Eada flushed. "Nay, my lord."

He nodded. "Then I will consider your terms. If the marriage cannot be consummated I see no need to hasten it."

Eada sighed with relief. Anything could happen in six months' time. Perhaps her husband was wrong. Perhaps the prince did not seek to wed Mairin, but came on another mission.

When Prince Basil arrived at the Garden Palace, Eada and Mairin were discreetly absent. Eada wished there were anyplace else that they might be. Together mother and daughter walked in the gardens of the Imperial Palace. They admired the flowering trees and the springtime flowers that were set amid the tiled fountains and the many fishponds. When a slave came to fetch them quickly back Eada's heart sank. She knew it meant that the prince had asked for Mairin in marriage. Had it been otherwise they would have dallied the afternoon away until Aldwine joined them.

The two men sat within the courtyard garden of the small palace. Both were smiling. Zeno was pouring wine into four delicate golden goblets. Aldwine hurried them forward with a broad wave of his hand.

"Come, my wife! Come, Mairin! I have news!" He waited until the two women had seated themselves on the cushioned stools by the two chairs in which the men sat. Then he said as if it were the greatest surprise to him, "My dear, Prince Basil has asked for Mairin to wive! Of course, I have agreed. He does us a great honor. One I would have never expected. What think you, Eada?"

"It is indeed an honor, my lord," said Eada slowly, "but our daughter is not yet a woman. She is too young for the marriage bed."

"Your husband has explained Mairin's innocence to me," the prince said in rea.s.suring tones. "I have agreed that the marriage not be consummated until she is a true woman. The marriage, however, will take place on May 1st. Mairin will then come to live with me at the Boucoleon Palace."

Eada gave her husband an anguished glance; her soft eyes were questioning. She was too well mannered to defy Aldwine, or demand answers of him in the prince's presence. "It will be as you and my lord agree," she said, "but if I might be permitted to ask, why such unseemly haste? It is scarce three weeks until May 1st."

The prince smiled at Eada. When he did his astounding turquoise-colored eyes grew warm with emotion. "I fell in love with Mairin the first time I saw her, my lady. For six months I have been with her almost every day as we toured the city. You are a charming chaperon, but I would be alone with Mairin. Away from prying eyes.

"How can I tell her of my love for her when a hundred ears, her mother's being the chiefest, listen to every word that I say to her? In the last six months I have composed a hundred love songs yet not once have I had a private moment in which to sing them to her. You have only my word, lady, but ask anyone in Byzantium. You will be told that the word of Prince Basil Ducas is an honest one. I promise you I will cherish and adore Mairin. I will let no harm or hurt come to her. I will honor her all my days if you will but trust me to do so."

"You have defeated me, my lord," Eada said with a sigh. "What can I possibly say in the face of such a declaration?"

"Give us your blessing, my lady." He smiled at her again.

"I give it," she said, resigned.

Aldwine Athelsbeorn arose from his chair drawing his wife up to her feet as he did so. "Come, Eada," he said leading her from the garden.

Basil and Mairin were alone for the first time since Samhein when he had taken her from Dagda and returned her to the villa.

"You say nothing, Mairin," he noted quietly.

"Neither you nor my mother have given me the opportunity, my lord," she replied.

"Are you content to be my wife?" He took her chin into his hand, tipping her face up to his.

"I am, my lord," she answered, "but if I were not?"

"I should still have you," he said quietly and she saw a hint of ruthlessness in his beautiful face.

"I do not love you yet, my lord," she pressed him.

"That I will teach you, Mairin. Have you ever loved a man? Perhaps there is some unforgotten sweetheart in England you remember with fondness."

"There is no one, my lord, nor has there ever been. I do not know how to love a man in any sense." He saw the truth of her words in her violet eyes.

Then gently his hand caressed her face, enjoying the rose-petal softness of her skin, the velvety outline of her lush mouth. Mairin felt as if she had been touched by lightning. Her eyes widened slightly. A small smile touched the corners of his lips; he saw quite plainly that he was indeed the first with her, and he suppressed a shudder. She was even more perfect than he had dared to imagine. He would take her and mold her into exactly what he wanted her to be. Never had he hoped for such good fortune in a wife!

In his apartments in the Boucoleon Palace were many rare and beautiful things for Prince Basil was a collector of beauty. He had the largest and best a.s.semblage of ancient Grecian pottery in the known world. There was not a piece less than a thousand years old, and all of it was without blemish. The statuary he had gathered together was also ancient and free of disfigurement of any sort. He possessed a collection of loose gemstones all of which were flawless.

