Geoff had the consultancy he’d been aiming for and had learned, just before he’d left for the airport, that he’d been appointed to take over Razak’s position with the dual theatre system made a permanent part of the orthopaedic department. He’d joked that it had probably been Reg’s idea in the hope that he was too inexperienced to maintain it and that it would swiftly collapse in chaos.
Lily had known that wasn’t even a possibility. Razak had put too much of himself into setting the trial up and training the two of them for Geoff not to be able to cope with the challenging work, but she wasn’t going to think about that now. For the next week she was going to forget all about work. It was time to concentrate on consigning Razak to her past.
‘I’m trying to be terribly well organised,’ Razak announced to a ripple of laughter, his husky voice immediately drawing her attention, ‘so when I call your name out—in strict alphabetical order, of course—will you each follow your guide, who will take you to your room. There will be an informal meal in just over an hour and then I’ve arranged to ferry all of us over to the hospital so you can have a good look at my new department before the dedication ceremony. Please, be aware that I would be completely delighted if every one of you decided to stay and work with me…’
They were all still chuckling as he began to read out their names one by one.
Lily had positioned herself towards the back of the group, taking advantage of the number of bodies between them to take in her fill of the handsome dark-eyed man laughing and teasing with his former colleagues.
She’d been afraid during the flight that she might not be able to keep her emotions under control when she saw him in his own home again, but she was just so glad to see him at all that she was coping. In fact, she would probably be quite all right just as long as he didn’t single her out for any special treatment.
‘Lily, would you go with Faria?’ he called, with nothing more than a quick glance in her direction as a beautiful smiling young woman beckoned to her to follow her along the first of several long corridors.
Part of her was relieved that they were going in a different direction from her last stay here, while another was depressed that this time she wouldn’t be staying anywhere near Razak. Then Faria opened the door on an even more luxurious suite than the last one she’d been given.
‘Oh!’ Lily exclaimed, when she saw the sumptuous hangings surrounding the bed and the priceless carpet spreading out in front of her feet. ‘This is so beautiful. Are you sure it’s for me?’ she said, turning to question her guide, only to find that she’d disappeared, the door already closed silently behind her.
Lily couldn’t resist exploring her temporary domain, marvelling over the totally modern bathroom with a walk-in shower spacious enough for half a dozen bodies at once and a bath nearly big enough to swim in.
It wasn’t until she bounced on the bed to test the mattress that she realised just how vast the bed was and the fact that the beautiful silky hangings around the bed were there for more than decoration.
‘What fun.’ She giggled as she experimentally drew them together along one side of the bed, picturing how cosy it would feel to have the whole bed secluded in such a way if you were sharing it with…
‘Dammit, don’t go there!’ she commanded herself aloud, as loss crashed over her again. In a matter of days…hours, even…Razak would be married to his Dita. It just felt wrong for her to imagine sharing this bed with him when he could never be hers.
There was a gentle tap at the door and her invitation brought the same dark-eyed beauty to lead her to the dining room to join the others.
‘Heavens! I haven’t unpacked my bag,’ she exclaimed in a panic. She glanced round but couldn’t see a sign of it. ‘Well, it’s too late to change into something fresh anyway. I’ll just brush my hair. One minute,’ she promised, dragging her brush out of her shoulder-bag with one hand and holding up one finger with the other before she scampered into that amazing bathroom again.
‘Isn’t this place fabulous?’ bubbled Tim’s wife, Anne. ‘It feels almost as if we’ve stepped onto the stage of a big-budget costume drama. We’re the crowd of extras and all we need is the principal actors to make their entrance and the director to shout, “Action.”’
At that precise moment Razak came striding in to join them and Lily shared a quiet laugh with Anne when she muttered, ‘Oh, yes! Definitely leading-man material!’
‘Please, everybody. Don’t stand on ceremony,’ he invited. ‘The food has been set out as a buffet so you can help yourselves to whatever takes your fancy. And try a few things you don’t recognise, too!’
‘Hello, Lily. I’m so glad to see you again,’ said a half-remembered voice behind her, and she turned to find Razak’s brother waiting with a smile.
‘Oh, Karim, it’s lovely to see you, too!’ she exclaimed. ‘Can I introduce you to Anne? Her husband, Tim, is…was one of Razak’s anaesthetists.’
She watched with a smile as Karim turned his charm on her companion but she could tell that there was something different about Razak’s younger brother. He’d been such a laid-back character when she’d met him all those months ago. Today there was a suppressed air of excitement about him, almost as if he was ready to explode.
He turned back to her, for a moment apparently lost for words. ‘I’m afraid I have some unfortunate information Lily,’ he said biting his lip. ‘It seems that your luggage has somehow been mislaid. I hope you will not mind that my sisters will put out some clothing for you to wear this evening?’
‘Oh.’ She blinked, wondering how her bag could have gone astray when it had been loaded by hand onto the private plane that had brought them here. ‘But…my wash kit was in there, and my outfit for this evening.’ Not that she’d been absolutely certain that she’d made the most flattering choice, but she hadn’t wanted to ask the advice of any of her sisters because she would have had to tell them why it was so important to her to look cool, calm and collected.
