The Sheikh Crowns His Virgin. LYNNE GRAHAM

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ with a very long spout. He took the tiny cup in his right hand, his long brown fingers rigid as he waited for one of his father’s characteristic tirades to break over his head. Tahir was an authoritarian parent and had become even more abrasive and critical after the death of his third wife, Raj’s mother. Sadly, that had been the period when Raj had been most in need of comfort and understanding and, instead of receiving that support, Raj had been sent to a military school where he was unmercifully bullied and beaten up. From the instant Raj had left school, he and his father had had a difficult relationship.

      ‘I knew that Omar would run to you for help. He never had a thought in his head that you didn’t put there first,’ Tahir remarked fondly. ‘We will not discuss the past, Raj. That would lead us back to dissension.’

      ‘I’m sorry, but this woman...’ Raj began even though he knew the interruption was rude, because he was so keen to find out why his father had acted as he had and had risked an enormous scandal simply to take his brother down a peg or two.

      ‘You never did have a patient bone in your body.’ Tahir sighed. ‘Have sufficient respect to listen first. I want you home, Raj, back where you belong, as my heir.’

      Raj was stunned. For a split second he actually gaped at the older man, his brilliant dark eyes shimmering with astonishment and consternation.

      His father moved a hand in a commanding gesture to demand his continuing silence. ‘I will admit no regrets. I will make no apologies. But had I not sent you away, my foolish brother would never have plotted to take your place,’ he pointed out grimly. ‘For eight years I have watched you from afar, working for Maraban, loyally doing your best to advance our country’s best interests. Your heart is still with our people, which is as it should be.’

      Raj compressed his lips and gazed down into his coffee, dumbfounded by the very first accolade he had ever received from his strict and demanding parent.

      ‘Do you want to come home? Do you wish to stand as the Crown Prince of Maraban again?’

      A great wash of longing surged through Raj and his shoulders went stiff with the force of having to hold back those seething emotions. He swallowed hard. ‘I do,’ he breathed hoarsely.

      ‘Of course, my generosity must come at a price,’ the King assured him stiffly.

      Unsurprised by that stricture, Raj breathed in deep and slow. ‘I don’t care who I marry now,’ he declared in a driven undertone, hoping that that was the price his father planned to offer him. ‘That element of my life is no longer of such overriding importance to me.’

      ‘So, no longer a romantic,’ his father remarked with visible relief. ‘That is good. A romantic king would be too soft for the throne. And it is too late to turn you into a soldier. But your marriage... On that score I cannot compromise.’

      ‘I understand,’ Raj conceded flatly, shaking his hand to indicate that he did not want another cup of coffee, for any appetite for it had vanished. Sight unseen, some bride of good birth would be chosen for him and he and his bride would have to make a practical marriage. It would be a compromise, a challenge. Well, he was used to challenges even if he wasn’t very good at compromises, he acknowledged grimly. But he would have to learn, and fast, because it was unlikely he would have much in common with the bride chosen for him.

      ‘I should thank Hakem for bringing the Fotakis girl to my attention because I didn’t even know she existed,’ the King mused with unconcealed satisfaction. ‘I was outraged when I realised what my brother was planning to do. I was even more outraged when I realised that I had no choice but to approach Fotakis himself...the man who stole the beautiful Azra from me. But he has given his permission.’

      Only then registering what the older man was proposing, Raj threw his head back in shock. ‘You’re expecting me to marry Zoe?’

      ‘And to do it right now, today. I brought the palace imam with me,’ his father told him bluntly. ‘This marriage would be your sign of good faith, your pledge to me that from now on you will act as a sensible son. Marry her and I promise you that nothing will stand in your path.’

      ‘Zoe wants to go home!’ Raj pointed out incredulously. ‘She will not want to marry me.’

      ‘Her grandfather has given his permission,’ the King pointed out with a frown of bewilderment. ‘A prince for a prince and a bridegroom less than half Hakem’s age, you make an acceptable substitute in Fotakis’s eyes. You have no choice in this, Raj. The girl is too great a prize to surrender, a huge gift to our people. No more popular bride than Azra’s granddaughter could be found for you. We will have a big state wedding to follow. I believe she is as beautiful as her grandmother. You should be pleased.’

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4SRjRXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUAAAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAA agEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAeAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAkIdpAAQAAAABAAAApAAAANAALcbA AAAnEAAtxsAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTNS4xIFdpbmRvd3MAMjAxOTowNDowNSAxNDo0 Mzo0NQAAA6ABAAMAAAABAAEAAKACAAQAAAABAAACE6ADAAQAAAABAAADUgAAAAAAAAAGAQMAAwAA AAEABgAAARoABQAAAAEAAAEeARsABQAAAAEAAAEmASgAAwAAAAEAAgAAAgEABAAAAAEAAAEuAgIA BAAAAAEAACMtAAAAAAAAAEgAAAABAAAASAAAAAH/2P/iDFhJQ0NfUFJPRklMRQABAQAADEhMaW5v AhAAAG1udHJSR0IgWFlaIAfOAAIACQAGADEAAGFjc3BNU0ZUAAAAAElFQyBzUkdCAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAD21gABAAAAANMtSFAgIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAEWNwcnQAAAFQAAAAM2Rlc2MAAAGEAAAAbHd0cHQAAAHwAAAAFGJrcHQAAAIEAAAA FHJYWVoAAAIYAAAAFGdYWVoAAAIsAAAAFGJYWVoAAAJAAAAAFGRtbmQAAAJUAAAAcGRtZGQAAALE AAAAiHZ1ZWQAAANMAAAAhnZpZXcAAAPUAAAAJGx1bWkAAAP4AAAAFG1lYXMAAAQMAAAAJHRlY2gA AAQwAAAADHJUUkMAAAQ8AAAIDGdUUkMAAAQ8AAAIDGJUUkMAAAQ8AAAIDHRleHQAAAAAQ29weXJp Z2h0IChjKSAxOTk4IEhld2xldHQtUGFja2FyZCBDb21wYW55AABkZXNjAAAAAAAAABJzUkdCIElF QzYxOTY2LTIuMQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEnNSR0IgSUVDNjE5NjYtMi4xAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABYWVogAAAAAAAA81EAAQAAAAEWzFhZWiAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWFlaIAAAAAAAAG+iAAA49QAAA5BYWVogAAAAAAAAYpkAALeFAAAY2lhZ WiAAAAAAAAAkoAAAD4QAALbPZGVzYwAAAAAAAAAWSUVDIGh0dHA6Ly93d3cuaWVjLmNoAA

СКАЧАТЬ