The Secret of the Sheikh's Betrothed

by Felicitas Ivey

  “I was expecting the entire tribe to be here,” Grandfather commented mildly. “Surely the wedding of Muna din Abdel’s youngest daughter would be cause for great celebration?”

  Hashim looked very uncomfortable, almost squirming under his grandfather’s gaze. “The herds…,” he started.

  Grandfather waited politely for Hashim to finish that thought, but the silence stretched between them, Hashim sweating freely as he realized how angry Grandfather was, despite the tone of his greeting.

  “The hospitality of this place is offered to you,” Grandfather intoned when he realized Hashim wasn’t going to say anything else. “Make free with my water, my food, and my pastures.”

  Fathi winced at the faint sarcasm in his grandfather’s voice at the last word. Hashim’s face twisted, and Fathi knew the other man had heard it. The young man with him looked around, and Fathi thought it looked like he was seeing what he could steal from them, more than admiring the stonework and statues in the courtyard. What was he doing here? Was he Ikraam’s secret lover and hoping to flee with her to avoid the marriage? Was Fathi thinking like this because he was beginning to believe he was in a romance novel? Was there something about being cut off from the rest of the world that gave him these fanciful thoughts? Rayyan was the romantic one, the dreamer and people person. Give Fathi a ledger and a problem to solve and he was in his element. Ikraam wasn’t either of those, and he had no idea what to do.

  “My harem has been empty, since I and my grandsons are unwed, but it is now open for your women, and every treat and delicacy has been supplied for them. One of my servants will show them the way and wait upon their needs,” Grandfather said. “Also, rooms have been arranged for you and your companion near the harem. Rest and partake of my generosity. We will start the discussions about the wedding in the morning.”

  Grandfather bowed deeply when he said that and then signaled for the servants to show everyone where they were supposed to be staying. Fathi followed his grandfather with one last look at the women, trying to figure out which one of them was supposed to be his betrothed. He didn’t know why he cared, but he was curious. Maybe it was because he hadn’t been able to see who she was. There was something about a heavily veiled woman that made her intriguing, even if he wasn’t sexually interested in women. It was the mystery. What did she look like? What was she wearing? Would she like him? And now he was acting like a teenager, when he was trying to be straight. He was tired and confused and wondering if he was losing his mind. Fathi wondered what was wrong with him, as he followed Grandfather back into the fort.

  Chapter Six

  IKRAAM was silent as he followed his sister and his niece into the fort. A servant dressed much better than he was escorted them. He kept his eyes on the ground and tried not to laugh at the disaster this was. If he started laughing, he wouldn’t stop until he cried. Then Bahiyya would dose him with the essence of poppy to control him. She would keep him drugged up until long after the rest of them left, so he wouldn’t betray her ruse. Sabah was beside him, looking around in wonder.

  The thick outside walls opened up to a large courtyard. In the middle was a garden, filled with greenery. The floor was a rough terra-cotta, and there were paths and fountains scattered among the plants. The whole thing looked unreal to him. The walls on the first floor had heavy doors, looking like they were easily defendable. The place felt solid and permanent, which led Ikraam to feel overwhelmed for a moment as he became aware of the weight of the place. He looked up, glad to see the sky, and was reassured by the appearance of the second floor. That floor was covered with delicate and fanciful lacework balconies on two sides. The other sides he could see had simple arches, which opened onto balconies. That was light and airy, and obviously a place meant to be lived in, even if it felt empty.

  “This place is beautiful,” Sabah said.

  “I wonder which one of them was my intended?” Ikraam murmured.

  “Does it matter?” Sabah asked. “He’s supposed to take one look at you and fall instantly in love.” She waved her arm around. “This place looks like it belongs in one of those romantic tales, so it will happen like that. Then the two of you will be happy together! And you will be waited on like a princess from all the servants here.”

