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He left, closing Jamal’s door behind him. The king and Fatima settled into the two leather chairs on the visitor’s side of his desk.
“What does Malik think is wrong with you?” Fatima asked as she smoothed her silk skirt into place.
“Nothing important.”
As always his grandmother looked lovely. Today she wore a purple dress that emphasized her still-slender shape. The king wore a business suit, as he usually did during the work day. At night or on weekends, he favored the El Baharian traditional garb of cotton pants and a shirt, both covered by a robe.
“We’re here about Heidi,” the king began in his usual forthright way. “It is time you remarried, and she is the bride I have chosen for you.”
His father didn’t believe in subtle, Jamal thought humorously. It made for short, to-the-point conversations.
“There are many advantages to the union,” Fatima said, leaning toward him. “Heidi has a great interest in El Baharian history. She adores the country and understands the customs. Her time in Switzerland has prepared her to handle most of the social functions she’ll be required to attend. She’s healthy, intelligent, and she wants children. On a more personal note, I believe she’s quite fond of you.”
“She doesn’t know me well enough to be fond of me or not,” Jamal said. “And that’s not the point. Heidi is, as you’ve pointed out, an intelligent woman. She’s not interested in marrying anyone at this point in her life. She should be free to choose her future husband. Let her have a normal courtship. Let her meet someone and fall in love.”
“What’s to say she won’t fall in love with you?” Fatima asked. “You’re a prince in more ways than one.”
Jamal smiled at his grandmother, but he didn’t answer the question. In his experience, women didn’t like princes for their great personalities and sparkling wit. Women liked princes because of what they could get, be it money, status, position or power. In all his life, he’d never met a female who was interested in him for himself. He doubted he ever would.
“Do you defy me on this?” King Givon asked.
Jamal knew he was treading on dangerous territory. “Father, I will abide by your wishes. I understand my duty is to marry and produce heirs. I’m only asking you to reconsider your choice. I spent some time with Heidi last evening and found her to be a lovely young woman. I would hate to see her trapped in a marriage she doesn’t want.”
“Even if that marriage is to you?”
Especially if it was to him, but he didn’t tell the king that.
“I believe she is the right choice,” the king said. He leaned forward and placed his fist on the table. “I am not wrong in this matter.”
“You were wrong about Yasmin,” Jamal said flatly. “You were wrong about Malik’s wife.”
Fatima glared at him. “You will not speak of her,” she said quickly, meaning Malik’s wife, not Jamal’s. “As for Yasmin, yes, we were both wrong about her, but she is gone. You and El Bahar are well rid of her.”
Jamal agreed completely on the idea of being free of Yasmin. Unlike Heidi, Yasmin had wanted nothing more than to be married to a prince. She had adored nearly everything about the life. The only part she’d disliked was him. Unfortunately he’d been young and stupid and hadn’t seen that truth until it was too late. He’d made the mistake of falling in love with his shallow wife. He’d been a fool and had vowed never to make that mistake again.
“Don’t do this to Heidi,” he said. “Find me another woman, and I’ll gladly marry.”
“No,” the king said, rising to his feet. “She is the one. The wedding will be at the end of the month.”
His father swept out of the room.
Jamal turned his attention to his grandmother. “Can’t you talk to him?”
“I don’t want to. Heidi is the perfect choice for you.” She smiled. “Ask her, Jamal. I don’t believe she’ll refuse you.”
He wanted to beg her to refuse him, Jamal thought three days later as he and Heidi walked in the same garden where they’d shared their first kiss. For the past seventy-two hours, he’d tried to figure a way out of the situation, but he could not. He’d avoided both her and his family, but that hadn’t been enough. Just that morning the king had brought him a glittering diamond ring. The implication was clear.
Jamal could refuse his father’s wishes. He’d defied him enough in the past—especially when he’d been a teenager. But those rebellions had been over small matters, never issues that affected the well-being of his beloved El Bahar. A prince owed his country heirs. A son owed a father obedience. Those truths had been taught to him from the cradle. He might have many flaws, but he knew his duty. So tonight he walked beside a young woman that he had—for a brief time—liked.
The irony of the situation reflected the blackness of his soul. As long as Heidi didn’t want him, she proved that she was not interested in all a prince had to offer. Then he was free to enjoy her company. To talk with her, perhaps even be her friend. But the second she agreed to marry him, she became like the others—greedy, grasping, determined to be a princess in every sense of the word.
He’d spent the past three days avoiding her in an effort to convince himself that she wasn’t like them. That perhaps they had a chance at a happy marriage. But now, walking with her, his doubts returned. He would ask—she would say yes—and all would be lost.
