The Sheikh's Bartered Bride

“I’m not quitting my job,” she said tightly, “I like it.”

“And if I told you that was what I wanted?” Hakim asked, testing how much in common his fiancee had with his former live-in lover in regard to the importance they placed on their careers.

“Is that what you want?” she asked, turning the tables back on him and giving nothing away with her expression.

“I would like to know you are available to travel with me when the need arises.”

“With sufficient notice, I can travel with you now.”

And one week was not sufficient notice. “Then we will have to plan a trip to Jawhar after you’ve given proper notification for your vacation time at the library. I want you to meet my family.”

“Won’t they be coming for the wedding?” Felicity accepted a fresh glass of wine from her husband. “Surely your parents would not want to miss it.”

“There is only my sister. She and her husband will be delighted to meet my new wife when we travel to the desert of Kadar.”

“Don’t you have any other family?” Felicity asked.

“Some. There is my mother’s father. He is the sheikh of a Bedouin tribe.” He paused. “There is also my father’s brother, the King of Jawhar, as well , and his family.”

“Your uncle is a king?” Felicity demanded, her eyes round.

“Yes.” He caught Catherine’s hand to his mouth and kissed the small circle of her palm. “Grandfather will be pleased. He has been encouraging me to marry since I graduated from university.”

Of course the old man had thought marriage would bring Hakim home to the desert and it would not.

“Why can’t your family come?” Felicity asked, clearly unwilling to drop the subject.

Grimness settled over him. “There is a faction of dissidents in Jawhar that oppose my uncle’s leadership. He fears to leave the country now would be to put it at risk from this group of rebels.”

“But I thought your family had been the ruling sheikhs for generations.” Catherine’s expression was clouded with confusion. “It seems odd there would be serious opposition after all these years. Your uncle is loved among the people of Jawhar.”

She had been studying his country. The knowledge pleased him. “This is true. Nevertheless, dissension arises from time to time. Twenty years ago, there was an attempted coup. It failed, but many were left dead.” Like his parents he thought bitterly.

“What does that have to do with today?” she asked.

“The remnant which survived that attempt have been gathering forces outside Jawhar for the past five years. My uncle is concerned they will once again attempt a removal of our family for power. He cannot risk leaving the country, nor can my cousins.”

“What about your sister?”

“She is married to the man that will one day succeed my grandfather as sheikh of his tribe and will met you when we travel to the desert for our Bedouin marriage ceremony.”

Catherine’s eyes widened. “We’re going to be married a second time in Jawhar? ”

“Yes.” It would be necessary to fulfill his obligation of respect toward his grandfather.

Catherine was quite in the car on the way to her apartment. She and Hakim were to go for the wedding license the fist thing the next morning. She was still finding it difficult to assimilate that bit of information.

And her mind continued to play with images of long ago dreams. Lights flickered over the dark interior of the car as Hakim passed a semitruck on the freeway, but it barely registered as Catherine’s thoughts slipped into a fantasy of the perfect wedding.

She was standing at the alter in a gown of the most exquisite lace and Hakim looked at her the way a man in love gazed at the woman he was about to marry. That was definitely a dream. They were surrounded by candles and flowers. Bunches and bunches of flowers, all white, all in perfect bloom.

A soft sound escaped her lips.

“What are you thinking, Catherine?”

She was lost in her daydream, she answered without thought. “Flowers. Lots and lots of flowers.”

Then she realized what she’d said and felt the warmth steal into her cheeks. At least he would not notice in the dim interior of the car.

Hakim sighed. “Tell me about the horse drawn carriage and oodles of flowers your sister mentioned.”

“It was just something we used to talk about when we were little.”

“And something you were thinking about just now.” He sounded resigned. “Tell me, Catherine. I want to hear.”

Why not? He’d asked. It wasn’t as if she was demanding they go through with her long ago plans. “Felicity and I used to talk about what our dream weddings would be like. I think a lot of little girls imagine themselves in a beautiful gown, riding in a carriage with Prince Charming at their side. It was all just silly fantasy, nothing that applies to this marriage.”