The Bartered Bride (3 page)

He wound the key twice more and let the mechanism play itself out before returning the music box to the servant who still knelt by his feet. Somehow the box slipped from the servant's hands and crashed to the marble floor. There was a gasp from the courtiers as the dancing figures broke off and skittered away.

Scowling, Sultan Kasan drew a short riding whip from his golden sash and struck the servant savagely across the face. The servant cried out, then bent his head in submission as blood welled from the gash in his left cheek. An inch higher and the whip would have destroyed his eye. Unnerved by the casual brutality, Gavin realized the palace must be staffed by slaves, not servants. No man who worked for wages would accept such treatment from his master. Tucking the whip back into his sash, Kasan rose from his throne and descended the steps to where Gavin stood. This close, his dark eyes had the menacing glitter of a snake. "Join me outside, Captain." Gavin followed Kasan through one of the arches that led to a broad patio where benches were shaded by clustered palms and flowers. Looking at the stunning view of the city and harbor, he said,

"You speak English flawlessly, Your Highness."

"I speak Dutch and French equally well. My father brought tutors from Europe so I would learn the languages and ways of our enemies."

"Do you regard me as your enemy, Your Highness?"

"You are American, not English. Your people have fought two wars with England. The enemy of my enemy is my friend." At the right end of the veranda a spyglass was mounted on a post and swivel so it could be turned in any direction. The sultan stepped up to the eyepiece and trained the instrument on the harbor. After adjusting it, he gestured for Gavin to look through. "Your ship is a handsome vessel." The image of the Helena sprang into Gavin's sight, so clear he could see Benjamin Long on the quarterdeck and a seaman in the rigging. He could even see the carved waves of golden hair on the figurehead, a soaring, angelic lady inspired by the real Helena. Suspecting Suryo's guess was correct, Gavin turned from the spyglass. "Thank you, Your Highness. The Helena is the jewel of my fleet." He hoped that conveyed that the ship was not for sale.

Apparently hearing what was unspoken, Kasan said with dry amusement, "You're a man who prefers directness, Captain. Why not say outright what is on your mind?"

"Very well, Your Highness. Why am I here, where few if any Westerners have been invited? Surely not for mere social pleasantries."

"You are correct. I don't want your Helena, Captain Elliott." The sultan gave a slow, feral smile. "I want your entire fleet."

Wondering if the sultan could possibly be serious, Gavin said, "My business is not for sale."

"I do not seek to buy, but rather to develop a partnership that will benefit us both. You have a reputation for great competence and impeccable honesty. Maduri is a rich island, and I wish to develop my trade with the world in a manner that will not damage my domain. That means I must employ an agent I can trust absolutely. A Western trading company that is not European."

"So you want me because I know Western markets and customs, but won't open the door to English or Dutch control."

"Exactly so, Captain. Are you interested? "

Gavin hesitated. There could be great profit in an exclusive trading agreement with Maduri, but he remembered Suryo's warning: A leopard is a treacherous partner If Gavin agreed to Kasan's proposal, every one of his ships and sailors who came to Maduri would be a potential hostage to the sultan's erratic temper. "Your suggestion is intriguing, but I'm about to move to London to establish a new office. You need someone based in the East to watch over your shipping interests."

"You would need to spend much time on Maduri, but I do not think you would find that unpleasant." The dark gaze was compelling.

"You are successful now, but I can make you a prince of the East, with wealth and power beyond your imagination."

Gavin had dedicated his life to building wealth and power, and yet ... a leopard is a treacherous partner. "You have given me much to think about, Your Highness. I will need time to consider." The sultan smiled charmingly. "That is why I have invited you to spend the night. Let me show you the splendors of my city. Perhaps that will influence you."

A brisk walk through the sprawling palace brought them to a pair of waiting sedan chairs, which were better suited to the city's steep streets than a carriage. A company of smartly dressed palace guardsmen accompanied them on their tour. Gavin didn't see a single beggar, which was unheard of in any other city he'd ever visited. He wondered what was done with them, and hoped it didn't involve whipping or the severing of limbs.

