Part 5:

The next morning, Sherrie woke up alone, memories of the previous night rushing back to her. She brought her knees up to her chest and sighed, trying to stop herself from shaking as memories of Rock's savage assault came back to her in waves. Next to her, Kat stirred back to life at her friend's evident distress.
"Sherrie? Are you all right?"
"He looked… the look in his eyes… I thought… he was… he could have… oh Kat…"
Sherrie allowed herself to cry and Kat held her in her arms, running soothing circles over the girl's back. A few moments later, the sheik's mother came into the room and stopped at the entrance, watching the young women embrace.
"Was it too much for me to hope you wouldn't pollute this lovely flower Tigress?"
"I pollute no one," Kat said, looking up at Safia defiantly.
"Now child," said Rock's mother, completely ignoring Tigress as she sat on the bed next to Sherrie, "what has brought tears and sadness to your heart?"
"Your son!"
"Come now child, do not be ridiculous. The lives of all those who know my son are improved through his acquaintance."
"That is a lie, my lady."
Safia put her arms around Sherrie in a warm hug and drew the young woman to her, a smile on her lips. "I have good news for you, lady Sheridan."
"What are these good news?"
"Rock has sent out an edict on this bright morning to repudiate Eriandra."
On the bed, Kat stiffened and struggled to remain calm at the possibilities this news brought to her mind.
"How is this news good for me?" Sherrie asked. "The only thing I care about is leaving this place as soon as I can."
"Oh, I doubt my son will allow that to happen now."
"What do you mean?" Sherrie asked, frowning.
"Well, with Eriandra out of the way, he'll be free to make you his first wife."
"Excuse me?" Sherrie wanted to cry. "His first wife?"
"He can't do that," whispered Tigress. "He can't do that."
"Of course he can, you silly cow," said Safia, "what did you think? That the sheik could condescend to marry a commoner such as you? Now Sherrie, she has the bearing and the pedigree to be a true wife to my son."
"My ladies," said a guard, coming into Sherrie's quarters, "the sheik requests the pleasure of your presence for the morning meal."
"Come now lady Sherrie, let's get you dressed to accept the proposal of a sheik, a king amongst men."
"I will not…"
"Actually my lady," said the guard, bowing even lower, "the invitation is for lady Sheridan and the Tigress."
Safia stiffened considerably and jerkily made her way out of Sheridan's quarters.
"Tell the sheik the lady Sheridan and I will be at his disposal in half an hour," Kat said softly.
The guard nodded and walked out of Sherrie's quarters just as she turned to Kat. "I will not marry him."
"If it is his will, you have no choice…"
"I will die first. Kat, it is you who loves the sheik. I do not. I could never marry him in good conscience."
"We must get ready," said Kat, walking out of the room stiffly. "I'll come for you once I am ready."
"All right. Kat…"
But the Tigress had left her already. Sherrie swallowed her anger and went about dressing for her morning meal.

