He smiled. "I do not doubt it. But please don't pitch Viane into a bog."
"I wouldn't do such a thing. I like her." She sat down on the cushions opposite him. "You have very little European furniture in the palace. I thought since you'd spent so much time in Tamrovia, you would have imported—"
"I spend only as much time as I'm forced to in Tamrovia. This is where I belong." The words were said simply, but with great conviction. "I take what the El Zalan and I need from other countries and no more."
"And you have no need for dining tables?"
He shook his head. "The floor is better."
"Why?"
"Eating is a natural function, and there's an easiness and naturalness about sitting close to the earth. Are you not more comfortable sitting there on your silk pillow than occupying those stiff cushioned chairs used in your country?"
She nodded slowly, as she realized he was right. "You believe life should be simple and natural?"
"As much as possible. We have enough conflict and tragedies without making the everyday functions of living difficult for ourselves." He smiled. "Now, eat. You've probed enough for now."
"You object to questions?"
"No, it is your right to question." He poured wine into a bejeweled goblet and handed it to her. "As it is mine to refuse to answer."
She took the wine, staring down into its red depths. "I have another question. "
"Yes?"
"When you saved Apollo and Daphne, I promised you anything you wanted." She lifted her gaze to meet his across the table. "When you made your offer to me at the inn, you made no mention of that promise. Why?"
"For two reasons. First, trust. I wanted you to come to me freely."
"And the second?"
He smiled. "I wanted to save that promise to use at a more propitious time. I wanted to keep you bound to me."
The air between them was suddenly charged with sensual awareness. Tess became acutely conscious of the scent of the gardenias in the giant alabaster vase standing in the corner, the softness of the chiffon pressing against her breasts, his intent gaze on her.
She hurriedly took a sip of wine that flowed warm and heady down her throat. "You're being very honest with me."
"Always." He studied her face. "Would you like to see Apollo?"
"Tonight?"
He shook his head. "Tomorrow. I'll come for you after I've finished with the morning audiences."
Come for her? Then he had no intention of staying the night.
"No." His gaze was reading her expression. "That was just to let you become accustomed to me in your bed. Now, it's time for us to be apart for a while. "
"I don't understand." She frowned. "And I'm not sure I like all this dithering about."
His eyes twinkled. "I'm not over fond of it either, I assure you. The 'dithering' will be brought to an end as soon as possible." He smiled slowly. "And then I will spend every night in your bed, and possibly many hours of the day as well."
She again felt the curious tingling and sense of breathlessness. She took another sip of wine and nodded briskly. "To get me with child."
His expression became guarded as he poured wine into his own goblet. "But of course. Isn't that the reason you're here?"
"I thought Apollo would be at the palace stables." Tess frowned as she glanced at the pretty white stone house before which Galen and she had stopped after a long ride through the narrow streets of Zalandan. "Couldn't you have kept him with you?"
"I could have." Galen dismounted from Selik and lifted Tess down from her mare. He tossed the reins to Said and took Tess's arm. "But I decided not to."
"Why not? I know he must have annoyed you on the journey to Sedikhan, but you—"
"He made my life a misery on the journey from Tamrovia," Galen broke in flatly. "But that's not why he's here and not at the palace." He opened the ornamental iron gate and allowed her to precede him into the garden. "Bringing Daphne and Apollo here seemed to solve several problems. I'm forced to travel extensively, and I couldn't provide them with the same attention you gave them, and I didn't wish to cage them in the kennels." He looked down at her. "I didn't think you'd want them to exchange one cage for another."
"No." The frown remained on her face. "But I find this unsettling. Whenever I remembered Apollo, I thought of him with you."
"You gave them into my care. I had to make decisions as to their welfare." He propelled her down the path leading around the house. "When I returned to Zalandan, I found a tribal disturbance had broken out in the hills, and one of my chieftains and his wife had been killed. They left behind a fifteen-year-old son. The boy was alone and grieving, so I brought him here and put him to the task of helping me train Apollo and Daphne."
"Train?" Her gaze flew to his face. "You tried to train Apollo?"
He nodded. "We succeeded in training Apollo. "
"To hunt?"
"No, that was not his nature. That's where your father erred. Apollo has no killer instincts. However, he did have the potential to be a great tracker." He smiled. "Now, Apollo can track man or beast even through desert country."
She gazed at him in disbelief. "Apollo?"
His smile faded. "He couldn't stay a gamboling pup forever. He wasn't used cruelly, but he had to fulfill his purpose in life."
All these years she had remembered the dog as her awkward, madcap friend. She tried to smile. "And what of Daphne? Have you solved her problem too?"
He nodded. "She's not as good a tracker as Apollo, but she likes the trail." He paused. "And Apollo is a grandfather many times over."
"Daphne finally accepted him?"
"When it was a matter of choice, not force. I've found opportunity and choice usually win the day."
Opportunity and choice. She suddenly saw the relationship between his behavior with her and his patience with the hounds. "I… see."
"No, you don't. You don't understand at all. Besides opportunity and choice, the bitch must also be in heat."
She was startled by the crudity of his words. "I'm surprised you could not control that element as well," she said flippantly.
He smiled. "One must leave something to nature."
The sensuality in his smile caused her to glance hurriedly away. She caught sight of the upper part of a house a few streets away that towered grandly over its neighbors. "That's a fine-looking residence. Who lives there?"
"Yusef Benardon."
"Yusef?" Her gaze flew back to his face. "He has such wealth?"
He nodded. "His father was one of the richest silk merchants in Zalandan."
"Then why was Yusef part of your escort?"
He shrugged. "Town life becomes dull, and young men often prefer battle to bartering." He paused before continuing smoothly, "You appear very interested in our Yusef. You find him appealing?"
"Of course." She spoke absently, her gaze still on the house. "Who would not? He makes me laugh."
"And you find him handsome?"
"I suppose so." She thought about it. "The more one is with him, the more comely he seems."
His lips tightened. "Perhaps it was a mistake to let you become so accustomed to his presence." Before she could answer, he pursed his lips and gave a piercing whistle. The sound was met immediately by an uproar of barking, and two huge white flashes bounded around the house toward them.