Unlike the regular living quarters and main offices of the palace, the harem didn’t face the sea. Instead the rooms had a view of the gardens. On her first evening, Fatima had taken her on a tour of the complex suite, which had been designed to please women, as well as hold them captive. There were dozens of sleeping chambers, some large, some small. The size of the room was a statement of the occupant’s status with the king. The communal baths were works of art, with mosaics depicting erotic couplings between mermaids and sailors. Water poured from gold faucets, and the jewels studding the back of the hand mirrors were large and genuine.
The common rooms had arched doorways, but few doors, giving the area an open feel. Fatima had taken her up the hidden staircase to the small, closed room where the chief eunuch had once watched over the women in his care and the king had viewed his beauties before deciding his choice for the night.
The harem had its own private gardens, lush with tropical plants and a small formal English garden. A few elderly parrots survived in the trees inside the lattice-covered grounds. Fatima had told her at one time dozens of parrots had been kept by the harem to cover the sounds of the women’s voices so that no man would be tempted to enter. She’d also whispered that the parrots had served to cover the women’s screams when they were beaten for a transgression.
Now, Dora stood in that same garden, a woman of the twenty-first century. So different from those long-ago women whose only purpose in life had been to bring pleasure to a king…and yet very much the same. While she was in El Bahar, most of her world revolved around the whim of the prince. The man she’d married impulsively and had not seen except at dinner for the past eleven days. The evening meal, taken in the company of the family, was her only contact with Khalil, and they had never once been left alone.
She shivered as she remembered his heated gaze the night before. How he’d looked at her with such desire that she’d lost her ability to eat or drink. She could only stare back at him, captured by his dark eyes, wondering how she could ever have doubted his desire.
Every look, every word, every touch told her he wanted her desperately. Whether or not he loved her remained in question, but for now, the wanting would have to be enough. Only three more days until they were married in a traditional ceremony. A ceremony with rituals and meanings as old as time.
She heard the soft click of the harem’s outer door closing and returned to the central chamber. Fatima had already poured tea for them both and divided the plate of sandwiches.
“You were never occupied by the British,” Dora said as she resumed her seat on the sofa. “So why English tea?”
Fatima smiled as she handed her a delicate bone china cup. “It’s very civilized. We were never occupied by the Americans, yet we use electricity—which I believe your Thomas Edison first invented.”
“Point well taken,” Dora said, stirring in a drop of milk, then sipping the strong, hot brew.
Fatima patted her neatly coiled chignon. “You have learned much of our history in these past few days.”
“The books you loaned me were very interesting. I want to learn as much as I can about my new country.”
Shrewd dark eyes regarded her thoughtfully. “I have traveled all over the world, Dora. Some of that time was spent in your native country. I know a bit about American culture. You are bright, well-spoken, organized and a natural leader,” Fatima said. “There are many business opportunities available to women. So why were you working as Khalil’s secretary?”
Dora set her cup on the table and smoothed her hands over her skirt. “Why wasn’t I an executive in some company?” she asked.
“Exactly.”
“I don’t have a four-year degree. I had a scholarship, but things didn’t work out, so I earned a two-year degree, instead.” She paused, not sure she wanted to go into the mucky details of her past. Fatima was warm and friendly, but she was a woman of class and breeding. Dora doubted she would understand how Dora could have gotten herself in such a mess.
“You never went back to complete your education?”
Dora pressed her lips together. She’d meant to. Once the pain and the humiliation had faded, she’d thought she might apply to one of the many colleges in the Los Angeles area. If enough time had passed, perhaps no one would care about the scandal.
“Time slipped away from me,” was all she said.
Fatima continued to study her. Dora felt as if the older woman could read her thoughts. She wasn’t the least bit surprised when Fatima guessed the source of her problems.
“Men are odd creatures,” Khalil’s grandmother said at last. “The weak ones run away from their problems and blame the world. The strong ones accept responsibility, but they have other flaws. They resist admitting they need someone to be complete. They want what they can’t have. Sometimes they need to almost lose something to appreciate it.”
Dora smiled. “Is that why you have me living in the harem?”
“Perhaps. Does Khalil need to be tricked into seeing that he has married a jewel?”
She was charmed by the compliment and uncomfortable with the question in equal measures. “I hope not.”
Fatima nibbled on a watercress sandwich. When she’d finished she wiped her fingers on a linen napkin. “I have enjoyed having you with me in the harem.”
Dora glanced around at the luxurious quarters. “It’s even more lovely than I’d imagined.” She grinned. “And my education is quite different from what I’d thought it would be.”
Fatima made a dismissive gesture. “You were thinking we would discuss sexual arts. There is plenty of time for that. The first year or so of your marriage will be a time of great passion. It is all about quantity and emotional bonding. After the first child is born, we’ll talk of men and women, of lovemaking. Then you’ll be ready to learn the ancient secrets.”
Dora felt herself flushing at the other woman’s candor. Were there really secrets she could use to keep Khalil in her bed? She thought about their single night of lovemaking. It had been wild and amazing, and she couldn’t imagine anything better than when he’d held her in his arms. She’d spent many hours reliving their intimacy, remembering the touch of his fingers, his tongue as he’d—
“Why did you marry Khalil?” Fatima asked sharply, the question jerking Dora out of her reverie.
