Her desert knight(18)

Now she was sure that the voice was Quasar's.

She crept back to the door, blood pounding in her head, and pressed her  ear to it. Oh, how she wished there was a keyhole to peer through!

"My daughter is spoken for. A man has just today asked for her hand in marriage, and I have accepted his offer."

"Surely Dani must have a say in the matter." Quasar sounded shocked. As  well he might. She hadn't mentioned her father's plans to him. "She's  an adult woman, not a young girl who doesn't know her own mind."

"She's made up her own mind in the past and it proved to be a bad idea.  She understands that I have only her best interests at heart."

Dani could stand it no longer. She tugged open her bedroom door and  stepped out into the hallway. "What are you doing here?" she heard  herself ask Quasar. She stood, staring at him. He looked oddly regal in  traditional Omani attire-it was the first time she'd seen him in it-but  she was furious with him for going against her wishes.

"You are a respectable Omani woman, and I am a respectable Omani man,  and it is customary for me to meet your father and ask permission to  court you."

"Permission is not granted!" growled Dani's father. "And I do not give  you permission to place your accursed feet in my house. What do you have  to say for yourself, Daniyah? Have you encouraged the attentions of  this reprobate?"

She swallowed. "I..."

"She has done nothing whatsoever to encourage my attentions. I simply  noticed that we both share a taste for books, and a brief discussion  suggested that we have some interests in common. I would like to get to  know your daughter better." Quasar turned his gaze to Dani, and those  deep blue eyes seemed to hold her in a trance.

"I didn't ask you." Her father scowled at Quasar. Then he turned his  attention to her. "Daniyah, have you spoken with this man?" She'd never  seen her father so angry. His eyebrows stood on end like little furry  animals, and his lips had grown white.

"Yes, Father. I have spoken with him." If he had any idea what else  she'd done with him, he'd probably have a heart attack on the spot. She  couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't either incriminate her  or enmesh her in a lie she'd later regret.

"Your daughter's conduct has been unimpeachable."

Dani stood rooted to the spot. That was a very subjective view of her  conduct, which by any traditional standards was shocking in the extreme.

"If you don't leave my house right now, I'll call the police."

"Sir, let me beseech you. I'm happy to simply exchange a few words with  your daughter here in your house, under your watchful eye."

Quasar seemed totally unfazed by her father's apoplectic rage. If  anything she thought she saw a twinkle of humor in his eye. Which, under  the circumstances, really ticked her off. He'd taken no personal risk  coming here. If her father hated him, who cared? He was going back to  the States and would soon forget the whole affair.

She, on the other hand, would have to live with the repercussions of  this ill-starred visit for the rest of her life. "You really should  leave." She found herself speaking coolly, looking directly at Quasar.  How could he have totally disregarded her wishes? She'd told him not to  come. Who did he think he was?                       
       
           



       

"If Daniyah wishes for me to leave, I shall leave." He swept a bow in  her direction. The chivalrous gesture would have excited her if she  weren't almost as angry as her father. Quasar nodded to the older man  and apologized for alarming him, muttered a traditional goodbye and  left, striding confidently in his long white dishdasha.

Dani wanted to sag with relief as he disappeared out of sight, leaving  the front door open to the gathering dusk. Instead, her instincts told  her to turn and run.

Her father calmly and quietly closed the door. "What is the meaning of this, Daniyah? You are not in Hackysack."

"It's Hackensack."

"I don't care what it's called. You are in Salalah now. You can't  strike up a conversation with any Tom, Dick or Harry who happens to  stroll past you in a shop! You must have encouraged him to give him the  confidence to come knock on my front door. Do you have any idea who this  man is?"

She shook her head mutely. She didn't, really. It was hard to believe  she'd never even asked his last name. It hadn't been relevant. And maybe  she hadn't wanted to know. It would have made their relationship seem  more real, and then it would hurt more when it turned out to be a  dreamlike interlude, as she knew it ultimately would.

"Quasar Al Mansur is the youngest son of Hakim Al Mansur."

The name sounded vaguely familiar. She'd never paid much attention to  local society gossip but she suspected he was some kind of oil-rich  sheikh.

"Hakim is mercifully no longer on this earth, but his sons continue to  refuse to recognize our family's ownership of the old Fabriz property.  They tricked my father into selling it for a few thousand rials when it  was simply a mediocre fishing spot. Now it's worth millions as prime  waterfront investment property, and they're maintaining that the  pathetic deal he was forced into is valid."

"If it was his father's doing, Quasar probably wasn't involved at all."  After she'd spoken she realized she sounded as if she were defending  him. Her best course was to pretend she barely even recognized him.

"I've had a lawsuit pending against the Al Mansur family in one form or  another since the eighties. I haven't won yet, but I haven't lost,  either. Salim Al Mansur has been itching to build one of his accursed  hotels on that property for years, but he hasn't been able to because  the title is clouded by my lawsuit." A look of satisfaction crossed his  face for a moment. "It's only a matter of time until my rights are  legally recognized and the property is returned to our family. Your  brothers deserve to reap the riches that can be sown there, not those  grabbing Al Mansurs, who already have more land and money than they know  what to do with."

Dani blinked. She'd known the family was wealthy and powerful, but it  was just her luck that the first man she fell for would be her father's  sworn enemy.

She wanted to go back, lie on her bed and continue crying. But that  wouldn't solve any problems. "I won't see Quasar behind your back." The  resolution was easy to make. He'd deliberately ignored her plea that he  not come here. He obviously didn't care about what she thought and had  run roughshod over her own thoughts and wishes just like her ex-husband  would have. She was done with him.

"But I won't marry Samir Al Kabisi, either." She screwed up her  courage. "I'm not ready for marriage again, Father. It's too soon. I'm  sure he's a nice man but I'm also sure that any attempt to match me with  him would lead to disaster for myself, disappointment for him and  further damage to my reputation. I'm sure you don't want that."

"Indeed I do not." His eyebrows were starting to subside a little and  color was returning to his pursed lips. He sighed. "Things were so much  easier in the old days when a girl listened to her parents."

* * *

The next morning Dani woke with a heavy weight in her chest. It was all  over. She'd known her affair with Quasar couldn't last forever, but  she'd secretly hoped for a couple more weeks of romantic bliss. Last  night had put an end to that. She'd promised her father she wouldn't see  him in secret, and she meant it.

She'd done an internet search on Quasar's name and the results had been  alarming. There were more stories about his love life than his many  business triumphs. While she looked at the seemingly endless stream of  photos of him, accompanied by an assortment of gorgeous women at movie  openings, nightclubs and celebrity parties, it sank in that she really  was just another notch on his bedpost.                       
       
           



       

The day stretched ahead of her like the barren desert. She could do  some shopping for food, but even the cleaning was taken care of by a  kind older woman who'd been alarmed by Dani's offers of help, probably  fearing she'd soon be out of a job.

She resolved to stay under the covers in her bed and read until she  regained her equilibrium. After about five minutes, though, she grew  restless. She was not going to lie around and wait for life to happen to  her. She needed to make it happen, and right now that meant finding a  job. Maybe one of her brothers' schools could use an administrator? She  decided to visit their offices, and showered and dressed conservatively  in a dark green ensemble with that intention. She was arranging her hair  when she heard a knock on the door.