by Lori Wick
“Where is the jewel box I gave you?” the emir asked without warning.
“Why?” Sunny demanded.
“Because the document that secures my position on the throne is inside.”
“I have no such document.”
“Bring it to me, and I will show you.” The emir’s calm was commendable, but Sunny was not fooled. He wanted the box with every fiber of his being; his eyes gave him away. Sunny silently praised God that she had taken it from her desk just before she left with Brandon.
Sunny’s eyes went to Brandon, and he gave her a slight nod. Dallas stepped forward, and with whispered words, Sunny told him where he would find the box hi her cabin. Sunny continued her interview when the door closed.
“You will tell me everything or not touch the box.”
The emir was stubbornly silent until Dallas entered once again and shut the door. The sight of the box seemed to loosen his tongue.
“From early childhood you heard of Darhabar’s centennial year and the Centennial Seal. Now, in six months’ time, the centennial approaches. I am on the throne because at the last centennial, my grandfather held the document and the ring. There is a powerful family who wishes to usurp the throne. They will stop at nothing to gain the ring and document you possess. This is why I sent you away
with the document and the seal, and why I have come.” He spoke this as though it answered every question, but Sunny was not satisfied.
“It is unlike you to come in this way. Where is Ali? He usually does your dirty work.” The emir’s entire stance changed at Sunny’s words, and he looked old and defeated.
“Ali is dead. As I said to you, they will stop at nothing.”
“My maid Christie is dead,” Sunny went on ruthlessly. “She was murdered in a London alley. It looks as thoughyouwill stop at nothing as well?”
“She was working for my enemy, as was Phipps-both bought by the lure of much gold. I had nothing to do with her death.”
Sunny was not sure she believed him, but other questions crowded into her mind.
“But if she knew where the ring was, why did Christie not take the box years ago?”
“Christie knew nothing. Tina knew, but she had orders to report to me and only keep an eye on the box. When the attack came, she panicked and ran. She tried to find the box before she left, but you had moved it.”
“The attack-** Sunny began, her face going quite pale.
“Was from my enemy,” the emir told her, again masking his pain that she could find him capable of such an action against her.
“What about Wilson?”
“He also knew the contents of the box, but he had been misled and was not at Ravenscroft during the attack. His orders were to waylay the men, but they eluded him.”
Sunny felt limp with all she was hearing and suddenly she was very sorry for the emir, whose whole life hinged on a seal ring and a piece of paper. Sunny turned slowly and took the box from Dallas. She stepped forward and handed it to the emir.
All in the room watched as the emir moved a piece of wood on the side of the box and then slid the entire base to die side. Just as he predicted, a piece of paper and the top portion of a seal ring rested inside. The compartment itself had been built around both objects, so they never gave hint of movement in their secure hiding place.
As the emir drew them forth, Sunny once again watched his demeanor change. As if the cares of the world had been lifted from his shoulders, his fece glowed with an inner triumph. He unfolded the paper and read it, even as he tightly squeezed the ring in his fist.
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“You have what you want,” Sunny said softly. “I nope that I will not be followed, reported on, or bothered in any way, ever again.”
Sunny was surprised at the vulnerable look that crossed the older man’s features.
“May I have a word with you in private?” he asked. Sunny had never seen him so humble, but she was not comfortable with being alone with him.
“I think whatever you have to say can be said right now.”
The emir nodded, looking hesitant, and then began.ttl have long regretted the way I sent you from me. I knew that someday I would see you again, and this made the situation bearable. My oldest son will be ruler someday, and he has not yet wived. I wish for you to return with me and be his wife. You would be the most beautiful woman in all of Darhabar. There is no wish my son would not grant you. You would be treated as a queen for the rest of your years.”
“You want me to return to Darhabar?” Sunny asked in stunned confusion, not really believing her ears.
“Yes,” the emir stated quietly. “My ship is near. I wish you to leave with me today.”
brandon watched the play of emotions on Sunny’s face. To his eyes she actually appeared to be considering the idea.
