by Mary Lyons
It couldn’t go on, of course. He was destroying every shred of her pride and self-respect, and so lonely and desperate had she become that she knew she must escape from both Badyr and Dhoman. She had had no idea how she was going to manage such a task, but in the event matters were taken out of her hands. After a final, terrible argument with his father, Badyr had suddenly been placed under arrest. He had requested and been granted five minutes with his wife, and Leonie had been taken to a small room where Badyr, looking pale and strained, quickly took her into his arms.
‘My beloved, I have no time to say anything, but to beg you to forgive me, and to remember that I love you,’ he had whispered urgently as they both tried to ignore the guards at the door. ‘Be calm and very, VERY careful of my father. Always present to him a smiling face, whatever you might feel in your heart. And always remember that I will return--you may be very sure of that. When that day comes, we shall begin our marriage again, hmm?’
Her eyes had been blind with tears as he was marched away, and it wasn’t until some days later that she had learned that Badyr was under house arrest in one of the Sultan’s palaces, far away in the south of Dhoman. Her terror for his safety had been compounded by the news which filtered through into the Harem, that one of his uncles had mysteriously disappeared, immediately after protesting about Badyr’s arrest.
The removal of her son seemed to have aged Sultana Zenobia overnight. She had no longer bothered to make life difficult for Leonie, but stayed hidden away in her rooms, seeing no one. The silent, gloomy palace had been filled with whispers about the flood of people leaving the country, especially the young sons of the ruling sheikhs, and the daily rumours of sudden arrests and executions had led to an atmosphere of ever-increasing fright and terror. Apart from her own desperate worries, Leonie had been distressed to see Maryam’s bright personality dimmed by the menace and tension which seemed to ooze from the very walls of the fortress. Leonie had encouraged the young girl to spend more of her time in the warm, comfortable quarters of Fatima, the Sultan’s second wife. There, with her half-sisters, Nadia and Sara, she could escape from the unpredictable rages to which her father was becoming increasingly prone. In fact, it had been Leonie who was most often called upon to bear the brunt of these tirades. It was as if the old man was using her to continue the arguments with his son, now imprisoned so far away in the south of the country.
It wasn’t until a month after Badyr’s sudden arrest, when she had found herself feeling sick and dizzy in the mornings, that Leonie had realised that she must be pregnant. Almost collapsing with despair and loneliness, she had rallied her forces enough to swear Hussa to absolute secrecy, and had waited for an opportunity to ask the Sultan if she could join Badyr in his captivity. Although they had been so miserable together in the old palace, maybe the knowledge that she was going to bear his child would help them to overcome their past difficulties? And no prison could be worse than the strain of having to face the Sultan as he harangued and shouted at her, night after night.
When Leonie had finally summoned up the courage to make her request, Badyr’s father had replied by laughing in her face.
‘Oh, no! Oh, dear me no, my pretty one,' he had cackled with mirth. ‘Why do you think I continue to keep you here under my eye, eh? Haven’t you realised that you are the surety for my son’s good behaviour? He has been told that I will consign you to a dungeon if he even talks to anyone, let alone attempts to escape?'
Leonie had watched in horror as wild laughter shook the old man’s thin frame, his head nodding and jerking with maniacal glee at the cleverness of his evil stratagem.
Shaking with tension as she made her way back to her lonely suite of rooms, Leonie had thrown herself down on the bed in despair. She now knew that she had no alternative but to escape from the palace—and Dhoman—if she and her unborn child were to survive. She had grown desperate as three more terrifying weeks had dragged by and then, just as she had almost given up hope, she had been summoned to Sultana Zenobia’s presence, where she had been astounded to hear the older woman address her in English for the first time.
‘Allah knows I wished to have nothing further to do with you, but it now seems I have no alternative. How could Badyr have been so foolish as to have married you? A foreign woman!’ she had snarled venomously. ‘Oh, yes. It is entirely your fault that my son has been banished.’
