died within
weeks of each other. Having no one else to turn to and being a little in
awe of her handsome 24 year old neighbour she had readily agreed.
For his part he was head over
heels, hopelessly in love with the beautiful young woman. Sarah with her
long brown curls and big blue eyes caught his eye from the moment he first saw
her and he adored her with every fibre of his being.
The last year he had worked
harder than ever, building his business up to support his wife and child.
Regrettably it had meant long hours working and not as much time with her as he
would have liked but he hoped he made up for it when they were together.
Now, the woman he loved who
had grown to love him back was in a nearby room trying her hardest to give
birth to their first child. Attending her was a midwife and a physician
who he had called in when it was clear that Sarah was in trouble. He had
already been in there once to stop the arguing about what course of action to
take and apart from Sarah crying out in pain there had been no noise since.
He paced outside the room
unsure of whether to go in or not. It wasn’t common for men to be by
their wives side at childbirth was it? The midwife and doctor had
not been happy for him to stay and when Sarah got upset with him because of how
long it was all taking he had opted to exit the room and made it clear he would
be listening in case they started arguing again.
Finally at a little past two
in the morning the sound of a baby’s cry came from the room and he burst in,
excited but terrified of what he might find. Sarah was smiling, and as
pale as he’d ever seen her and the doctor murmured, ‘she’s lost a lot of
blood.’ He moved towards the bed and held her hand.
‘Peter,’ she said, ‘we have a
daughter.’
The midwife nudged his arm
and when he turned he saw the little creature that had caused his wife’s
discomfort and fell instantly in love. There was his daughter, tiny with
a dark patch of hair on her head and her mother’s big blue eyes.
Sarah wiped the tear from his
face as he held Catherine for the first time, and he kissed the baby before
passing her to her mother so she could take care of the child’s needs.
‘You will need to feed the
child as much as possible,’ said the midwife, ‘the bleeding is concerning but
we will do what we can to control it.’
A few hours later the doctor
left, assuring him the young mother should recover well but the midwife still
concerned for Sarah opted to stay and took up residence on the sofa while the
new parents slept in their bed, glad the birth was over. In the morning
Peter awoke to find Sarah burning with fever.
For the next two days she
battled the illness, her life in the balance. The midwife arranged for a
wet nurse as it quickly became obvious Sarah was too sick to keep up with the
demands of her new-born daughter. As she came in and out of consciousness
Peter sat with her, holding her hand, wiping her brow with a wet cloth and now
said a different prayer.
He prayed for his wife to
survive, vowing to give her and Catherine the best life he knew how, that the
business he had inherited a stake in would do well and that his little family
would never want for anything. The little girl was kept near so her
mother would know she was there, hoping that she would help encourage Sarah to
get better.
Whatever it was that worked,
Sarah’s fever finally broke on the third day and though weakened by her illness
she asked for her daughter. Kissing her little face and holding her
little hands she vowed that Catherine would always come first and to love her always.
It was time of mixed
blessings for the family and as Catherine grew she wanted for nothing but was a
caring and loving child. She had a big heart and wished for a little
brother or sister but not out loud, her Mama would have been far too hurt if she’d
heard her say her thoughts out loud.
A smart and cheerful child
she brought the couple joy and their sadness at not being able to add to their
family was overshadowed by the love they had for her.
Peter kept working hard at
his business; it made enough for them to live comfortably enough. They soon
moved from the small house the pair had lived in to a much bigger property with
a big back yard for Catherine to play. They were happy days for the
little family.
Peter was in a cheerful mood
arriving at work that day, it had been Catherine’s eighth birthday the day
before and they had celebrated in style. Catherine had been spoiled with
plenty of toys and cake with the children of friends of the family. It
had been sunny and warm and they had all enjoyed a lovely day.
He’d kissed Sarah and
Catherine goodbye and headed off to his office, not too far from his home and
near the docks. Still thinking about the day before, he was preoccupied
and didn’t notice the man sitting outside his offices.
‘Excuse me,’ said a voice and
Peter was jolted out of his daydream.
‘May I help you?’ he
asked.
‘I have a business
proposition for you,’ said the man, ‘may I speak with you?’
The man was 5 foot if he was
an inch taller Peter would have been surprised, swarthy with thick eyebrows and
a deep voice that didn’t seem to match his appearance.
Peter invited him in and sat
down at his desk with the man sitting opposite. It was a small building
and Peter’s was the smallest office being the junior of the partners.
‘My name is Hassan and I have
an offer of business for you,’ he announced proudly.
‘I see, and what is
this business?’ asked Peter, curious as to why he was being made this offer.
‘I have with me a shipment
of spices from my home and the buyer has not been able to make the full
payment, breaching the contract. I am looking for a merchant who is able
to purchase my shipment and fulfil the deal.’
Peter leaned back. ‘What sort
of price are you looking for this shipment?’ he asked. Spices were not
his trade but if he could make some money out of it he could see no harm in
expressing interest. Hassan named his price and Peter nodded.
‘I will have to make
enquiries as to how I would on sell these. Have you offered them to
anyone else?’ he asked.
‘Truthfully you are the first
person I have been able to speak to. All the other offices I tried were
closed or didn’t want to listen to what I had to offer.’
Peter smiled. ‘Give me this
morning and maybe we can meet this afternoon if you could give me some detail
of what you carry.’
Hassan produced a list of the
goods and the pair agreed to talk later in the day. As he showed the man
out, another of his business partners arrived. ‘What’s all this Peter?’
he asked, one eyebrow raised at the sight of the little eastern man.
When Peter told him, John was
sceptical. ‘You haven’t committed to anything, have you?’ he asked,
concerned the younger man had agreed to something they had never tried
before. None of the partners would have any idea about the value of what
they were offering.
‘No, I said I would look into
it and meet him later on today to discuss.’ John Partridge nodded.
‘Good, I think we should make
sure this is worth our while. While I have no interest in anything other
than textiles if it’s too good an opportunity to miss we’d be fools to pass it
up.’
He smiled and Peter felt that
maybe finally got the approval of the man who had been his father’s business
partner. Peter had often struggled with the decision the elder business
partners made. John Partridge and Charles
Gray
had been his father’s partners and they usually did everything the old
fashioned way and had been reluctant to let the younger man continue in the
business with them but they had not had the money to buy his share so had been
forced to let him work.
Peter, wanting to branch out
into trading more than just textiles had been blocked in every direction so for
John to see that what they’d been offered could be advantageous made him feel
proud. Pure luck had brought Hassan to his door and if there was money to
be made Peter was determined to find it.
He ventured out to visit the
traders who purchased his textiles, often they were merchants who also traded
in general goods and when he approached them about the spices they were very
enthusiastic. Making up prices on the spot that were enough to make a
handsome profit he returned to the office excited and ready to get Hassan to
sign over the consignment.