“I need to speak with you, Sunny.” Brandon spoke for the first time.
Sunny barely heard him as she stared at Ahmad Khan.
“Sunny,” Brandon repeated himself, this time taking her arm.WI would have a word with you.”
He did not allow her to object or ignore him this time, but with his hand holding her arm, moved out into the passageway to stand in front of her cabin.
“You’re not really considering going with him, are you?” Brandon demanded.
“He just took me by surprise.” Sunny spoke as if in a daze, not even looking at Brandon.
She suddenly found herself in his hands. Brandon’s fingers were grasping her upper arms and holding her nearly against him.
“You can’t go. Do you hear me, Sunny? You cawVgo.”
Sunny looked into Brandon’s face for the first time. He looked desperate.
“Why, Brandon?” Sunny’s voice was whisper soft. “Why can’t I leave?”
“Because you can’t,” he stated emphatically.
“Why?” Sunny pressed him.
Brandon hesitated only a moment, before saying words that
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sounded as though they’d been wrenched from him.
“Because I love you.” Brandon had to hold back from telling her that he had loved her for years and always would.
Sunny wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around him, but the emir’s face came to mind, and Sunny knew she had a job to complete.
When Brandon could read nothing in her expression, he slowly released her. Sunny, knowing that if she looked at him she would burst into tears, moved away from his touch and back to Dallas* cabin. Knowing that he would physically detain Sunny if she tried to leave with the emir, Brandon waited outside the door.
Only minutes passed before Ahmad Khan and Wilson exited the cabin. Wilson glanced at Brandon’s strained features, but the emir did nothing as they moved topside. Brandon would have gone to the cabin, but the door opened then and Dallas emerged.
“She wants to be alone. ” Dallas told him.
“What did he say to her?”
Dallas shook his head. “A pack of lies, but I could tell they hurt.”
Dallas moved to go on deck then and Brandon, after a brief glance at the cabin door, followed him.
UI regretted my offer the moment you left the cabin,” the emir had said. “I can see now that you would never again fit into the royal household. You obviously no longer know your place. Blinded by your beauty, I momentarily thought you would make a suitable queen.”
Sunny knew the words should have no effect on her, but she had been stung. When she had heard the footsteps leave in the companonway, Sunny had left Dallas’ cabin for the security of her own. She’d prayed and cried, and after a time, slept.
When she woke and looked out, it was to find it growing dark outside and the ship already docked in London. They had never been out of sight of land, so this shouldn’t have surprised her. With sudden and painful remembrance, Sunny thought of the words she had forced Brandon to say.
You’re a fool, Sunny Gallf&her,she told herself.Why did you do
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such a thing? What kind of
love declaration is it when you have to force it out of the man? He certainly couldn’t have meant it the way you wanted him to.
Sunny told herself she was not going to torture herself any longer. She washed her face, brushed her hair, and went in search of Brandon. Better to facehimin embarrassment than to wonder and wait. Unbelievable pain assailed her when Dallas told her he was gone. He’d had some things to take care of and would be back soon. Sunny moved wordlessly toward her cabin to pack.
When Sunny returned some 45 minutes later and asked Dallas to have someone bring her trunk topside, he knew his attempts to detain her would be a waste of effort.
“Sunny,” he said kindly. “Please wait for Brandon.”
“He told you to have me wait?”
“Well, no,” the sea captain began. “But he just left, and I know-”
“I need to go home, Dallas. Please see to my trunk.”
“I won’t,” Dallas decided. “You need to wait.”
“Then I’ll go without it,” Sunny said, starting for the gangplank. Dallas, seeing no help for it, had her trunk retrieved and followed her.
“Please help me find a carriage, Lord,” he heard her mumble as they moved toward the dock. She walked along, ignoring the astonished looks of the sailors around her, and stopped abruptly when a carriage drove up and Wilson suddenly appeared before her.
“I’ve a carriage for you, my lady,” he stated softly, his eyes not betraying the tear of emotions within.
