“You’re mine, Tina. Nobody takes what is mine.”
Christina stiffened. She got off the bed and walked slowly from the room. So that was all she was to him. She was property to be used until he tired of her, but nobody could take her away. She’d been a fool. What had she expected him to say—that he had come after her because he loved her? That he couldn’t bear to lose her?
But then she halted. She had no right to be angry at his answer. She was expecting too much. At least Philip had said she was his, and that was what she wanted to be. She only needed time—time to make him love her, time to give him a child to bind them together.
Christina needed something to do to take her mind off Philip. She went over to the cabinet and took out one of the books he had given her, then she settled down on her temporary bed and began to read.
After a few moments, Rashid walked into the tent. When he saw Christina, his mouth fell open in surprise. Christina was equally surprised, for Rashid didn’t usually just walk into their tent, not after Philip had warned him against it.
“What—what are you doing here?” Rashid asked after an unusually long silence.
“I live here—where else would I be?” she laughed.
“But you were…. How did you get here?”
“What’s the matter with you, Rashid? Has no one told you what happened? I was abducted and Philip was nearly killed by your uncle, but he escaped and brought me back.”
“Is he here?”
“Of course he’s here. You’re acting very oddly, Rashid. Don’t you feel well?”
“Rashid!” Philip called from the bedroom.
“There, you see?” Christina said, for she had a funny feeling that Rashid didn’t believe her. “You had better go in, for he can’t come out.”
“What is the matter with him?”
“He is badly burned, so it’s better for him to stay in bed for a while,” Christina returned.
Rashid hesitated a moment and then walked into the bedroom. Christina followed and sat down on the bed beside Philip.
“Where have you been, Rashid?” Philip asked calmly.
“Why—I have been searching the desert for Christina. I came back the night she was taken, and Syed told me what had happened.”
“And didn’t Christina just tell you what happened?”
“She mentioned my uncle.”
“Tell me something, Rashid. Didn’t you know of the hatred your uncle had for our father?”
“Yes, but my uncle is an old man. I did not think he would try to do something about it,” Rashid answered, a bit nervously.
“When you told Ali Hejaz that our father had died, he then directed his hate to me!”
“I did not know that,” Rashid whispered.
“As a result of your loose tongue, Christina was used to lure me to your uncle’s camp. She was beaten by one of his tribesmen, and your uncle almost succeeded in killing me.” Philip paused and regarded Rashid intently. “In the future, Rashid, I would be grateful if you’d refrain from mentioning my name or anything that concerns me to your uncle—or anyone else, for that matter. If anything should happen again to disrupt my life as a result of you, I won’t take it kindly. Is that clear?”
“Yes,” Rashid answered nervously.
“Then you may go. I need rest.”
Christina watched as Rashid left the room, then she turned to look at Philip. “Don’t you think you were a bit hard on him? It wasn’t really his fault.”
“Must you always defend Rashid? The blame could fall on many—Amair, who set me free, but abducted you in the first place; Amair’s father, who agreed to the abduction; Hejaz, for his hate; and Rashid, for innocently giving out information about me. Let the blame fall where it will as long as nothing like this ever happens again. Will you not agree to that, Tina?”
“Yes,” Christina smiled meekly.
