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One week later
“You are much improved, my dear. You should get out and enjoy some of the sunshine. Sit in the garden, breathe the fresh air. I’ll go and get Jasmine to come and help you.”
Julia smiled at the kindly Dr Assan and watched him leave. He’d been on standby since she’d returned to the palace from the hospital nearly four days before, and had been checking up on her at regular intervals.
For the last few days all she’d done was eat and sleep. And tried to block out Kaden’s proposal—if she could even call it that. He hadn’t mentioned it again. He’d come in and out of her bedroom and not said much at all, usually just looked at her broodingly.
Julia sighed deeply now and sat up. Her room was stupendously luxurious. Kaden had obviously had the palace redecorated in the intervening years, because before it had always had a very rustic and ascetic feel. Now, though, it might have come straight from the pages of an interior design magazine.
It hadn’t completely lost that rustic feel. For instance it didn’t share the de luxe opulence of the Hussein Castle in B’harani. But it was just as impressive. The palace itself looked as if it had been carved out of the hill it stood on, soaring majestically over the small city. Vast courtyards opened out into colourful gardens, where peacocks picked their way over glittering mosaics.
The interior stone floors were minimalist, but covered in the most exquisitely ornate rugs. The walls were largely bare, apart from the occasional silk wall hanging or flaming lantern. Windows were huge and open, with elaborate arches framing stunning views of the city.
Julia had a suite of rooms comprising a bedroom, bathroom and sitting room. With every mod-con and audio visual requirement cleverly tucked away so as not to ruin the authentic feel.
Outside the French doors of her sitting room lay a private courtyard filled with flowers. There was a pond, and a low wall which overlooked the ancient hilly city. In the near distance could be seen the blue line of the Persian Gulf. Seagulls wheeled over head, and the scent of the sea was never far away.
Julia felt incredibly emotional whenever she looked out over the city. From the moment she’d first come to Burquat the country and its people had resonated deep within her. She felt at home here. Or she had until that night—
“Dr Somerton? I’ll help you get ready to go outside.”
Julia glanced around from where she’d been sitting on the edge of the bed to see Jasmine, the pretty young girl who’d been helping her every day. She knew she’d only worry Dr Assan if she didn’t go out, and she craved some air, so she smiled and let Jasmine help her.
Clothes had materialised one morning—beautiful kaftans and loose-fitting trousers to wear underneath—and Jasmine laid out a set now, in dark blue. They were comfortable and easy to wear in the heat—especially now that her bump seemed to be growing bigger by the day. It was as if her coming to Burquat had precipitated a growth spurt.
The palace had many gardens, but Julia’s favourite so far was the orchard garden, filled with fruit-bearing trees. Branches were laden with plums and figs, and a river ran through the bottom of the garden, out of the palace grounds and down into the city. It was peaceful and idyllic.
Jasmine left her alone to walk there after showing her where a table and chair had been set up for her to rest in the shade. Julia couldn’t believe how kind everyone was being to her. Certainly the oppressive atmosphere she remembered from Kaden’s father’s time had lifted, and she had to wonder if that was because Kaden’s stepmother had also died, and some of the older, more austere aides were no longer part of Kaden’s retinue.
She sat down and took a sip of fresh iced lemonade, savouring the tart, refreshing bite.
“I hope you don’t mind if I join you.”
It wasn’t a question. Julia looked up to see Kaden standing nearby, and her belly automatically clenched. He’d shaved off his beard and had a haircut, but he looked no less wild or uncultivated despite the custom-made suit he now wore. He alternated between western and traditional dress easily.
She shook her head. As if by magic a man appeared with another chair, and through the trees some distance away Julia could see a man in a suit with an earpiece, watching over his precious Emir.
He sat down, his huge body dwarfing the chair, and helped himself to some lemonade. “You’re looking much better.”
Julia fought not to blush under Kaden’s assessing gaze as it swept down over her body, and wished she’d put her hair up and some make—up on. Then she remembered how quick he’d been to let her go in B’harani and looked away, afraid he might see something of her emotions. Once again she felt humiliated heat rise at remembering that he’d seen the necklace.
“I’m feeling much better, thank you. All of your staff have been so kind. I should be well enough to return home soon. I’ll have to organise a plane ticket back to the UK.”
He shook his head. “You’re not going home, Julia. I’m already arranging to have your belongings packed up and sent here. We can rent out your house in London while you decide what you want to do with it.”
Julia looked at Kaden and her mouth opened. Nothing came out.
He leaned forward, his face grim. “We are getting married, Julia. Next week. Your lif
e is here now—with me.”
Panic bloomed in her gut, but it had more to do with the prospect of a lifetime facing Kaden’s cool censure than the prospect of a lifetime as his wife. “You can’t keep me here if I decide I want to go home. That would be kidnap.”
“It won’t be kidnap because you’ll be staying of your own free will. You know it’s the right thing to do.”
Julia reacted. “Is it really the right thing to agree to a marriage just for convenience’s sake?” She laughed a little wildly. “I’ve already been through one unhappy marriage. I’m not about to jump head-first into another one.”
Kaden was intent, his face stark. “This isn’t about just you—or me. It’s about the two babies you are carrying. And it’s about the fact that everyone knows you’re here and that we were once lovers. The news of your pregnancy will soon filter out, and I want us to be married before that happens. For your sake and our babies’ sakes as much as mine.”
