the store?” Dora asked as the limo drove them from the hotel to the airport where Khalil’s private jet waited. “The pretty one you were speaking with so intently.”
Khalil thought about pretending he didn’t know what she meant, but he knew her well enough to know that she wouldn’t be easily distracted.
The pretty one, he thought with faint humor. Amber would be most insulted by the inadequate description. She wasn’t merely pretty—she was a goddess…and a snake.
“She is of no importance,” he told her with a smile. “A friend of the family. Her father works in government. I told her about our marriage.”
“She didn’t seem very happy about it.”
Khalil thought of Amber’s shriek of rage and her threats to both him and Dora. “She was surprised, nothing more.”
He spoke easily because the lies were all Dora needed to know. The fact that Amber had gone for his eyes, then had called him names even he hadn’t realized she’d known wasn’t anything his wife needed to hear.
His wife. He looked over at the quiet stranger he’d married. She might not be as lovely as Amber, but in every other way she was Amber’s superior. If he’d had any doubts, the chance—or perhaps not-so-chance—encounter with his ex-fiancée in the salon had taken care of them. Dora would learn the duties of her new position quickly. She would be loyal, loving, and would never cause a scandal. If he were lucky, she might even grow to be more pliable with time.
He reached over and took her hand. “I’m happy to have married you,” he told her.
She gave him a slightly shaky smile. “I’m glad.”
He squeezed her fingers, then released her. Yes, he’d been fortunate to find a way out of his dilemma, and he’d found an adequate substitute as well. It had been a very successful trip.
Dora stared out the window of Khalil’s jet, but the terrain below was as unfamiliar as a moonscape. She didn’t know enough about the region to be able to tell where one country ended and another began, and unlike her school atlas, the different areas weren’t neatly color-coded. She could only stare and wonder if they’d crossed into El Bahar yet.
The trip was too long, she thought, trying to hold panic at bay. She’d had too much time to think, especially when Khalil had dimmed the cabin lights, stretched out in his comfortable seat and fallen asleep. Now they were within a few minutes of landing, and she desperately wanted to tell him that she’d changed her mind.
She glanced to her left and saw Khalil lost in a report on waste management. He’d slept for most of the eleven-hour flight, then had awakened in time to eat breakfast, shave and change into a clean shirt. She looked at her own wrinkled dress and wished she’d thought to bring something to put on before they landed, but she hadn’t and all her luggage was stowed in the belly of the jet.
I’m fine , she told herself, even though she didn’t believe the words or the sentiment behind them. She wasn’t fine, she was terrified. What on earth was she doing here?
In a panic, she reached for the air phone tucked neatly into her armrest. Then she paused. Who was she going to call? She hadn’t seen her father in twenty years, and her mother had passed away the year Dora had turned twenty-five. There weren’t any other relatives. As for friends, most of them were more acquaintances than people she would feel comfortable confiding in. Besides, what was she going to say? That in day two of her marriage, she was having serious second thoughts? That she was terrified about leaving her country behind and moving to El Bahar?
She dropped her hand back to her lap and sighed. She was going to have to get through the next few days without doing anything rash. In time, the situation would settle down, and she wouldn’t feel so lost in unfamiliar territory.
She looked at Khalil again and saw that he was still reading the same page of his report. Was he distracted as well? Was he having doubts? She desperately wanted to ask him, but then she decided she was afraid of the answer. What would she do if he said yes, that he wasn’t sure, either?
If only they’d had one more night in New York before leaving for El Bahar. If only she hadn’t gotten so drunk the night of their marriage so they could have talked more and made love. If he could have held her one more time and told her that he cared about her, she would have felt better about everything. But they hadn’t. Instead they’d boarded his private jet, repaired at last. There were not only the pilots, but two stewards who had seen to their every need and not given them a moment’s privacy.
Pressure built at her ears, and she instinctively swallowed. They were descending. Dora looked out the window and saw that they’d left the vast desert behind. Below them was a sprawling city with wide streets and hundreds of buildings, including modern glass towers. She caught a glimpse of glittering blue.
The Arabian sea, she wondered in astonishment. Had she really come halfway around the world?
“There’s the palace,” Khalil said, pointing out the window. “On the coast. You can also see the old city walls.”
She saw a huge creamy-white structure poised on the edge of the water. Beyond it extensive grounds formed a patchwork of colors. The wall he’d spoken of made a rough square around much of the city, although it didn’t include the high-rises she’d noticed earlier.
Excitement began to replace the panic inside of her. From the safety of the jet, El Bahar looked exotic but still welcoming. Perhaps things weren’t going to be so frightening after all.
The jet made a smooth landing, then taxied to a small single-story building at the far end of the runway. As Dora stepped out of the jet, she noticed a much larger terminal across the tarmac.
“That’s for the commercial aircraft,” Khalil said, noticing the direction of her gaze. “Immigration and customs are there, as well. On the far side we have a substantial area for freight companies. They even have their own runways. As you can see, El Bahar is ready for the new century.”
“Very impressive,” she told him.
She walked down the narrow flight of stairs and drew in her first deep breath of El Baharian air. It was slightly cool, but pleasant. She caught the elusive fragrance of a flower of some kind, but couldn’t see anything planted nearby. The sky overhead was an amazing shade of blue, and seemed more vast than any sky she’d seen before. She told herself that she was being fanciful—that this was the same sky she always looked up at. Yet it felt and looked different.
Khalil led the way to the waiting limo. It was white and had two small flags on the hood. The bright gold royal emblem fluttered in the light breeze. As she approached, she noticed the uniformed chauffeur holding open the rear door, but before she could slide onto the back seat, Khalil stopped her with a light touch on her arm.
“Dora, this is Roger, our favorite driver. He’s been with my family for as long as I can remember.”
The chauffeur, an attractive light-skinned man in his fifties, touched the brim of his cap. “Thank you, Prince Khalil, but I must take offense at the phrase ‘for as long as I can remember.’ The young lady is going to think I’m as old as dirt.” The Englishman smiled as he spoke.
“Maybe not as old as dirt,” Khalil admitted. “How about as old as time?”
Roger grinned. “All
