Zarah waved that aside. She didn’t want to have anything to do with the Duke of Huntington. He had a look about him that made her uncomfortable and she had vowed that she wouldn’t spend her limited days of freedom being unnerved.
The following Saturday, she borrowed Suzanne’s car and did her usual jaunt out of the village. Each weekend, she drove twenty to thirty miles in one direction or another. She knew that eventually, Rashid would triangulate her position, but she didn’t want him to find her too quickly. She made sure to not go north or south very often and headed into London as often as possible, stopping at different areas before turning on her cell phone and calling her brother. She knew he was tracing her call but was careful to only check in with him and not have a long conversation. These calls were just to reassure him that she was okay and safe.
The whole drive into the city, she forced her mind to stop thinking about the Duke of Huntington. She’d even dreamt about that obnoxious man for some reason. She should have been grateful it wasn’t that horrible nightmare, but when she’d woken up tingling and out of breath, feeling frustrated and out of sorts, she decided that the nightmare was probably a better choice. At least for her peace of mind.
This time, she drove into Hounslow, a city outside of London, before she made her call.
His tone immediately told her that he was out of patience with her absence. “Zarah! This is getting old. Just tell me where you are so I can send someone to protect you,” he said after picking up on the first ring.
Zarah ignored his command to tell her where she was. He gave her the same order in various ways each weekend and she’d learned to expect it, to brace herself for the authority in his voice and ignore the tone so she could move on to reassuring him that she was safe enough. “How are you doing Rashid?” she asked, pretending he hadn’t given the expected order.
“I’m furious that you’re playing this ridiculous game! Now get home and we’ll talk about this! You’ve made your point.”
Zarah knew that there wouldn’t be any talking. At least not on her side. As soon as she landed in Tasain, Rashid would simply lay down the law and order her to marry whatever man he’d selected. Her opinion would no longer be taken into consideration.
She was having too much fun as a working woman to follow that path. “I think I’ll hang out a little while longer,” she replied, keeping an eye on her watch. She knew that it takes approximately two minutes to triangulate a phone call and she needed to be out of the area before Rashid’s security forces could track her down. Even if she waited too long, she knew he still had to get his guards to her location, but she didn’t want to give him that much information.
His next words proved that he was tracking her calls, trying to pin down her location. “Why do you like London so much? Is there something there that is more important that your responsibilities here at home?”
She was angry at this. “Are you referring to my responsibilities to procreate the next generation of leaders? Or my responsibility to represent my husband at stupid functions that I don’t want to attend simply because I’m his ridiculous arm candy?” She took a deep breath to calm down and glanced at her watch. “No Rashid. I’m not coming home. Not yet, anyway.”
His response was swift and furious. “You’re disobeying me, Zarah! And that’s not acceptable.”
She’d never spoken to him in this manner and she should have expected his vehement response, but it was still a surprise. She gripped the cell phone tightly, closing her eyes to keep herself calm and not lose her temper. “You’re not listening to me, Rashid. And I find that unacceptable.” She and Rashid had rarely fought growing up because anytime she would lose her temper, he would only be amused. He’d been so much older than she was and she’d worshiped him. So this argument now wasn’t in character and she knew Rashid was struggling to figure out how to handle his baby sister.
There was a long pause and Rashid finally said, “You know Sidra gave birth to a baby girl last month. Do you think you’ll ever come home and see Tiala? She’s beautiful.”
Zarah closed her eyes and fought the tears. When she could speak once again, she said, “Please send Sidra my love and I can’t wait to meet your baby girl.”
“Any idea when that might be?” he asked, the air waves vibrating with his unspoken anger.
Zara shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Another long pause and then she heard his heavy sigh of frustration. “Will you call again next week?”
Zarah nodded, biting her lower lip to keep herself from crying. “I’ve called every week just so you know I’m safe. Next week won’t be any different.”
“And are you safe?”
“Of course. I told you that I’m fine.”
“Okay. Until next week then,” he said, knowing she was going to click off soon. Their two minutes were almost over.
“Thank you. Give my love to Isla and everyone else, okay?”
“You come home and do that yourself,” he ordered.
“Goodbye, Rashid,” she said and clicked off. There were still several seconds they could have talked, but what was the point? He’d still admonish her for going her own way and she was firm in her refusal to bow to his wishes. Each conversation was a standoff and she wished he could just be happy for her and know that she was fine.
She wandered down the picturesque pathway, not really paying much attention to the summer birds or the sunshine filtering through the leaves overhead. A squirrel darted in front of her and ran up a tree, but all she could see was her brother’s furious face and how disappointed he was with her current actions.
Derrick watched the woman he’d been researching ever since his former girlfriend had walked out of Mary’s shop with so many dresses. He’d already been fascinated with her dark, mysterious beauty but watching her work Elise’s snobbishness not to mention her pointless and transparent attempts to prove to him that she would fit in easily with his world, Derrick couldn’t help but be impressed. This woman had played Elise perfectly and been unrepentant.
She was wearing a straight, black skirt and matched it with a simple, red cotton shirt. On any other woman, the outfit would look either plain or dowdy. On Zarah, the outfit took on a peasant look that complimented her lush figure, giving him an excellent view of her enticing bottom as well as those lush, full breasts pushing against the red fabric.