  Sabah was right; this place did look like it belonged in one of Scheherazade’s stories. It was contributing to the feeling of unreality he was having right now. They had been told love was like that in all the stories they had grown up with. Wild tales of handsome men who would fall in love at the glimpse of a woman’s face, and then they would live happily ever after. They were both finding out now how wrong those stories had been. Ikraam had almost accepted this marriage was going to be a disaster and was planning to keep Sabah out of whatever punishment the groom’s family inflicted on them when they discovered Bahiyya’s lie. His sister had been touched by djinn to think this scheme would work. Ikraam was half tempted to announce his true sex to the world right now, just so he wouldn’t have to live with his nerves for the next few days.

  “I don’t know if my intended knows if that is what is supposed to happen,” Ikraam pointed out.

  He doubted a city man would understand how he had been raised, any more than he understood what his groom’s life was like. That uncertainty was just adding to his nerves. How insulted would his groom be at his sister’s twisting of their betrothal contract? Or the fact the contents of his dower chest were meaner than the poorest servant in the tribe’s? That stung in ways he didn’t expect, just another example of Bahiyya’s abuse. He brought nothing into this marriage, and his sister was plotting to see what she could take from his intended’s family. They had already insulted them when they didn’t bring the tribe with them. How would they react to Bahiyya’s demands for more goats? She would be increasing her demands now that she’d seen the wealth of this place. Ikraam sighed. That wouldn’t make his groom like him, since he would think Ikraam was as greedy as Bahiyya. But what was he thinking? His intended would recoil from him in horror as soon as he realized Ikraam was a man.

  “Ikraam?”

  “Sabah, he’s a man of the modern world,” Ikraam said, pulling his mind back to the conversation. “A man who knows nothing of the desert or our way of life. He seems to have no herds, and I doubt he even knows how to survive in the desert. We are not going to be able to understand each other at all! And he probably lives here as his only home.”

  Ikraam and Sabah climbed the stairs to the second floor. Ikraam had wanted to explore the garden a little, amazed at the greenery and water. But he was to be locked away again, even if he was heartily sick of it. Yet it showed him his intended had been raised correctly, if his grandfather still kept to the old ways.

  “So he would keep you secluded here?” Sabah demanded in horror. “How does he even survive? What is his wealth? Will he be able to care for you?”

  Ikraam shrugged. “The townsmen we deal with, their wealth is in possessions and not herds and living off of them. I am near the desert. I would be… accepting of this place, if we… I were to live here.”

  He stopped and looked around at the top of the stairs. The walls seemed to close in on him again, and he felt trapped. Ikraam shut his eyes and the feeling passed, and he hurried to keep up with the others. He didn’t want to lag behind; Bahiyya would think he was trying to escape and then punish him. He didn’t know if he would be comfortable living here, no matter what he had just said.

  It seemed beautiful, but he hadn’t seen all of it. Would his intended insist they live in the city? If the city were anything like the villages the tribe traded with, from what little he had seen, he wouldn’t like it. The noise and the stink seemed to be so overpowering, it would even fill the women’s quarters when they camped near one. It was probably worse in the city, with automobiles and other smelly things he had heard about. Even if his intended didn’t marry him, he might let him live here in peace. He could figure out some way of earning his keep.

  “Mainly because Mo
ther isn’t here,” Sabah muttered when he caught up with her.

  Ikraam looked around, sensing the place didn’t feel like anyone had ever lived there. “There doesn’t even seem to be many servants,” he said.

  Not that the place was dirty—far from it. The place gleamed, it was so clean, but there didn’t seem to be anyone here. There had always been someone to help them keep the tent tidy and help with setting it up and tearing it down when they moved. He didn’t know how he would even try to keep something this big as clean as he had kept his part of the harem, if there were no one to help him.

  Sabah suddenly giggled. “You could run around the whole day unveiled.”

  Ikraam laughed with her. It was a ridiculous idea to be able to bare his face to the entire world like a man. “It could also be his family is small and doesn’t need many servants. And it isn’t like I can’t take care of myself.”

