A short while later she was led through to a sitting area. Another set of elegantly arched doors opened and her mother walked in. She had had no idea who the visitor was but her mother was the last person she’d expected and she greeted her cautiously, the last angry words spoken by her father, undefended by her mother, still etched lividly into her memory.
‘I had not expected that you would return,’ her mother said as she sat elegantly opposite her, but on the edge of her seat.
Amber watched as her mother looked around the room; nerves seemed to be getting the better of her. What had happened to the woman she’d looked up to as a child? Had her father’s ambitious schemes been unkind to her also? Amber considered, for the first time, that her mother might be unhappy, that the smiles she bestowed on everyone could be a mask to hide that unhappiness.
Life had changed drastically for her mother. She’d been an English bride to a sheikh and had fallen in love with the desert and the man. She remembered her English grandmother telling her fairy stories of love and happiness, assuring her that one day she too would have her own prince. Had that been her mother’s way of escape? Finding her own prince? Had it gone wrong?
Amber blinked back tears, tiredness making her too emotional to say much. She couldn’t dwell on the past now; she had to look forward, to focus on doing what was necessary in Barazbin, so that as soon as she got word that Annie and Claude were okay she could prepare to leave—both the country and its prince—for good. She couldn’t delude herself any longer: she didn’t belong here.
‘You are the last person I’d have thought would be here to welcome me home. I thought I brought nothing but dishonour to the family.’ Finally she managed to speak, her words hard and to the point. She wanted to let her mother know just how hurt she’d been by their reaction to her failed marriage. The callous dismissal of her as a daughter had cut deep. Far deeper than she’d realised.
Her mother stood up and walked towards her and took her hands in an uncustomary show of affection. ‘You look well. England must have suited you.’ Her mother’s words were soft and genuine, tugging at her heartstrings and childhood memories.
‘For a while, but I moved to Paris; that’s where Kazim found me.’ Suddenly everything she’d been through in the last few days was too much and the need to confide became unbearable. ‘He sent me away because of the school scandal.’
Her mother tightened her hold on her hands as if trying to infuse her with strength. ‘The reporter was paid off and paid well. It will only have been gossip within these walls. Always remember that, Amber. Walls listen and tell all your secrets.’
Amber frowned, confused by her mother’s words. ‘It might have been different—we could have at least been happy.’
Her mother smiled a soft knowing smile. ‘You love him.’
She nodded, accepting the truth. There was nothing she could do about it. She loved Kazim.
Her mother let her hands go and walked across to the window, looking out over the courtyard garden. A trickle of dread slipped down Amber’s spine. ‘Mother?’
She watched at her mother returned to her seat, the mask of propriety she always wore back in place after the tender moments of concern for her only daughter.
‘I have come for one other reason. Prince Kazim, your husband, sent your father money.’ Amber looked at her mother, an unsettling feeling pressing down on her. ‘Money that he believes you had requested. He sent it for you, so that you could live your life in comfort.’
Amber tried to take in what she was being told, remembering Kazim’s pointed comments about her lack of money, but still it didn’t make sense. She met her mother’s gaze, tilting her chin in defiant challenge, sensing trouble. She wasn’t going to be meek and malleable any more—for anyone.
‘Your father has been using it for other causes. He’s been funding attacks on Barazbin’s people,’ her mother finished quickly, her voice almost a whisper as she looked down at her hands, grasped tightly in her lap.
‘Why?’ Amber asked, moving towards the chair her mother sat in. She wanted to kneel down and look up at her as she’d always done. She couldn’t take in this unexpected piece of news.
‘He is avenging your honour, Amber.’ Her mother spoke softly, her expression intent and serious. ‘He believes he is exacting punishment for the way Kazim discarded you.’
‘What?’ Amber couldn’t believe it. All along she’d thought her father had disowned her, but he’d been planning revenge. ‘No, he can’t be.’
‘Please don’t say anything!’ Her mother looked up beseechingly and Amber saw real panic in her eyes. ‘It is misguided loyalty to you, I’m sure, but don’t tell your husband. We will all be ruined. Your marriage will be over.’
‘Why are you telling me, if I can’t tell Kazim?’ Amber loved her mother, but she also loved her husband. Her loyalties were being pulled and tested between a family who’d as good as disowned her and a man who didn’t love her.
‘Because you love him and because I want you to be happy.’ Her mother’s eyes looked sad despite the forced upbeat tone of her voice.
‘How can I not tell him? Keeping one secret has all but destroyed my marriage.’ Panic rose up as she met her mother’s gaze. She was asking the impossible. She couldn’t be loyal to both her husband and her parents.
‘I must go,’ her mother said and got up, anxiously looking around her. ‘Promise me you won’t tell him.’
How could her mother ask that of her? ‘I don’t know,’ she whispered honestly. ‘I don’t know if I can promise you anything.’
‘Then, whatever happens, remember I’m here for you.’ Her mother touched her arm briefly and Amber had the strangest desire to throw herself into her arms, to be a young child, safe and protected. But she wasn’t that child any more.
Amber swallowed down disappointment and watched as her mother turned and walked away. She still sat in disbelief when Kazim returned a short while later. She looked up at him, not knowing what to say. Should she tell him what she’d just learnt? His comments about how she’d been living when they were in London now made so much more sense. All along she’d thought he’d been referring to the cost of Claude’s treatment, as if he begrudged the child a chance at life.
‘It is good that your mother has come to welcome you back,’ he said as he sat in the same seat her mother had just vacated. His long legs stretched out before him, unusually relaxed, drawing her attention.
Amber bit back the bitter taste of tears, looking down at her hands clasped much tighter than she’d realised in her lap, just as her mother’s had been. What would he say if she told him why her mother had come?
She didn’t know what to think, who to be loyal to. Deep down she knew her first loyalty should be to Kazim now, but how could she ignore the plea in her mother’s face?
‘It is,’ she said and looked up into his handsome face, her breath catching when she saw the warm smile on his lips. Inside her, a liquid heat rushed around, making her feel giddy as he continued to watch her, his eyes sparking with unmistakable desire. She nearly gave in, but sense prevailed.
‘I have more good news,’ he said as he sat forward, bringing them close enough for her to catch the heady masculine scent of the desert, stronger now.
What else was he going to throw at her? ‘Is it news from Annie?’ Hope leapt in her chest. She was desperate to hear from her friend.
He frowned and the excitement she’d momentarily felt seeped away. ‘You will hear soon. Hasim is looking after them, do not fear. The news I have is more important,’ he said quickly, as if trying to distract