Dora stiffened and stared at her. Fatima’s expression was unreadable.
“He swept me off my feet,” she blurted without thinking. “I was deeply impressed by him, but I didn’t think he would ever notice me. I thought he assumed I was simply a very efficient robot. But that wasn’t true. When he told me he cared about me and wanted me, I couldn’t resist him.”
“I see.” Fatima’s eyes gave nothing away. “He is not an easy man. Of course, look at his brothers, or his father for that matter. They don’t understand the heart of a woman. You will have to be the slender reed, bending in the storm.” She sighed. “How I loathe to speak in clichés, but it’s true in this case. The men of the Khan family are great leaders, honorable and just, but they are also arrogant and unyielding. So stubborn I wanted to hit my husband with a frying pan more than once.”
Dora didn’t know how to respond to Fatima’s confession. She pictured the slender, well-dressed queen of El Bahar toting an oversize frying pan from room to room in search of her annoying husband.
“Khalil is a man worth having, but only if the woman is worthy and strong,” Fatima continued. “You must be those things, my dear. Even if you don’t yet feel them.”
Dora swallowed, but didn’t respond. Nor did she ask how this wise old woman had figured out the truth…that Dora didn’t feel the least bit worthy of Khalil or her new title. Nor did she know if she would be able to bend like a reed. While it wasn’t in her nature to fight for something, she wasn’t sure she could simply acquiesce, either.
Fatima changed the subject, mentioning a charity fashion show that they would attend together at the end of the month. Dora listened, grateful that K
halil’s grandmother hadn’t asked anything difficult…like why Khalil had wanted to marry her. Dora knew it had happened; she had the wedding license and the ring to prove it. She saw the passion in his eyes, a fire so bright she could almost believe it. But none of that answered the real question of why he’d chosen her.
Dora stared at the henna staining her hands. The intricate pattern worked its way across her palm, then circled each finger, like dark lace.
Fatima brushed the back of her hand. “Tradition has it that a bride does not do work in the household until the last of the henna has faded. It marks the end of the honeymoon. You can imagine how for centuries young brides avoided water, or anything else that might hasten the fading process.” Fatima smiled fondly. “That is not for you to worry about, however. You’re a princess in this great house, and we’re unlikely to set you to work in the kitchen.”
“I don’t know,” Dora teased. “I peel a pretty mean potato.”
Fatima didn’t return her smile. “I would imagine you can do anything you set your mind to. Don’t forget that, child. Don’t give up too easily.” She rose to her feet. “Listen to me, prattling on like the old woman I am. Stand up, and let me look at you.”
Dora did as she requested. Like Fatima, she dressed traditionally for the ceremony. A simple silk chemise served as her only undergarment. Over that she wore a long-sleeved lace dress, fitted to the waist, then falling loose to the floor. Heavily embroidered robes went over the dress and covered her completely. Rihana had worked wonders with her hair, pulling it up and securing it with a diamond headdress. Except for the gold thread from the embroidery, she was dressed entirely in white.
Fatima, whose slender body was draped in exquisite robes of blue and green, circled her. “Just lovely. This wedding robe is more than a hundred years old. I was married in it myself.”
Dora glanced over her shoulder so that she could see the expanse of fabric in the mirror. El Baharian tradition prescribed that each bride add something to the marriage robe, a small picture of something symbolic to her alone. In the royal family, the picture was chosen by the groom and sewn by a female relative in his household. Fatima had stayed up late several nights completing her contribution to the robe.
The older woman touched a small design of a tree with many branches, just over Dora’s right hip. “That is the symbol of my homeland of Bahania. There was much discussion about what symbol would be added for you.” Fatima laughed. “Jamal suggested a portrait of Elvis, while Malik favored the American flag.”
She couldn’t imagine the king agreeing to either. “What did Khalil pick?”
“This.” Fatima touched a small flower near the hem. “Khalil said he wanted a symbol of the desert rose.” She smiled. “But he specified that one of the leaves was to be made to look like the paw print of the desert cat. As we have no such creature in our country, I thought it was a most unusual request.”
Dora could feel herself blushing. She remembered their night of lovemaking, when he’d first compared her to a desert rose, then afterward had called her his desert wildcat.
“Very interesting,” she said without meeting Fatima’s gaze.
The older woman moved in front of her and kissed her cheek. “Don’t be afraid. I have cast your fortune upon the water, and the future has been revealed to me. You will need to be strong, but if you trust your heart and stay on the true course, you will achieve your soul’s desire.”
Then she secured the sheer white veil across the lower half of Dora’s face and left the room.
Dora stood alone within the protective walls of the harem. She couldn’t believe all that had happened to her in the past month. Her life had changed so dramatically, she couldn’t seem to catch her breath. Ironically her wedding ceremony today, to Khalil, would occur the day after she’d been scheduled to marry Gerald.
