To Love a Prince (Knights of Valor Book 1)(16)
Anger flushed Premal’s cheeks. “Who said I would marry her? She is a slave, to be used as I wish.”
“Most men would marry a slave that beautiful, unless they can’t afford another wife.”
Premal set down his coffee. “Of course I can afford another wife.”
“If you don’t marry her, any sons she bears you will be slaves like she is.”
“That is of no concern to me.”
Eli kept his tone uninterested as he buried his rage beneath a layer of ice. “If that’s all you’re offering her, perhaps she’d like to come back to Tamryn with me.”
“You cannot have a slave in Tamryn.”
“There are no laws against mistresses.” The prince sipped his water as he fought to hide his anger hidden under a neutral expression. “She’s proven accommodating and far less demanding than a Tamarian consort.”
“You can’t. She is a slave.”
“Of course I can. She wouldn’t be a slave in Tamryn, but there are no laws forbidding her from choosing to be my mistress. If last night is any indication, I will enjoy having her as my consort.”
Premal’s face turned crimson, and he spun around and left the room.
Eli recognized a stab of fear behind the adviser’s fury. Premal wanted Auburn, but the prince was certain there was more to it than lust.
He glanced at Pandhuka who only smiled.
Perhaps the sultan’s gift was less spontaneous than any of them knew.
Chapter 10
Auburn put away everything she’d brought from her old quarters. She then collected and measured several of the tunics, jackets, and trousers hanging in Eli’s wardrobe.
Sitting at the prince’s desk, Auburn sketched out designs that took into consideration the sharp and uncompromising appearance his Tamarian clothes helped him convey. Few embellishments. All power and control.
When her designs satisfied her, she called for the seamstress. Given Eli’s importance and people’s curiosity surrounding the foreign prince, Auburn didn’t have to wait long for the other woman to arrive.
The guards showed the seamstress in, and the older woman’s thin lips pinched together as she studied Eli’s room. The plush furnishings, rich saffron curtains, and inlaid mosaics were some of the finest in the palace, but the lack of personal effects meant the Prince of Tamryn remained a mystery.
As Auburn was sure Prince Eli intended.
Auburn waited, and when she finally had the older woman’s attention, she laid out her sketches.
“I don’t work on men’s clothes.” The seamstress rubbed the back of her neck as she studied the drawings.
“What I need is easy enough, but many say your husband has an apprentice whose skill is better than his.”
The seamstress lifted her shoulders.
“I’ve seen your work, and it’s excellent. First Wife Priyanka says it’s the best.”
“She does?” The seamstress picked up the sketches. “The fabric would have to be just so to make these work.”
Auburn showed the other woman a sample of Eli’s current garments, turning them over to display the fine hand-finished seams and precise craftsmanship.
The seamstress studied the elegant details of the deceptively simple-looking garments. “This Prince of Tamryn can’t be an easy master.”
“All the more reason I need to please him.”
The seamstress chewed her lower lip. “Not sure I should do this.”
“Should or can?”
“I can do it. Lotta work, but I can do it.”
“I worried no one in Qumaref could match this,” Auburn said. “I chose well asking you to dress the Prince of Tamryn.”
The seamstress thought for several long moments then opened her case, and the two of them examined the fabrics.
“You’re sure it has to be black?” the seamstress said.
Auburn spread her arms toward the wardrobe. “He brought almost no other color with him.”
“Not a kind color, or a forgiving one.”
“He doesn’t want or need either.”
The seamstress’s fingers stroked along the perfect seams of Prince Eli’s tunic. “I suppose not. Lots of rumors going around about him.”
“Like what?”
The seamstress glanced sideways at her. “Nothing you don’t already know.”
“You can learn a lot about a man by his wardrobe. His current clothes are all cut precisely. Clean, hard lines. Difficult to meet such exacting standards.”
The seamstress clucked her tongue. “If a Tamarian tailor can do it, I can.”
Auburn smiled, and the two spent the rest of the morning working together. After the seamstress left, Auburn sent away the clothes Eli had worn the previous day to be cleaned and his boots to be shined. When she could find nothing more to do for her new master, she examined the extensive collection of books he’d brought with him.
She thought you could tell more about a man by what he read than what he wore. If that was true, Eli was an interesting person as his books covered a variety of subjects.
She selected one on the history of Oskelez and curled up on the bed with it.
The sun had climbed high in the sky when a soft rustling whispered over Auburn. Glancing up from her book, her eyes widened and fear squeezed her chest.