“Did you plan on talking this evening, or is this a silent walk?” she asked. “I’m only curious because I don’t want to violate the ground rules, whatever they may be. If conversation is allowed, then I’d love to tell you about what I found today. It’s actually a series of love letters sent by an El Baharian general back to his bride.”
She stopped walking and stared up at him. Her eyes were bright with excitement behind the frames of her glasses. Her loose-fitting yellow dress did nothing to flatter her face or her body, but she still radiated a kind of quiet attractiveness that made him wish to see her in silk and lace…or maybe nothing at all.
Nothing at all? He wasn’t sure where that thought had come from, and he quickly pushed it away. He wasn’t interested in Heidi that way.
“They were so beautiful, but so sad,” she said. “He spoke of the horrors of battle, of missing her, and how he longed to see her now that he knew she was pregnant.” She pressed her hands together in front of her chest. “The worst part is, I’m not sure I’m going to be able to find out what happened to him. I don’t know if I can stand that. Did he make it home? Did he survive to see her and his child? The point is, I think there should be a registry of some kind tracing military leaders. Sort of a data bank. What do you think?”
The moonlight illuminated her pale skin. She bit her lip as she waited for his answer, which made him think of biting it as well. He’d enjoyed kissing her. He’d enjoyed talking with her. He didn’t want that to change.
“I think you should tell me no,” he said.
Heidi blinked twice, then lowered her hands to her sides. “Oh, Jamal. When everyone left me alone for the past couple of days I sort of hoped I’d been worried for nothing.”
“I’m afraid not.”
She touched his arm. “Then don’t ask me. If you don’t ask, I won’t have to reply. You can tell them it wouldn’t possibly work. You can say that we aren’t suited.”
“I already tried that.” He searched her face. Pity. He had a feeling they could have gotten along quite well. He reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out the diamond solitaire the king had left in his room that morning. The four-carat stone winked in the moonlight.
He took her left hand in his. “Heidi McKinley, I am Jamal Khan, Prince of El Bahar. I am asking you to marry me. To be my wife and princess of this great country. To bear my sons and daughters.” He stopped. The speech he’d practiced earlier was longer, but he forgot the rest of it. Probably because Heidi had started to cry.
She brushed at the tears on her cheek. “Sorry,” she whispered. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Tell me no.”
Her hazel eyes met his. “I can’t. I owe them too much.”
“What about what you owe yourself?”
“I could say the same thing to you,” she said. “I hate being dutiful.”
“Me, too.”
She drew in a deep breath. “Yes, Jamal, I’ll marry you.”
He ignored his disappointment and slid the ring onto her finger. Then he leaned close and kissed her cheek.
She stared at the diamond. “It’s very big.”
“Do you like it?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never been a jewelry person.” She offered an insincere smile. “Thank you.”
Oddly enough, her lack of enthusiasm made him feel a lot better. Maybe it wasn’t going to be so bad. While he didn’t know Heidi that well, on the surface she was nothing like Yasmin. That would help.
“We should talk about the marriage,” he said. “If we approach the situation logically, we should be able to find some common ground. Each getting what we want, that sort of thing.”
“All right.” Heidi glanced around, then pointed to a small bench tucked into a vine-covered alcove. “Although it’s going to be tricky to each get what we want when neither of us wants to be married.”
“We’re both reasonably intelligent adults. We’ll manage.”
She settled onto the bench. “I have to warn you, Jamal. I’m more than reasonably intelligent. Actually I get quite impatient when I have to deal with stupid people.”
“I’ll remember that.”
“Not that I meant to imply you were stupid.”
“I didn’t think so.”
“I’m sure you’re quite bright. For a man.”
He sat next to her. “Do you want to change the subject before you dig yourself a deep pit?”
She sighed. “Probably a good idea.” She wiggled on the stone bench, then turned to face him. “So, what do you want from our marriage?”
He thought for a moment. “I want to be friends.”
“Oh, that’s good. All right. Friends. What else?”
“We’ll have to have children, but I think we should wait. Get to know each other better.”
Heidi’s eyes widened behind her glasses. She cleared her throat several times. “Yes, that would be wise. Waiting, I mean. Children are something of a strain on a relationship. Or so I’ve heard.”
Whatever else might happen, she had the ability to make him laugh, Jamal thought in relief. Although he was careful not to let her see that he was amused. He knew she wouldn’t understand. Heidi was so innocent as to be an anachronism. But he didn’t mind that. When the time was right, he would be patient with her.
