Date with a Surgeon Prince(50)

NOT A PRIVATE word, not a touch—he hates me!

With Hari and Fawzi chattering on in their own language, Marni was left with her own gloomy thoughts.

You didn’t exactly rush into his arms yourself, she reminded herself, which only made her feel even worse.

The problem was that, being the honourable man he was, Ghazi would undoubtedly feel he was bound to her in some way—apart from the pretend betrothal.

Enough to make the betrothal not pretend?

Probably, Marni decided gloomily, then became aware the other conversation had turned to English.

‘Do you think Ghazi will banish us?’ Fawzi was asking.

Marni studied the young men and saw fear and despair in their faces.

‘I doubt that very much,’ she said gently. ‘You did a very silly thing but no harm has come of it. And you did it for reasons you believed in your hearts were right. I’m sure Ghazi will understand that.’

‘You will speak to him on our behalf?’ Hari begged, and although Marni knew her words would achieve little, given Ghazi’s current opinion of her, she agreed that she would.

‘But you’d do better speaking to him yourselves—apologising for causing alarm. And I think he’d be more willing to forgive you if you can come up with more than just an apology. What do the pair of you do, apart from kidnapping women?’

‘We hunt,’ came the chorused reply.

‘Hunt animals for food?’

The young men laughed.

‘No, for the camera,’ Fawzi said. ‘You saw the pictures, and that gun I had, well, it was an antique—no way would it harm anyone or anything. We love the old ways but some of our desert animals are almost extinct. Some we trap and keep to breed from—out at the old palace—then we set the young ones free when they are able to live on their own.’

‘Your photographs are brilliant,’ Marni told him, ‘but would it not be better for people to see these animals and birds in the wild? Could you take tourists on trips to the desert—not just to eat dinner and watch the sunset, the way tourism operators do now, but run specialist tours for photographers and wildlife lovers. You could mix the old ways with the new, as tourists want comfort—set up luxury tents and provide good food. I am sure that kind of thing would really take off.’

She saw the growing excitement in their eyes so wasn’t surprised when the talk again excluded her—not that she cared. If this pair could find something useful to do with their passion, they’d have no time to be thinking up wild schemes, like kidnapping pretend fiancées.

Which brought her thoughts back to Ghazi, but what he must be thinking she had absolutely no idea.


Flying the little aircraft was second nature to him. He and his boyhood friends and relations had been flipping around in them since they had been teenagers, so he had time to plan.

No matter that Marni might hate him, he had to do the right thing by her, his honour demanded that much. He’d sort out the rest later.

He phoned Mazur and gave him orders to have everything in readiness at the old palace, for that was where he’d take her—where he felt most at home, and where he knew she would be safe.

‘I’ll need someone qualified to marry us. With the photograph as proof of her grandfather’s agreement to the betrothal, we won’t need anyone to stand in place of her father, and I’ll use Nimr’s otherwise useless brothers as witnesses, then send them packing back to the city and deal with them later. I want my quarters prepared, clothing and toiletries for Marni, and food laid on, but no hovering servants. She’ll need privacy and quiet, Mazur, to get over the ordeal she’s suffered.’

He tried not to think about what would happen beyond the ceremony he was planning—what might happen in his quarters. He knew what he hoped would happen but feared he’d damaged the tender shoots of their relationship beyond repair, not with his lovemaking but with the rash words he’d uttered afterwards.

Nearly there, and now he saw the brave little flag flying from a dune beyond the shelter and knew she’d put it there. Kidnapped and left in the middle of the desert, she’d not only handled the situation but had done her best to get herself and Tasnim safely out of it.

He set the aircraft down, waited while the rotors slowed then dropped down to the ground.

Marni watched him walk towards them. Behind her, the two men stood, but she couldn’t get her legs to move because this time Ghazi wasn’t radiating anger. In fact, he appeared to be smiling and she was reasonably sure he wouldn’t be smiling at Fawzi and Hari.

‘You two get into your vehicle and get over to the old palace,’ he said. ‘I want you there as soon as possible. I’ve got a job for you to do.’