Rock and Shane looked at the two silent women sitting in front of them and shared a questioning look. What was wrong with them? They had barely said a word since joining the men in the small garden. It was clear to both that the Tigress and Sherrie had been crying and now, it seemed they were resigned to their silence.
"I demand to know what is the matter with the two of you," said Rock. "I invited you to join me to complement my meal and you are doing nothing of the sort at this time."
"…"
"…"
"I demand an answer to my question!"
"Rock, getting angry will solve nothing," said Shane calmly.
"It will make me feel better."
"Is it true that you repudiated Eriandra?" Tigress asked, her head still bowed.
"Yes, but…"
"Will you replace her with lady Sheridan?"
"No, he will not!" exploded Shane. "He is not to marry Sheridan!"
"Well, well," said Rock, looking at his friend's angered expression. "What an interesting development."
"You have no intention of marrying lady Sheridan?" asked Tigress.
"No," said Rock, looking down at the woman he loved, "I do not. I can not… not when my heart belongs to another."
As Rock reached across the table and cradled Tigress' cheek in his hand, Shane looked across the table to Sherrie, whose eyes were still primly downcast.
"Lady Sheridan?"
"It is somewhat ridiculous for you to observe England's rules of conduct when we are both so far away from our homeland."
"I suppose I am a gentleman down to the very core of my being?" Shane whispered as Tigress and Rock got up from the table and moved to a more private area of the garden.
"If you were any kind of gentleman at all, you'd take me away from this place."
"That is not as easy as I would like it to be."
"Let me guess, the sheik means to use me as a pawn in a deal he wants to broker between my uncle and himself."
"And what do you think your uncle could offer the sheik?"
"My uncle, lord Titan, as I'm sure you know, is a very prominent member of England's ministry of war. What he could offer the sheik would probably change Napoleon's influence in this part of the world."
Shane gasped, surprised at the girl's knowledge of her uncle's activities. "How…"
"I asked my uncle what he did for a living and he told me. He does not believe in lying to me."
"I see."
Shane looked to a more private area of the garden and saw Rock's head bent over Tigress, both engaged in a heated conversation.
"Do you think he loves her as much as she deserves to be loved?" Sherrie asked, following his gaze.
"Why would you think I would know the answer to that?"
"I thought men knew the answer to everything," she said sharply, turning the full effect of her emerald eyes on him.
"That is a lie, I can assure you."
"I know. I was making small talk."
"I think he does love her," said Shane after a few moments.
"How can you tell?"
"I've known Rock for a long time, since we were school boys in fact. His attachment to the Tigress… well, I've never seen him this attached to anyone else in the past."
"I see."
"Do you believe she loves him?"
"A blind man would know she loves him more than life itself."
"Does that make me a blind man?"
"Of course." Sherrie laughed and allowed her eyes to stray up to Shane's face. She found herself surprised at how attractive he was. He was clearly an aristocrat, his breeding leaking through every pore. But he looked like a man through and through. His longer than fashionable hair showed him to be a man of character who cared not one wit what others thought of him. As for his clothes… well, although he did not look as comfortable in eastern clothing as the sheik did, he looked comfortable enough in them. As a matter of fact, with a deeper tan, one would think he'd lived here most of his life. "How do you come to be here Lord Titan? Am I to hope that my uncle sent you here to bring me back home?"
"As I told you before, I have been a friend to the sheik since we were school boys."
"How did that friendship come about?"
"Well, my tutor's twin brother was the sheik's tutor in European studies. When the brothers realized their pupils were of the same age, they thought the establishment of a friendship through correspondence would serve as a perfect course of international studies. The friendship survived our age. And it brought about a fruitful business partnership."
"Do you approve of his lifestyle?" Sherrie asked, "of his harem of women?"
"As an English gentleman, no I do not. Yet, I understand the history behind it."
"I see. Would you like to be one of these men who has this many women at your disposal?"
"No, I don't believe I would."
"Many Englishmen do have as many women at their disposal as your friend has here."
"What in God's name are you talking about?"
"Gentlemen have wives, mistresses, governesses, maids, whores to see to their needs. A more discreet harem, but a harem nonetheless."
"What a jaded young woman you are lady Sheridan. Too jaded I would say."
"What you call jaded, I simply call being informed. I know how men are. I know that you are a non-faithful species. It is sad but it is the truth."
"Oh dear, where do you get your information?"
"From the women I know. Some who have been attacked by their lusty employers and fired for refusing their advances. Oh yes, from where I stand, you are not a noble species at all, simply the stronger one."
"Not all men are like that. Some of us do have some redeeming qualities," said Shane with an impish smile.
"Forgive me for having my doubts."
"You are not forgiven. It is unfortunate, but some men are horrible human beings but do not be as much of a fool to believe women are completely without fault."
"Only a man would say such a thing."
"You say that men are lusty animals who seek to do nothing but obtain sexual favors, is that right?"
"Yes."
"Well, I submit that women are no better. For every man who had a mistress, his wife had a lover… or a mistress."
"My lord!"
"Come now Sheridan, you brought up this topic. Many wives take lovers among their staff, be it a handsome footman or their son's tutor. Not to mention the handsome young town bucks who need nothing more than an experienced woman to teach them the intricacies of love."
"Did you have such a guide?" Sheridan asked, acutely aware of the lack of propriety of this conversation, yet thrilled by it.
"Yes." Shane grinned mischievously and Sherrie laughed. As she did so, Shane leaned forward, telling her more and more about his youth as a handsome young town buck.

"It is you that I want to marry Tigress," Rock was telling the keeper of his heart. "You and no one else. There will never be anyone else for me."
"But… you repudiated Eriandra. You must now choose a first wife. And I cannot be that wife."
"But you can be that wife Tigress. I will do everything in my power to ensure that you are that wife."
"But your mother…"
"My mother thinks she can control my life and everything I do. She is wrong and I will show her how wrong she is."
"Rock, please… I do not want to be the cause of any tension between you and your mother."
"You mustn't worry about that my love. For now, all you have to do is prepare yourself to be my wife. I will deal with my mother." Rock took Tigress in his arms and held her in his arms. "And how long can she disapprove of you when she finds out you carry my heir?"
"What… how did you know?" Tigress asked, her dark cheeks reddening ever so slightly.
"I know your body my sweet. Your breasts are fuller and your stomach has rounded. I have known for as long as you have I suppose."
"Oh my love…" she whispered, taking his hand in hers and covering her stomach with their twined fingers, "a child. I will give you a son to follow in your footsteps."
"And soon after that, a daughter whose beauty will rival her mother's." Rock touched his lips to Tigress and held her tight for a moment. They were drawing away when Sherrie's laughter caught their attention.
"What have we here?" Rock asked, squeezing his fiancée's waist, "do you think… lady Sheridan and Shane?"
"I think they would be quite well suited."
"Well then, what shall we do about it?"

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