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doesn’t look like you.”
    “Pauline chose it. She said it was all the crack.”
    “And you believed her?”
    Tess shrugged. “It didn’t matter.”
    “No.” He set the hat on a table near the chair. “You’re not a woman for fuss and feathers. I’d choose something entirely different for you.” He sat down and rested his hands on the arms of the chair. “If you were mine.”
    Her gaze flew to his face, her muscles tensing.
    “That frightened you again.” He smiled. “A slip of the tongue. We barbarians are regretfully primitive, and possessiveness is one of our uncivilized traits.” He leaned forward. “But there’s nothing to be apprehensive about. I’ve learned to control myself so that I’m a savage only when I choose to be.”
    She frowned. “I don’t understand you.”
    “You will. It’s quite simple. I have a proposition for you.” His gaze held hers steadfastly. “I need to join with you in marriage.”
    Her eyes widened, and she could feel the muscles of her stomach go rigid as if she were warding off a blow. “What?”
    “I need an irreversible bond between Tamrovia and the El Zalan. King Lionel has seen fit to refuse an alliance between us. He regards the El Zalan as just another wild tribe of Bedouins. However, in my country a marriage tie is as strong as a political agreement. Brother does not fight brother. The tribes would assume a marriage with a member of the Tamrovian royal house would also offer me military protection.” His hands tightened on the cushioned arms of the chair until his knuckles turned white. “I
have
to unite the tribes of Sedikhan under one rule, and the only way Ican do it is to show them that my forces are more powerful than theirs. Might is everything in Sedikhan. An alliance with Tamrovia would—”
    “Stop.” She shook her head dazedly. “Why do you come to me? I have no say in this. My father will choose my husband, and he—”
    “Will not choose a wild sheikh from Sedikhan,” he finished for her.
    She nodded slowly. “I meant no offense.”
    “None taken. I know how the court of Tamrovia regards me, and that’s why I’ve come to you. We will wed tomorrow.” He smiled. “And we will not bother to tell your father until it’s too late for him to act.”
    Incredulous, she laughed. “That time will never come. Do you not realize I’m his property? If I married without his will, he would only petition the pope to annul it.”
    “Do you wish to remain his property?”
    “I have no choice.”
    “I’m giving you a choice, one a woman of your station seldom gets to make.” Galen’s voice deepened persuasively. “Freedom.”
    Tess felt a flutter of hope stir deep within her. “Marriage is not freedom.”
    “It could be. It
will
be.” He smiled. “Have you ever thought how it might feel to be free? To do what you wish, when you wish?”
    “No.” She had not let herself think of it because it hurt too much. “It’s not possible.”
    “I can make it happen.”
    She jumped to her feet and went to the windowto stare blindly down at the courtyard below. “You’re no different from other men. You said it yourself. You like to own things.”
    “I also said I could control myself. Wed me tomorrow, and in three years I’ll send you to Paris or London, wherever you wish to go. I’ll give you a fine house and take care of your every need. You can play the great lady and have a fashionable salon. You’ll live the life you wish to live.” He paused before adding, “Without the encumbrance of a husband. Naturally, I’d remain in Sedikhan.”
    “According to tradition, that is not at all natural.”
    “I don’t think you care a snap of your fingers for tradition.”
    She turned to face him. “You’d truly do this?”
    He nodded.
    It was too wonderful to be true. She would not have to go back to Belajo ever again. She would not have to subdue her behavior and act the mindless chattel as her mother did.
    She began to pace back and