Читать книгу The Innocent's Shock Pregnancy - Carol Marinelli - Страница 10

CHAPTER TWO

AS MERIDA STEPPED out of the draped tunnel and into the semi-dark space, which twinkled with jewels, she found herself a little breathless.

There were no windows, no signs of the outside world to orientate oneself. The subtle bergamot and woody notes of Ethan Devereux’s cologne were richer as she moved to where he stood, staring into the first display.

Merida cleared her throat and broke the heavy silence.

‘These are the Amulets of Al-Zahan.’

Ethan had expected jewellery, or ancient carved tokens, but instead there was an array of gemstones, embedded in rocks, still in their original form. Each was a mini-galaxy in itself, and, far from being bored, he had rarely been so entranced as Merida started to tell their tale.

‘The collection and its history was a passion of the late Queen Dalila of Al-Zahan. Right up to her death, some twenty years ago, she was still unearthing long-forgotten treasures.’

‘How did she die?’ Ethan asked.

‘In childbirth. I believe it was her fourth child...’ She faltered a little over a detail she did not know. ‘I can check.’

‘No need.’

Merida wasn’t so sure. She felt as if she were being tested.

‘On her marriage, she was given this amulet...’

In the first display cabinet was an intricate knot of emerald and ore. Beautifully lit, it turned slowly, and Ethan gazed upon it for a considerable time. The stone was practically bursting out of the ore.

‘Amulets are a gift of potential,’ Merida explained.

‘Potential for what?’

‘Marriages were, and still are, arranged in Al-Zahan. The amulets celebrate a future love, and also promote fertility. It is said that they are a gift of possibilities not yet fulfilled. To cut and polish the stone would reveal too many secrets.’

He seemed interested now, Merida thought as they moved on.

‘The next amulet is Lapis Lazuli. Lapis was, and still is, ground to create a pigment for ultramarine—the colour used in Van Gogh’s Starry Night painting. When the then Sheikha Princess was studying here in Manhattan she saw the painting on display. It is said it was the recollection of the painting that started her on a mission to find the missing amulets.’

‘And did she find many?’

‘Indeed.’ Merida nodded. ‘At the time of her death she had made significant inroads—though of course there are many gaps.’

‘And she studied here?’ Ethan checked, more than interested now.

‘Yes—at Columbia.’

It was the same college where Khalid and Ethan had met. He had known that the amulets belonged to Khalid’s family, but he had not known that the late Queen had studied at Columbia too. It struck Ethan that he had learned more about the enigmatic Khalid from a stranger than from the man himself. He was more than intrigued as Merida spoke on.

‘Princess Dalila returned to Al-Zahan to marry. However, her fondness for New York City was the reason that her son, Sheikh Khalid, agreed to the amulets being displayed here.’

Ethan moved on—but not out of boredom this time, more out of interest. He stood peering into the next display. Embedded within a large, egg-shaped piece of marble was a ruby.

‘This one is my favourite,’ Merida admitted.

She took out some black gloves and handed him a pair, then, as she put on her own gloves, Merida told him its story.

‘Three hundred years ago in Al-Zahan there was a secret wedding,’ she explained, and Ethan found he was drawing nearer to hear her low voice, as if she were sharing a secret only with him. ‘Due to feuding between the two families there was no amulet given. Peace was finally restored, but after two years, when there were still no signs of a baby, it was decided that this was the reason. The Sheikh King, desperate for the lineage to continue, asked that the best stones be excavated. It took three years until what he considered a suitable offering was found.’

‘It’s stunning,’ Ethan said, and so was the voice that told the tale.

She handed the large stone to him; he weighed it in his hand and then held it between finger and thumb, bringing it nearer to his eyes to examine it more closely.

‘Careful,’ Merida said, and drew on yet another of her well-worn lines. ‘It ensures fertility.’

‘For a hen, perhaps,’ Ethan mused.

That tiny glint of humour made her smile. It reached her eyes, and they shone as beguiling as any amulet, and there was a single perfect moment when he forgot his hellish day.

Hellish because he should be in Dubai, finally kicking back, but instead would be heading to the hospital soon, where his father had been admitted in advance of some exploratory surgery that morning.

Ethan knew no more than that.

In an hour or so he would glean what he could, but for a moment or two he forgot the troubles awaiting him in the world outside. For now he focused on her smoky voice and the history of this beautiful stone, said to promote both love and fertility—two things he did not want.

‘And did it work?’ Ethan asked, handing the amulet back to her.

Merida nodded. ‘Yes, the Sheikha Princess went on to have the first set of royal twins.’