As a Christian he could have but one wife. Mairin with her perfect beauty would be the unmatched centerpiece in all of his collections, an unrivaled ornament to be envied, coveted, and admired by all who saw her. Looking down into her lovely face he felt a shaft of desire race through him. Who knew when he would be able to have her? Antic.i.p.ation only whetted his appet.i.te for her. Raising a slender finger he touched her temptingly delicious lips. Mairin's mouth was moist, and parted just slightly. Beneath the modesty of her high-necked tunic dress he could see the rapid rise and fall of her chest as he stimulated her. His wonderful turquoise eyes locked with hers. Slowly with mesmerizing motion he rubbed his finger over the tender sensitive skin of her mouth. "Has any man ever kissed you? Not your father, or brother, or a relative, but a sweetheart?" he demanded of her.

"No," she answered him a bit breathlessly. "I have told you, my lord, that I have had no sweetheart." His powerful glance made breathing hard.

"Then I shall be the only man to plunder that ripeness, Mairin. It is a very sensuous mouth you possess, my perfect little love. It tempts a man to rashness." Leaning forward he touched her tips with his own. Innocently the sweet flesh yielded beneath his a.s.sault, and only his experience with pa.s.sion prevented him from taking her then and there within the garden.

Within Mairin something seemed to explode, sending an ooze of burning languor through her veins, causing her heart to race madly. It made her want more of the unknown pa.s.sion that his eyes promised. She knew that he could see her desire, but in her innocence it never occurred to her that she should hide it.

"I have promised your parents that I will not consummate our union until you are fully a woman, Mairin," he said softly, "but there are other ways in which we may pleasure each other while we await your flowering. There are many things which I will teach you about giving and receiving pa.s.sion. You will not be afraid of me, will you my perfect love?"

"No, my lord." She tried to draw a breath, but her chest felt like it was encased in bonds of iron. Her head was whirling. If the truth be known she was a little afraid of this man's sudden and open desire for her, but it seemed wrong to her to even admit it when he was being so gentle with her.

He saw it, and attempted to rea.s.sure her. "Desire between a man and a woman is a good and natural thing, Mairin. You are only afraid because it is new and unfamiliar to you. That is the proper emotion for a pure and innocent virgin such as yourself. I will never knowingly hurt you, Mairin. Believe me, and trust me, my perfect love."

She swallowed. A blush suffused her cheeks. "I do trust you, my lord."

His hand cupped her chin again, and smiling at her he kissed her once more. "On the first day of May you will become my wife, my perfect princess."

"Beltaine," she said. "The feast of planting, of flowering, and of planning for the harvest to come. It is the traditional day for marriage among the Celts."

"Then you are satisfied that we be wed that day?"

"Yes, my lord. That in your ignorance of my people you have chosen that day is to me a portent of good fortune."

"You will live in the Boucoleon, Mairin. It is not, of course, my personal palace. I only have apartments there as do many others in the emperor's family and favor. This summer I shall build for you across the Bosporus a palace set like a perfect gemstone in the green hillside above the sea. There we shall consummate our love and there our children will be born, and we will one day die after many blissful years together. Does that please you?"

"Oh, yes, my lord," she said, a smile lighting her features for the first time. "The Imperial Palace with all its buildings and grounds is very beautiful, but I should prefer my own home. A place where we may be private with ourselves and our family."

"You do not seek the glory and the intrigue of court life, Mairin?"

"No, my lord, such things are not for me. I am happiest with my home and my family."

"Surely there are other things that pleasure you, Mairin. You are far too intelligent not to have other interests. I would learn all about you, and what you like."

"I like music, my lord, and it is said that I have a gift for healing. I know much of herbs."

"An inborn gift for healing is a special one," he noted.

"There is little else I can tell you. My life has been a simple one. England is a beautiful land, but its beauty is a natural one. It has not the magnificence of what I have seen in Byzantium. There is a great deal I can learn here! Your libraries hold the wisdom of the ancients. It will take me a lifetime to penetrate even a portion of it."

"You read?" That knowledge seemed to surprise him.

"Do you mind?" she worried.

"No," he said slowly, "I am just a little surprised. I did not think Anglo-Saxon women knew such things."

"Mother says that men do not like women with knowledge for it is not feminine. My father believes women need enough learning to read and write, and be certain that the bailiff isn't robbing them. So I sat with my brother, Brand, in his schoolroom, and Brother Bayhard soon learned that if Brand was no scholar, I seemed to be. He always said that it was sad I was not the boy."