‘I promise, my sisters will see to everything. You have only to ask.’ He gave her one of those smiles that was so like his elder brother’s. ‘I will see you later for the ceremony—after you have all been to the hospital.’
Surely he had meant that he would see her later at the hospital for the ceremony, Lily thought, her brain rearranging his words as she sampled a selection of the delicious food.
‘This is almost like going on a school outing,’ someone called out a short while later as they all embarked on a luxurious coach. ‘Does anyone know how far away the hospital is?’
‘The journey will take about twenty minutes,’ the coach driver informed them. ‘There will be many guests and much attention from television and newspapers but you are special guests of the family so you will have special place for ceremony.’
The finished centre looked even better than the architect’s drawings had suggested, a pleasing mixture of traditional materials and modern methods that certainly didn’t look out of place beside the rest of the hospital, with rapidly climbing plants already softening the outline.
Inside was even better, with no expense spared to make this a facility that would live up to everything its patients might need. Every detail seemed to be perfect, from something as mundane as the choice of floor coverings to the most high-tech, computer-controlled MRI and CT scanners. The fully equipped rehab department alone was enough to make them all green with envy.
But it was the theatres that that drew most admiration from the team and no little measure of envy, in spite of the fact that they’d been working in the most modern ones in their own hospital for the last few months.
‘So, how many of you would like to sign up?’ Razak teased, clearly delighted with the way his dream had taken shape. ‘We already have staff in the old orthopaedic department in the main hospital and they will be moving in here with me, but until they have been trained in the parallel theatre system the way you have…’ He shook his head sorrowfully. ‘They will be nothing like you
people for a long time to come.’
‘They’ll never be like us,’ Tim contradicted, to cheers of agreement from his colleagues. ‘We’re completely unique and special.’
Lily had a lump in her throat when she realised that Tim had spoken nothing less than the truth. They were a special team, but that was largely because Razak had made them into a team with his own drive and enthusiasm.
Long before he’d come to the end of his contract they’d had the satisfaction of catching up completely with the outstanding list of patients waiting for operations. No one now had to wait longer than two or three weeks after their initial consultation for their operation, and they’d even had enough theatre time spare to operate on their colleagues’ patients when even their lists become unconscionably long.
She had a sad feeling that their department would never be the same now he had left it, even though Geoff would be continuing with the same operating system.
The dedication ceremony was very similar to their own, all those months ago, but this time the VIP cutting the ribbon was someone she’d actually met and spoken to—Razak’s father.
He still looked a little frail but he was looking so much better than the first time she’d seen him, in a hospital bed hooked up to wires and drips after surgery.
To her surprise, once the ceremony was over he beckoned her over to speak to him.
‘I am so pleased to see you here in my country again,’ he said, as he looped her hand through his elbow and patted it as he set off for a gentle walk around the lushly landscaped grounds. ‘Are you pleased to be here again? Do you like my country?’
‘I haven’t seen very much of it,’ she temporised honestly, but there was something in his expression that encouraged her to say more than the usual platitudes, to tell him about the deeper impressions it had made on her.
‘When we flew in this morning the sun was just rising and spilling across the land and I was struck by how ancient and…untamed it looked, harsh and stark even. But then we flew over the river valley and it was so vividly green that it almost hurt your eyes.’
‘Is it a country you could live in?’ he persisted gently, and her heart ached with the knowledge that, much as she would love to work here, she could never bear to see Razak every day knowing… ‘Perhaps you prefer your own, with its jumble of fields and hedges and patches of lush landscape broken up by neat little villages and towns.’
Lily was silent for so long that he stopped walking and tightened his hold on her hand, waiting until she was ready to answer with the words that came directly from her heart.
‘It isn’t the country you live in that matters,’ she said softly, an ocean of sadness lapping around her heart. ‘It’s the person who shares that country with you.’
He nodded once. ‘A wise head on young shoulders,’ he said softly. ‘Come! It is time to go back. There are more ceremonies before this day is over and I am an old man who doesn’t like to go to bed too late.’
He insisted that she keep him company in the limousine that took them home and just before they parted company in the great entrance hall he tightened his grip on her hand for one last moment.
‘You will have important decisions to make soon,’ he said seriously. ‘Just remember that sometimes it is important to listen to your heart as well as your head.’
She was still wondering what he was talking about when she arrived back in her room, pleased that she’d actually managed to find her own way, and found several packages waiting for her on the end of the bed.
‘Phew!’ She whistled when she saw the designer names printed on them. ‘This is better than Christmas,’ she gasped when she saw the sets of silky underwear and nightwear, then guilt struck her. This was all so much better quality than the ordinary chain-store stuff in her missing bag. The shoes, too, were glove-soft leather with the small neat heel she preferred and exactly her size. The fact that she’d been taller than most of her contemporaries and that she had to spend so many hours in a day on her feet had put her off wearing anything higher many years ago. Razak must have told someone that, although where they would have found something so perfect in such a short space of time…
The last package was a large flat unmarked box that revealed several layers of tissue paper protecting the most beautiful dress she’d ever seen.
