that,’ Alim said.
He and Bastiano were friends, and a deal falling through would not mar that.
Business was kept separate, but still he rang the hotel and asked to be put through to the head of Housekeeping to find out things for himself before calling Bastiano.
‘Young Sophie...’ Benita told him. ‘I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt but a ring was found when she turned out the pockets of her uniform so there was no choice but to let her go.’
Sophie was a friend of Gabi’s, Alim knew.
He had often seen them chatting; in days long gone he had seen them with their coats on at the end of the day, heading out for supper.
And, on Gabi’s behalf, he probed further.
‘Did she admit to it?’ Alim checked.
‘Of course not,’ Benita said. ‘I’ve yet to find a thief who would.’
‘Yes but—’
‘Alim,’ Benita said, ‘I think there might have been something between our esteemed guest and maid.’
‘Oh.’
‘It’s been dealt with.’
‘Okay.’
Yet he could not let his thoughts of the Grande Lucia go.
He was flicking through his phone, looking at pictures of Lucia, and then he came to the photo of him with Lucia’s mother.
It was a magnificent portrait of a couple gazing at each other, on the edge of a future together...
And Alim felt his heart quicken.
He reached for the leather-bound folder on his desk and read the pertinent parts of the diktat.
And then he read the rest.
Violetta brought in refreshments but instead of waving her out he had her bring him more files.
Ancient files with ancient rulings that he had been forced to learn as a child.
Alim studied them as a man now.
He read the ancient teachings and pored over the laws of his land, and as he turned the pages Alim glanced up and saw his father standing there.
They were barely speaking.
His father considered Alim to be stubborn.
‘I have chosen my bride,’ Alim told his father.
‘That decision belongs to me,’ Oman said, for he knew the laws well.
‘Then you had better make sure that it is the right one,’ Alim responded coolly, but his voice held a silk-clad threat, ‘or there shall be no wedding.’
Oman’s assessment was the correct one.
Sultan Alim al-Lehan of Zethlehan was the most stubborn man in this land.
He would not succumb to rules of old, as his father had.
Alim would work within them.
GABI NEVER FORGOT.
Even as she sat in her tiny flat, consoling poor Sophie, Alim was not far from her mind.
For nearly a week, Sophie had been around every day bemoaning the loss of her job and the man who had caused it—Bastiano Conti.
‘I would never steal,’ Sophie said. ‘But if I did, I would not steal some stupid emerald and pearl ring. It would be diamonds.’
She made Gabi laugh, and in the second that the world felt lighter, Alim invaded, for her phone rang and the fragile peace was shattered.
‘Why,’ Alim asked, ‘are you still living in that flat, when there is an apartment at the Grande Lucia at your disposal?’
She gave an apologetic smile to Sophie and went through to her bedroom to take the call.
Lucia was asleep in her crib and Gabi kept her voice down so as not to disturb her, and also because she did not want Sophie to hear.
‘Because I refuse to be kept by you.’
‘Your daughter has a father who will provide for her.’ Alim gave in, he refused to argue on the phone when he would see Gabi soon, but there was something he badly needed to know.
‘How is Lucia?’
‘She slept through last night for the first time.’
‘That is good. I am in Rome and I would like to meet her.’
Gabi screwed her eyes closed.
She had been dreading this, had been preparing herself for this moment. He had told her that nothing would stop him from seeing his child, and yet again Alim was a step ahead for she had at least thought there would be time to prepare for their meeting.
‘When?’
‘This afternoon. Is that a problem for you?’
‘No,’ Gabi admitted. ‘I’ve got a couple of days off.’
‘Really?’
‘Bernadetta told me not to come in this weekend,’ Gabi said. ‘I’m not sure if I’ve been fired. I asked Bernadetta for a partnership...’
Alim, it would seem, had lost interest in her career plans for he spoke over Gabi. ‘Can you bring Lucia to me at the Grande Lucia at one?’
She looked around her home; no, she could not imagine him here.
‘For how long?’
‘The afternoon,’ Alim answered calmly. ‘Say, until five?’
No, that was the part she dreaded, for Gabi knew she would have to get over him all over again.
Sophie was terribly hard to get rid of, but Gabi pulled out an excuse and, sounding like Bernadetta, told her friend that she had a migraine.
‘That came on quickly,’ Sophie said.
‘Yes, they tend to.’
Thankfully Sophie soon left and, wishing she could lie down in a darkened room and hide from the world for a while, Gabi bathed her slippery baby and washed her hair and then she fed her.
‘You’re going to meet your daddy,’ Gabi told her.
And though Gabi was worried for herself, and her absolute drop-knickers reaction to Alim, at least today she had the shield of her daughter. Alim would be far too besotted with Lucia to worry about other things.
And, more importantly, she was so happy for Lucia.
No, history was not repeating itself—this little girl would have a dad.
Of sorts.
And so, just before one, Gabi walked into the foyer of the Grande Lucia, as she had done many, many times, but then she stopped in her tracks.
The pillar display in the middle of the foyer was no longer its trademark red. Instead, there was a stunning display of sweet peas.
Pinks, lilacs and creams, they were absolutely stunning and she stood for a moment, enjoying the wonderful change.
‘They’re for you,’ Gabi said to her daughter. ‘He did this for you!’
Her happiness soon evaporated, though. She was met by Violetta, and it would seem that both baby and mother required preparation to enter the Sultan’s world.
Pride had ensured that Gabi had dressed as well as she could for today, and little Lucia was wearing a gorgeous outfit and was wrapped in a new muslin square.
It wasn’t enough.
And