"You enjoyed your studies?" Basil was absolutely fascinated by this totally unexpected side of Mairin. He would not have expected such a thing of her, for when compared with Byzantium's enlightened empire England was a half-savage country.

"Yes," she answered him, "I must be honest with you, my lord, I did enjoy my studies."

"I will find you a tutor!" he said excitedly. "When we are married you shall spend part of each day in study, my love. As long as such things please you, you shall do them. In Constantinople we do not disapprove of women learning. Indeed we encourage the pursuit of knowledge."

He could barely contain his delight. He had never considered the sort of woman who would make him happy. He enjoyed all beautiful women, and that, he realized, had been his problem. He had never looked beyond the beauty of a woman's face and form which was probably due to the fact that many women of his own generation and social standing were indolent, indulged beauties who rarely troubled themselves to be anything other than exquisite ornaments. Those few who looked beyond their paintpots and dressmakers were rare creatures usually lacking in great beauty or fortune who were wise enough to realize that they needed more, and therefore sought it. They usually ended up in the church, or became scholars of renown with little time for husbands and families.

Mairin on the other hand was that virtually nonexistent creature. She had been blessed with extraordinary beauty, and had a mind susceptible to, and capable of, learning. This, he realized, was precisely what he had been seeking in a woman. He intended molding her as a sculptor might mold his clay. She would be not only the most beautiful, but she would become the wisest woman in Byzantium. His creation. His instincts told him that she was virtuous. He would love her and provide for her so totally that she would never be tempted by another. She would be a shining example of perfection to other women. Beautiful. Learned. Virtuous. Remote. And his alone!

"Come to me," he said, and he drew her into his lap. She was cradled by one of his arms while his other hand reached out to turn her face to him. His eyes! The unbelievable color of a Persian turquoise looked possessively at her. "I love you," he said. His voice was almost harsh. "I will teach you to love me. There will never be anyone else for us but the other. I will give you happiness beyond all other women. Now kiss me!"

He suddenly seemed so fierce that she felt shy. Her face colored with his words. Catching her lower lip between her teeth she attempted to turn away from him. He forced her gaze back to his.

"Obedience is the first rule of marriage, Mairin. You are young, unschooled, and a virgin. I expect shyness. I will permit you this lapse, but in the future, I will expect perfect obedience. Now give me your lips, and kiss me."

He was very masterful, she thought. Yet his tone, and his talk of obedience, seemed so severe. Still he was to be her husband. She had agreed to it, and it was a fabulous match. Mairin pushed her doubts away. Blushing, she raised her mouth to him and her eyelids fluttered closed. At his touch her heart raced madly for this was no gentle kiss. This time his lips took fierce and total possession of her, molding themselves against her innocent, soft flesh with a burning unmistakable proprietorship that left her quite breathless.

"Ohhhhh," she gasped softly when he finally released her. Basil chuckled, noting the sudden dawning of new knowledge within her violet eyes. Gently he tipped her from his lap, and standing up he turned without a word and walked from the room. Mairin stood rooted to the floor. His earlier gentle kisses had left her feeling somewhat giddy and tingly. This last kiss had sent the blood to pounding in her brain, her stomach churning with a wildness that she didn't understand. If this was love, then it was incredible!

Eada and Aldwine hurried back into the room, both speaking at once. Mairin smiled and nodded, but she only half-listened to them. Her mind was far too occupied with Basil, and his extravagant promises of their future happiness. Messengers, her father was saying, would have to be dispatched to England informing the king of her marriage. Brand must be told too.

Prince Basil would speak to the emperor to formally request his permission for the marriage to take place. It was unlikely that the emperor would object to his cousin's happiness for the Byzantines were remarkably democratic in their att.i.tude toward marriage. A rich man was never looked down upon for taking a bride from another social stratum as long as she suited him and was a good wife.

Constantine X was pleased to give his royal blessing to the match. It meant that his cousin was committed to having a family, and the more of them that there were, the stronger. The emperor, however, had one concern.

"Have you spoken to Bellisarius yet of your impending marriage?" he asked Basil.

"There was no need for me to say anything until I had your blessing, my liege," was the smooth reply. "I shall speak to him this night."

"He will not be happy with your decision, Basil. He is an intense man," warned Constantine.

"There is no need for him to distress himself. I love Mairin, but I love Bellisarius too. Why should I send him away merely because I marry?"

"Will Mairin understand such a thing, Basil? Will Bellisarius, for that matter?"

