The Sultan's Bride (17 page)

She fluffed up the pillows
before returning to her room, collecting the phallus the stall holder had given
her before returning to Richard’s room.  Stripping off her clothes she
slid between the sheets naked, touching her nipples, pinching them before
moving her hand between her legs.

She soon found what she was
looking for and thinking of the man she missed so much she started to finger
herself, rubbing her clit, moving her hips until she reached climax. 
Plunging the phallus between her legs she held it with one hand, thrusting it
in and out of her while continuing to rub.

‘Oh my love,’ she cried as
she came again, ‘Come home to me my love.’  Tired she curled herself
around the pillow, and closed her eyes to dream of the man she loved, so far
away from her.

Richard was relieved to get
back on the ship after his week with the Sultan.  He had cases packed with
gold and a small box that
Alena
had given him before
he left.  She had said it was for Catherine and he put it away in his
cabin rather than stow it with the cargo.

Curiosity got the better of
him and halfway through the voyage he opened the mysterious container. 
Inside were some new shifts and his eyes widened when he saw the see through
fabric they were made
of.
 
Alena
had said the parcel was a gift with love and he assumed she meant for Catherine
to wear them for him when he got home. 

For a moment he let himself
daydream about Catherine, his sweet Catherine with her beautiful creamy skin
wearing this, feeling her softness through it.  He snapped out of it when
his hand closed on a hard object in the box, pulling it out he realised what
the item was shaped like. 
Alena
had included in
her gift one of the
phallus’
from the harem. Dropping
it back in the box he was confused all over again, why would she need this when
she had him?

The nights were the worst
where she haunted his dreams, wearing the robes and wielding the phallus,
taunting and teasing him.  By the time the ship neared England he had come
to the conclusion that his marriage would probably end up being annulled. 
She was not the person he thought she had been and his lust for her had
overridden his common sense.  He would give her the choice but he wasn’t
overly optimistic she would choose
a him
over
Arif
.

Catherine had been taken
aback by the success of the market stall.  Visiting again a few weeks
later she found the old man selling the items at the stall and no sign of his
son.  He waved her over and when she approached he hugged her tightly.

‘I must thank you for all the
business you have sent me,’ he said gleefully,
  ‘We
are doing a roaring trade of our little wooden items and it is all thanks to
you.’

She laughed. ‘I told three
friends about you, surely you have not been run off your feet by my friends?’

The old man grinned. ‘I
believe that your friends have told other friends, we are selling several of
them a day and now we have a little side business showing the women what to do
with the items.’

She stared at him. ‘What do
you mean?’

‘We hired a
room,
my son is so young and handsome that when the ladies
started asking how they were to be used he offered to show them.’ 

Catherine’s eyes
widened.  ‘He is showing them?’

‘We charge them a fee and
most of the ladies who buy them have not been touched by their husbands for
some time, he is getting most satisfactory results as I believe they are in
turn telling their friends.’

Catherine burst out laughing
at the thought of these prim and proper ladies going into a room with the young
man.   ‘Perhaps you would like a trial of our service for free?’ the
old man grinned.

 ‘My husband is due back
any day,’ she said, ‘and I look forward very much to it, so as much as I
appreciate you offer I will have to say no.’

She laughed all the way home.

The ship landed in port in
the early afternoon and with the cases having been locked away in storage
Richard ventured home.  He had still not stopped thinking about the
Sultan’s words since they had been spoken and it was eating him up
inside. 

The ship’s captain had been
the same for both trips and as Richard departed the ship he winked. ‘Go get
into bed with that lovely wife of yours sir, I’m sure she’ll be well pleased to
see you return.’  Richard nodded and walked away, wondering if the old sea
dog was right.

Pausing at the door before
unlocking it he thought of Catherine and James.  Beautiful Catherine who
had agreed to become his wife in a loveless marriage to protect herself and her
child, the thought of her being with any other man drove him to despair.  
How could he return to a house where she did not share his bed after hearing of
her passions for others?

Slowly he turned the key and
stepping into the front door heard the sound of his wife’s laughter for the
first time in several months.  It made him smile and the ache he’d felt
for contact with her while he’d been away finally felt like as if it had been
soothed.

He was taken aback at the
sight of her, sitting in the lounge room with a visitor clearly from the East
showing his wife a phallus similar to the one
Alena
had packed in his bag.  Catherine was laughing with the man and as he made
a joke about the way she was touching it as if she was familiar with them
Richard saw red.

‘Catherine,’ he said
abruptly.  Catherine looked up and her eyes widened at the sight of
him.  A warm smile spread across her lips and she
stood,
arms ready to receive him. 

‘Husband,’ she said, ‘I did
not know you would be back today, it is good to have you home.’

‘Is it?’ he asked
coldly. 

Uncertainty crossed her
face.  ‘Of course, we have much to talk about.  Please let me
introduce you to a friend…’  Catherine didn’t get to finish her sentence
as Richard interrupted her. 

‘I have no wish to meet your
friend,’ he said, ‘
It
would appear you have been busy
while I have been away wife, now you can get out of my house.’

‘Richard, I’m not sure what
you are meaning.  Please sit and I will get you a drink and tell you
everything that has been happening since you have been gone.’

‘I know all about you now, I
have been well informed of your whorish ways and come back to find that you
have taken up here where you left off in
Ajara
. 
Get out
Catherine,
I’m sure our marriage will be
annulled in due course.’

