Sweet Revenge

to Kadeem al-Misha.”
    “Betrothal?” Wild with fear, Phoebe clutched at him again. “She’s only a child. Even in Jaquir you don’t marry off children.”
    “She will be married on her fifteenth birthday. The arrangements are nearly complete. Then she will at last be of some use to me as the wife of an ally.” He took Phoebe’s hands again, but this time hauled her against him. “Be grateful that I do not give her to an enemy.”
    She was breathing heavily, her face close to his. For one blinding instant she wanted to kill him with her bare hands, to drag her fingers down his face and watch the blood run. If it would have saved Adrianne, she would have done it. Force would never work, nor would reason. She still had guile.
    “Forgive me.” She let herself go limp. She let her eyes fill now, let them shimmer. “I’m weak and selfish. I was thinking only of losing my child, not of how generous you are to make a good marriage for her.” She dropped back down to a kneeling position, careful to keep her pose subservient in the extreme, then she wiped her eyes as if coming to her senses. “I am a foolish woman, Abdu, but not so foolish that I cannot be grateful. She will learn to be a proper wife in Germany. I hope you will be proud of her.”
    “I will do my duty by her.” He gestured impatiently for her to stand.
    “Perhaps you would consider allowing her to accompany us to Paris.” Her heart was pounding against her ribs as she folded her hands. “Many men prefer a wife who has traveled, who is able to accompany them on business or pleasure tripsand be a help rather than a hindrance. Because of her rank, a great deal will be expected of Adrianne. I wouldn’t want her to cause you embarrassment. The education you received in Europe and the experiences you had there have certainly given you a better understanding of the world and Jaquir’s place in it.”
    His first thought had been to dismiss the idea out of hand, but her last words hit home. He believed strongly that his time in cities like Paris, London, and New York had made him a better king and a more pure child of Allah.
    “I will consider it.”
    She bit back the urge to beg and bowed her head. “Thank you.”
    Phoebe’s heart was still pounding when she returned to her room. She wanted a drink, a pill, oblivion. Instead, she lay on the bed and forced herself to think.
    All the years wasted, waiting for Abdu to return to the man he had once been, for her life to return. She had remained in Jaquir because he had demanded it, because even if she had somehow managed to escape, he would have taken Adrianne.
    Because she’d been weak, confused, afraid, she had lived almost ten years of her life in bondage. Not Adrianne. Never Adrianne. No matter what she had to do, she wasn’t going to see Adrianne taken away, given to some stranger to live her life out as a virtual prisoner.
    The first step was Paris, she told herself as she wiped a film of sweat from her brow. She would get Adrianne to Paris, and they would never come back.
    “When I go to Paris, I will buy trunkfuls of beautiful clothes.” Duja watched Adrianne slip on a gold bracelet and tried not to be jealous. “My father says we will eat at a place called Maxim’s and that I will have anything I want.”
    Adrianne turned. Her palms were continually damp from nerves, but she was afraid to wipe them on her dress. “I will bring you a present.”
    Jealousy forgotten, Duja grinned. “Only one?”
    “A special one. We are going to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower and to a place where they have thousands of paintings. And then—” She pressed a hand to her stomach. “I am sick.”
    “If you are sick, you will not go, so you will not be sick. Leiha is sulking.” She said it only in hopes to make Adrianne feel better. Servants had already taken the bags, so Duja put her arm around Adrianne’s shoulder to lead her out. “She wants to go, but the king takes only you and your mother. Leiha has to be content that she is pregnant again.”
    “If I can buy presents for Fahid and my sisters, you will give them?”
    “I will.” She kissed Adrianne’s cheek. “I will miss you.”
    “We will be back soon.”
    “But you have never gone away before.”
    The harem was filled with women and the excitement of the journey only two would take. There were embraces to be exchanged, and laughter. Phoebe stood in her veil and
abaaya
, her hands knotted together at her waist, her face