"She need never know, Constans. I intend to build her a palace in the hills across the Bosporus. She wants her own home. As much as she enjoys the city she prefers country living, and will come rarely to Constantinople I suspect. Bellisarius on the other hand detests the country, and never leaves Constantinople. I think I may safely keep my wife and my current lover apart. Don't all men?"

"A wife?" Bellisarius Phocus, Constantinople's greatest actor of the century, looked upon his princely lover that evening with shock. "You are taking a wife on the first day of May? Sweet Jesus, Basil! How could you be so cruel? 'Twas on the first day of May last year that we met! I shall never forgive you, Basil! Never!" A single tear slipped down his long, elegant face to catch within the fringe of his perfectly barbered beard.

"So that is why the day had sweet memories for me," the prince exclaimed. Then he put a friendly arm about his lover. "I would not intentionally hurt you, Bellisarius, but the date is now set. It cannot be changed."

"But why must you wed?" The actor's golden brown eyes filled with tears. "Do you not love me?"

"Yes, I love you," said the prince indulgently, "but you cannot give me children. Bellisarius. It is my duty to my family to have children. Besides, Mairin is exquisite. In beauty she is every bit my equal. I could not resist her, and already I love her."

"I have heard her hair is a most noxious color," the actor retorted sharply. "Orange! How can a girl with orange hair hope to equal your beauty, my sweet prince?"

"Her hair is a red-gold. It is as if a fire burns atop her sweet head. She is pure perfection in face and form. An innocent virgin. Best of all, Bellisarius, she is intelligent!"

"She is an Anglo-Saxon, Basil!" he protested. "They are barely civilized! Have you seen that trade delegation of theirs? Long hair, and unkempt beards, and the most appalling clothing!"

Basil laughed. "She reads, Bellisarius. She can do simple mathematics. She writes a fine hand. She speaks several languages. What say you to that?"

"That I should like to meet your paragon. Perhaps we might find we have something else in common besides you."

"Oh, no, my darling," the prince chuckled. "You most certainly will not meet Mairin. I will not have you shocking her by letting slip our relationship. She would not understand such a thing. Perhaps when she is older, and has learned our ways, it will be different, but not now. I am building her a villa across the Bosporus, and neither of you shall be distressed by the sight of the other."

"How thoughtful you are of us both," sniped Bellisa.n.u.s dryly. "How fortunate it is that I understand the necessity of your marriage even if your bride should not understand that which is between us." He eyed Basil jealously. "I do not think it is as simple as you think, my prince. What you and I are to each other has never been a secret. What makes you think that someone will not speak to the girl, and divulge our relationship to her? Are you without enemies? What of the girl's parents? When they learn of your eccentric tastes, will they still release their treasure to you? Are they so eager to have a prince for a son-in-law that they will put aside their barbarian scruples? I wonder."

"Be warned, Bellisarius," said the prince in low tones. "I want this girl! Should you attempt to spoil it for me I shall leave you."

"You will leave me anyhow," said the actor. "I know it!" His voice had a slightly hysterical edge to it.

"No," said Basil softly. He caressed the actor's curly blond head rea.s.suringly. "No, my darling, I shall not leave you. A man can love more than one person at a time, Bellisarius, as I love you and Mairin. Each of you serves a different need for me, and I must have you both. You have always known that unlike you I am able to love both women and men. That eventually you would have to share me with a wife. You have never been jealous before. Do not pout now, my love," he cajoled, and quickly kissed the actor's lips.

Bellisarius eagerly returned the kiss and sighing said, "You will break my heart yet, my lord prince, but then I knew it the moment our eyes first met, yet even knowing it I still loved you."

Basil smiled into Bellisarius' eyes. "Trust me," he said softly. "I will make everything all right for all of us. You know that I can, don't you?"

"I almost feel sorry for your bride, Basil," said Bellisarius quietly. "I wonder if she realizes what a ruthless man you really are."

But Mairin in the flush of first love only saw what she wanted. The prince had swept her off her feet with his declaration of devotion, and his pa.s.sionate possession of her innocent lips. His kisses had thrilled and excited her beyond anything she had ever known. She unquestioningly believed all he said, and longed for the day when her body would be ready to receive the full homage of a man's love.

Already she had grown in height, and was now taller than Eada. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, only buds upon her smooth child's chest when they had first come to Constantinople, suddenly swelled and rounded, pushing the cloth of her tunic dresses outward. The garments had had to be altered as they quickly became too tight. Mairin found herself a.s.sailed by a variety of new moods that had her edgy one minute, and ecstatic with joy the next. If she had been a beautiful child she was quickly becoming an equally beautiful woman.

