a ruthless man. We must thank God that you have been rescued before it was too late.’
‘They told me I was to be sold to the Sultan,’ Maria told her, her eyes lowered. She wiped her hand across her face. ‘Perhaps I was fortunate that Rachid did not want me for himself.’
‘Yes, I am sure that you were,’ Kathryn said. ‘It must have been a terrible ordeal for you.’
‘I wish that I had died rather than become a slave. My father will disown me or send me to a nunnery.’
‘Surely not, Maria? He will be glad to have you home.’
‘I do not think so. I have disgraced him.’ She turned her luminous eyes on Kathryn. ‘Could I not stay with you—as your companion? I promise I would be no trouble to you.’
‘It is my husband who makes these decisions,’ Kathryn said, her heart wrung with pity. ‘But I believe you worry too much, Maria. Your father was desperate to have you back.’ She explained what Don Pablo had done to try and trap Lorenzo. ‘That must make you realise that he loves you?’
‘Perhaps.’ Maria drew a sobbing breath. ‘But he did not know that I had been kept in a harem with…’ She shook her head. ‘You cannot know what they did to me to make sure that I was…’
‘Do not distress yourself, Maria,’ Kathryn said. ‘I shall speak to my husband and see if he will keep you with us, at least until we can be sure what your father feels. I promise you that, if he says you have disgraced him, I shall not let you go back to him.’
‘Oh, you are so kind!’ Maria seized her hand and kissed it. ‘I would do anything you asked of me, my lady.’
‘No, no, you must call me Kathryn as my friends do. I promise you that you shall not be ill treated for something that was not your fault.’ She smiled at the girl. ‘Our servants will bring you water to bathe in and clothes, also food. You will want to rest this evening, but in the morning we shall talk again. The clothes you are wearing shall be burned.’
‘May I not keep them to remind me?’ Maria said. ‘I must keep them to remind me of my modesty and that it was once lost. Please do not make me give them up.’
‘Surely you do not want them?’
‘Please!’
‘As you wish, but you must not think of what happened to you as your shame.’
Kathryn left the girl to the ministrations of the servants and went downstairs to join Lorenzo. He gave her a look of inquiry.
‘She is going to bathe, eat and rest. We shall see her in the morning.’
‘I am sorry that I brought her here,’ Lorenzo said. ‘It was not my intention that she should stay with us, Kathryn. I had intended to send her to her father almost at once.’
‘She is so distressed. Would it not be kinder to keep her with us for a while? At least until she can become accustomed to what has happened to her? She feels ashamed and it must have been awful for a young girl.’
‘There is something I cannot like about her.’
‘Lorenzo! You are too harsh,’ Kathryn said. ‘She has been through a terrible ordeal.’
‘It would seem so and yet…’ He frowned, uncertain why he felt that it would be best to be rid of the girl at once.
‘Please, I ask you to be kind to her—for my sake.’
‘For your sake?’ Lorenzo’s eyes narrowed. He moved towards her, gazing down into her eyes. ‘I might do much for your sake, Kathryn.’
Her eyes widened as she saw the hot glow in his, and she swayed towards him, wanting him to take her in his arms, to kiss her.
‘Why…’ she asked, ‘why do you say that?’
‘Because you are my wife—because I care for you. Surely you know that, Madonna?’
‘I thought that you left me because you did not want me. I thought you did not find me attractive enough to want to lie with me on our wedding night.’ Kathryn gazed up at him, her eyes filled with an innocent appeal. ‘Was that not so?’
Lorenzo laughed, the sound of it making her heart race as he reached out, drawing her into his arms, his eyes dark with some deeply felt emotion.
‘Can you be so foolish, my love?’ he asked. ‘How could you think it was for my sake that I did not stay that night?’
‘Was it not?’
‘You married me because you had no choice. I would not force you to lie with me, Kathryn. I wanted you to become accustomed to the idea of a husband before you were forced to your duty. I want you warm and willing in my arms—not out of wifely duty.’
‘I do not think I should mind my wifely duty so very much,’ she said, her cheeks pink as she saw the laughter in his eyes. ‘I think it might be pleasant…’
‘Pleasant?’ Lorenzo shook his head at her, wickedness in every line of his face. He seemed to her then a man she had never seen before, the man he might have been had life been kinder to him. ‘It may be wonderful, exciting and passionate, but I do not think pleasant is a word I would use concerning my feelings for you, Madonna.’
‘Then would you please kiss me?’
‘Sweet Kathy,’ Lorenzo said and pulled her into his arms, his mouth taking hungry possession of hers. The kiss was long and sweet and demanding, and it left her breathless. She stared at him in wonder as she began to understand what loving a man might mean. ‘Shall I come to you tonight?’ She nodded wordlessly, and he smiled at her, touching her hair. ‘My red-haired witch. I never meant to let you beneath my skin, Kathryn. You have taken root inside me and I find I cannot live without you.’
‘Oh, Lorenzo,’ she breathed. ‘I am so glad you have come home.’
Kathryn turned in the arms of her husband, lifting her face for his kiss. She had never expected to discover such pleasure in loving as he had given her and she curled into his strong, lean body, compliant as a sleepy kitten.
‘Are you happy, Madonna?’
‘You know that I am.’ Her cheeks were warm, for she knew that she had behaved with shameless abandon as he loved her, crying his name aloud. Her hands moved on his shoulders and encountered the thick welts of old scars. She had been aware of them during their loving, but now she traced them with her fingers.
‘Do they distress you, Kathryn—the scars?’
‘Only because I know you must have suffered.’ She leaned up on one elbow to look down into his face. ‘Who did this to you, Lorenzo? Was it Rachid? Is that why you hate him?’
‘I was a slave in his galley for three years.’
‘Oh, my love,’ Kathryn cried, not caring that she betrayed herself. ‘How you must have suffered—but you never told me. No one told me.’
‘Only Michael and my father ever knew,’ he said,
