The Sheik and the Slave (39 page)

Both men were deep in thought.

“
It
would be someone close to you, Mohammed. Someone who knew everything and didn
’
t want you together.
”

Seconds ticked by in the quiet room. Mohammed and Edward
stared at each other.

“
Someone
who doesn
’
t like
Katharine. Someone who despises Katharine,
”
Edward reasoned.

Mohammed looked into the fire and then placed his head in
his hands. He knew with a certainty who was behind it all.

“
Abdullah.
”

“
Who
is that?
”

“
He
is my chief advisor.
”

Suddenly, it all made sense. Abdullah had never liked
Katharine. He had always wanted his wife to be of Arab descent. Unlike Daleel,
who had modern ideas, Abdullah was conservative and fanatical in his Islamic
beliefs.

“
He
has done this,
”
Mohammed whispered.
“
He
has written this letter of lies to separate me from Katharine.
”

Then he thought of Katharine. No wonder she wanted nothing
to do with him. She thought that he had a wife and son and that she was nothing
more to him than a warm body.

He felt an ache in his heart. Katharine. She must have been
so humiliated when this filthy letter had first been read. She would have been
crushed to learn that she had been put aside for another woman and child while
she was alone, waiting for him to return as he had promised. It was a mess. But
it would be remedied. He must see her. Now.

“
Where
is Katharine?
”

But Edward didn
’
t
seem to hear him.

“
Oh
my dear boy!
”

“
What
is it?
”

“
Oh,
no, no, no,
”
he
murmured.

“
What
is it?
”

Mohammed was suddenly concerned for Katharine
’
s safety, though Abdullah
was so far away.

“
After
you went to Arabia to find Katharine, the Bow Street Runners continued to
search out clues on her whereabouts. They tracked the mercenary who had
kidnapped her to an inn in Whitechapel where he had been staying.
”

“
Yes?
”

“
He
was murdered.
”

“
Yes
I knew that.
”

“
Yes
but what that Bow Street Runners discovered was that he was murdered by a knife
wound to the throat. Those working at the inn saw a man who had gone to see him
right before he was killed. He was never found, but he was a large man dressed
in Arab garb. He is believed to have been the murderer.
”

“
Abdullah,
”
Mohammed said as he
nodded.

Though Edward had never met Abdullah, it made sense that he
would be the one to have killed the mercenary if he was behind the plot to
kidnap her. He was covering his tracks.

Mohammed closed his eyes and saw everything fall into place.
Abdullah, his most trusted advisor and friend, had done everything. He had the
mercenary kidnap Katharine, he had sent the letter, and he had Safiya seduce
him to impregnate herself with a son. It was all Abdullah, like a serpent in
the nest. And then he had killed Jean Baptiste to cover his tracks. He was
behind everything.

“
He
is behind everything, Lord Edward. He has done all of this. My most trusted
advisor,
”
Mohammed
said incredulously. It was not to be believed.

He must find Katharine. She must know the truth. She must be
told everything and then all would be made right.

“
Where
is Katharine?
”
He
felt his heart race. He had to see her.

“
She
is having tea with Lady Dunvale. Why?
”

“
I
have to explain everything to her. She must know everything that has happened.
I can
’
t allow one
more day to go by without her knowing the truth.
”

“
My
dear boy,
”
Edward
said as he clasped Mohammed about the shoulders.
“
The
wrongs will be righted. Take faith in the fact that she loves you.
”

Mohammed smiled.

“
Thank
you, Lord Edward.
”

Chapter
28

He took the steps two at a time to make his way from the
townhouse to a hired hackney cab.

He would be there shortly, for Lady Dunvale
’
s townhouse was nearby.
He gave the cab driver directions and his mind raced. What would he say to her?
It would come to him. All that mattered was the truth.

He pulled up near the corner and was about to get out when
something caught his eye. A coach was waiting near Lady Dunvale
’
s townhouse and the
driver sat hunch backed in a large frock coat, tight and ill fitting. He was
eyeing Lady Dunvale
’
s
townhouse with urgency. His back was to Mohammed, so Mohammed could not see the
man
’
s face.

Mohammed watched the coach and gave his driver instructions
to wait.

Katharine emerged a short time later from the house,
stepping lightly into the coach where the driver had been waiting for her. As
the coach turned the corner, he noticed a small alleyway next to Lady Dunvale
’
s townhouse and saw a man
lying half-naked, stripped of his frock coat.
That was the true driver!
Allah help him,
he thought as terror seized him.

Abdullah was here!

“
Follow
that coach,
”
he
shouted to the driver.

Mohammed knew with certainty that Abdullah was finally
taking matters into his own hands. With Katharine inside and the coach at his
control, he would take her someone secluded to finish what had been started
long ago.

***

She had a lovely time with Lady Dunvale. They had gossiped
about the card party and she learned that she had been on the gossipmonger
’
s tongues when it was
known that she had kissed the delectable foreigner.

Katharine sighed.
If they only knew,
she thought.

Katharine felt the coach sway and knew that something was
wrong. There had been a coach outside, and the driver assured her that he would
take her to her destination in Mayfair. But as they kept driving, she knew she
was not heading toward her home and that something was wrong. She shouted and
pounded on the roof, but there was no answer.

