Wanted: A Baby by the Sheikh(54)

But she wasn’t perfect. Daidan knew that now. Just as he wasn’t. Although he’d always known that. But her vulnerabilities and complexities made her even more precious. Their world wasn’t black and white as he’d always treated it, but held the complexities and beauty of a rainbow, just as light split from the diamonds showered color over the gray stone walls of the castle.

Suddenly the spotlights moved and the color and intensity changed as they focused on the orchestra. The horn section began to play and the audience went silent, impressed by the opening bars which blended the majestic—with the horns and drums—with the lyrical melody of the flutes and violins. It was patriotic music—music which described throwing off the shackles of slavery and becoming free. Daidan glanced at Taina who sat, like all the others, entranced by the power of the music. He knew why she’d chosen Sibelius’s Finlandia. It had been her idea to hold a short concert of Finnish music to further brand the event. But it went deeper than that.

He watched as she spread her fingers over her stomach, her thumb stroking over its gentle swell and he placed his hand over hers. Their gaze met briefly before she looked back at the stage and he continued to look around, searching out shadowy areas, nodding to people he knew to be watching, but whom no one else was aware of. He felt uneasy. No doubt simply because of the amount of jewelry that was all together in one place. That would be enough to make anyone concerned. But it was more than that. He felt a shiver down his spine, as if something wasn’t right. He continued to scan the castle and beyond. There was nothing out of place. Then he heard the sound of a motorboat approaching. Late guests, no doubt. He watched a couple alight on the jetty and narrowed his eyes. He was a little surprised to see them—they’d declined their invitation because of pressure of business. And yet here they were. It was Mark, a fellow diamond mine owner from Australia and his girlfriend—not his wife. He disapproved of his brazen attitude but remembered a few comments the Australian’s wife—Amelia—had made about him last year and realized that she was under no illusions about her husband. They were being stopped by security. He’d better go and greet them. He was about to tell Taina that some late guests had arrived before he stopped himself. She was utterly lost in the music and he hadn’t the heart to disturb her. Instead he kissed her hand and quietly slipped away.





Once the music finished, Taina turned around. She’d vaguely heard a boat approach. No doubt people who’d missed the barge. She glanced around to see who it was but someone spoke to her and she had to turn away. By the time she looked up, whoever had arrived late had been seated.

Despite her reassurances to Daidan about lack of morning sickness, she still felt a little queasy and she sat back and closed her eyes and listened to the music swell and fill the small space with its vibrations. When the music stopped and the applause began she opened her eyes to find Daidan had returned. He wiped away a stray tear from her cheek.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

She wiped her forehead which was feeling clammy. The blue sky was beginning to mist over, holding in the heat of the late afternoon. “Probably just the humidity. I think I’ll just slip away and get some sea air for a few moments.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“No, I’ll be fine. You stay and look after our guests. We can’t both leave.”

She rose and, waving in greeting to different guests, she left the auditorium to the strains of Sibelius’s The Swan of Tuonela.

She knew the castle inside out. It had been her playground as a kid. She made her way up the inner wall and looked out from a higher level, down to the assembled crowd, all eyes on the performer, Karita, who had begun to sing one of Sibelius’s songs—The Diamond on the March Snow.

While Karita’s beautiful soprano voice filled the castle, Taina inhaled the fresh sea air that blew in from the gulf, and looked down on the brilliant spectacle. Some of the spotlights were trained on Karita, while others lit the castle walls, and yet others subtly lit the audience, making their jewelry glitter.

Taina leaned back against the rough stone wall and felt a glow of pride. The jewelry had looked amazing—they’d be new classics—and the launch was going without a hitch. She felt better already and descended the steps. She was about to return to her seat when she took a last look around and saw a woman surreptitiously showing her neighbor the necklace she wore beneath a silk scarf. It caught one of the spotlights and Taina recognized it instantly. She narrowed her eyes. She knew the diamonds that glittered around the woman’s throat well—but she didn’t know the woman. The diamonds were her own—the Kielo necklace that she’d given away. But not to this woman.