Darling Jasmine Read Online Free PDF Page B

two maidservants to cease their activity. “You would leave your children, my lady?” he said quietly.
    â€œOf course not!” she cried. “The children will come with us. Why would you think I would leave the children?”
    â€œIn your determination to have your own way, my princess, you would deliberately disobey the king of England and rob your four children of their inheritance? Such irrational behavior reminds me of your brother, Salim, now the Grande Mughal Jahangir,” Adali said. His brown eyes surveyed her calmly. As a boy he had resembled his Indian mother. Now, a man in his late middle years, he favored his French father.
    Jasmine was surprised by his words. Adali had been with her her entire life, and she thought of him as her best friend. Her anger diffused, she said, “Surely you do not suggest that I wed with the earl of Glenkirk?”
    â€œHe is a good match for you, my princess. A wealthy man who stands in high favor with King James. He is attractive, and you have already had the benefit of a night in his bed those many years ago. I do not seem to recall you considered him a poor lover then. He likes your children, and wants sons of his own. What more is there, my princess? Women of your high caste do not wed on whim, and without a powerful husband you can do nothing but sit and wait for death to come.”
    â€œViolent death has claimed both of my husbands, Adali,” Jasmine responded. “And death reached out to claim Prince Henry, unexpectedly and in his prime. The earl of Glenkirk would do well to reconsider before wedding with such a woman as I. Perhaps my brother has cursed me from afar. Besides, James Leslie has no love for me any longer. He marries me to please the king and for no other reason. Indeed from the look in his eye I would say he hates me, Adali.”
    â€œThen you should have no great feeling of loss if he dies violently as did Jamal Khan and Rowan Lindley,” Adali reasoned with her, “and you will have obeyed the king, thus regaining his favor for yourself and your children. If your brother has indeed cursed you, my princess, and the men you give your heart to die, then surely Lord Leslie will feel the sting of the Mughal’s malediction, too. It is an ideal way to rid yourself of your enemy, is it not?”
    â€œYou do not believe for a moment that I am cursed, do you, Adali?” Jasmine said irritably. “You are all against me now, even my grandmother. She will help the earl, which is why I must flee tonight else I shall never have another opportunity.”
    â€œAgain you put your self-interest before that of your children,” Adali scolded her roundly. “You have been alone too long, my princess. You must come back into the world again, and the children with you. I will not help you to run this time, and neither will Rohana or Toramalli. Besides, my daughter, where can you go if you leave Belle Fleurs? King James’s lands will be forbidden, so you cannot go to England, Scotland, or your Irish estates. You have only managed to hide here in France with the aid of your relations; but when Madame Skye tells them ‘Nay,’ then France will be closed to you, too. Besides, there is already war in this land over religion. Soon it will not be safe at all. Where else is there for you? We both know you cannot return to India and your brother. There is no place for you except by your husband’s side, my princess.” The eunuch was firm of tone, and his look told Jasmine that for the first time in her life she had no other options but those very unpalatable ones presented to her. “Shall I tell his lordship you will be joining them at the highboard, my princess?” Adali gently pressed her.
    She wanted to say no, but she was hungry. The idea of sneaking down into her own kitchens to steal food was intolerable. Besides, why should he drive her from her own table? James Leslie was arrogant beyond any man