An Arrangement

[Otto26]

Edmund checked the cabin while Fira devoured the porridge. She ate the same way he did, quickly; like someone who expected the food to vanish at any time. She'd probably grown up that way, he'd learned it on campaign. He didn't find anything missing or left behind. The soiled towels and bed-sheets went into the traveler's bag and then he and Fira simply sat. He didn't want to converse with anyone in the common room and he didn't want Fira on deck where her uncovered hair would attract attention.

After what seemed a long time he heard activity on the deck and looked expectantly at the door. The knock came a few minutes later. He opened it just wide enough to take the bundle. "Wait," he said, and closed the door.

He tossed the bundle to Fira. "Try this on."

The garment was a faded black and obscured Fira's form. The headscarf that came with it seemed to pose no challenge for her and she quickly tied it on so that only her eyes were visible. Edmund pulled two dinars out of his ready money and opened the door to pass them through. When the sailor was gone he turned and picked up the traveler's bag.

"The longboat's ready to take more people ashore. For God's sake keep your hands to yourself and if you've forgotten, don't try to pass yourself off as a Muslim; there's no way I can pass for one and you know what they do to Muslim women who marry Christian men."

He shouldered the bag and led the way up onto the deck and then down into the longboat.

 

[slippedhalo]

Fira remained silent,she simply glared at Edmund as she made her way up to the deck with him and followed behind him as they walked. She knew that much about the proper appearance of muslim behavior anyway.

 

[Otto26]

Alexandria's harbor was a wonder to behold, literally; the new lighthouse stood upon the foundation of the old, still a beacon summoning the trade of the Mediterranean. Ships of all types and sizes crowded the harbor and the docks and the longboat had to thread its way between them. Edmund passed the time asking the steersman questions about the ships, the lighthouse, and the best way to find a felucca to take them to Port Said. In truth he needed to know how to hire a felucca, but Port Said was simply another place for Anglian agents, if any, to look for him.

The boatmen gathered at the tavern were none too thrilled with the idea of going to Port Said. They were Nile boatmen, they insisted, and besides, it would be expensive to go to Port Said; there was no cargo to take so they would have to charge extra. Dinars on the table soon settled that question and a small man and his boat were engaged. It wasn't much to look at, but it turned out to be clean and the man, in response to Edmund's request, was quick to take a couple of coins and purchase some lengths of cloth to hang from the awning. A few pillows, a basket of food, and two bottles of wine made the semi-private space as comfortable as might be expected.

Edmund sat down on a pillow and enjoyed the breeze that propelled the ship along the coastline. The brackish water of the Nile Delta contrasted strikingly with the aquamarine further out to sea. "Please keep your hair covered, Fira, but feel free to take the burqa and the veil off. No reason to be uncomfortable"

He looked at the harbor dropping away behind him and turned to the boatman. "I've changed my mind," he said. "You're absolutely correct, it's ridiculous to go to Port Said. Take us to Cairo."

"Effendi?"

"Cairo," Edmund repeated. "Take us to Cairo."

The man contrived to indicate that he had agreed to take them to Port Said. It took Edmund several minutes to understand the man thought Edmund was trying to get a price reduction without allowing the man to take on cargo to offset his loss. When he understood that Edmund would pay him the inflated Port Said price to take them to Cairo, he grunted happily and altered course to take them into the Delta.

Edmund noted Fira's look. "I have my reasons for mis-direction," was all the explanation he would offer. "In any event, Ihmad was kind enough to provide us with a letter of introduction to an aquaintance of his in Cairo. It strikes me that having the aquaintance of an official would be useful for you. For my part, it's a good way to stop my trail dead. The Sultanate and Anglia aren't on the most friendly of terms. Anyone making inquiries about me will likely find little in the way of answers. And by the time they do find answers I'll be gone. A new life in an interesting place."

 

[slippedhalo]

Fira had been fumbling with her burqua when they changed direction and had finally disentangled herself from all but the head scarf when Edmund offered up an explanation. "For a man who never touched me Ihmad is a very generous customer." she noted, trying to forget about the big man. She felt her sex recovering from the assault but the memories were beginning to return in occasional flashes and she doubted it would have been a fun time had she not been high as a bird. She saw the basket of fruit and her mouth watered, "May I have a bit of fruit? The porridge is so very little for sustinence and I've been starving since I woke up this morning."