‘That . . . that’s not true!’ Leonie had protested. ‘It’s the Sultan. He’s mad--completely deranged! You, of all people, must know that.’
Zenobia had blanched as Leonie’s passionate outburst rang around the room. ‘Be quiet, you fool, these walls have ears!’ she had hissed, glancing quickly over her shoulder. ‘Guard your tongue, or I will never gain my son’s release.’
‘Can . . . can you really help Badyr to escape’?’ Leonie had breathed, hope leaping in her heart at the older woman’s words.
‘Eventually, yes. However, none of my plans can be put into action—until you leave our country. Therefore your departure from Dhoman must be arranged as soon as possible. Unless. . .’ Zenobia had paused, her dark eyes narrowing as she stared at the trembling figure of the pale English girl. ‘Can it be that you are expecting a child?’
‘No—no, of course not!’ Leonie had lied quickly, certain that if she told the truth she would be forced to remain in the palace for ever.
‘That is good,' the older woman had nodded to herself. ‘Very well, you may go,’ she had waved dismissively. ‘You will be contacted soon.’
Anxiously waiting, Leonie had almost given up hope when Hussa had woken her one night. Cautioning silence, the servant had led her through one winding passage after another, until they had reached a small wooden door set in the outer wall of the fortress. Releasing the rusty bolts, Hussa had begged Leonie to hurry, leading the way through the silent streets to the waterfront. From there Leonie had been taken on board a dhow, and hidden among a pile of oriental rugs and carpets. Violently sea-sick, she had no idea of the length of the voyage, the fishing-boat eventually delivering her and the rugs to Badyr’s aunt in Abu Dhabi, where she had been fed and clothed and put on a plane to London. His aunt had insisted that she keep the carpets, which she had subsequently sold to Dimitri Kashan. The money from their sale, and her old job he had offered her back after Jade’s birth, had released her from all financial worries, leaving only the torture of her constant heartache for Badyr to burden those first years after her return.
Even after the birth of Jade, she had clung to Badyr’s promise of a happy future together—continuing to have faith in his words. However, when she read reports in the newspapers of the coup and his assumption of power in Dhoman—and had still not heard a word from him well over a year later—she had realised that their marriage was over. During the years that followed, she had finally accepted the brutal truth that Badyr had never really loved her. She saw that her patent adoration, coming as it did at a time of great stress in his life, had merely been a salve to soothe and assuage his anguish over the future of his country.
It had been a hard lesson, but she had learnt it well. The experience had left such a scar on her mind and body, that Leonie had determined never to become emotionally involved again, concentrating all her energy on her job and her little daughter. Now, with Badyr’s sudden reappearance, the carefully constructed edifice of her new life lay in ruins about her.
God knew how she was going to endure living in that dreadful country, but for Jade’s sake, she had no , alternative but to return. Gasping with pain at the thought of her future lonely existence, Leonie rolled over to bury her head in the pillows, her slender body racked by deep sobs of bitter, wretched misery and desolation.
CHAPTER FOUR
LEONIE slept fitfully, tossing and turning in the night, her mind and body racked by painful recollections. Waking early, and feeling far too agitated to even think of trying to go back to sleep, she slipped into a warm dressing-gown and padded downstairs in search of a soothing cup of tea
. The silence of the empty house felt strange and lonely without Jade’s bright morning chatter—providing confirmation that she had taken the right decision last night. The thought of returning to Dhoman with Badyr was almost unbearable, but she had no doubts at all that to have risked losing her little daughter would have been a totally unacceptable alternative.
The realisation that she had chosen the lesser of two evils proved of little comfort to her sorely tried nerves. The aspirins she had taken for the headache that throbbed and pounded in her head didn’t seem to be working at all, and she was still feeling like death warmed up when Mrs Elliot returned to the house an hour later.
‘Hello, darling. Shouldn’t you be at work? I’ve just dropped Jade off at her playschool, but goodness, the traffic--it gets worse every day . . .’