Dagda silently noted the many glances his young mistress elicited as she moved unawares through the pattern of her days. Women, of course, were envious. Men, however, gazed longingly at Mairin. Twice Dagda saw the young Varangian guardsman Eric Longsword staring after Mairin with open l.u.s.t in his eyes. Finding himself observed, the light of desire would depart the guardsman's eyes to be replaced by a flat blue stare.

The empress, Marie Irene, came from her palace to meet Mairin. She was a deeply pious, reclusive woman whose life had been devoted to prayer and good works. Her dark eyes scanned Mairin's face anxiously. Then she smiled, obviously pleased by what she had seen. She patted the girl's hand in a motherly fashion.

"You are a good little maid, I can see it," she said in a whispery voice so low they had to strain to hear her. "I shall make special offerings to the blessed Saint Anne, mother of our Blessed Lady Marie, that Basil has at last found a wife. You know, of course, that the chief duty of a wife is to bear children, my dear?" Her pale face with its dark eyes peered into Mairin's blushing countenance.

"My daughter is not yet old enough to conceive and bear children, gracious majesty," said Eada.

"She will be soon. I can see womanhood already dawning in her beautiful eyes. Listen to me, my child. It is hard to be a woman, to yield yourself humbly to the base and carnal desires of a man, but it is your duty as a wife to do so. Your mother has undoubtedly told you of the shameless way in which children are conceived. It is G.o.d's punishment upon us for Eve's sin that we be humbled so, and must be tolerated. You can do your soul great good, however, if you will simply concentrate upon your beads during the degrading act." The empress peered anxiously at Mairin, fearful that perhaps she had shocked the poor innocent with her bluntness.

Mairin swallowed back the urge to laugh. s.e.x was not a taboo event among the Anglo-Saxons who harking back to a more primitive time entered into it with joyous abandon. Eada and Aldwine's marital happiness was no secret. Brand and Mairin had on several occasions unwittingly caught their parents in a l.u.s.ty embrace. They had always been free to ask their parents about matters pertaining to the flesh and Eada answered with honesty and with love, confiding to her daughter that though such delights might first prove awkward, they were nonetheless pleasurable.

The empress's words were therefore astounding. Still Mairin knew that she must be polite to the anxious empress whose motives sprang from genuine caring. She instinctively knew Basil was a man of deep pa.s.sion. He had even admitted to finding her innocent enthusiasm for his kisses preferable to women who bore their lords' embraces in silent submission. She could not imagine why the empress had taken it upon herself to address her in such a solemn fashion.

"I thank your gracious majesty for even taking the time to come and see me let alone offering me your sage advice," she said politely. "I will remember your words."

Eada beamed with pride. She had taught her child well, for Mairin's manners were flawless, and her tact commendable. Honored that the empress Irene Marie had taken the time to personally welcome Mairin into the Ducas family, Eada could not, however, imagine why the older woman thought it necessary to impart such gloom to Mairin. The thought of concentrating upon one's beads during supreme pa.s.sion was too amusing for words.

Led by the empress other members of the Ducas family now came to pay their respects, and each brought a gift for Mairin. Not all of them were wealthy, nor of the n.o.ble branch of the family. They took great pride, however, in being related to the emperor, and being again in the spotlight by virtue of Basil's marriage to the beautiful foreigner. The prince's father was dead, but his mother came immediately after the empress.

Ileana Ducas was a tiny, elegant woman with a somewhat forbidding mien. She had her son's coloring, but where his hair was wavy, hers was straight. It was severely fashioned into a knot at the base of her neck. Basil's turquoise eyes were warm, but his mother's were flat and expressionless, lighting up only when she spoke of her only child. She was magnificently attired in bright scarlet silk heavily encrusted with gold embroidery. Even the empress had not been as grand.

She brought Mairin jewelry, a marvelous necklace of gold filigreed squares encrusted with amethysts. "To match your eyes," she said dourly. "My son said your eyes were the color of amethysts, but they look more violet to me. You are very young, but I suppose I should thank you for taking my son away from the hedonistic life he has persisted in living these past years. I do not approve of his companions. I trust you will be a good wife to him, not some silly little fool who worships the ground he walks upon, and permits him to continue his licentious behavior. Give me grandsons as quickly as possible! It was my misfortune that among all my babies only Basil lived. Children settle a man even more than a wife." She peered at Mairin. "You are old enough to have children, aren't you?"