“Rashid, I had a call on Friday night. It was late, so I was kind of out of it, but… did you tell Neelam Premji, that woman we met at Jamatkhana, about my father’s lawsuit?”
He didn’t look at Ruby, only at the road in front of him, but Ruby knew this man. It was all over his face—itwashim.
Finally, he rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t want you to know I tracked her down, but of course I knew you’d find out eventually. I had no idea I’d be seeing you a few days after I spoke to her, though. Are you mad?”
Ruby nearly laughed at that. How could she be mad that he saved the day? She felt tears well in her eyes, so she looked out the window at the rolling hills in the distance. “How? Why? Tell me how it happened.”
Rashid explained that Ayesha had told him that Ruby’s defense wasn’t going well because they hadn’t found where the money initially came from. He remembered Neelam saying that she knew Ruby’s mother well back then. So, he got Veronica’s name from Reena, then went to Jamatkhana every evening for a few days until he found Neelam and asked her if she knew how Ruby’s mother earned the money from her trust.
Ruby exhaled. It was so like Rashid not to ask first if she wanted him to help her, to meddle. But of course, Ruby couldn’t have found the woman herself. She was in London. This was exactly what she got mad at him for in December, forinvolving himself in her life without talking to her about it first.
Ruby shook her head. “Did Neelam tell you where the money came from?”
“Yeah, she and her friends were secretly earning money to fund each other’s divorces. She told me about the foundation she now runs in your mother’s name.”
“Badass women, don’t you think?”
Rashid looked at Ruby, smiling small. “Total role models. Neelam sounds like an amazing person. So, are you mad at me?”
“Mom’s old friends agreed to sign affidavits that they gifted her the money. My lawyer is positive there’s no way my father can win the lawsuit now.” She felt so torn. She should be grateful to Rashid, but she wished he’d told her what he was doing. Then again, she’d asked him not to contact her. And she suspected if he did ask first, she may have told him not to do it. Ruby had always been uncomfortable when people wanted to help her. She shook her head. “I’m not mad at you. I’m just… I kind of wished you’d told me.”
He nodded. “I should have.” He rubbed the back of his neck again. “After everything… but I didn’t think you’d want to hear from me. Or would want me to do this.”
He was probably right. She sighed. “I’m glad you did it. Truly. Thank you. You saved the day.” Shewasgrateful.
“That’s what friends are for,” he said, smiling small.
Ruby looked out the window again. The scenery was so beautiful here. She teared up again, wishing her mother could see it. “This makes me more determined than ever to open my own inn. It wasn’t just her, but those women who supportedher, who sacrificed for this dream. But I hope… I mean, Ineverwant to lose you as a friend. I hope we’ll stay in touch now.”
He nodded. “I hope so, too.” She couldn’t miss the sadness in his voice. “It would be nice if we can do things like this whenever we’re in the same country.”
“Okay. Let’s be tourist trap friends.”
He smiled, looking at her briefly before his eyes returned to the road. “Deal.”
RUBY WAS UNDERSTANDABLY EXHAUSTEDby the time they got back to the inn that afternoon. She’d been up at the crack of dawn yesterday to catch her train to Manchester, and she’d done a lot of walking through manor houses in the last two days, plus working on her feet for the five days before this trip. She excused herself the moment she and Rashid walked in the door, telling him that she was going to take a nap.
As she started walking away, he put his hand on hers for half a second to get her attention. It was the first time they’d had skin-to-skin contact on this trip, and Ruby felt a millisecond of electricity flash between them. She flexed her hand. Maybe it was good that they hadn’t hugged or even shaken hands—she was afraid her skin would combust, like her pores held muscle memory of the pleasure his touch used to give her.
“Thanks for today,” he said, looking right into her eyes. Ruby couldn’t read his expression again. He wasn’t smiling—not even that small private smile—but he didn’t have the look of disdain he used to have, either. Again, she wondered how much he had changed since they were together.
Ruby shook her head. “You shouldn’t be thanking me. I should be thankingyou. You took me to fucking Pemberley! Right after we went to another Pemberley yesterday! I know it’s not really your thing. I appreciate it so much.”
He chuckled. “I had fun. I kind of get the appeal now. Maybe I should watch those Austen movies?”
Ruby laughed as she walked toward the stairs up to the rooms. “Hear ye, hear ye,” she called. “Be it known that Dr. Rashid Hakim has shown an interest in watching a period rom-com. What a joyous day.”
Ruby heard him laughing as she climbed the stairs to the second floor of the inn.
After her much-needed nap, Ruby left her room in search of the others—and a cup of tea. The inn was pretty quiet. Most party guests had all left after breakfast; only Ayesha, Jasmine, the twins, and Rashid were still here. But Ruby couldn’t find them in the dining room or the lounge. There were a few people in the pub: a couple of men talking to the bartender and Farida Hakim sitting alone near a window with a dark brown mug in front of her.
“Ruby!” She waved her over. “Come, join me.” Ruby smiled and sat across from Farida. “Did you have a restful nap?”
“Very restful. Where is everyone?”
Farida pointed out the window. Out in the distance she could make out a group of people near the fence bordering the neighboring property. “Cressida next door has ponies. Sheoffered to take the girls out for a ride, and everyone went along to see them. My bartender, Ernie, makes a delicious masala chai. May I offer you a cup?”
Ruby nodded, so Farida called out to the bartender to bring another mug of chai.