  It would also prove his worth to his intended, even if he wasn’t the wife he had been promised. He was a decent weaver, and so maybe he could support himself from that? He had packed his small handloom, after all, thinking he might be able to get some work done here. And to keep Bahiyya from having it. Petty, but that was what his life had been reduced to.

  “But what do you know about taking care of a husband?” Sabah teased.

  “What does he know about taking care of me?” Ikraam replied.

  He was in a good mood, even if he was tired. Bahiyya had ignored him during their journey. They had traveled quickly, since they had no herds, and Bahiyya had harried them to keep moving until today. She had timed their arrival so it would be too late for the negotiations to start. Bahiyya would have hours to instruct Hashim on how to act and what she wanted out of this marriage.

  On their journey Ikraam had made sure Sabah wasn’t out of his sight and had slept by her, since he didn’t trust Ghalib not to take advantage of her. He was sure Bahiyya would encourage it too, to tie the man tighter to them. However, they were here now, and he was going to make sure Sabah was safe from her intended while he still could. If Ghalib attempted something with either one of them by sneaking into the women’s quarters…. Well, the place was large, and Ikraam was certain he could hide the body somewhere in the desert around it, if he needed to.

  His thoughts were interrupted when they arrived at the harem. They passed through a heavily carved wooden set of doors before entering into a large, open space.

  Bahiyya was looking down her nose at the woman who was their escort.

  “Our father did something right for once,” Bahiyya muttered as she looked around. “This family will be a powerful ally.”

  Or enemy, Ikraam thought. Was his sister sun-touched to think they would overlook the fact the “bride” was a man? Or was this the reason Sabah was here, so she could be offered as a replacement to him? But then, what would happen to him?

  “Here are your quarters,” the servant announced. Bahiyya swept by her regally, while Sabah followed her mother nervously after glancing quickly at the woman.

  “I thank you for your service,” Ikraam murmured. “What is your name?”

  “I am Lamis,” the woman said with a shallow bow.

  Ikraam looked around, amazed at the colorful tiles decorating the place. The floor was a mosaic, a soothing blue flower pattern, and was dotted with an occasional woven rug. The walls were filled with mosaics of trees, so it felt like he was surrounded by them. All of it was finer than anything he had seen before, and he felt insignificant with the elegance of the place.

  Ikraam continued to explore. The place was enormous, with a large pool of water in the middle. There were colorful pillows scattered around, along with some couches. On the far side of the room was an opening to the balcony that overlooked the inner courtyard. There were openings along the sidewalls to other rooms. The place should be filled with women and children, but there was just the three of them here. That made Ikraam sad. This place should be filled with life, and it wasn’t. His intended deserved a bride who could fill his nursery with children, not Ikraam.

  “Your trunks will be delivered in a few moments,” Lamis said. “And then this place is off-limits to every man here, including the amir.”

  “That is very kind of him,” Ikraam said. “Please convey our thanks to him.”

  “You’re acting above your place,” Bahiyya snapped.

  “Of course,” Ikraam murmured. “I apologize.”

  He didn’t miss the way Lamis’s eyes tightened when his sister spoke. Bahiyya had always been proud and overbearing, but this rudeness was uncalled for. However, his sister never overlooked an opportunity to belittle him in front of others.

  “Get in here!” Bahiyya screeched after moving into another room. “Show me how everything in this place works!”

  Ikraam and Lamis exchanged pained looks, and then Lamis hurried off to cater to Bahiyya’s demands and explain the mechanical marvels of the harem to his sister. Sabah reluctantly followed her mother.

  Ikraam sat on the floor, not wanting to be near to Bahiyya anymore. He leaned against the wall of the pool and closed his eyes. He was exhausted and didn’t want to try Bahiyya’s temper, so he would stay out of her way. Sabah could tell him how everything worked later.

  IKRAAM was enjoying the silence before he bathed, since Bahiyya had locked herself in the largest bathing room to clean up. He would bathe in the smaller bathing area when Sabah was through with it. For now, he appreciated simply sitting still after days on a camel.