 

[Otto26]

"Help yourself," Edmund replied. "We should be in Cairo late tomorrow morning, so we've plenty. Stick with the wine for drinking, they use boiled water to cut it."

He relaxed on the cushion and looked up at the canvas awning. "I don't think it was ever about the money or the sex for Ihmad, it was the power. He lectured me the entire time, pointing out how real men reward their servants in order to cement their loyalty. Passing out expensive gifts to demonstrate his wealth. But for watching you enjoy yourself, it was an excruciatingly boring evening. I think this introduction is his way of rubbing it in a little more. 'See how wealthy and powerful I am.' But even so it's not a bad idea, particularly for you. The Sultanate runs on personal relationships and having been introduced to a local official by a wealthy merchant... That's good."

He pulled a couple of dates out of the basket and munched on one.

 

[slippedhalo]

Fira dined on grapes and had a banana and soon her appetite was again sated. She then rested easier, sitting back against a cushion beside Edmund as she sipped her wine. "You seem annoyed. What have I done that bothers you so much?" she asked quietly, seeking his eyes with her own.

 

[Otto26]

Edmund glanced over his shoulder at the boatman; the man seemed entirely occupied with the sails and the course of the boat. He brushed a fly away from his face in irritation and then shifted over so he was closer to Fira and could talk in low tones.

"I'm annoyed with myself," he confessed. "You're a lovely woman, and by that I speak not only of your body, but of your mind. You're pleasant and intelligent. That said, you're a whore I've hired to warm my bed and it annoys me that I was bothered to see you in the arms of others. I'm annoyed that I'm annoyed that you enjoyed it," he finished somewhat sheepishly.

'And that's enough of that,' he thought. 'I need to leave this woman in Cairo and make my way to Good Harbor by the most expeditious means possible. She's... Yes, she's something and I need to take steps to ensure she doesn't become something more. It's inappropriate,' he insisted. A niggling part of his brain pointed out that he was making decisions based on the standards of a society that was actively trying to kill him, but the turmoil in his heart was all to willing to drown that particular thought.

 

[slippedhalo]

Fira listened to his explanation and considered it with a small nod. "oh." was the simple reply hiding her pleased surprise at this news. It was rare that anyone cared about her. She smiled slightly and felt self-conscious and unsure of what else to say. She instead looked out at the water to hide her expression and enjoy the warm feeling of being cared about, however fleeting that might be.

 

[Otto26]

The day lengthened into the evening as they left the delta and drew into the main channel of the Nile. When the light began to fade the boatman lit lanterns at the bow and stern and Edmund saw colored lights appear along the sides of the channel. These, he saw, marked the boundaries of the river and allowed ships to proceed, albeit slowly, along the river at night. Indeed, the boatman kept the felucca on it's path until the wind died down. He put into a tiny inlet along the side of the channel and tied up, indicating the wind would return near dawn and they could resume the journey. He then wrapped himself in a blanket at the stern and ignored them.

Fira helped him arrange the pillows more comfortably and they lay down between a pair of blankets. He ran his hands up under her skirt and between her thighs. She said nothing, but he felt her stiffen as his hands explored her. 'Still sore,' he realized. "The mouth then," he told her.

 

[slippedhalo]

Fira was not going to tell him no, not since he had been fairly kind to her and since he was still paying for her time yet he seemed to understand her lack of enthusiasm as his fingers brushed against her still somewhat tender opening. She hoped to be better suited to help him with that the following day but for the moment she would have preferred he left it alone and she was pleased that he had sensed it from her without her having to spell it out. So, when he suggested his mouth instead she smiled. A bit of good oral sex was a treasure to a woman in a world where so mny men often forgot about the pleasure of a female in their hurry to get their own lusts taken care of. Edmund was indeed not a typical man in this way and Fira found herself appreciating him once more.

 

[Otto26]

Edmund felt Fira shift and almost laughed at her misinterpretation, but as she hiked her skirt up in the darkness he felt desire stirring.

