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.“You’ll be amused by this, I’m sure.The Maharajah of Gwalior bought the Whole lot for a king’s ransom, which will go to feed the poor of India.”Persia wasn’t amused.“Why on earth would a man who dresses in cloth of gold and precious jewels want my modest gowns?”Blackwell chuckled at her bewilderment.“I suppose he bought the gowns because he couldn’t buy you.He’ll dress his concubines in your frills and, with the spiritual aid of his opium pipe, convince himself that he’s taking you when he beds one of them.” He gave her a sly smile.“So if the maharajah appears in your dreams some night, you’ll understand what is happening.I’m sure that when next he thrusts his great golden jewel, he’ll be imagining, happily, that it is penetrating your pale and trembling lotus, my dear!”Persia gasped, shocked by her husband’s outspokenness and at the thought of her gowns being put to such a use.“That fiery-blooded young nobleman was quite smitten with you, Persia.He wanted you all right—offered me more money than I’ll ever see in a lifetime and his best elephant! Don’t look so shocked.Wife-selling, after all, is a perfectly acceptable practice in his region.Aren’t you impressed with my devotion, that I turned down his more than generous offer?”“Not particularly,” she said under her breath.“I suppose you’re afraid that I’m going to demand you repay me in a different tender for what I gave up to keep you out of the maharajah’s harem.Well, I am!”Persia stared at him, aghast.She had known his demands would come, and she fully intended to fulfill her wifely duties.But she had prayed he would give her more time.If she could put him off for only a day or so, she would be granted an extra week’s grace when her monthly flow began.But tonight there was no reasonable argument she could use to stop him.He reached across the table and grasped her hand, pulling her toward him, as he said in a fierce tone, “You will repay me for rejecting his offer by showing me that you can be the kind of wife I need.You will be faithful to our marriage vows in thought and deed, obedient to me at all times, and you will work hard to make our task of salvation a success, for God’s sake.And for your own!”The edge of the table was cutting across her breasts, and her fingers were going numb in his hard grip.She struggled but could not pull away from him.“Cyrus, you’re hurting me! Please!”“Pain is nothing,” he said in a strangely intense voice.“Physical pain is merely something of the moment.We can endure that.It is the pain of eternal damnation that cannot be endured.Pray with me, Sister Persia!”Persia closed her eyes and bowed her head.She had little choice.Cyrus still gripped her hand, making her remain in the same intolerable position.Her breasts ached and her fingers burned as if they were caught in a vise, while on and on his voice rose and fell, pleading with heaven for her forgiveness, her salvation, her very soul.“And let this woman’s womb be cleansed and made ready for the worthy seed of her husband.For the time of planting is nigh, and the field must be pure and fertile so that a good harvest is assured.Amen!”At the very instant of his final word to God, Cyrus released Persia’s hand so suddenly that she fell back against her chair.She stared across the table at him, his ominous words about fertile fields and planting time still ringing in her ears.He looked like a man coming out of a trance.His face, although normally pale, was death white.His eyes had a glazed look.His thin lips trembled.And she noticed, too, that his hands were shaking.“Go to bed now,” he ordered.“You’ll be needing your rest.Tomorrow we have to tour the island so that you can meet my flock and see the task we have ahead of us.”“Cyrus, are you all right? You look ill.”“Never mind! Hannah always went to her room after supper.Just leave me now! Do as I say!” He almost shouted the words at her.Persia rose from the table and fled down the hall.She was both concerned by his erratic behavior and relieved that apparently he didn’t mean to force the “planting” tonight.How could she ever find any peace with this man if she didn’t know from one instant to the next what to expect from him?It was sheer relief to close the bedroom door behind her.One of the serving girls had been in to tidy up, and the room was immaculate.She had also turned down the bed and laid out one of Hannah’s linen nightgowns.Persia shed her clothes immediately but tossed the gown over the vanity stool.The thought of wearing such a heavy garment on a night as hot as this made her shudder.There was not a breath of air outside.Even the windchimes were silent.She collapsed onto the down mattress—thankful that it wasn’t an Indian-style bed—and fell asleep immediately.Persia had no idea what woke her or how long she had slept.She only knew that the room was still pitch black and that her naked skin was covered with gooseflesh.Trying not to make the slightest sound, she lay very still, listening.She thought she heard a rustle on the other side of the room.Or was it just her imagination?Feeling self-conscious suddenly, as if someone were staring at her through the darkness, she reached down and pulled the sheet up over her.Another hand gripped it and immediately yanked it away.Persia screamed.“How dare you?” It was Cyrus—his voice low with fury—standing beside her bed
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