‘Okay--you can relax, Mother!’ Leonie snapped, her voice cutting ruthlessly across the older woman’s breathless stream of words. ‘There’s no need to pretend that you didn’t know Badyr was intending to meet me last night, because your precious son-in-law has already spilt the beans. I understand that it’s all thanks to you, that the dreadful man has come back into my life—thanks a bunch!’ she ground out through clenched teeth.
Her mother gave her a quick, nervous glance. ‘Now, darling, there’s no need to be so upset. I knew you’d be cross, but . . .’
‘Cross...! I’m not cross, for heaven’s sake--I’m bloody livid!' she shouted, before wincing as the sound echoed in her aching head. ‘How could you do it to me? That’s what I don’t understand. You know what a state I was in when I managed to escape from that ghastly country. So, how can you possibly have conspired and . . . and plotted behind my back with Badyr to make me go back to Dhoman?
'That’s not fair!’ Mrs Elliot protested sharply. ‘I certainly didn’t "conspire", as you put it, but I have been very worried about you and Jade. What’s going to happen to you both after I’m married to Clifford, and living far away in Florida?’
‘For heaven’s sake! I’ve told you that we’ll be fine.'
‘You haven’t managed to find anyone to look after her, have you? And what sort of life is it, being left all day with a complete stranger?'
‘Oh--stuff and nonsense!’ Leonie retorted. 'Thousands of women go out to work, and their children are perfectly all right. In any case, she’ll soon be five and going to school all day--so that particular argument doesn’t hold much water, does it?’
Her mother’s mouth tightened into a stubborn line. ‘Jade still needs her father. I knew you wouldn’t like it, so I didn’t tell you that I’d been in touch with Badyr during the last year. I never mentioned anything about you,’ she assured her daughter earnestly. ‘Only sending him photographs and information about Jade--she is his child, after all. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’ve always thought it very, very wrong of you to keep all news of her from him. Can’t you try and think about Jade and not yourself, just for once?’
Leonie gave a deep, unhappy sigh. ‘Oh, Mother, you simply don’t understand, do you?’ she said, burying her face in her hands for a moment. ‘How can I convince you that Dhoman isn’t anything like a normal Arab state? It . . . it’s going to be like going right back into the Middle Ages! Jade and I will be trapped in a harem, never going anywhere or seeing anyone.’
‘Badyr assures me all that has changed,’ her mother interjected quickly. ‘He told me that he has never ceased to love you, and that your life will be quite different from, what it was under his father’s regime. He’s built a new palace for you, and there are now schools and hospitals and . . .’ "
"‘Never ceased to love me"? Hah!’ Leonie snorted in derision. ‘How can you believe such rubbish? Did the swine also tell you that he had every intention of snatching Jade away from me, if I didn’t agree to go back?’ Her voice wobbled as she fought back the tears. ‘Were you really part of that blackmail plot?’
'No!' Mrs Elliot looked at her with shocked eyes. ‘I can’t believe that he could possibly . . .’
‘Oh, yes—he threatened to do just that! And you thought he was such a reasonable man, such a charming son-in-law?’ she laughed wildly. ‘Well, I could have told you that you needed a very long spoon when you dined with that particular devil!’
‘Oh, darling, I never thought . . .’
Leonie sighed again and wearily shrugged her shoulders. ‘There’s no point in my going on about it, is there? How could I let him abduct Jade--to have her taken away and never to see her again? So, I have no choice but to agree to give up my job and return to Dhoman, do I? Apparently we’re scheduled to leave right after your wedding—isn't that nice?'
Mrs Elliot flinched at the bitter, caustic tone in her daughter’s voice. ‘What are you going to do?’ she muttered, hurrying after Leonie as she walked away into the hall. ‘I can always phone Clifford and postpone the wedding.’
‘Absolutely not!’ Leonie said, slipping on her overcoat. ‘There’s no point in mucking up two lots of lives. You and Clifford really love each other, and I’ll be furious if you two don’t settle down and live happily ever after. As for me? Well, I shouldn’t have married Badyr in the first place, should I? I wouldn’t listen to any good advice then, so I’ve got no one but myself to blame for having got into such a mess.'