"Why not, indeed?" he said, "A little kiss will make it better."

He turned until he could bring his head down between her thighs and brushed his lips across her sex, inhaling her earthy, feminine scent. 'Say what you like about firm breasts or a well-shaped ass,' he thought, 'but nothing quickens the blood quite like a woman's musk.'

He nibbled with his lips and then traced the tip of his tongue along her warm folds. She squirmed ever so slightly, but made no move to stop him.

 

[slippedhalo]

Her breathing quickened and her pulse raced as Edmund placed his face between her thighs and began to gently nibble and lick, she sighed with contentment as he began to o caress her with his tongue. It was a nice change and she relaxed under his spell, letting him continue to pleasure her. Why was this guy so nice to her? she found herself wondering. He really didn't have to be so kind and yet he was. Fira found herself feeling fortunate to have taken Edmund on as a client, even despite his stupid gambling mistake, under his wonderful mouth's workings, she felt herself forgiving him.

 

[Otto26]

Edmund felt her flower open to him and her nectar began to flow freely. He smiled against her and lapped her up, hands finding her ass and lifting her against him. His lips nipped at her bud, pulling off of the sensitive flesh. Her indrawn breath was ample reward and incentive for him. He growled softly against her intimate flesh.

 

[slippedhalo]

Fira gasped and bit her lip to keep from moaning too loudly as Edmund worked her flower.

 

[Otto26]

Edmund carefully surrounded the firm pearl with his mouth, only touching it when his tongue rasped lightly across the tip. He inserted a finger slowly inside her and carefully crooked it, pressing gently against her silken muscles. When he found what he was looking for he smiled and then began to slowly move the tip of his finger back and forth. He felt her stiffen and then her hands were in his hair. Growling wickedly, he placed his tongue firmly against her clitoris and began to hum, letting the gentle vibration carry through to her body.

 

[slippedhalo]

She moaned again, this time loudly despite her attempts to be quiet but then shocked herself. A part of her wanted him to go on because he was so close to bringing her an orgasm and then another part of her worried about the boatman and others on the water who might hear or see this display and know who and what she truly was..."Master..." she whispered urgently, "...aren't you worried about propriety?"

 

[Otto26]

Edmund reluctantly pulled his mouth from her. "Submit, wife," he ordered, emphasizing the last word. Then he returned to his fun. Her moan had been... very exciting. While a great deal could be said for sexual pleasure, the knowledge, and the proof, that you could draw such riches as a wild moan from a woman... that felt very powerful.

 

[slippedhalo]

Fira couldn't help but physically react both to his mouth on her yet again but also to hearing him call her wife, a small part of her reacted by growing even moister, likely as she knew a woman like her would never be taken as anyone's wife unless it was in play-acting such as currently. With a sigh as if to pretend that she was only doing it because he'd told her to, she leaned back and let go completley, but her giggle gave her away and then he silenced her laughter with another flick of his talented tongue drawing yet another involuntary moan from her. He did not relent, not even as she trembled and hissed his name through her teeth, about to cum extremely hard.

 

[Otto26]

Edmund almost laughed when he heard Fira giggle, but he was too far gone in lust and jealousy. This was *his*, he might not be a human horse, but his women left his bed satisfied. Whatever memory she might have of the night before he would wash out of her with her pleasure. And beyond the jealously and the pride and, yes, the desire for her to enjoy this was his own pleasure; she was an exquisite delight, her scent and taste and texture and soft squirming all fed his desire and enjoyment. He curled his finger inside her, beckoning and stimulating her to come.

 

[slippedhalo]

It came very quickly and very hard. Fira bucked against Edmund's mouth with a huge gasp of surprise at the strength of this orgasm as her nectar flowed into his waiting hand and mouth in three large gushes.

 

[Otto26]

Edmund chuckled in satisfaction as Fira bucked against him and then drenched his face. He shifted his attention away from her clitoris, massaging her as she relaxed into the afterglow. When her breathing had steadied he rolled over and pulled a towel out of the travel bag to wipe his face and hands off. She rolled over against him as he lay back.

'Better,' he thought.

