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‘I knew it,’ she whispered, clutching the bracelet tighter. ‘I knew it. I felt her there.’
‘She’d been abandoned,’ he told her, ‘with no sign of her tour guides or her party. But the Sultan took her in to ensure she was cared for, and in the end they became lovers.
‘And this,’ Kadar said, handing her the cameo, ‘is what proves it beyond doubt.’
She took it warily, questions swirling in her blue eyes, blue eyes that suddenly widened. ‘Oh, my God!’
She had to sit down before she fell down. ‘It could be me.’
‘I know.’ Kadar related the story as Mehmet had told him, of her life with the Sultan, of the reason she had been sent home to England, and of the tiny child, the daughter who hadn’t survived. He told her how the earlier Amber had asked for one of the bracelets to remain and how she’d gifted Mehmet’s father the cameo in thanks.
He told her that she had been known as Kehribar, the Turkish word for Amber.
Through it all, Amber sat there, amazed and bewildered and overwhelmed. She’d gone to Turkey in search of finding some trace of her great-great-great-grandmother’s trail, a taste of her adventure, and she’d found more than she’d ever imagined possible. She’d found a hint—the strongest possible hint—that her ancestor had been the Sultan’s favourite.
And now she had the proof.
‘Thank you,’ she said, tears filming her eyes, ‘for bringing these.’
‘For God’s sake, Amber, don’t thank me. I was the one who took the bracelet from you in the first place. I called you a thief. I accused you of stealing it. I said horrible things to you that day.’
‘Yes, you did,’ she said, and he flinched, even though he knew it to be true. ‘And I knew you’d find out the truth sooner or later. I just didn’t know whether I’d be allowed to have it anyway, given its history and its age. I was beginning to think I’d never see it again.’
‘I should never have taken it from you.’
‘No.’ She looked up at him, and raised herself to her feet. ‘You shouldn’t have. But I’m beyond happy to have it back. And now I have this too—’ she held out the palm cradling the cameo ‘—and I feel like the mystery of where my great-great-great-grandmother disappeared to has finally been solved. Now I have more than an inkling of where she was and what she did. Now she is more real to me than ever. And yes, for that I thank you.’
He shook his head. ‘Amber, I owe you an apology.’
She cut him off with a nod and a sweep of her hand. She’d been holding herself together, trying not to think about the way he’d treated her that last day. Trying not to think about how he’d made love to her all the days and nights before that. But she had her bracelet back and the bonus of the cameo besides. And now Kadar had done what he’d come here to do and the longer he stayed, the more painful it was, probably for them both. She didn’t want to hear an explanation—she knew she’d given him cause to doubt her motives that very first day outside the Spice Market—and she suspected he really didn’t want to have to give it. The best thing she could do was send him on his way. She gave a tight smile. ‘Apology received and accepted. I’ll show you to the door.’
She was already there and holding it open before he’d even moved a muscle.
‘I’m not going anywhere,’ he said.
And when she’d raised an eyebrow in question.
‘Not before I tell you why I’m really here.’
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
SENSATION SIZZLED THROUGH HER.
‘You’ve brought my bracelet back. I’ve accepted your apology. What else is there?’
‘I have a confession. I was wrong about you.’
She shook her head and gestured towards the door. ‘What part of “apology accepted” don’t you understand? Please, Kadar, I don’t want to listen to the whys and wherefores. I know why it happened and how. You had reason to doubt me from day one and you caught me what looked like red-handed. End of story.’
‘No,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t have to be.’
She swallowed and looked longingly towards his car. If he walked past her now Kadar would be gone in a few short seconds and she’d be free. Whatever it was he had to say, she didn’t think she could bear it if it wasn’t that.