Somewhere between a slim-fitting coat and an evening dress, it was floor-length and had a wealth of sumptuous embroidery around the neckline and down the front that exactly matched the ivory colour of the fabric.
A tap at the door revealed Faria’s smiling face.
‘I will help you to get ready,’ she announced, as she carried in an armful of toiletries. ‘First, the hair.’
For a moment Lily was astonished by the young woman’s take-charge attitude. There certainly wasn’t a trace of the self-effacing persona she’d shown earlier as she beckoned her towards the bathroom.
Lily hesitated, unaccustomed to allowing people to do things for her that she was perfectly capable of doing for herself, but then something inside her told her to just let go and enjoy the opportunity and she relinquished control for however long it took for Faria to achieve her aims.
It was more than an hour before her determined taskmistress was satisfied and finally stepped back to allow Lily her first look at her efforts.
‘Oh, Faria,’ she breathed, when she caught sight of the vision in the mirror, and even the fact that she was surrounded by the scent of jasmine from the perfume the young woman had applied couldn’t dim her delight.
Whatever the young woman had used on her hair—henna, perhaps—had brought out highlights of bronze, copper and gold that she’d never seen before in her dull broomhandle-brown hair, and as for the make-up she’d applied so delicately…
‘You can hardly see that it’s there, even when you look closely,’ she murmured, leaning towards the mirror. ‘But whatever you’ve done makes my eyes look so big and the shape of my face…’
For the first time she could see a resemblance with her mother and her so much prettier sisters. Had it been there all the time, if only she’d been bothered to look, just waiting for the right touch?
‘And now your dress,’ Faria prompted urgently, after a quick glance at her watch. ‘You must be ready in time.’
Lily was certain no one would notice if she didn’t turn up in time for whatever ceremony was to take place, but her delicate despot obviously had other ideas as she helped her into the gorgeous creation and fastened the row of real pearl buttons that ran all the way from neck to hem.
The shoes were every bit as comfortable as they’d looked, but she barely had time for more than a stunned moment or two marvelling at the exquisite picture she saw in the mirror before there was a knock at the door.
‘Oh! It is time!’ Faria exclaimed, and hesitated for just a second before she leant forward to brush her cheek against Lily’s. ‘I wish you much happiness,’ she said, just before the knock came a second time and she raced to open it.
Lily wasn’t sure who she’d been expecting—someone to tell her that it was time for them all to gather for this latest ceremony, perhaps—but it certainly hadn’t been Razak.
‘What are you doing here?’ she demanded on a squeak of disbelief, her heart breaking all over again when she saw how wonderful he looked and knew that after today he would be for ever out of her reach. ‘Shouldn’t you be getting ready?’
Faria had told her while she’d been completing the beauty rituals that his father would be making his formal announcement confirming his son’s eventual succession just before the marriage ceremony.
Until that moment Lily had thought she had at least another few hours to marshal her self-control before she had to watch the man she loved marry someone else. Now she knew it was a matter of minutes away and to have him here, in her room, with those dark, dark eyes gleaming as they gazed at her, was almost more than she could stand without breaking down, and she refused to do that in front of him.
‘Ah, m
y jasmine flower,’ he said in the husky tone that she would remember for ever. ‘So beautiful. So perfect.’
She swallowed hard. ‘What are you doing here, Razak?’ she demanded, her voice shakier than she would have liked.
‘I have come for three reasons,’ he said, and to her surprise she heard a hint of nervousness in his voice. What did he have to be nervous about? Curiosity alone kept her listening when logic should have had her sending him away.
‘First, I must make an apology,’ he said. ‘It is a long overdue apology, but that does not mean it is any less deeply felt. My behaviour that night was more than regrettable, it was…inexcusable.’
Lily had to consciously lock her knees to stop herself collapsing. She’d thought her heart couldn’t hurt any more but to hear that he regretted what had happened between them was…
‘I am not apologising for making love to you,’ he declared bluntly, stopping her thoughts in their tracks. ‘I do not regret a single moment…a single caress…Just the way I behaved when I discovered that I was the first man you had ever permitted to be with you in that way.’
‘So, why did you…?’ she whispered, more confused than ever. If he didn’t regret what had happened, why had he…? ‘No!’ She shook her head sharply. ‘Don’t say anything more. It doesn’t really matter why you rejected me, does it? None of it does. When your mother told me about Dita I understood that it had only been some sort of game for you.’
‘Ah!’ he said, as though a puzzle had just been solved. ‘And Mother doubtless also spoke to you about the duties and expectations of the first-born son.’
Something in her face gave him his answer and he flung his arms out impatiently.
‘Oh, Lily, how could you ever believe for a minute that I would give up being a doctor? Surely you know that it is part of who I am?’
‘I said that, too. But she said that you would never go against your father’s wishes.’
‘True. But that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t try to change his mind, or that he is so stubborn that he wouldn’t see that Karim is infinitely better suited to be his successor.’
Sheikh Surgeon, Surprise Bride Page 15
