Chapter 3

Elizabeth walked over to Clive and noticed they had finished their business transaction. She watched as money changed hands and the horse trader left the reins of the animals in the hands of their servants. They had only brought half a dozen servants from home, to take care of their luggage and needs. Elizabeth would have been happy to not have any of them. She felt conspicuous with them, and knew that Clive was flaunting his wealth to the world by ordering them around in front of strangers. They quickly secured their cases and other miscellaneous belongings on the horses while Clive walked over to Elizabeth. She sighed as she noticed the look on his face and knew they were about to have another row in public. Clive was famous for letting the entire world know their personal problems.

"Elizabeth, must you disobey me at every turn? I told you not to go into that establishment until I could be with you." His voice was loud enough that passersby stopped to watch.

"Clive, we're not married yet. I don't have to obey you", retorted Elizabeth.

"You bloody will when we're married!" he said, his voice rising.

"I told you I was thirsty and besides, you were too busy haggling over the price of these animals to escort me."

"I could have sent a servant in there with you. You could have been hurt. Who knows what these foreigners are capable of?"

There was that slur against foreigners again, she thought to herself. "Look, Clive, it's too hot to be arguing, and if we stand here much longer, we're going to lose what sunlight we have left. I thought you wanted to make it to the first oasis by evening."

"I do and we will," said Clive.

"We won't if we stand here and argue for much longer. So can we please just get this bloody excursion over and done with?" said Elizabeth in an exasperated tone.

Clive grabbed her arm roughly. "You watch your language. No wife of mine will speak like that to me. Now, get on your horse." He pointed to a sleek Arabian being held by the personal servant assigned to her by her future husband. Clive walked over to his mount, paying no more attention to Elizabeth.

"I'm not your wife yet", said Elizabeth under her breath.

Clive turned back to her. "What was that you said?"

Elizabeth cleared her throat. "I said, 'I hope we're not in debt'." Clive looked at her for more of an explanation. "Over the price of these fine steeds, I mean." Elizabeth gave him her most charming smile, hoping to disarm him.

Clive gave her a shrewd look. "Yes. Well", was all he said as he turned around, continuing on to his horse.

Elizabeth sighed and went to her own horse, noticing that it was indeed a fine animal. She put her foot in the stirrup and heaved herself up, swinging her back leg over the horse and straddling it, sitting tall in the saddle. She looked at all of the horses and noticed Clive had got the best of what the dealer had. They were all strong, sturdy Arabians and were probably used to the desert, she thought. Besides the eight animals they were riding, there were another six that carried their belongings. Each servant had one of the pack horses tied to their mount. They were all mounted and Clive took his position at the very front, demanding Elizabeth ride next to him. She walked her horse up to his, waiting patiently until he was ready. Clive gave one last look over his little group and gave the signal. They galloped off into the Sahara, leaving a trail of dust in their wake.

Ardeth was just about to enter the house of the harlot when one of his men came running up to him.

"My Lord!" he called out.

Ardeth frowned as he noticed a look of bewilderment on the man's face. "What is it?"

"Some foreigners have just taken our newly purchased horses!"

"What?" roared Ardeth. "Show me!"

The warrior led Ardeth back to the horse corral and realized he was right. All fourteen of the finest Arabians were gone, leaving only ancient hags huddled in the corner of the pen. He walked over to the horse dealer, his long legs quickly covering the ground beneath him. He grabbed the dealer by his shirt and slammed him up against the fence. "What have you done with our horses?" he said, his voice grating.

The horse dealer was frightened of this black menace, and inwardly cursed his greedy ways. "Please! I am poor?I needed the money. The white man offered twice what you gave me. Here, here is your money back. Please, do not hurt me!" The man cowered in his strong grasp and Ardeth pushed him back as he let go.

"Where did this white man go?" he demanded.

"I do not know. He said he wanted to see the desert and was taking his prospective bride on a trip." Ardeth looked at him strangely, wondering if it was the woman he had seen in the tavern. The horse dealer mistook his look as he continued trying to appease the angry chief. "They will bring them back in a week and you can have them once again. I promise."

"It took us three days to get here from my village and will take the same to get back. In that time, my people may have been attacked again. We depend on the horses to help protect my village."

"Then why did you delay leaving after you had purchased the animals?" inquired the dealer innocently.

Ardeth flinched as the rebuke hit home, sighing heavily at his folly. "Because, sometimes a warrior looks for dalliances when he should not," he replied simply. Ardeth thought for a moment. "You say you do not know where he was going. Do you know which direction he left the city?"

The old dealer looked back towards the direction of the fading sun and pointed. Ardeth nodded and turned to his warrior. "Gather the men. We leave for the Seinada oasis immediately."

"What are we going to do?" asked the warrior.

Ardeth gave a sardonic smile. "We are going to get our horses back."

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