On one of the terraces of his palace the Sultan sat and brooded, his
face hard and savage, as he glowered at the scene ahead of him; a
harmless scene where night shadows settled on a scented garden with the
glint of a lake beyond.
Never in his life had such an indignity been put upon him. Never had
anyone dared dispute his right to do what he pleased. Never! Until
this English girl had come into his life.
And she had struck him. The Sultan! As if he were some erring menial
whose ways had annoyed her.
Under the recollection the man's untamed soul writhed.
She had done as she liked all her life. All that money of hers had
given her ideas no woman ought to have. Now she had to learn that he
was her master.
She was in the harem now. And there she could stay. A spell there
would cool her temper and make her more amenable to his wishes.
The trees in the garden sighed faintly. The soft wind brought the
scent of roses and the splash of a fountain.
His mind went back to another garden, in far-away Grand Canary. The
echoes of a girl's voice whispered:
"Put your ear quite close. It's not a matter that can be shouted from
the house-tops."
She had shouted loud enough that she hated him. She had not whispered
that fact.
A spasm of pain crossed his face.
Why did she fight against him? This slender, lovely, helpless girl,
whom he could break with one hand. She fought bravely, with all the
odds against her. And she had dared to do what no one else in the
place dared do. What no one had ever done in the whole of his wild,
unbridled life. She had dared to strike him, fair and square, with all
her strength, across the mouth.
Then suddenly his anger melted. A smile came and played about his
scarred lips.
Surely no man could be angry for long with a girl so brave and helpless.
He deserved it for his deception. Just as he had deserved her scorn
and contempt over Lucille. She was always giving him what he deserved,
this little English flower of his.
More than he deserved, a struggling conscience breathed.
For he had never deserved those three words she had once whispered in
his ear:
"I love you."