He gave her a sideways glance. “She convinced my sister to accept the Sultan of Zaharqin’s proposal, because of his lavish gifts and high position. It wasn’t my idea. But now I’ve given my word. I cannot allow her to back out.”
“Nineteen-year-olds change their minds all the time.”
“If my subjects do not believe my word is inviolate, how can I expect their respect? Their obedience?” Setting his jaw, he stared at the skyscrapers of Dubai ahead of them. “I suspected Aziza might come to our vacation villa here...”
“Vacation villa, huh? For when you’re bored with being waited on hand and foot at the palace?”
“The guard called me a few hours ago. He confirmed that my sister’s there, with only her nurse as chaperone. I’m grateful it wasn’t worse.”
“Nurse? Is she ill?”
“Nanny, I guess you would call her. Basimah virtually raised her.”
“Why didn’t she call and warn you what Aziza was up to, then?”
“Basimah?” He snorted. “She’s protective of Aziza like a mother bear to a cub. She sees me as the enemy. Especially since the engagement.”
“Hard to believe. So why has your sister changed her mind about the wedding? Did the sultan send her a gift she didn’t like? Last season’s handbags? The wrong color of jewels?”
He stared grimly forward at the widening highway, as the traffic on the outskirts of Dubai increased. He said reluctantly, “The Sultan of Zaharqin is older than she is.”
“How much older?”
He paused. “Forty years.”
For an instant, Irene just stared at him, wide-eyed. Then she exploded.
“You are making a nineteen-year-old girl marry a man three times her age? Are you out of your mind?”
“Aziza agreed to it. If she’s changed her mind since, her duty is to serve her people,” he said coldly. “Just as it is mine.”
“It’s ridiculous!”
“No, Miss Taylor.” Sharif’s eyes were focused on the road, but his jaw was tight as he said, “You are ridiculous to criticize something you do not understand. You have no responsibility to anyone except yourself and your own family. You do not know what it means to rule a country. It is Aziza’s privilege and her duty to protect and defend all of our people. That means doing everything she can.”
“But she is only nineteen—”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “I was fifteen.”
“You grew up early.”
“So did you.” He gave her a hard, quick look. “You’ve spent so much time asking why my sister ran away. Why did you?”
She stared at him. “I didn’t run away.”
“You left your home, went to New York, then thousands of miles across the ocean to take a job in Paris. Then you traveled even farther to the Middle East. What else would you call it except running away?”
“I just needed a job...”
“You had a good job in New York. But you chose to leave, when a position became available working for your employer’s cousin in Paris. It’s not just about money. You wanted distance.”
Her whole body went cold. If he already knew that...
“How much do you know about my past?” she whispered.
Sharif gave her a dark look.
“Everything. You think I would have hired you if I did not? I had a complete dossier on you before the plane even landed in Makhtar.”
The chill in her heart became a freeze. “Then you know my mother and sister...” Her voice cracked.
“Yes.” His expression changed, became gentle. “I know everything.”
“And you don’t—want me a million miles from your sister?”
He shook his head.
“But reputation matters so much to you—”
“Honor matters to me,” he corrected sharply. “And you are not to blame for the choices others have made. Even if they’re people you love.” His knuckles were white on the steering wheel, and she suddenly remembered that Sharif, too, had good reason to believe this.
They drove in silence. Then he said, “The only thing I couldn’t understand from the report is how you got that first job in New York. Why would a wealthy family on Park Avenue choose you from their agency, and send for you all the way from Colorado?”
“I was so young and from a small town in the West.” She gave him a sudden impish grin. “They wanted a nanny with a wholesome, sheltered background.”
He snorted, then sobered. “You are sheltered in your way,” he murmured. “You protect your heart.”
“Yes.” Her smile faded. “And you’re wrong to force Aziza to marry against hers.”