The thought of making love with her was intriguing, and he found himself caught up in wondering what she looked like without her dreadful clothes. From the little he saw of her body, she seemed to have all the right parts. Despite his reputation for being a ladies’ man, he didn’t insist on physical perfection in his women. He preferred enthusiasm and humor to a perfect pair of thighs.
“I want to keep working,” she told him. “I love what I do, and I’m only just getting started. You won’t get all Neanderthal on me and insist I keep our suite clean or anything, will you?”
“The palace has servants for that. You may do as you wish with your day. Although there will be some official functions that require your presence.”
She pressed a hand to her stomach. “Don’t talk about that. It will make me more nervous than I already am.”
“You should know what to expect. Don’t worry. Fatima and Dora will help you.”
She nodded. “Yes, well, I’ll think about that another time. There is another matter.”
She paused just long enough to let him know she was embarrassed by whatever it was she was about to say.
“Go on,” he prompted.
“You won’t like it.”
“Say it anyway.”
“All right. It’s about your women. I would prefer you didn’t have any.”
He knew what she was getting at but he pretended ignorance. “Any what?”
“Women. Mistresses. Lovers. Whatever you want to call them. You have a reputation, Jamal. I won’t be made a fool of.”
“I see. You want exclusivity.”
Color flared on her cheeks, but she didn’t look away. “I expect you to respect me and our vows.”
“What about my animal passions? Will you be able to satisfy them?”
“A-animal passions?” Her voice quivered. “I—I guess I can. Perhaps you could provide written instructions beforehand so I’ll know what to expect.”
He coughed to hide a laugh. “No problem. I’ll have my secretary type them up.”
“As we’ve already established, I’m very bright. I’m sure I can study them enough to be able to satisfy your…well…you know. And if the act doesn’t seem overly appealing to me, I’ll simply endure.”
Her words cut through him like a knife. His humor faded, as did his good mood and any hope that this marriage might be better than his last.
Without wanting to, he remembered his beautiful young wife standing naked in front of him, her mouth twisted in disgust as she stared at his arousal. “You’re an animal,” she’d said. “I don’t understand why I have to endure you touching me all the time. I hate it, and I’m not very fond of you.”
He pushed the memory away, but the feelings it evoked remained.
He rose to his feet. “I will not trouble you more than necessary,” he said through gritted teeth.
Heidi frowned. “Jamal, what’s wrong? What did I say?”
“Nothing but the truth. Come. Let us tell my father and grandmother the good news.”
“All right.”
Heidi still sounded troubled, but she trailed after him. He hurried, wanting to get the announcement over quickly. As soon as the congratulations were finished, Fatima would whisk Heidi into the harem where she would stay until their wedding day. They would not be allowed any time alone between now and then. The thought of not seeing her was a relief. If only he never had to see her again—ever.
Chapter Four
“I ’m going to hyperventilate,” Heidi announced as she stood in front of the full-length mirror in the harem. She stared at her reflection and knew this wasn’t really happening.
Fatima paused in the act of smoothing out the creamy white robe that covered Heidi as effectively as a shroud. “Hyperventilate. Is that too much oxygen or not enough? I can never remember. One requires breathing into a paper bag, while the other means you should put your head between your legs.”
Dora sat on a chair, arranging the folds of the headpiece. “By the time we get it figured out, Heidi will have either passed out or healed.”
Heidi tried to smile at the joke, but she couldn’t. The sense of being trapped was too strong to escape, even for a minute. She was really and truly going through with this—she was about to marry a stranger.
She certainly looked the part, she thought with amazement, studying the person in the mirror. That woman was as much a stranger as Jamal. The white robe covered her from the top of her collarbone to the tips of her toes. In back, it fanned out like a bridal-gown train. Instead of being neatly contained in its usual tidy bun, her hair was long and loose, falling nearly to her waist. Fatima had lined her eyes with kohl and added color to her lips, which emphasized both features in a way that was oddly attractive, Heidi thought, but also unfamiliar. Then there was the matter of her hands and feet.
She lifted one hand and stared at the henna on her fingers and palms. The intricate patterns were traditional in an El Baharian wedding, as in many parts of the world. They marked her as a bride. For as long as the stain lingered on her skin, the bride was considered on her honeymoon. She would not be asked to participate in any household chores.
For Heidi the fading of the henna wasn’t going to make much difference in her day-to-day life. As a princess, she wouldn’t do any cooking or cleaning. But for regular women—the loss of the henna was a time of sadness. The magic of the honeymoon then faded to just a memory. Heidi actually managed a smile as she thought of the great lengths women would go to keep their henna from disappearing.