A sound from the stern caught his attention and he looked back. Through a gap in the hanging fabric and the gathering dark he caught a glimpse of motion and a snatch of sound that made him think the boatman was finding his own relief.

'Look and listen, but don't touch,' Edmund thought to himself. 'I can live with that.'

 

[slippedhalo]

Fira gasped as she heard it too and then collapsed against Edmund in a fit of laughter.

 

[Otto26]

Movement woke Edmund, his hand on a blossom he wasn't sure would still function. Fira, he saw, was also awake and, he thought, had her hand on her own weapon. Edmund moved his head and saw the boatman at the same instant the man saw him.

"The sun comes, Effendi. Cairo soon."

And soon it was. Before noon had arrived the felucca was tied up at a small dock and Edmund paid the man the balance of his fee. Fira, making very quiet sounds that Edmund was certain was curses, had covered up soon after the soon rose and was probably sweating in the sun. A mule drawn cart took them into Old Cairo where a guide led them on foot through the narrow, twisting streets to the house of Farooq ibn Aziz.

Mentioning Ihmad's name caused the porter to admit them. They passed through a dark, narrow hallway and into a small, but very ornate, courtyard. In contrast to the plain exterior, the courtyard was a paradise. A small fountain tinkled in the center of the courtyard and plants in terracotta planters stood in every corner as well as hanging from the walls. In place of the dust of the street there were hints of lemon, jasmine, and other fragrances. Great, decorated stone screens looked down on the courtyard from the second story while angled canvas on the rooftops directed what breeze there was down into the courtyard and muted the sunlight, diffusing and re-directing it.

Edmund tried not to openly gape, but it was difficult.

"Aquaintances of my friend Ihmad? Welcome," declared the man descending the staircase.

"Farooq Bey," Edmund said. "I am Edward Mason and this is my wife. We..."

"Nonsense!" Farooq interrupted him. "You're Lord Edmund Holyoke, at least until your Parliament manages to find time to degrade the title."

Edmund reached for the blossom even though he knew it was pointless. A blow to the back of his head sent him sprawling to his knees and, a moment later, he felt the barrel of a gun pressed against his back.

"You're worth more alive than dead, but not enough to cover the cost of any trouble," the man said in his casual tone. "If you're going to be a bother please do it now; blood comes off the tile much more easily than the carpets. No? Very wise of you. And you must be Firanzin, let's see your face my dear."

Edmund heard his intake of breath and turned his head to see what was going on. The effort earned him another blow to the back of his head that left him seeing stars. He felt hands under his arms and then he was lifted and mostly carried down a flight of steps. They tossed him inside the room and closed the door. The bar on the outside of the door closed with a very final sound.

"Stupid..." Edmund swore silently.

 

[susurrus]

Farooq nodded once at the *thump* of the door's bar, satisfied that Edmund would be going nowhere soon.

Now out of the way, Edmund was also out of mind.

Farooq turned to the woman Edmund had tried to pass off as his wife. She still hadn't pushed away her headscarf so he could see her face, so he pulled it away for her.

"A goldenhair. Very nice. And very pretty, too. You will be a fine addition to my four other wives." He ran his fingers slowly through her long, blond hair, then rested his hand against her cheek. Gazing deeply into her eyes, he said, "I wonder what talents you may possess... Trust me, as my new wife, you will get to show them all to me.

"Come." Farooq then turned and started walking toward a door off to his right. After several steps he turned. Firanzen still stood where she had been. His face darkened, and his voice tightened. A barely contained roar echoed through the courtyard. "Come, NOW!"

 

[slippedhalo]

Fira was seething with anger and underneath also very afraid. He ordered her to follow and for a moment she debated how useful her knife would be in this situation but a yell from Farooq and a kick in the rump from a guard sent her flying toward him, almost falling. She stumbled but got her legs under her again and with a look to kill at the guard who'd kicked her, and a throbbing butt cheek, she followed with a glance to see that Edmund was still alive and breathing but surrounded by thugs. She would likely not get out of this alive but perhaps she could charm her way out. In her mind she reasoned obeying this wealthy tyrant until she could see a chance for escape or an opportunity to undermine him.