The Duke's Runaway Princess (Love By Accident) (3 page)

Zarah tried to explain this to Suzanne, but she was at a loss herself. In the end, she shook her head. “I just couldn’t do it.”

Suzanne shrugged and took a sip of her coffee. “Okay then, go ahead and meet these guys, test the waters, but don’t reject my offer too quickly. Worst case, you get out into the world and get a little work experience, reassure your brother that you’re safe every once in a while, but put your foot down and don’t let him push you into a marriage that you’ll hate. Stand up for yourself,” Suzanne urged. “Think of all the other women in the world who pushed for change in various areas of their culture and risked so much. You could help be the transformation in Tasain and help women all over the country by not marrying a man hand selected by your brother.”

Zarah considered her friend’s comments but knew she wouldn’t do anything so outrageous. Rashid would find her anyway and Zarah didn’t want to contemplate her brother’s fury when that happened. They sipped their drinks and discussed their graduation which was just around the corner. Eventually, they were joined by their other friends who were also graduating and, for a little while, Zarah was able to ignore her impending nuptials as her friends laughed and joked about their futures and the end of classes.

The laughter was completely gone three days later while Zarah sat in the elegant restaurant, her hands resting under the table as she waited for the first groom candidate to arrive. Rashid had set up lunch meetings over the next two weeks with each of the potential grooms.

The first one was already fifteen minutes late. She was just about to stand up to leave when she heard a commotion at the entrance. And there he stood, surveying the room with a pompous, overbearing attitude. He was short, she thought initially. This man couldn’t be taller than she was and as he approached her table she had to smother her laughter at his enormous entourage. There were probably ten people all trying to follow him, each one attempting to look important and efficient.

She stood up as he arrived at her table and she smothered a groan when she realized that she was at least an inch taller than this man even without her heels. With the shoes she’d selected today, she was about three inches taller than he was and the initial greeting was awkward. He had a very thin frame, narrow shoulders and obviously prized his black goatee since he smoothed it down with his thumb and index finger as he stood in front of Zarah, looking her up and down as if she were some sort of prize horse.

“You are very beautiful,” the man said as he took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “We will make great babies together and you will give me many sons.”

Zarah gasped and pulled her hand away, bowing her head and hoping he thought she was being deferential, while she tried desperately hard to smother her laughter.

“Your Highness,” she replied once she had her amusement under control. “You flatter me with your confidence.”

Zarah wasn’t sure what she ate that day, or any of the next seven meals while the men her brother had lined up for her regaled her with stories of their business prowess, their power, their affluence. One even bragged that he would only have to assassinate eleven of his brothers so that he could inherit his father’s throne. She couldn’t believe that man was so brazen about the deaths of his brothers, but since he was a short, skinny, irritating man who probably had very little power, she ignored his bragging and ended the lunch meeting as quickly as possible. As she left the restaurant after that one, she sent her brother a message that said only, “Are you kidding me?!”

By Friday afternoon, two weeks after her dinner with Rashid, she knocked on Suzanne’s apartment door and flounced onto the couch as soon as her friend answered the knock. “Tell me about Willingham,” she said with a fear that she was doing something monumentally stupid, but also a determination to avoid every last one of the men she’d met so far. None were even remotely interesting and several were outright demeaning of her in particular and women in general.

Suzanne’s apartment looked exactly like hers; filled with boxes as they both worked to pack up their possessions in anticipation of moving on to the next phase of their lives.

Suzanne’s surprise that Zarah was considering tossing it all aside was quickly overcome by her excitement in having her friend come along for an adventure. She plopped down on the worn out sofa next to Zarah and enthusiastically clapped her hands. “Well, it’s a very small village outside of Reading so we’re just over an hour east of London. We could get an apartment together if you’d like? There are several available that I’ve looked at but there’s a two bedroom overlooking the main streets of the town so it would be right in the center of everything.” She looked at her friend cautiously, “But understand that being in the center of the action is dramatically different than what you might be used to. It’s a small village inhabited by sleepy residents who like their way of life slow and friendly.”

Zarah smiled enthusiastically and nodded in understanding. “It sounds perfect. I can’t imagine a better place to hang out for a year while I figure out what to do about Rashid’s need to marry me off and get him to reconsider. Maybe if I show him that I’m serious about finding another path for myself, he’ll let me choose my own husband in my own time.”

Zarah had considered her options carefully, but was still nervous about following this plan of action. Could she really follow through with what she desperately wanted to do? The risks were terrifying, but the possibility of marrying one of the men she’d met so far was equally bad. She still had three more candidates to meet, but she didn’t want to waste any more of her time if the previous seven were any indication of her brother’s selection criteria. She was dumbfounded that her brother would think any of the candidates so far were even remotely attractive.

Taking a deep breath, she continued on with her planning. “What would I do for a job?”

Suzanne shrugged her shoulders. “You could work in one of the little shops. I know my mother’s friend Mary is looking to hire someone at her dress shop. Her last assistant just flew the coup but Mary really is a wonderful person. She’s not the most organized though so beware.” Suzanne looked at her cautiously. “Some might even label Mary as chaotic so be warned. She’s also the only place to get a nice dress or outfit in all of Willingham so she pretty much has the market cornered. Women have to drive at least a half hour to get to the next mall.”

