His Queen by Desert Decree

‘I insist on knowing exactly what Firuz said to you before I arrived.’

Pale and rigid with self-control, Molly turned from the bedroom window. ‘You insist?’

‘I do.’ Azrael didn’t back down an inch from that arrogant demand. ‘You are clearly upset—’

Anger stirred in Molly. He had been texting Nasira. He had deliberately misled her about his relationship with the other woman, letting her assume it was of no account. ‘I’m upset because I can’t trust you,’ she told him starkly. ‘You’ve been texting another woman—’

Azrael rolled his eyes at her and her temper rocketed even higher. ‘Not in the sense that you mean. Nasira would be very shocked to think you suspected her of anything of that nature—’

‘Oh, would she, indeed?’ Molly spat, unimpressed. ‘Yet she’s been texting a married man! Firuz wanted you to marry Nasira before I came along, didn’t he?’

‘I will admit that he suggested her but at the time I wasn’t seriously considering marrying anyone. I’m still young and I’m currently very busy. If I had a plan, it was to put off marriage for a few years,’ he admitted with a wry slant of his expressive mouth. ‘A good marriage requires time and attention. Waiting to make that commitment made better sense.’

Appraising the cool set of his lean, darkly handsome features, Molly turned away to hide her emotions because every word he had said only reminded her that he had not wanted a wife in the first place and had only asked her to stay for a while for the sake of appearances. It was as though a cruel cold wind blew away all her warm, happy memories of the past two months.

Unhappily, staying on in Djalia, taking part in that wedding and all that had followed had blurred every boundary that she had originally assumed they would try to respect. But Azrael hadn’t tried to do that; he hadn’t recognised limits; he hadn’t behaved like a man who was ‘faking it’; he had behaved like a newly married man with a bride he desired and cherished. And now it all felt too good to be true, as if someone like her could not possibly deserve such a happy ending. All the insecurities that Molly had held at bay had been unleashed by Firuz’s intervention.

‘So, Nasira,’ she began afresh.

‘Nasira is blameless, guilty only of being firmly beneath her uncle’s thumb,’ Azrael incised impatiently.

Hurt by his immediate defence of the other woman, Molly stiffened until she felt as if she had a steel rod laced into her spine. ‘Blameless?’ she questioned thinly.

‘I assure you that there has been no flirtation, no sexting or whatever you call it!’ Azrael snapped back at her in exasperation. ‘She was merely advising me not to get involved in the trouble between Firuz and his son and in a normal situation it would be good advice, but this is not a normal situation. She is not aware that my brother is threatening to kill himself if I send him back to his father!’

Molly’s concern about Nasira and her texting had to take a back seat at that instant and she stared back at him in consternation. ‘He’s suicidal?’

‘The psychiatrist we called in believes that a few quiet weeks away from his home environment will give Tahir the chance to regain his stability.’

‘I’m sorry... I had no idea that he needed that kind of medical attention,’ Molly muttered uncomfortably, looping her hair off her warm brow because she felt deeply uncomfortable. ‘You should’ve explained that.’

‘I was planning to tell you but I myself only understood Tahir’s state of mind this evening after the psychiatrist spoke with me. Given time and peace he will improve.’ Azrael heaved a sigh. ‘In law, my brother is still a minor, however, and I hope Firuz will see the wisdom of leaving him here with me until he is, at least, on the road to recovery. Firuz could go through the courts and demand his return but I doubt that he would risk the adverse publicity that that would invite.’

‘I didn’t realise,’ Molly said again. ‘I should’ve guessed when you said he was behaving like a child.’

‘He’ll mend,’ Azrael declared in a curt tone of finality. ‘Now let us return to your obsession with Nasira and the occasional texts we have exchanged. There is nothing for you to be concerned about.’

‘I am not obsessed!’ Molly broke in heatedly. ‘But you should’ve been more frank about your relationship with her, particularly when Firuz went out of his way to ensure that you met her before our wedding. Perhaps he was hoping that you’d ditch me at the last minute!’

Cool as ice, Azrael frowned and sent her a questioning glance. ‘Molly, think about what you’re saying,’ he urged in a tone that suggested she was being unreasonable. ‘Think of the family relationship involved. I knew Nasira as a child because she was my stepfather’s niece. Why would I behave in such a way? Think the facts through. We were already legally married before our public wedding, so there was no possibility of any ditching.’

/> Mortification and anguish slivered through Molly because what he was saying wasn’t enough to disprove his former stepfather’s insinuations. She lifted her head high, faint tremors assailing her rigid figure. ‘But Firuz may have hoped that, having met her again, you might be prepared to consider taking a second wife.’

Azrael shot her an arrested appraisal, dark golden eyes bright as flames. ‘While I was still married to you?’ he demanded with incredulity.

Molly lifted her chin in challenge. ‘Well, it’s a possibility, isn’t it?’

‘No, it is not. I will not follow in Hashem’s footsteps and take more than one wife. That practice is frowned on in Djalia, although I admit that it is still common in rich families in Quarein. My mother agreed to marry Firuz only after he promised that she would be his sole wife,’ Azrael told her grimly.

Molly smoothed her dress down over her hips with damp trembling hands. ‘I’ve offended you, haven’t I?’

Azrael compressed his lips, battling back the kind of anger that would do him no favours in a delicate situation. But was that how he impressed her? As the kind of man who would take a wife and then seek another? It dawned on him that the waiting game he had chosen to play in his marriage had created all too many grey areas between them. He had said nothing, he had tried to show rather than tell, but it looked as if he hadn’t done too well in that department.

At that point, Molly told him word for word what Prince Firuz had said to her, from the insinuation about her having tempted Tahir to the allegation that Azrael still planned to wed Princess Nasira. ‘And then I find out she’s already texting you!’ she completed. ‘How is that supposed to make me feel?’

Unbowed, Azrael stood his ground. ‘Nasira is only a pawn in Prince Firuz’s ambition to gain greater influence in Djalia and now he’s trying to use her to cause trouble between us. He lied to you because he knows me well enough to know that I would not take an additional wife under any circumstances. For that reason it would suit him very well if our marriage broke down,’ he pointed out smoothly.

‘Under any circumstances?’ Molly pressed, her fingernails biting into her palms with tension.