Was she being kidnapped again? Her heart leaped into her
throat. No!

They entered the beautiful Greenwich Park, and Katharine was
thoroughly confused. Why were they here?

***

Mohammed instructed the hackney cab to stay near enough to
keep track of the coach, but far enough away to not raise Abdullah
’
s suspicion.

When the coach slowed, he knew he must act wisely. But
whatever happened next, he would ensure that Abdullah
’
s reign of terror was at an end.

***

The coach slowed and stopped along the green lawns of
Greenwich Park. She heard the driver jump down and wretch the door open.

“
Sir,
”
was all she was able to
say before she was physically hauled out into the bright light and green of the
park. A light sprinkle of rain was falling.

“
Don
’
t speak,
”
Abdullah said, as he
threw off the foreign frock coat. His Arab dress frightened Katharine.

He pulled her behind a large chestnut tree and forced her
onto her knees.

“
Kill
those who join other gods with God wherever you shall find them; and seize
them, besiege them, and lay wait for them with every kind of ambush,
”
Abdullah murmured to
himself, quoting the holy book. His fingers bit into her hair as he kept her on
her knees.

“
Please,
what have I done?
”
Katharine cried.

Abdullah murmured words in Arabic and was in a trance. She
was so frightened and the light rain chilled her. Was he a madman? What was
going on here? She trembled.

Abdullah
’
s
fingers tightened into her hair and she cried out,
“
Please!
”

“
Infidel,
Infidel, kafir,
”
he
recited over and over again as she felt the tears fall.

“
Please
don
’
t. My son needs
me,
”
she whispered
quietly.

Abdullah suddenly released her and stopped chanting.

“
Your
son will have Allah,
”
he told her.

Katharine saw the man clearly and cringed. She knew him! He
had worked in the palace. He had been an advisor to Mohammed. She felt a
glimmer of hope. What did he want? What was going on?

“
Who
are you? I know you.
”

“
Yes,
woman. And I know you.
”

“
What
do you want from me? Why are you doing this?
”
she asked as she shuddered.

“
I
have watched and waited and remained inactive for far too long. I will do what
should have been done long ago,
”
he said. His voice was cold in the green park.

She felt the cold rain and the grass under her knees.

“
I
have done nothing to you,
”
she cried.

“
No!
You have done nothing but bewitched our lord and master, a fine leader among
men. And you will destroy him.
”

“
No,
I love him. I carried his son. Our son. Please.
”

“
Be
quiet, witch! You have bewitched him and stolen his soul through your wicked
ways.
”

He slapped her across the face and drew out his silver blade
from beneath his robes.

“
I
should have done this at the palace when you were first brought there. I could
have saved myself so much time and pain, rather than relying on that stupid
half-breed to kidnap you.
”

“
Oh
my God,
”
Katharine
whispered. She touched her fingers to her lips, realizing Jean Baptiste had
been hired by this crazed man before her.

“
He
was an inferior half-breed who fouled everything up. I killed him for the sake
of killing him.
”

Katharine felt sick.

“
Why?
”
she whispered.

Abdullah admired the blade that would soon be stained with
her blood.

“
There
was a beautiful girl in Arabia. She was dark and lovely, and I planned so
perfectly for her to be Mohammed
’
s
consort and bear his children.
”

“
No,
”
Katharine said.

“
I
bid her to come to the palace and she did. She was to seduce Mohammed with her
body.
”

Katharine bit her lip and felt her tears fall.

“
But
she too failed me. Instead, the sheik couldn
’
t
complete the act before he passed out. Then I find out she was pregnant by her
uncle. Disgusting woman!
”

Katharine
’
s
heart soared even as it flung back to earth.

“
You
made an enemy out of me from the moment I first saw you. When I first laid eyes
on you, I knew you were evil. All that is unholy lies between your legs and in
your body.
”

“
No.
That
’
s not true,
”
she whispered.
“
I am a good woman.
”

“
You
are the most vilest of creatures. You are an Infidel. A non-believer. A
soulless being.
”

She shook her head as he drew the blade along her collarbone
and she shuddered.

He murmured quietly,
“
And
kill them wherever you find them, and drive them out from whence they drove you
out, and persecution is severer than slaughter, and do not fight with them at
the Sacred Mosque until they fight with you in it, but if they do fight you,
then slay them; such is the recompense of the unbelievers.
”

He whispered the words in a fevered pitch.

“
Once
you are dead, we will take your son back to Arabia to be raised as a true
Muslim. He will be raised in the true faith. I will tell him stories of his
beautiful mother, and he and Mohammed will never know that your blood stained
my hands,
”
Abdullah
said. He smiled then, and Katharine knew all was lost.

Katharine tried to concentrate on Mohammed and her beloved
son. She tried to focus on their faces and not the one before her.

“
Make
your peace, witch.
”

Katharine shook her head and shivered in the cold.

“
I
love Mohammed and I love my son. More than that, I have nothing to say. Do what
you will,
”
she said
as she closed her eyes.

She waited to feel the pain, but only heard a slight thud
and then flesh hitting flesh.

She opened her eyes and saw a man dressed in European
clothes grappling with Abdullah. A fist collided with his head and then
collided with his gut. He was getting a beating.