Chapter 10
Adrienne felt inwardly good for the first time in a long, long time. She had gone for a long swim in the indoor pool an hour after her bout with the sheik, and she had cleansed herself out, keeping herself ready in case he might make further demands on her. For the first time in her life she wanted him to make those demands.
"Feel good?" Peggy asked.
"Wonderful," Adrienne sighed, climbing out of the pool and allowing Abdul to rub her drh with a towel.
She found it easy to ignore him and pretend he didn't even exist while talking to Peggy. Not that she hated or despised the man for what he had done. Thinking about it in the cold light of day, she was able to rationalize his actions somewhat, and besides, fat as he was, he was better than having to play at lesbian games. At the moment Ruth, the begum, was enjoying a bout with two other female concubines, unashamedly flaunting their game-playing in front of everyone in the main harem room, as if prepared to tell one and all since the sheik was too busy for them, they would keep each other amused.
When Abdul took the towel and left, Adrienne lay on her belly on her couch-bed with Peggy lying on the bed next to hers. She later learned Peggy had insisted she be put next to her because she wanted someone with whom she'd be able to talk, and she had nothing in common with most of the other sheik's wives. In fact, one of the reasons she was hoping Adrienne would eventually become pregnant and become the shiek's fourth wife was that Adrienne would be on her side in any kind of squabble. Judith and Ruth always seemed to gang up on her, along with the other concubines.
"Do you still hate the lord and master?" Peggy asked.
"I simply don't like the idea of being imprisoned and treated like some slave girl," Adrienne shrugged. "I'm used to freedom. Peggy, I had a happy childhood. In fact, everyone catered to me when I was younger, and I guess I sort of got used to being treated like some kind of queen."
"You were spoiled," Peggy admonished. "That's shame, because in your own way you're just as bad off as I was. I had too little and you had too much. Ibn Mssa is giving me a lot of good things in life, and I'm willing to sacrifice my freedom. I mean, he sees beauty in me that no other male ever saw. Oh they would have raped me soon enough if I had been left by myself a little longer, but the truth of the matter is I'm glad to be here. I had relatively little freedom out there in the streets, unless you refer to the freedom of being kicked around and the freedom of being used. Ibn Musa saw I was being taken advantage of, and once he had ascertained I was still a virgin, he offered me a place in his harem. When I initially refused because I didn't like the idea of being dominated, he raped me, just as he did you. Soon I learned to love him, because he has more love in him than any ten other men."
"I just like to do my own choosing," Adrienne insisted. "I admit I don't hate him quite as much as I used to, but I'm still not exactly wild about any man who thinks of a woman as being inferior."
"I think the two of you are going to teach each other a lot of lessons," Peggy smiled. "But while you're here, I'd like to be your friend, Adrienne. I'll do whatever you want, except to help you escape. I won't jeopardize my own position here."