The tour concentrated on the area around the harbor where the sultan owned all the warehouses, leasing space to merchants. Scents of sandalwood and tea and spices permeated the steamy heat along with the waterfront aroma of salt and dead fish. Less peaceful were batteries of large, modem cannon positioned to rake the harbor with their fire. If the British or Dutch tried to invade, they'd be blown out of the water.

The city had the potential to be one of the great trading centers of the East, but the more Gavin saw, the more uneasy he became. Kasan insisted on absolute control in his kingdom, and that would include any man who worked for him. In fact, Gavin suspected, the sultan was the sort who would revel in breaking a strong, independent man to his service. That price was too high no matter how much could be earned shipping and marketing the island's products.

After a visit to the shipyards, the sultan ordered the sedan chair bearers to return to the palace. Their route ran through a wide market square where a crowd churned around an open-sided pavilion. Gavin asked, "Is this an auction site?"

"Yes, and one of my most profitable enterprises. Come and observe." The bearers lowered the chairs so the occupants could step out. As the Maduris recognized their ruler, a path opened through the crowd to reveal a platform where two men stood. The silence was absolute until Kasan gestured for the auction to continue.

Gavin's mouth tightened when he saw that the center of attention was a young Malay dressed only in a loincloth and chains. He stared above the crowd stonily as the auctioneer circled around, chattering in the local dialect as he squeezed the young man's biceps and clapped a hand on one muscular thigh.

"This is the largest slave market outside of Sulu in the Philippines." The sultan studied Gavin's expression. "You disapprove? Slavery is part of life. Though the British have outlawed it, your nation has not."

"It is a subject on which people disagree." Once in Boston Gavin had been discreetly asked about the possibility of carrying slaves illegally to the Caribbean. He'd thrown the enquirer from his office, and doubled his annual contribution to the anti-slavery efforts of the Quakers.

"Then we shall not linger." The sultan's words were polite, but his eyes showed amusement at his guest's discomfort.

The young man's sale was completed after brisk bidding, and he was led to a table where money and bills of sale changed hands. Sickened, Gavin turned away and saw the next "lot" being brought from a shed behind the pavilion-a tall woman with tangled dark hair, downcast eyes, and a crude gag bound over her mouth. A tattered sarong and shirt revealed filth and bruises, while chains rubbed raw patches on her wrists and ankles.

Seeing the direction of Gavin's gaze, the sultan said, "She's a handsome wench under the dirt, but the gag means she has a vicious tongue. Probably wild as well, or she wouldn't be sold at public auction like a kitchen slave."

For a man who had been raised to honor all women, it was unbearable to see a female humiliated like this. Feeling it would be cowardly to look away, Gavin forced himself to watch as she was led to the platform.

At the foot of the stairs a guard made a jeering remark and ripped the shirt half off the woman's torso, exposing a breast much whiter than her tanned face. Swift as a serpent, she grabbed hold of her wrist chains and swung them like a weapon, smashing the iron links across the face of her tormentor. The guard shrieked and fell back, his crushed nose spewing blood.

The woman's momentum whirled her around toward Gavin, revealing a gaunt face and raging aqua eyes. Dear God, she was European!

Recognition blazed in the woman's eyes. Dragging down her gag, she bolted toward Gavin. "Help me, please!"

Her cry was cut off when three guards wrestled her to the ground. She fought ferociously, until a guard stunned her with a blow and the gag was yanked back in place.

As Gavin instinctively moved to intervene, the sultan's cool voice said, "The slave interests you?" Reminded of the circumstances, Gavin halted, fists clenching. "Yes. How do I go about buying her?"

"I thought you didn't approve of slavery."

"I don't. I wish to set her free."

He realized his error when he saw the calculation in Kasan's face. By showing interest, he'd given the other man a dangerous advantage. The sultan snapped out a series of orders in the local dialect. The guards bobbed their heads, then dragged the woman back to the shed where the slaves were kept until sale. She cast a despairing glance at Gavin before she vanished from sight. Making his expression casual, Gavin asked, "May I speak to the seller? A wild woman must be of no great value, so we should be able to reach an agreement."

