dressed, then immediately instructed his chauffeur to drive him to the hospital. Half expecting Darcy to have somehow found a way of escaping, despite the fact that he had left Rashid guarding her door and she couldn’t presently so much as put her foot to the floor, he couldn’t suppress his relief when he saw her sitting on top of the hospital bed, fully dressed. She looked a little peaky, and she didn’t seem best pleased to see him.
‘Oh, it’s you.’
Wanting to smile, he didn’t. The situation was far too serious for any levity. ‘Yes, it’s me. Did you manage to get any sleep last night?’
‘What do you care if I did or I didn’t?’
‘Don’t be such a child.’
‘I just want to get out of here and go home.’
She impatiently smoothed back a stray corn-gold strand of hair from her face, and her stare was defiant.
Zafir shook his head. ‘You are going nowhere until I speak with the doctor—and even then not until you give me your phone number and address.’
* * *
That had sounded like a veiled threat, not something even remotely reassuring. Inside, Darcy’s emotions clamoured. Wasn’t it enough that he’d already stamped her heart into the ground and caused irreversible damage?
A mournful sigh escaped her. The reason she’d been so determined to confront him was because they had a son together...she should never forget that.
‘I already told you I’d give them to you. I want to give you the chance to step up to your responsibilities—at the very least I thought you’d want that. And, more importantly, I want my son to know his father and likewise for you to get to know him and be proud of him.’
His tanned brow furrowed. Did she imagine she saw the shadow of pain and regret in his glance?
‘I would want all those things too,’ he agreed soberly, ‘if he is indeed my son.’
Her stomach lurched at the idea he still didn’t believe her.
‘In any case, I intend to maintain contact with you. But right now I will go and tell the nurse we’d like to see the doctor.’
Darcy had no choice but to stay put. But when the time came she hoped she would be able to ring for a cab to take her home. She didn’t want to resume relations with Zafir by feeling obligated. It was one thing having his support for Sami—if he gave it—and quite another having him lay down the law about what she did.
The question was would she be allowed to leave the hospital without any further intervention from him? It was hard to guess. The way her luck was going probably not.
When Zafir returned, she asked hopefully, ‘Will I be discharged after I’ve seen the doctor?’
‘We will soon find out. A nurse is coming to transport you to the examination room as we speak.’
A short while later Darcy nervously submitted to the doctor’s examination of her swollen ankle. As Zafir watched the proceedings she saw his gaze was steely-eyed and serious.
Faint with worry, she mulled over the possible outcomes. What if they wanted to keep her here for another night? If that happened, what would she do? She was hardly in a position just to walk out. It went without saying that her mother would insist on visiting her, and if that happened by necessity she would have to bring Sami with her. It was a Saturday and the school week was over. But if Sami saw her in hospital she knew he would be distressed, seeing her incapacitated like this...
‘Well, Ms Carrick, the outcome of your injury is presenting just as I expected. While it is very sore now, the ankle should heal beautifully if you take the proper care and rest. No doubt you must be relieved you didn’t break any bones although you will still have to take some time off work.’
‘Thank you. I am relieved that it’s not as bad as I feared. All I want to do now is go home.’
‘That is completely understandable, but first you must see our physiotherapist to be given some walking aids. When you have those, you may leave. The final thing I want to do is to tell you that you’re a very fortunate young woman to have been aided by such a personage as the Sheikh of Zachariah himself.’
The doctor was hardly adept at concealing his curiosity as he peered at her more closely.
For his part, Zafir detected the man’s too interested examination of Darcy’s features straight away. Was he imagining that the delicate blonde with the angelic visage was his mistress? He didn’t know why right then, but it seriously aggravated him.
‘It won’t be necessary for you to guide us to the physiotherapist, Dr Khan. A nurse can just as easily escort us.’
‘As you wish, Your Highness.’
The doctor beamed and smiled, but Zafir didn’t miss the brief flash of anxiety that flickered across the heavily lidded eyes. He could tell the man wasn’t quite sure whether his services had pleased him or not, and no matter how admired he was in his field he wouldn’t want to risk losing the Sheikh’s patronage under any circumstances.
* * *
‘I don’t know why you thought I needed a wheelchair, Zaf—Your Highness.’ Colouring in embarrassment beneath the too astute scrutiny of Rashid, as he parked her chair by the side of his boss’s gleaming black car, she privately cursed Zafir’s insistence that she refrain from using his name because she was supposedly his subordinate.
The devastation she’d endured that day when he’d cruelly told her he didn’t want anything to do with her any more was still able to wound her grievously. It wasn’t unlike the symptoms of post-traumatic stress in that it was ever-present—it never went away. That being the case, she couldn’t—wouldn’t pretend that their association had been a casual one, no matter how high he’d risen in the meantime.
‘It’s not that difficult to manoeuvre a couple of walking sticks.’
The Sheikh’s velvety dark brows came together in a forbidding frown. ‘Why am I not surprised you would say that? I shouldn’t have forgotten how stubborn you can be. Stop making a fuss and I will help you get into the car.’
All of a sudden he clicked opened the strap that secured her and, as Rashid held open the door, lifted her bodily into the car. Carefully arranging her bandaged ankle in the footwell, he briskly fastened her seatbelt and ordered his guard to take care of the crutches. Then, without even sparing her so much as a cursory glance, he sat down next to her. Rashid climbed in next to the driver.
Once more the sensual scent of exotic agar drifted beneath Darcy’s nose, whilst the heat from her companion’s body seemed to reach out to meld with her own. Pursing her lips, she wondered forlornly if anyone had recorded how fast a woman’s heart beat when the love of her life acted as if it was a penance even to be in the same vicinity as her. Was there, in fact, a record for such a thing?
To stave off her distress, she blurted out, ‘When I get home you don’t have to come in with me. I can manage perfectly well using my walking aids.’
The man beside her turned slowly to survey her. ‘Save your breath, Darcy, and listen to me. No matter how much you try to reassure me,
