Read Online Flail of the Pharoah by Rosanna Challis - Free Book Online Page A

girl is a sly creature, just the sort who would be pleasant to my face but insult me behind my back.’
    The king put a hand on his wife’s shoulder and looked into her eyes. ‘Are you sure you were not jealous, my queen? That would explain why you were so quick to think ill of Kiya, since she shared my bed last night. Search in your heart, and tell me the truth.’
    Her expression changed to one of pain. ‘It is quite possible, husband. You have not called me to your bed for many a lonely moon, and I miss your tenderness.’
    ‘But every morning we are intimate, and no other woman in the harem has that special privilege. You know that you are first in my heart, and share my throne. Furthermore, one day, when I am gone, your son will sit upon the throne of Egypt. What more can any woman desire than these most high honours?’
    He sounded genuinely puzzled. Mira rested her head briefly upon the magnificent jewelled collar that spanned his broad shoulders. ‘You are the soul of generosity,’ she murmured. ‘But my own soul still yearns for you. Allow me to make amends for my presumption this day, Seti. Allow me to pleasure you, in all the ways I used to do when I was called to your bed again and again, because you could not get enough of me.’
    The king gave a soft chuckle. ‘You always know how to win me round, wife.’ He kissed her full on the lips and she gave a brief moan, compounded of surprise and desire. Then he continued, ‘Very well, you shall be with me tonight, but on one condition.’
    ‘Anything, my lord.’
    ‘You must allow the new girl – the pale barbarian – to observe our love play.’
    ‘What?’ The queen took a step back in outrage, her glance flicking towards Charmian for an instant, then back to the Pharaoh. ‘You cannot mean it.’
    Charmian could hardly believe it either. At first she thought she had misunderstood Seti’s words, but then he explained. ‘The girl comes from an uncouth land and has been raised in unknown ways. She is not like the Hittite women in my harem, who are schooled in the art of love almost from childhood. Neither is she like an Egyptian girl, to whom sex and love are second nature. This exquisite creature is an unknown quantity, and she must be trained in our ways. What better way to achieve this than to give her an object lesson in lovemaking, dear wife?’
    ‘But to sit and watch, like… like a madam auditioning a whore!’
    The king laughed. ‘How can the act of love between the Pharaoh and his wife be likened to the goings-on in a brothel? Keep a sense of proportion, my dear. The girl will find it a moving and enlightening experience I am sure, if your past performances are anything to go by. She will learn from the best teachers in the land. Besides,’ his tone grew slightly menacing, ‘we don’t want a repetition of that Greek girl fiasco, now do we?’
    Charmian caught the queen’s eye and at once her gaze flicked towards the door, dismissing her. Now she knew she had heard more than Mira had intended and she was being told to make a swift exit. She rose silently and crept out, but as she reached the doorway she looked back over her shoulder to see the king and queen embracing passionately.
    The rest of the day dragged for Charmian. She was all but ignored by the other women in the harem and felt like an outcast. Her pale skin and golden hair had turned her into nothing more than a figure of curiosity, and now her novelty value seemed to have been spent. How she yearned for some friendly company, such as she used to have at home.
    As for Kiya, she saw no more of the girl. She must have been spirited away by Iras to some private sanctuary, to lick her wounds.
    But towards the end of the afternoon Prince Neshi strolled into the women’s quarters, and Charmian’s heart skipped a beat. Seeing him there amidst the women he looked more out of place than ever. Although not as tall as his father, he was a head and shoulders above some of the shorter