“More reports, Wilson?” Sunny asked with regret.
“Never again, my lady. I followed the emir’s orders because I feared whom he might entrust with the job. And now today, as always, I would gladly lay down my life for yours.”
Sunny’s eyes held Wilson’s as she tried, in her exhaustion, to read the man. He never blinked or looked ashamed, and Sunny was certain she would know his honesty by his eyes.
“How did the emir feel about your decision?”
“It was nothing new to him. He’s known all along I would stay in England and keep watch over you like I’ve done for over four years.”
Sunny was so awash with relief that he was now an ally and not an enemy that she nearly cried. Rand had been right about this man
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all along. Sunny couldn’t look at Wilson any longer, so she looked at the carriage instead.
“This is Band’s carriage, isn’t it?”
“Yes, my lady. I’ve seen him and asked if I could borrow it to wait for you.”
ttl want to go home,” she told Wilson softly, not really having heard his words. “Home to Ravenscroft.”
“As you wish, my lady,” Wilson said, opening the door.
“Sunny,” Dallas tried again. “If you’ll just give Brandon a little more time.”
“My reputation will be in shreds as it is, Dallas,” she spoke softly, “and I simply can’t stay here any longer. Thank you for all you’ve done.”
Dallas watched Sunny disappear into the interior, helplessness washing over him. Brandon had said he would be very brief, and Dallas had no due as to how to contact him. Now Sunny was leaving, and nothing had been resolved. Dallas knew as he went back on board that he could pray for them. Beyond that, however, he could not get involved.
Halfway to Ravenscroft, Sunny told Wilson she would rather go to Willows’ End. They pulled along the willow-lined drive very early the next morning, Sunny having completely forgotten that Rand and Chelsea were not there. She was relieved however, to see lights downstairs in the library windows. And she was equally glad to see Miles, since she was nearly out on her feet and terribly disappointed that her brother wasn’t there.
“They’re in London, aren’t they?” Sunny sounded like a lost girl. “Wilson had their coach and said as much, but I never grasped that they were right there.”
Miles, very glad that he had been unable to sleep, wondered with pain for his aunt and what she’d been through in the last few days. Gently, he made her feel at home.
“What did you want to see Papa about, Sunny? Maybe I can help.”
“I want to go away for a time, Miles. I need something of a rest, and even though I’m looking forward to going back to Ravenscroft
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in safety, I feel the need to get away.”
“There’s something else going on here, isn’t there, Sunny? You don’t have to tell me, but I think you might feel better if you did.”
Sunny looked into his kind eyes for just a moment before bursting into tears and telling all. Miles was furious over the things the emir said to Sunny and sincerely shocked that Brandon would leave her on the ship. Even though he believed that Brandon had been totally honest when he said he loved Sunny, he could understand her hurt.
The hours passed as Miles, much as Dallas had, tried to talk Sunny out of leaving. But when he saw how determined she was, he decided to lend her his aid. They went together to Ravenscroft. Miles watched Sunny, tired as she was, wake the household and take control.
“Aunt Lucy,” Sunny told her aunt calmly, finding her surprisingly lucid for being awakened at such an early hour, “I’m going away for a few weeks.”
“Alone, my dear?” Aunt Lucy looked uncertain.
“Yes,” Sunny told her.
“Where is Brandon?”
“I don’t know, but this doesn’t concern him.” Sunny’s voice was final.
“But, my dear, you’ve had such a traumatic few days. Maybe I should go with you.”
Sunny thought how little help Aunt Lucy had been after she had been attacked. The entire affair had upset her so, she’d taken to her bed.
“No, Aunt Lucy,” Sunny’s voice was gentle. “I wish to be alone.”
“Oh, oh my,” Aunt Lucy nearly flapped like a chicken. “Well then, take Tildy.”
“Tildy will not-want to leave you-”
“On the contrary,” Aunt Lucy interrupted. “Tildy thinks the world of you, and she’d be only too happy to go. Isn’t that right, Tildy?”
