He pulled on his clothes, watching her fiddle with the towel while she contemplated what to wear. He smothered a laugh when he finally realized that she was too embarrassed to dress in front of him. “You know, you’re going to have to get over this embarrassment at some point,” he told her as he walked into her closet where she’d been pretending to contemplate her dress choices for the day.
She sighed and looked down at the floor, biting her lower lip in indecision. “I suppose a husband and wife should be more casual around each other.”
He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed gently. “And you should feel free to parade around me naked whenever the mood strikes you.”
With that, he left her in the closet. “I have a breakfast meeting and will be out inspecting roads during lunch. I’ll see you at dinner tonight.” He had the door to her quarters open before he turned to look at her with a lascivious grin on his handsome features. “Feel free to disobey my orders again tonight and stay in here for dinner.”
She glared at him, wishing she actually were furious with him but he just threw back his head and laughed, walking out the door and closing it softly behind him as he went wherever he was going for the day.
Isla stalked over to the dresser and opened drawers, finally finding her underwear and bras. She’d have to send a note to her sister thanking her for being so considerate. She was fairly sure that her personal maid had packed her under things, but Zarah had most likely chosen the initial outfits to send over. Her sister had chosen several of Isla’s favorites and she pulled out a pretty yellow dress with a cinched in waist and high collar that made her feel attractive and special.
She dressed quickly and headed out of the room, finding the dining room easily since she recognized the destruction in certain places. Hussan had already eaten so she grabbed a bland biscuit and some fruit, sipping her coffee as she contemplated what she might do today. Her body guards were behind her and she turned to smile in their direction.
“Please, feel free to grab some breakfast if you haven’t already,” she encouraged.
Both men quickly shook their heads and continued to stand at attention.
She considered her options. “I’d like to go back to that school again today and do the story time with that same teacher. Do you think they would mind?” She made her decision quickly, not wanting to hang out in the palace just in case Hussan might also be here. She needed space from him, a chance to get her perspective back in order. That man and the way he touched her, the things he did to her, definitely didn’t help her think logically.
The older guard shook his head and immediately took the radio out from his back belt loop, explaining where they were going.
“I’d also like to see more of the country, if it can be arranged. I won’t spring it on you like I did yesterday but could you let me know some areas that might benefit from me passing by? Perhaps the marketplace where I could pick up a few trinkets or the hospital for a visit with some of the kids?” She worked through some ideas in her mind. “Have there been any reports about something good happening in the area where I could go and thank the individuals? It doesn’t have to be anything big. Even a student getting good grades or a mother making something different in the market, a group of kids who have done something to help the community.” This idea would also help her understand her future husband’s plan. She wanted so desperately to believe in him, but she’d seen too much on her border visits over the past several months.
It was astonishing that, after only twenty-four hours in the man’s company, she was starting to doubt things she’d firmly believed about the man’s character and leadership style. Was she simply fabricating another reality because she didn’t want to be married to a monster?
The two guards nodded their heads, obviously getting into the spirit of the situation. Both of them were talking into their radios now and Isla felt better about the upcoming day. She wouldn’t be a burden to the palace, sitting in her gilded cage while everyone else survived in barely livable conditions, and she wouldn’t be waiting around for Hussan to come to her, worrying about her reaction to him. She had an escape, at least for a few hours.
Once the ideas were in her head, she was eager to start. She went to Hussan’s office, knowing that he was in meetings but spoke to one of his aides to request a map of the city and newspapers for the last three weeks. She brought everything back to one of the small sitting rooms near the main dining room so that she and her body guards could sifted through the articles and discover areas on the map that would be safe to visit. By lunch time, they had a plan and Isla was eager to start. Especially since she jumped anytime someone walked by the sitting room door, worried that it would be Hussan. She just didn’t want to see him right now, needing time to pull herself together and figure out why she’d fallen into bed so easily with the man.
They spent a great deal of their time driving, but she didn’t mind. It gave her time to think, to work through her actions of the night before. She came to the conclusion that Hussan was simply a wonderful lover. Since she had zero experience in that area, it was no wonder she’d fallen for his technique. She had no safeguards in place to help her avoid situations like that. Besides, it had been an emotionally crazy day starting with her brother’s announcement of her engagement followed by being carted out of her home. What woman wouldn’t be reeling from that kind of a shift in one’s world?
She hated the idea that Hussan had gained so much experience by having sex with other women but pushed the image of her fiancé in bed with those other women out of her mind. It hurt too much and she was tired of being so angry.
When they reached their first destination, Isla stepped out of the vehicle feeling better about her life and her future. She felt like she’d worked through the issues and had come up with an explanation for her action and reactions and was going to try very hard to work with Hussan to make this marriage work. Somehow.
As she exited the vehicle and moved into the gathering crowd, her presence surprised the community when she asked for the people who had been mentioned in the articles. There were several different groups she’d found in the newspapers that she wanted to greet. She introduced herself as Hussan’s fiancée to each of the people who had participated, letting the news out of their engagement and uncaring if Hussan had wanted to release that information in another way.