The tour continued to its conclusion and, having seen and held some more amulets, Ethan handed the final piece to her and watched as she carefully replaced it in the display.

‘The amulets really are beautiful—though it’s all fairy tales of course.’

‘I’m not so sure,’ Merida said. ‘All the marriages attached to these amulets were seemingly happy ones.’

‘The Queen died in childbirth,’ Ethan pointed out.

‘They don’t promise eternal life.’ Merida smiled. ‘I still think there’s something rather magical about them.’

‘Well, we’ll have to agree to disagree on that point.’

Ethan didn’t believe in love. Full stop.

But as for lust? Absolutely.

He was almost tempted to tell her now that he knew Khalid—that the Sheikh was, in fact, himself a twin. Though only to prolong the discussion. To talk with her some more.

‘How long have you worked at the gallery?’ he asked as they headed back up the stairs.

‘Almost a year.’

Merida certainly wasn’t going to admit that she had been hauled in this afternoon at the last moment, but as they came out from the tunnel she did admit that this wasn’t her full-time job.

‘Though I only work here part-time.’

‘More of a hobby, then?’ he asked, or rather assumed, for he was more than used to women whose daddies found them a ‘little job’ until a suitable husband came along.

‘Not quite,’ Merida said, and gave him a tight smile without elaborating further.

Ethan Devereux was here to see the gallery, not hear her life story.

They walked past the displays where he had stood bored, and then came back to the desk. Of course she offered him a drink once more, and waved a hand over the nibbles.

Again, he declined.

‘Do you have any more questions?’ Merida asked, just as she always did, and yet it felt a little different this time. The beguiling, sensual air surrounding the amulet display seemed still to cling, and she found that she held her breath as she awaited his response.

‘Just one...’ Ethan said.

He saw her blink rapidly, and rather thought that she’d guessed what his question was.

Dinner.

And it should be as seamless as that—because for Ethan it always was.

Yet he hesitated, and did not know why.

It wasn’t the fact that he had to head to the hospital that halted him from asking. He could offer to pick her up in an hour.

Yet he didn’t.

Instead he reminded himself he was here for Khalid.

‘The rugs,’ he said. ‘If I were to order one, how long would it take to make?’

‘It would depend on the size.’

‘One like that.’

Merida should be dancing on the spot at the unexpected chance of earning some commission. A commissioned rug was worth a fortune, and she should be engaging him and wowing him with details. Yet all she could think of was dinner. Or rather, the lack of it.

Which was just as well, given Reece’s warning that he would crush her in the palm of his hand.

Yet Merida suddenly wanted to experience the feel of his palm more than she had wanted anything before in her life.

Except Broadway, which she had dreamed of all her life.

Ethan Devereux, whom she had only just met, suddenly came a very close second.

Merida stood there, trying to unscramble her mind so she could answer his question as to how long a commissioned rug would take to make.

‘I would think around eighteen months.’

‘What if I wanted it sooner?’

‘Ubaid has many artisans. If they were focused on one piece, perhaps a year...’

‘And what if I wanted it sooner than that?’ he pushed.

‘I’m afraid it would take time. Patience.’

Reece might never forgive her, but instead of promising limitless artisans, all devoted to pleasing this man who could name his price, she told him instead that he would have to wait.

Only they weren’t talking about rugs. She was quite sure of that.

And so was he.

‘I don’t have patience,’ Ethan said, and the words were delivered with a slight snap, for he knew now why he hadn’t invited her to dinner.

For it would be just dinner.

And then another dinner.

No, he did not have the patience for that.

He wanted to know how she tasted rather than where she was from and what she was like.

And so, instead of pushing, he ended the encounter.

‘Well,’ he said, ‘thank you for the tour. It’s been interesting.’

Unexpectedly so. And in unexpected ways, he thought.

Merida saw him to the door and then stood, her smile fixed, as they shook hands again, but for a dangerous second longer than the first time.

She did not glance down at his hands but she could feel each of his fingers, long and slender, as they closed around hers. And she breathed through her mouth, rather than her nose, for the scent of him had her wanting to draw closer.

‘It was a pleasure to meet you,’ Merida said through lips that did not want to talk. It was as if they yearned to meet his.

She wanted to return to the dark velvet space from which they had so recently emerged.

What the hell was happening to her?

‘Thank you for visiting,’ Merida said calmly, when Get out, get out, get out was what she wanted to scream. Only her acting experience allowed composure to reign on her features.

He didn’t say thank you again.

And he didn’t wish her a good evening.

Ethan Devereux simply left.

And he left behind a vortex within her.

She watched the doorman farewell him, and the driver open his car door, and as he disappeared inside Merida learned that she could breathe again.

The devil had left the building.