“Of course, my lady,” the elderly servant spoke calmly. “I’ll go and see to Lady Sunny’s packing.”
“Thank you, Tildy,” Sunny responded, feeling very relieved that Aunt Lucy had insisted.
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“Now,” Sunny turned back to her. “I want to tell you where Fm going, but I want you to keep it to yourself. I’ll have Wilson and Tildy with me, so I’ll be perfectly safe.”
“Oh, oh my,” Aunt Lucy did flap then, her head shaking in fierce denial, and her elbows going back and forth at her sides like wings. “But it won’t work, my dear. Brandon or Rand will come and give me one look, and I’ll tell all.”
Sunny opened her mouth to deny it, but then closed it with a snap. The old girl was right. She was no match for Brandon or Rand.
“You’re right,” Sunny told her. “I’ll just go, and see you when I return in about a month’s time.”
It wasn’t what Aunt Lucy wanted to hear, but she could see Sunny had made up her mind. Within an hour, Sunny was in her own carriage, Tildy seated across from her. Packed with fresh clothes, her trunk was stowed in the rear. The coachman and Wilson sat up top. Miles stood at the door of the carriage, his tender feelings for her written all over his face.
“Are you sure you’re not running away?”
“I’m sure, Miles. I just need some time to think. I reallycanlive with the feet that Brandon and I are never going to be anything more than friends, but I just need some time. You’ll keep my secret?”
“You know better than to ask,” he admonished her. “I’ll see you in about a month, and believe me, you’ll love Lord and Lady Briton.”
With these words the door was shut, and Miles watched as the carriage lurched onto the road. Inside, Sunny sat looking out the window, but that didn’t last long. Within three miles, she was sound asleep.
in A RARE show of daring, Aunt Lucy stayed in her room, refusing to come down when she was told that Rand and Brandon had arrived.
It was much later that sam
e day, and Lucy had done nothing but fret and stew over Sunny’s departure. With a fierceness she didn’t know she possessed, she took Sunny’s side. She didn’t care what Rand and Brandon did or said to her, she would never tell a soul where her dear Sunny had gone.
Some of Lucy’s thunder was stolen when she remembered she didn’t know where Sunny was. She made up for this, however, by staying in her room and ignoring the announcement. If she didn’t come downstairs, Rand and Brandon would simply have to go away. She shifted in her chair and went back to the book she was reading, looking forward to the time when she could tell Tildy about the way she had championed Sunny.
Aunt Lucy completely underestimated Brandon’s need to find the woman he loved. She was shocked speechless when there was a knock on her door and Rand’s voice sounded in the hall.
“Please get dressed if there’s a need, Aunt Lucy. Brandon and I are coming in.”
The older woman gasped and stared in surprise at the door that opened just minutes later.
“Aunt Lucy,” Rand’s voice was gentle. “Are you coming down, or do we come in?” When the old woman stayed mute, Rand opened the door completely and he and Brandon entered.
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“Where is she, AuntLucy?The maid downstairs said she was here and gone. Now tell us where Sunny is.”
“I can’t.” Aunt Lucy was shaking with fear, but her heart was resolute. “Sunny didn’t tell me, but if I did know, I still wouldn’t tell. She wanted to be alone, and I for one respect her wish.”
“She gave no hint at all?” Brandon’s voice was deeper than Rand’s, and Lucy was immediately reminded of a powerful young man she had secretly loved many years ago. She always melted at the sound of that voice, and although she held onto her resolve, she felt shaken.
“She didn’t say. I trust her, and I trust Miles. If he was helping-”
“Miles was here?” Rand asked in astonishment, and Lucy could have pulled her own tongue out.
With a movement born of desperation, the older woman shifted in her chair and gave both men the cold shoulder. She was so angry with herselfandwith them that she could hardly think straight. She was surprised nearly widess when both men suddenly came toward her. They bent simultaneously to place a kiss on each withered cheek.
