Page 38 of Dark Shaman: The Lost Treasure
Navuh's eyes narrowed. "I don't appreciate false platitudes or flowery speeches. Save those for the concubines—they might like them."
"Yes, my lord."
"You're dismissed. The head housekeeper is waiting outside. She'll show you to your new quarters."
Another surprise.
Eluheed rose, bowed deeply, and made his way to the door. His mind was reeling. Free access to the ladies. New quarters. The golden cage was becoming more elaborate, intriguing, and its bars were now glinting with diamonds, but it was still a cage.
Outside, he found Shalini, the head housekeeper. Her expression was neutral, but he caught a glimmer of curiosity in her eyes.
"Follow me," she said briskly. "Lord Navuh has instructed me to find you appropriate quarters on the second level."
The second level was one level below where the lord and his first wife resided, and where Navuh's office was located.
Eluheed followed Shalini to the elevator. "Who else lives on the second level?"
She cast him an amused glance. "All the ladies except the first wife, who occupies the entire first level with Lord Navuh. The doctor had a room there when he was still alive, and you are getting his. Tony also has a room there."
He remembered Tony, the American who'd cut his hand and also needed headache remedies.
The second level was a big upgrade from the servants' quarters on the seventh level, which was the bottom and largest one. The carpets were thick beneath his feet, the air scented with subtle perfumes, the lighting soft.
"Tony's room is there," Shalini indicated a door halfway down the corridor. "Yours is here." She opened a door to reveal a suite that made his previous quarters look like a closet.
The bedroom was spacious, with a large bed covered in luxurious bedding. There was a seating area, a desk, and even a small balcony that overlooked an interior courtyard. The bathroom had a full tub, not just a shower.
"This is more than I expected," Eluheed said.
"The ladies' companions are well cared for," Shalini said. "Speaking of which, has one of them already claimed you?"
Eluheed's breath caught. "Claimed me?"
"Lady Tula has exclusive rights to Tony. The other ladies may speak and dine with him, but he shares intimacies only with her."
"I see." His mouth felt dry. "And the other ladies?"
"They share the available men, those who are allowed, of course. But none have taken a permanent companion." She studied himwith shrewd eyes. "Until now, perhaps. So, has one of them claimed you?"
Was this an elaborate trap? The lord's way of finding out that Eluheed had broken the rules?
"No," Eluheed said, his voice suddenly hoarse. "No. I haven't even looked at them, and they haven't looked at me. It was forbidden."
Shalini moved to the door. "Your belongings will be brought up within the hour. The ladies typically take their main meal at sunset in the common dining room that's located at the end of this corridor. You are expected to join them."
"Will they know about Lord Navuh's decision to allow me here?"
"Lady Areana will have informed them by now." She smiled knowingly. "Did Lord Navuh tell you what is expected of you?"
"I am to provide entertainment to bored ladies."
She snorted. "Well, yes. That's how it will start. Lord Navuh is interested in sons, but none of the ladies have conceived in many years. He hopes that variety and spice will lead to conception."
Eluheed swallowed. "I see." He was expected to function as a new breeding bull.
She left him standing in his new quarters, staring at the opulent space that was a vast improvement over the room he'd been occupying for the past eighteen months.
This one might hold possibilities, being closer to the surface, and perhaps even uncovering the hidden tunnel that the lord used to come and go. Eluheed had never seen him arriving through the gates in the double fence surrounding the harem, so theonly logical conclusion was that there was a tunnel. Either that or Navuh was a demon who dematerialized in one place and materialized in another.
