Philip, with a hand on the small of Christina’s back, escorted her outside. They stopped at the first of the tents to the left of theirs.
“Said, are you there?” Philip called from outside.
“Come in, Abu. You do me honor to visit my home,” a short, sturdy man said, opening the entrance of his tent.
When they entered, Christina saw that the whole family seemed to be present. The women were on one side of the tent: one kneading dough, another on the floor feeding a baby, and an older woman preparing meat. The men sat on the opposite side cleaning their rifles and an assortment of knives.
“This is Christina Wakefield,” Philip said to the group at large. They all stared at her. “Christina, this is my old friend Said, and his wife, Maidi.” He motioned to the old woman preparing the meat. “Maidi takes care of my father, now that he’s ill, and also prepares our food. The young woman on the right is her daughter, Nura.”
Christina’s eyes widened at the sight of the beautiful dark-haired girl who looked no older than she. She thought she saw hostility in Nura’s eyes, and remembered she had hoped to become Philip’s wife.
“And the young woman with her babies is her sister-in-law, Amine.”
Christina returned the smile of the dark, pretty girl who seemed to be in her early twenties. She was the one who had brought their food yesterday and whose skirt and blouse Christina was wearing. Perhaps Christina could become friends with her if given the chance.
“These are Maidi’s sons—Ahmad, Saadi, and Syed, Amine’s husband,” Philip finished.
Each of the sons nodded in turn. Christina recognized Ahmad and Saadi as the two young men who had helped Philip kidnap her. Syed was Philip’s age and had a long scar running down his right cheek.
“I am very pleased to meet all of you,” Christina said.
“It is we who are honored to meet you, Christina Wakefield,” Said returned, smiling warmly at her. “I can see why Sheik Abu went to so much trouble to bring you here. You have a most unusual beauty.”
“You flatter me, Said, but I—”
Philip cut her off. “It was no trouble at all, as Ahmad and Saadi can attest to, but Christina still has to meet your brothers, so we’ll be going.” He pushed Christina from the tent.
“I understand. Another time perhaps,” Said called after them, looking disconcerted.
Christina turned on Philip with her hands on her hips, eyes flashing angrily.
“Why did you cut me off like that?” she demanded.
“You’d better lower your voice if you know what’s good for you, Tina. I wasn’t teasing when I warned you that we beat our women for showing disrespect,” Philip said harshly. “I cut you off because you were about to say that you were here against your will. Everyone here already knows that. But if you had said so in public, it would have been an embarrassment to me. A good lashing is probably just what you need to tame you down.” Philip grasped her shoulder roughly.
“No!” Christina gasped, pulling away from him. “I’ll be good, I—I promise!” she said frantically, her whole body trembling.
“Christina, stop it,” Philip demanded softly. “I’m not going to beat you now. You haven’t pushed me that far yet.”
He took her in his arms and held her tenderly until she stopped shaking. She would never be able to comprehend this man. One minute he threatened to beat her, and the next, he was holding her with tenderness and love.
Love? Why did she think of that? Philip didn’t love her. He only wanted her. And love and wanting were as different as night and day. She could never hope to leave this place unless his heart softened toward her and he let her go, as his father had released his mother.
“Are you all right now, Tina?” he inquired huskily, lifting her face up to his.
“Yes,” Christina replied softly, without opening her eyes.
He took her then to meet Said’s two brothers and their large families. Christina noticed that all the young women watched Philip with longing in their eyes. So Rashid was right, she thought. They had all hoped to win Philip’s attentions before he brought her all the way from England to flaunt in front of them. They all must hate her—and Nura most of all.
That afternoon, Christina finished the skirt she had been making, and was quite pleased with her work. She had fashioned the skirt after the one she was wearing, using a pale-green silk and trimming it around the hem with dark-green lace.
She could wear the green silk skirt with Amine’s dark-green blouse while she worked on a matching top. She had decided it would be faster to make simple skirts and blouses first, instead of dresses. She didn’t care if the clothes she made were too fine for camp life. Christina enjoyed wearing beautiful clothes. They made her feel good, wherever she was.
Before dinner, Philip came to take Christina to bathe, with a knife strapped to his leg for protection. He joined her in the warm water but didn’t try to touch her this time.
After bathing, Christina donned her new skirt. But Philip only commented, “You’re fast with your hands, Tina.”
Rashid joined them for dinner, and he couldn’t keep his eyes off Christina all evening. His attentions annoyed Philip, so she retired early, leaving the two brothers to discuss tribal affairs. When Philip came to bed later, she feigned sleep, expecting him to try to take her again. But he only pulled her to him and presently fell asleep.