She turned slowly so that she could see herself in the large mirror across the room. Instead of a thirty-year-old woman in a traditional wedding gown, she stared into the dark eyes of a stranger. Heavy garments covered her from her shoulders to her toes, and the sheer veil concealed the details of her features. She looked exotic and otherworldly, not at all the timid woman she’d been a month before.
Fatima had promised that she could achieve her soul’s desire, if she was strong and trusted her heart. Dora squeezed her hennaed fingers so tightly together that her nails dug into her skin. Her soul’s desire was to find her one true love. To be cared for, and to care in return; to have children, to raise those children, and then to grow old next to a wonderful man. Not riches, not titles, not power—just the joy of being part of a warm, loving marriage.
As heart’s desires went, it was fairly standard. Surely she wasn’t asking for too much.
“Are you nervous?”
Dora glanced up and saw a beautiful young woman standing behind her. She hadn’t heard her enter the harem.
She turned and looked at the petite, dark-haired goddess dressed in a shimmering gold-and-white dress that emphasized the incredible shape of her body. Her face was exquisite with perfect features that looked amazingly familiar. Dora stared and tried to remember—then it came back to her. This was the woman Khalil had argued with in the clothing store in New York.
“We haven’t met,” the young woman said, moving toward Dora, but not holding out her hand in greeting. “My name is Amber. I’m Khalil’s fiancée.” She paused, then touched perfectly manicured, long red fingernails to her pouty mouth. “Oh, dear. That was a slip of the tongue. I should say Khalil’s former fiancée.”
The heavy silk robes might conceal Dora’s body from view, but she knew that her own pear shape was no competition for the young beauty in front of her. Amber was everything she’d ever wanted to be—everything she’d ever admired. How could Khalil have turned his back on this vision to marry her?
“Cat got your tongue?” Amber asked in a low, husky voice.
“No, of course not. I’m just surprised to see you.”
“I can only imagine.” Amber gave her an imperfect smile, then began to walk in a slow circle around her. “My, my, my. You’re not at all what I pictured. I had hoped he might have at least chosen someone more…” She made a fluttering gesture with her right hand.
Amber’s thick, long hair had been piled on top of her head, giving her a few added inches of height. Large diamonds twinkled in the upswept curls. As Dora stared at them, she reached up and touched her own headdress. It was only then that she realized the other woman’s dress resembled a robe, although the fabric of Amber’s gown was thin enough to mold to her body. In fact, everything about Amber’s appearance was either a mockery or an imitation of Dora’s wedding garb. Her heart sank.
“What are you doing here?”
“At the wedding?” Amber asked, deliberately misunderstanding. “I’m the daughter of the prime minister and a close friend of the family. That makes me a very important guest. Of course I’d expected to attend this wedding in a slightly different capacity.” Something flickered in her brown eyes as she continued to circle Dora.
“This is a disaster for all of us,” Amber continued. “I blame myself, of course. If I hadn’t fought with Khalil while he was in New York, none of this would have happened.” She paused and lowered her gaze. “It was a lover’s spat. We were both so silly. Khalil insists on dictating my life, and I couldn’t stand it anymore. I told him it was over.”
She stared directly at Dora. “He was so furious. So I left. But instead of coming after me, he came to you. Into your virgin bed.”
Dora stiffened. How had Amber known that Dora hadn’t…
“He told me,” Amber said, answering the silent question. “He tells me everything. You can imagine how distraught he was to find out that you were innocent. He is, after all, a most honorable man. How could he turn his back on what he’d done? So he proposed. Of course neither of us thought you would accept.”
Dora’s stomach turned over, and her throat tightened. This fabulous creature i
n front of her was lying. She had to be lying. It hadn’t happened like that.
“He insisted,” she murmured, forcing the words past suddenly dry lips.
“Did he?” Amber asked languidly. She paused in front of the mirror and patted her perfectly coiffed hair. “He can be most convincing. But how awkward for all of us that you believed him. My father is distraught, as is most of the country. I am a favored daughter while you are…not.”
Dora took a step back. She didn’t know what to think or feel. She could only retreat.
Amber smiled sadly. “Then there is the matter of us still loving each other. I don’t know what to do about that.” Their gazes met in the mirror.
“He doesn’t love you,” Dora said shakily, unable to believe what was happening. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. She was dreaming except that her body was too cold, too bruised for her to be anything but very awake. Dreams never hurt this much.
Amber turned to face her. Compassion added incredible beauty to already perfect features. “Dora, has Khalil made love with you once since that first night?”
Dora opened her mouth, but she couldn’t seem to form words. Mutely she shook her head.
“And since you’ve been in my country, has he ever been with you?”
“I’ve been in the harem,” she managed to whisper.
Amber shrugged. “Khalil has managed to find his way inside my father’s house, which is halfway across the city and as well-guarded as the palace. If he’d wanted to, don’t you think he could have made his way down the hall?”
Dora could feel her face flushing, then growing cold. Her eyes burned, but she could not give in to the tears. Was Amber speaking the truth? Dora didn’t want to believe her, but the young woman knew too many details. Had Khalil discussed this with her? The humiliation made her stomach twist and rise. She had to swallow the taste of bile.
The Desert Rogues Part 1 Page 11
