LITMIR.BIZ

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…

      Saying he’d leave the horse with her mother?

      ‘You’d let her train him? Not take him away? Oh, thank you, Ibrahim, you have no idea how much that would mean to her.’

      ‘And to your brother?’

      Kate nodded.

      ‘Yes, Billy and Tippy have been inseparable since Tippy was a foal. Billy has some kind of special bond with all the horses, but with Tippy it is so much more—as if he’s found a soul mate.’

      ‘I guessed as much,’ Ibrahim said quietly, ‘but, as I said earlier, there is a bargain attached. We love bargaining, we of ancient desert blood.’

      Ah, the catch, Kate thought, tension building within her as she waited for the axe to drop on this dream result.

      ‘I know our ways are different but they have proved successful over thousands of years. For a long time now I have been looking for a wife for my nephew, and in you I believe I have found a person of strength and character who would be a perfect match for him.’

      ‘I’m sorry? You want me to marry a total stranger because you think we’d be a perfect match? Ibrahim, I don’t want to be rude, but that’s ridiculous!’

      Far from being offended, Ibrahim smiled calmly and continued as if she’d never spoken.

      ‘I would not hold you to the marriage if, after a certain time, you both felt it was untenable, but I would like you to give it time, say a year. I realise this must seem strange to you—’

      ‘Strange? It’s beyond strange. Bizarre might come near but—’

      She wasn’t allowed to finish—not that she could think past the ‘but’.

      ‘To us it is a normal arrangement,’ her guest said. ‘You will have much in common, for you are both doctors and I believe your recent work has been in Emergency, which is where my nephew works in a new hospital purpose-built for such things. So you could work together, although, of course, you would not have to work unless you wished to.’

      He had it all planned out, and he spoke as if this was a rational, reasonable conversation.

      Which, of course, it wasn’t! Not rational or reasonable at all! Totally unreasonable. Ridiculous, in fact! Although somewhere in the chaos in her head she remembered where this conversation had begun.

      It was a bargain.

      If she did this, he would not only buy Tippy but would allow her mother to train him.

      Here, at the stud …

      With Billy …

      ‘And your nephew, what does he have to say to this?’ she asked, squelching the questions that she really wanted answers to—why couldn’t he find his own wife? Was he a five-foot-two moron with bad skin and a stutter?

      Not that a five-foot-two moron with bad skin and a stutter couldn’t be a wonderful man and a great husband, but—

      ‘Fareed will accept I am acting in his best interests.’

      ‘Fareed?’ The name came out in a disbelieving squeak. ‘The man whose throat I cut? That’s the man you want me to marry?’

      Settle down, Kate, breathe—but before she could obey this sensible order, another thought struck her.

      ‘This isn’t like some old Chinese proverb where, if you save a person’s life you’re responsible for them for ever, is it? I’m a doctor, it’s my job—and think of all the doctors in the world who’d be burdened down with all those responsibilities. No, Ibrahim, it’s impossible.’

      Ibrahim regarded her, his face grave.

      ‘I would not put responsibility for a life on anyone,’ he said. ‘In my position, I am only too aware of the burden of responsibility. I understand, as a doctor, you did what you had to do and as a result Fareed is alive. But this is a separate issue.’

      He paused, looking out over the home paddock to the river, his face troubled by thoughts Kate couldn’t guess at.

      Not that she wanted to guess at anything—she was too busy trying to order her own thoughts.

      Marry a man to save her family?

      It was medieval!

      But if she did it …

      Ibrahim was talking again, and she forced herself to listen.

      ‘I have been seeking a suitable wife for him for some time,’ he said. ‘He is thirty-seven and it is time he was married. It struck me yesterday that you would be a perfect match for him. You are strong, and resourceful, and caring of your family—this last is important to me because family is who we are.’

      ‘But that’s just it—family! My family!’ Kate pointed out. ‘I’ve come home to help Mum here at the stud, I can’t go off and leave her now. She’ll have more work than ever.’

       Besides which she’d kill me if she thought I’d agree to such a stupid bargain for her sake.

       Or Billy’s …?

      Ibrahim was talking again and Kate tried to concentrate, although the confusion in her mind was making it near impossible.

      ‘I will provide the best available help for your mother,’ he said firmly. ‘An overseer, stable hands, new vehicles, whatever she will need.’

      No confusion now! Kate closed her eyes and saw exactly how the stables could be—the way her mother had always dreamed they’d be, although somehow her father had always managed to lose whatever money they’d had before the dream could be realised.

      Her mother would be in heaven.

      And Billy would have Tippy.

      But her mother would be horrified at the ‘bargain’.

      Not if she didn’t know …

      That last sneaky thought hit Kate like a sharp slap.

      Was she actually considering Ibrahim’s mad idea? Could she really deceive her mother?

      She looked at the man who sat quietly beside her, gazing out at the green fields and river gums. Not the courtly gentleman she’d met the day before but someone older, more tired, somehow.

      She dragged her mind back from the man to the question.

      ‘But surely your nephew should marry someone from your own country. Someone who would know how—well, how to behave,’ she offered desperately.

      Ibrahim shook his head, but now he smiled.

      ‘I have thought hard on it, and you would be my choice. Fareed is the son of my older brother so he is also my heir, and although he will be a wise and just ruler, he has ghosts in his life, ghosts I fear will stop him reaching his full potential.’

      ‘So I’m not only supposed to marry this man but banish his demons, as well?’ Kate demanded. ‘Shouldn’t you be calling an exorcist?’

      She knew she was being flippant, but right now flippant was all she could manage. The turmoil inside her—the feeling of being torn in two—was just too much!

      Ibrahim offered her a slight smile but obviously wasn’t diverted from his course.

      ‘I would not put such a burden on you, although I believe you could be the person to help him out of the past. It is why I have chosen you. And, as I said, I would not hold you to the marriage—divorce is simple in my country and should that happen, provided I believe you have behaved honourably, I will honour my agreement with your mother. That would be our bargain.’

      Bargain!

      The word brought her right back to where this bizarre conversation had started. Ibrahim would buy Tippy, have her mother train him, provide an overseer and stable help and the stables

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