Bertrice Small by This Heart of Mine

Author:This Heart of Mine [Mine, This Heart of]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2012-06-21T10:13:49+00:00

Velvet’s days took on a comfortable sameness that suited her for the time being. Sometimes, though, she remembered that it was late September in England now, and she thought back to how a year ago at this very time she had been the queen’s Maid of Honor and a darling of the Tudor court. She and Alex had been feuding then prior to his wild abduction of her. Such memories usually brought tears, or at the very least a deep sadness that would sweep over her, casting her into such dark depths that it was all Akbar could do to cheer her again.

That the Grand Mughal was a man in love was apparent to everyone at his court, a fact that amused his two younger sons who were both older than Velvet, and for some reason increased the bitter feeling of Prince Salim toward his father. Akbar, thought Salim, was at a time in his life when he should behave in a more circumspect manner. Was he not a grandfather? Was he not about to become one again? Instead his father played the fool with a beautiful young woman. Why had he not given the foreign beauty to Salim, as Sultan Selim of the Ottoman empire had given his heir, who had now come into his inheritance as Sultan Suleiman, a beautiful young princess sent to him from Baghdad as tribute? At twenty Salim was much closer in age to Velvet than was his father, who was in his late forties, and having seen Velvet riding with Akbar the young prince truly envied his sire. No one, Salim included, was aware that the union of Akbar and his English Rose had yet to be consummated.

Each day toward sunset they rode together, and sometimes he would take along his hunting cats, two sleek, spotted animals who loped by their sides, occasionally streaking ahead to bring down a rabbit or plump game bird, then returning with it to the emperor who more often than not allowed them to keep their prey.

One day he arranged for her to see an elephant fight, and Velvet was both fascinated and repulsed by the barbarity of it all. Akbar was very proud of his fighting elephants. In his stables were the most prime examples of elephant flesh to be found in all of India. There were also elephants used for breeding, for traveling, and for other work within the stables of the emperor. One day Akbar ordered that a conveyance he called a howdah be placed upon one of the great beasts so that he might take her for a ride.

Velvet was as excited as a child and her delight knew no bounds when the elephant arrived, for the beast had been decked out in the most incredible finery. It was a young male, she was told, for the male elephants native to India sported long ivory tusks. Upon the animal’s tusks, however, long golden fitted sheaths studded with rubies had been placed. A magnificent red satin coverlet decorated with gold bangles and diamonds was drawn over the great beast’s head.

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