“No, but,” she started to explain, breathlessly.
“Servant?” Majeed pulled her closer to him as he examined her features.
“Please,” she said again, and tried to edge away from him.
“Perhaps a concubine? A woman used to giving away her body?” he asked. His hands moved over the abaya’s fabric.
“No!” she exclaimed. Katharine colored at the question and scooted away from his touch.
“I want you to stay here as my guest,” Majeed said confidently. His eyes were intelligent and kind, and Katharine saw that he was a good man.
“Will you send me back where I belong?” she asked.
“Of course. But you might find out that you belong here,” he added. Majeed was bewitched by her words, her accent so foreign yet speaking the Arabic tongue, and a pale body, golden hair, and eyes like the Arabian Sea.
“No. I don’t think so,” Kat shook her head.
Her words angered him. A slave had no say, and he expected she was a slave. He had never wanted a woman as he did this pale beauty.
“We shall see,” he said. He strode angrily from the tent.
Rana cornered her husband outside the tent.
“My lord, I have never asked you for anything. I have been a good wife. But I beg you, in the name of Allah, please send this woman back to where she came from.”
Majeed’s eyes narrowed. “By the Qur’an, you are also to obey your husband, and obedience is what I require, Rana.”
“My lord,” Rana said.
“I will send her away when the time is right,” he said, interrupting her. “Until then, she will remain here. That is my will.”
“Yes, my lord,” Rana
said, and lowered her eyes.
“And you would be wise to remember that there is nothing between the young girl and myself. She is my guest,” he added.
Rana watched her husband walk away and sighed deeply.
Kat tossed and turned and didn’t fall asleep until well after midnight. Just as she was falling asleep, a lone camel came into view as Majeed and his men were outside smoking. The figure dismounted and came forward. The stranger had only one word of greeting, which was “Brother.”
Majeed strode forward happily. He clasped the man in a broad hug and said, “Mohammed,” before leading him into the tent.
Chapter 9
Katharine chewed continuously on her bottom lip as she remained deep in thought. Her night had passed slowly, and when she awoke she felt as though she hadn't slept at all. A decision had to be made. She had escaped Yasmeen's plot and Fajer's fat hands only to be saved by another man who wanted her as his concubine.
Kat was grateful to Majeed and his sons. Had they not found her in the desert, she surely would have died. But now what? She wanted to return to Mohammed, but if that was not possible, then she wanted to return home. She missed so many things about England and she had taken much for granted.
Katharine knew she must decide quickly. She would have ventured into the desert again, had it not been for the conversation she heard outside her tent.
"Please Dunya," Adib murmured into the servant girl's ear.
Dunya was a short young girl, and her long, flowing hair was her only jewel. She lacked both beauty and brains, but she had been with Majeed's family for many years and had been a good and loyal servant.
Adib was a crafty young man who sold his goods and wares to the desert people. He had long been trying to get Dunya to join him and sail far away from Arabia. He knew many people and had saved for their passage, which could be arranged in a few days’ time.
Adib's brown hands moved underneath the young girl's abaya and he knelt before her.