And without hesitating, I took a deep breath and raised my arm to fling it overboard. The last flash of the setting sun sparked off the crystal and the gold and it seemed to catch fire as it arced, destined for the cool green waters below.
At the last possible second, Gabriel vaulted to the rail, catching it in his fingertips. He turned and stared at me in astonishment.
“You were going to throw it away,” he said, his expression one of shocked bewilderment. “I’ve never seen anything so daft in my entire life. What the devil were you thinking?”
I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his open mouth until he pulled back.
“I don’t understand,” he began. I looped my arms around his neck.
“I don’t want your relics. I want you.”
“But—”
I put a finger to his lips, silencing him. “Gabriel, you wanted me to have the Cross as atonement for what you did to me. It’s just a way to buy me back. But I forgive you. Without the Cross, without the money or the fame it would bring. And I wanted you to know that. I wanted you to know that when I am with you for the rest of our lives, it is because I choose to be.”
He pushed my finger gently aside. “What shall we do with it?”
I thought a moment then grinned. “I think we ought to pack it up and send it to Tarquin March to deal with. He’s the one who got you into this business. He owes me a favour.”
He bent his head to kiss me, and when he finished, I was as dizzy as if I’d just pulled a barrel roll. “I know you said you were chaste during those five years, but I have to wonder,” I murmured, fitting my head to the hollow of his shoulder. “I don’t remember your technique ever being quite so, so—”
“Quite,” he said dryly. “Perhaps I’m simply inspired. I’ve never had a woman give up a priceless treasure for me before.”
“This is where I ought to tell you that the priceless treasure is you. I shan’t, of course. It’s far too sentimental and I don’t want you to get a big head.” We stood there some time, watching the purple light of the evening change to a deep violet as the first stars began to appear.
Gabriel’s voice rumbled in his chest. “By the way, where exactly are we going? I booked through and the ticket said Australia.”
“That’s just where we change ships,” I informed him. “Our final destination is the Cook Islands. Nothing but white sand beaches and deep blue sea and lovely people who don’t care who Evangeline and Gabriel Starke are at all. I rented us a cottage right on the beach for the rest of the year. We’ll have nothing to do but swim and sun ourselves and plan the book I mean to write.”
“You’re writing a book? On what?”
“Ethnography,” I told him, relishing his groan of despair. “You might not think stories and people are important but I do. I’ve brought a trunkful of books to begin my studies and whatever I don’t already know, you can help me with.”
“You were awfully sure I’d find you.”
I turned my face to the east and the first star that shimmered on the horizon. He held my hand, and it was the hand of the man I had married, lost and found again in the Badiyat ash-Sham, the fabled land of camels and caravans that lies just beyond the walls of the city of jasmine.
To live with him would be a very great adventure indeed.
* * * * *
Acknowledgments
The word that comes to mind when I write acknowledgments is always “generosity.” The people I am fortunate enough to know and name here are among the most generous and gracious I have ever had the pleasure to meet. I am humbled to know them.
Tremendous thanks:
To the entire Harlequin MIRA team—art, sales, PR, marketing, editorial, digital and all their supporting staff. I am, as ever, entirely grateful for all that they do. Particular thanks to Margaret Marbury, Michael Rehder and Leonore Waldrip for making all of this hard work so much fun.
To Tara Parsons for shepherding this project with as much care and enthusiasm as if it had been hers from the start. This is only the beginning....
To Pam Hopkins, agent and friend, for taking me under her wing and providing endlessly patient support and laughs.
To the brilliant and generous Susanna Kearsley for providing research links, and the ever-lovely Jayne Hoogenberk for patiently explaining how to find them.
To Ava Miles for research support.
To my family—my parents, my beloved, my child. They are my past, my present and my future.
And to a kindly spirit halfway across the world—a person whose name I do not know but who generously shared her language with me. Shukran, and I hope that peace comes soon to you and yours.
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CITY OF JASMINE
Deanna Raybourn
Reader’s Guide
Questions for Discussion
Evangeline Starke is a dynamic young woman with all of the energy and spirit of the 1920s. How does she embody those qualities?
How do Gabriel’s experiences as the Saqr change his views on British involvement in Syrian affairs?
Gabriel and the Lost Boys of the Vespiary did dangerous work during the war. What challenges might they face in adapting to life after the fighting stops?
Damascus is a city at the crossroads of history. How does the political climate of Damascus in 1920 influence the characters?
Honour and duty play a strong role in the book. How do the characters view their own responsibilities? How far will they go to satisfy honour?
Evie and Gabriel are reunited after life-changing events. How have the years in between affected the dynamic of their relationship?
How does the Badiyat ash-Sham, the great Syrian desert, function as a character in the story? What does their time in the desert reveal about Gabriel and Evie?
What is Evie and Gabriel’s potential for a happy ending?
ISBN-13: 9781460327050
CITY OF JASMINE
Copyright © 2014 by Deanna Raybourn
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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