  He could set up his loom instead, and it would keep him occupied while his fate was decided. And he could try to ignore Bahiyya when he was working, since she would be seething she wasn’t involved in the negotiations and wasn’t close enough to tell Hashim what she wanted him to do.

  “I would marry your groom for all this room,” Sabah said, coming out of her bedroom. She had finished bathing and was just in a kaftan, her feet bare, with her damp hair tumbling down her back. “I would marry his grandfather, even.”

  Ikraam’s things were in a different room, but he was certain Sabah would be sleeping in the same room with him before the night was over. He was amazed there were even separate sleeping quarters for him and his niece as well as this common area. Ghalib was far away from them, as was Bahiyya and Hashim. He should be worried they were so isolated, but Ikraam was enjoying the silence and the privacy.

  “I should let you,” Ikraam said wryly. “You can marry my intended and I will pretend to be your old auntie you need as a nanny for your many, pretty children.”

  Sabah managed a laugh for a second, then faltered, and Ikraam wanted to hit himself for being so foolish. Sabah’s betrothed was a brute. But Bahiyya wanted an alliance with the man’s tribe, and Sabah was only a daughter. Who cared what they thought or what happened to them?

  “Which one do you think is your groom?” Sabah asked, recovering her excitement. “They are both as pretty and pampered-looking as a woman! And twins!”

  Whereas Amir al-Murzim looked like he had been carved out of stone, he had been so chilly and proper in his greeting. What had Bahiyya been thinking to treat his joining with this household as a shameful secret! He could have told her it would cause more trouble for their people than it would him. They had insulted the amir, a prince, by implying he would be a poor host. Ikraam had wanted to sink into the sands in embarrassment when that happened. Yet his sister had gotten her way, the last hurt she could inflict on him, by doing this. Ikraam sighed. He doubted his marriage settlement would be improved by this act of spite. Sometimes his sister was a fool. Hashim hadn’t even thought through the repercussions of this, since he was too used to having Bahiyya leading him about by his nose… or an organ much lower than that one.

  “Do you know there are enough rooms here to house the entire tribe?” Sabah said excitedly, not caring about his answer. “We’ve each gotten our own!”

  “That’s impressive,” Ikraam replied.

  He’d never slept by himself before. There was always someo
ne within an arm’s reach of him, usually one of the serving women or Sabah. Bahiyya always slept by her husband’s side, making sure he didn’t stray from her. She wouldn’t bother them here, Ikraam hoped, though she might spend her free time with them during the negotiations. It wouldn’t be pleasant, and he knew he would be the target of his sister’s sharp tongue as she fretted about what her husband was doing.

  “Water comes out of the walls, like magic!” Sabah continued. “And there are special rooms for your bodily waste. Also I was told they have harnessed the sun so there is always light when you want it. All you have to do is flip a switch and there is a small sun!”

  “All I want is privacy to bathe and rest,” Ikraam told her. “I will learn the wonders of this place later.”

  He felt gritty and dirty, tired from riding for days. Bahiyya had waited as long as she could before leaving the tribe, so she could claim the need for haste was the reason to leave the herds behind. She had chivied them across the sands to this place, watching Sabah and him closely. They both knew how to survive in the desert, but as he had told his sister before—where were they going to run to?

  “But,” he added, knowing he had been rude to Sabah, “I would like it if you showed me them.”

  Sabah smiled at him, but then ran off to explore more of the harem. “When you want to clean up, I will show you!” she called back.

  Ikraam stretched, feeling old and tired. He wanted to bathe and then have something to eat. He went into the room next to Sabah’s. He wasn’t surprised the room that he had been given was dominated by a large decadent-looking bed. It looked as soft as a cloud. There were two wardrobes and a door that led out to the balcony. There was an opening to what he guessed was the bathing room. He would clean up in a couple of minutes, when he was certain he wasn’t going to be disturbed by Lamis. He debated taking off his veil, but then he heard noise in the main room.