Read Online Enchantress by Constance O'Banyon - Free Book Online

will not help you in England, Brittany.”
    “They have taught me to speak many languages, Mama. I can read and write in at least eleven languages.”
    Jillianna smiled. “Yes, there is always that.” Her eyes ran over the scanty costume Brittany was wearing. “You had better change before dinner. Simijin will be wanting to see you. We have to discuss your future.”
    Brittany’s eyes were bright with tears. “Do not send me away from you, Mama. I could not bear it. I promise I will never disobey you again. If it will make you happy, I will go to Mrs. Potter and apologize.”
    “Oh, my love, do not torture yourself so. If only…if only you could have grown up in different surroundings.”
    “But many young girls grow up in harems, Mama. Why should I be any different?”
    “You are different, Brittany. I am English, and your father was American. Don’t you see that you do not belong here?”
    “I think of Simijin as my father.”
    Jillianna rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “When the time comes for you to marry, I want you to have an English husband. You don’t even know how to behave around a young man, and you never will learn here.”
    Brittany shook her head. “I know about men, Mama. A man is master, and it is a woman’s place to serve him.”
    Jillianna shook her head. “That is exactly what I mean. You are repeating what you have learned in the harem, I want you to live in a world where a woman is a helpmate to her husband and not his slave.”
    “You are not a slave to Simijin.”
    “Simijin is different from his contemporaries. He allows me the freedom to be both myself and his wife. Simijin has also made certain that you are well protected. But make no mistake about it, Brittany, this is a barbaric country, and you do not belong here.”
    “ You belong here, Mama.”
    “Only because this is the country of the man I love. I belong with Simijin, just as you will one day belong with the man you will love.”
    If Brittany did not fit into the world of the two people she loved most, where did she belong?
    Jillianna gave her daughter a hug. “Go and change now, Brittany. We will talk more on this later.”
    Jillianna stood silently watching her daughter’s departure. Until now, she had been selfish in keeping Brittany with her. Although it would tear her heart out, she would have to let her go.
    Brittany had dressed carefully in an ivory silk gown which had just arrived from Paris the day before. It was a lovely creation with pink and green lace intertwined across thehigh-waisted bodice and sleeves. Her hair was pulled back from her face and laced with pink and green ribbons. She hoped the style made her appear older.
    When Brittany entered the formal sitting room, she found Simijin and her mother deep in conversation. She realized they were discussing her, because they fell silent as she approached them.
    Simijin, in his regal manner, motioned her forward, but the smile he gave her was warm and encouraging. She dipped down beside him, and he pulled her into a warm embrace. “I hear you have been in trouble again,” he whispered in her ear so her mother could not hear. Aloud he said, “How lovely you look tonight, Brittany. Is that a new gown?”
    “Yes, Simijin, it only arrived yesterday.”
    She glanced at her mother to see if she was still displeased with her, but her mother smiled and kissed her cheek. “We have been discussing your future, Brittany, and we have made a decision that we hope will please you.”
    The young girl’s eyes held a hint of fear. “I do not want to leave you and Simijin. Do not send me away, Mama—please don’t.”
    Simijin held up his hand. “We will not discuss this until after—”
    Simijin was interrupted by a man’s voice coming from the hallway. They could hear a servant’s voice, and a commotion at the door, and suddenly a man stepped into the room.
    Sultan Selim III had been to Simijin’s palace before, but never in the Grand Vizier’s private