"It is forbidden to sell slaves to Christians," Kasan said. "But perhaps something can be worked out. Come. It is time to return to the palace."

Wondering if Kasan had just invented the law about not selling to Christians, Gavin silently returned to his sedan chair. He must bide his time until the sultan was ready to discuss the woman. But as the bearers labored to carry him up the steep hill, he couldn't stop wondering what her story was. The banquet that night must have included half the nobility of Maduri, and it seemed endless. Gavin sat at the sultan's right hand, with Sheng Yu on his other side. The Chinese minister spoke pleasantly, but Gavin wondered how the man felt about the sultan showing such favor to a foreigner. He suspected that below Kasan's iron hand seethed a scorpion's nest of rival factions fighting for royal favor. He drank the rice wine and ate the exotically spiced food sparingly as Kasan tested his knowledge and discussed how Elliott House might serve Maduri's needs. The sultan was extremely well informed and asked shrewd questions. Despite Gavin's doubts, he was intrigued by the thought of developing worldwide markets for the island. The challenges would be great, the risks and rewards even greater. During a break in the endless courses of food, nine female dancers entered, lithe and elegant as young fawns. An island gamelan orchestra of mostly percussion instruments had been playing softly in the background, and now it shifted to a new, compelling rhythm. The women began to dance in slow unison. The sinuous movements and subtle hand motions were very different from Western dance, but any man could enjoy the grace and beauty of the performers.

Kasan asked, "Would you like a dancer to come to you tonight?" Despite his years in the East, Gavin's Presbyterian conscience had never become inured to this kind of casual pandering. "Thank you, but no. I have much to think about, and will do it better without distraction."

"Your thoughts turn to the slave woman?" The sultan smiled lazily. He'd drunk a good deal of wine for a man who was nominally Muslim. While his speech remained clear, his edges became sharper as the evening advanced.

Glad the subject had been broached, Gavin replied, "As I said earlier, I'd like to buy her, but not as a bedmate. She didn't interest me that way." Uneasily he recognized that wasn't true. Even shabby and abused, she had been a striking woman. The kind who would always attract second and third looks from men.

"You are-what is the English word?-something of a Puritan, Captain."

"Perhaps," Gavin said, "but you seek honesty and hard work, and those are Puritan virtues."

"Touche." Kasan snapped his fingers, and the slave behind him gave his master a pair of twelve-sided objects about two inches square. Kasan rolled them in his hand. Carved of ivory, they had symbols etched in gold on each pentagonal facet. "Maduri has a unique form of dice. Do you care to test your luck? "

"We Puritans are not fond of gambling," Gavin said dryly. "Especially when we don't know the rules."

"The twelve-sided dice are very ancient. As a pair, they are used for gambling or divination. A single one is used in what we call Singa Mainam. The Lion Game."

Kasan tossed a die across the table. When it skittered to a stop, he said, "When a warrior wished to challenge his chief for leadership, he threw five times. Each symbol tests the strength, wisdom, or courage that a good leader must have. Swords or chess. Swimming or marksmanship. Diving or fighting the dragon. This symbol means unarmed combat. The hands of the gods determine what the challenger faced."

He gave another lazy smile. "You understand that this was long before Islam came to the Islands and we became civilized. But the Lion Game is still part of us."

Intrigued, Gavin said, "Maduri is surely unique among the Islands."

"And it will continue so. We will not become meat for European weapons." Kasan's voice was soft and deadly.

Thinking the man was both admirable and alarming, Gavin lifted his glass of rice wine in a toast. "May your land always be safe from European invasion, Your Highness."

Kasan smiled and lifted his glass in response, and the conversation became more casual. Nonetheless, it was a relief when the banquet finally ended. Wearily Gavin followed his guide through the corridors of the sprawling palace. He wondered if the guide was another slave. Probably. Why should the sultan pay wages when slaves were so readily available?

The subject turned his thoughts to the European slave woman again. Was she lying in some dank cell, praying that he might be able to help her? Or was she beaten and bloody and beyond hope? He hoped that Suryo might have learned something about her-Gavin had sent his friend to socialize with the palace serving staff and learn about real life in Maduri.