‘But where are you going?’ her mother asked anxiously.
‘I’m going to phone the office and tell them that I won’t be in today, and then I must see Dimitri Kashan to give him my resignation in person--it’s the least I can do after all his kindness. After which I’m intending to have a quiet walk in the park until it’s time to pick Jade up from playschool. But don’t panic! I’m not going to drown myself in the Round Pond—if that’s what’s worrying you,’ she added wryly, and then immediately felt ashamed of herself as Mrs Elliot’s face blanched at her words.
‘I’m sorry, Mother,’ she sighed heavily. ‘I suppose you only did what you thought was best for us all, and with the very best intentions.’ She bent forward to kiss the older woman’s cheek. ‘I . . .well, I’m just so upset that I can’t seem to think straight at the moment, I’m afraid.’
‘What are you going to do about telling Jade?’
‘I don’t know, that’s one of the things I’ll have to think about,’ Leonie muttered as she picked up the phone.
Gwen, her secretary, was calm and reassuring, confirming that there were no clients requiring her immediate attention, and that any letters or paperwork could easily wait until tomorrow.
Leonie had been dreading the interview with her employer, but in the event the old man had been kindness itself.
‘There is no need to worry, Leonie. I am much better and can easily come back to work next week--I have been itching to do so, in any case!’ he laughed. ‘Well, well, so you are going back to Dhoman, eh? It is, of course, quite understandable that your husband should wish you to return, hmm?’
His keen old eyes searched the girl’s face. There was clearly more to this affair than was apparent on the surface. The story she had given him--of a sudden reconciliation with her husband--did not exactly ring true. Not when he was well aware that the couple had not seen or communicated with each other for the past five years.
‘However, my dear Leonie,’ he continued, ‘if ever the need should arise, do not hesitate to come and see me. And you may rest assured that your old job will always
be waiting here for you.’
Later that morning as she walked slowly through Kensington Gardens, her boots scrunching over the skeletons of dead leaves, her mind seemed to be bursting with all the things she had to do, all the arrangements that must be made in the short time allotted to her by Badyr. It wasn’t just a matter of clothes for herself and Jade, it also meant remembering to pack all the hundred and one everyday items which had been completely unobtainable in Dhoman. Locked up inside the Harem, she could well recall the frustrating difficulty in even trying to obtain such a simple thing as a toothbrush.
With a heavy sigh, she sat dow
n on a park bench, stuffing her cold hands deep into the pockets of her coat and trying to impose some sort of order on the chaotic thoughts racing through her brain. Badyr had assured her mother that everything was now changed in Dhoman, but she couldn’t believe that he had been able to alter such a system--a way of life which had been in existence for hundreds of years. She could remember, only too well, the stupefying boredom, the hours and hours of what amounted to solitary confinement, and the ever-increasing strain between Badyr and herself.
The past was past, she told herself firmly, thrusting aside the bitter memories. Of far more immediate importance was the necessity to tell Jade that Badyr was now here, in London, and that in under two weeks they would be returning with him to Dhoman.
Leonie had always taken the greatest care to see that her daughter knew she had a father--just like other little girls. She had also tried to stress the point that if he wasn’t living with them, it was only because he couldn’t leave his country, so far away on the other side of the world. Leonie knew that this simple explanation, first voiced when she still believed that Badyr would eventually get in touch with her, wouldn’t satisfy Jade for very long. Although only four years old, the child was bright, very intelligent and already beginning to ask some awkward questions. Such as: why didn’t her daddy get on an aeroplane to come over and see her? And: if he couldn’t leave his country, wouldn’t it be a good idea if she and her mummy went to see him? Leonie had fielded those very reasonable enquiries as best she could, but now the crunch had come, and she had no idea of how Jade would react to Badyr’s sudden arrival. Nor, for that matter, how he was likely to view the daughter he had never seen.