Catherine was white and the
man she was entertaining from the markets stood.  ‘I am sorry Mr
Black,
it appears you misunderstand what I was doing here
with your wife.  I mean no harm.’

Richard snarled.  ‘Get
the hell out of my house too, take her with you.  I don’t ever want to see
you again.’ 

Catherine was crying now and
the older man put a protective arm around her, angry now at the younger man’s
assumption.  ‘Where I come from men do not speak to their wives like that
Mr Black.  You left her alone for months to look after herself, she has
done no wrong.’

‘Where you come from men have
many wives and don’t care about their feelings any more than she cares for
mine.  I suggest you get out of my house before I throw you out.’

Catherine ran from the room
sobbing and the man packed up his things, glancing over his shoulder towards
her as he left.  ‘You will regret this Mr Black, that young lady is a good
girl and clearly better than you deserve.’

Jealousy filled
Richard.  The thoughts he had had about his wife sleeping outside the
marriage bed with several lovers had been boiling away since
Ajara
. Now it erupted.  The door slammed as Abdul left
and he looked up to see Catherine coming down the stairs, James in her arms.

The child looked ruffled,
disturbed from sleep as his mother, fearful of the temper Richard was now
showing tried to do as he had commanded to keep the peace.  She paused at
the door. ‘It’s not what you think Richard.  I have missed you very much.’

‘Your Sultan lover has
offered you the position of Sultana in
Ajara
, he
thinks that you should take his offer and make James his heir,’ he said. 

‘
Arif
said that?’ she asked.  Hearing the uncertainty in her voice he closed his
eyes, now she had to make her choice.

‘He did, there has been a
generous settlement given to you but he also put this offer on the table. 
Arif
would move heaven and earth to have you
back.’ 

Catherine looked at her
feet.  ‘You should consider it, it’s a good offer.  The boy would be
with his father and you would be with the man you love.  It is no longer
the season to sail but in a few months should you wish to go I will organise
passage for yourself and James.

Her head jerked up. ‘That’s
not how I feel anymore Richard.’

‘Yet you are torn, I can see
it in your
face,
hear it in your voice.  Go
Catherine, I don’t want you here anymore.  I want a woman who will love me
and only me.  One who will share my bed, not one who will go back on their
marriage
vows.
  You need to consider the offer
from
Arif
, it is a good one.  You would rule
Ajara
together.  When it comes to the season to sail again
and you choose to stay then we will talk again, I don’t want you choosing one
thing only to leave as soon as the opportunity arises.’

Richard turned away, and
Catherine knew there was no changing his mind now.  ‘If it means
anything,’ she said, ‘I have not turned my back on any marriage vows.  I
have been a true and faithful wife to you and my marriage to the Sultan only
had marriage vows made by him.  I played no real part in the wedding other
than being there and then being humiliated.’

Then she was gone and he
thought of her making her way across the park to her parent’s place.  The
sight of her sitting there, fondling that toy and laughing with such
familiarity with Abdul playing in his mind over and over again. 

Mr Simpson paid a visit in
the late afternoon, having been advised that Richard was back.  ‘How did
the visit go, did the Sultan give us the compensation?’ he asked excitedly.

  ‘A good sum for
Catherine’s parents and more for Catherine herself,’ said Richard, ‘I must also
tell you that she has gone to live with her parents once again.  The
Sultan has made her an offer to become his Sultana and I have sent her away to
make her decision.’

Simpson looked at him. ‘Are
you sure that is what you want?  She was contented here I think.’

‘We had words when I arrived
back, some that I regret but as far as
Ajara
goes I
think the idea intrigues her but I am hoping she will decide to stay, I have
told her that I do not want her to make her final decision until the season
changes and passage to
Ajara
is available.  I do
not think I could bear it if she chose to stay and then left.’

The old man nodded. ‘I
understand
,
I will keep watch over her Richard. 
I do know how you love her.’

Richard sighed. ‘I only hope
that is enough for her.’

Sarah Stanton had looked out
her front parlour window when she heard the knock on the door and was delighted
to see it was Catherine and James.  When she opened the door and saw the
bag beside Catherine she gasped.  ‘What has happened sweetheart?’ she
asked.  Catherine looked up and Sarah saw her red swollen eyes.  ‘Oh
Catherine’ she said, pulling the pair inside and hugging Catherine tight. 
James squawked and Sarah took him from Catherine’s arms while she pulled her
bag inside.

They sat down and Sarah put
James on the floor while she hugged Catherine again.  ‘Richard told me to
leave,’ she said between sobs. 

‘But why?’ asked her mother,
‘He was so in love with you, we could all see that.  I know you missed him
greatly while he was away and I had hoped you two would add to your family and
give James a brother or sister.’

Catherine nodded.
‘As did I.
I love him Mama, I really do.’

‘Do you think this trip has
made him uncertain, the time away?’

‘I don’t know Mama, he’s come
back and it’s as if he hates me for something I haven’t done.’

Her mother looked at her.
‘What do you mean?’

‘He’s convinced I’ve been
unfaithful, or will be’
She
said sadly. 

‘Why would he think that
Catherine, there hasn’t been reason for him to think that has there?’

Catherine looked into her
eyes. ‘Mother, I have never given Richard any reason to doubt me.  He
doesn’t trust the life I had before when I was forced into marriage with one
man and in love with another.’  Her mother was quiet.  This was more
than Catherine had told her before so she continued.  ‘I love
Richard,
I want a life with him.  I want him to be my
husband and the father of my children.