If she’d thought about it, Zarah would have laughed at the idea of spending six years in school only to turn around and work as a dress shop assistant. But the alternative wasn’t just bad, it was creepy and disgusting. None of the men she’d met so far were worth her time of day, although they’d all arrogantly thought they were prizes that she should be excited to win for herself.

She thought about the possibility for less than a minute before she decided to take the leap. “Let’s do it,” Zarah announced before she backed out and ran back home to the security of what she was familiar with instead of daring to fly out on her own.

Suzanne looked surprised. “Are you serious? You really want to work in a dress shop and run away from all those delicious, sexy and thrilling men who are vying for your hand in marriage?”

Zarah rolled her eyes. “Those weren’t men. They were rodents,” she commented. Zarah sprang up from Suzanne’s sofa, filled with renewed energy and a strong purpose to take control of her life even if it meant defying her brother as she’d never done before. “Okay. So if I’m going to do this, we need to work quickly. The apartment will have to be in your name, but I’ll pay half the rent. I’ll pay you for the first year up front so that I don’t leave a paper trail.” She paced back and forth in her friend’s small apartment while Suzanne continued packing. Zarah worked through the details, considering storage of her possessions, moving her clothes across the Atlantic…hiding any trace of her actions that might lead Rashid to finding her before she was ready to return.

What she would do at the end of this little adventure, she wasn’t sure, but she was going to have some time for herself anyway. She’d figure out her future once it arrived. And in the meantime, she could avoid all romantic entanglements, get some work experience, show Rashid that she was fully capable of living on her own and maybe he would relent on needing to find a man who could ‘protect’ her.

The next several days passed quickly as Zarah closed out several lingering issues in New York. She packed up all of her clothes in a cardboard box, shipped them to Suzanne’s residence and paid for the postage in cash so it couldn’t be traced. She gave all of her furniture and kitchen items to The Salvation Army, including dishes and cookware but shipped her bedding and other things she would need in another cardboard box, amazed that her life would fit into two large boxes. Zarah felt no regret in rescheduling any lunches Rashid set up for her. Within one week of making the decision, she and Suzanne were booked on a flight to London and standing at the gate, ready to board. It would also be the first time she’d flown on a commercial plane and in economy no less! She was thrilled with being treated just like a normal traveler and Suzanne was laughing it up.

“I have a phone call to make,” she whispered to Suzanne about five minutes before they were scheduled to board.

Suzanne gave Zarah’s hand a squeeze of encouragement. She knew what Zarah was going to do and understood it was going to be a difficult phone conversation.

Zarah took out her cell phone and dialed her brother’s private cell phone number, praying he wasn’t in a meeting so he could take her call. She could just imagine calling him now and he was in an important meeting. It would be hard to pull her courage back up to make the phone call once again. When he answered, she brightened, but her stomach was in knots.

“Why have you missed so many meetings?” he asked as soon as he answered. No greeting, no questions about her day, just the question in an angry tone of voice that didn’t bode well.

Zarah bit her lip and closed her eyes. “I’m not meeting any more men.”

“Then you’ve chosen one already?” he asked, the surprise evident in his voice. And was there a hint of relief?

Zarah closed her eyes and moved to a different location as more people swarmed around the airport terminal, preparing to board their flight. “No. None of them piqued my interest.”

There was a slight pause as her brother absorbed her reply. She imagined seeing his face, the look in his eyes confused at first, then turning hard and impatient when the answer didn’t immediately come to him. “Perhaps you should explain yourself, Zarah,” he said sternly.

She took a deep breath, then dove into her plan. “I’m not marrying any of them Rashid. I’m going to be fine and I don’t want you to worry, but I’m taking a year off to work. I want a bit of professional experience so I’m going to go out into the world and live on my own for a while. I’m sorry and please don’t worry about me.”

“Zarah…” Rashid started off, but she interrupted him once again.

“No, Rashid. I’m not going to follow the expected path. I don’t want to get married yet. I want to live my life on my own terms. That’s not unheard of and people do it all the time. I know you’ll try and find me, but please don’t. I’m going to be perfectly safe. I’ll check in with you weekly so you know that I’m okay. I’ve also formed a backup plan, just in case something does happen to me. A friend of mine has your contact information in case anything goes wrong or if I don’t check in with her daily. She’ll contact you immediately and give you location information if I find myself in any trouble. Goodbye.”

“Don’t you dare hang up,” she heard her brother say but she didn’t hear the next sentence, she simply pressed the end button, then turned off her phone and took out the battery so he couldn’t track her with the GPS located in the phone.

Boarding for her flight was announced and she took a deep breath, linked her arms with Suzanne and walked onto the flight which would take her into a new life. She wasn’t sure how long she’d be allowed to live this life, but she was going to learn as much from it as possible.

“What did your brother say when you gave him the news?” Suzanne asked as the plane took off.

Zarah cringed at the memory of her conversation with Rashid. “He’s probably pretty furious right now. But I didn’t give him a chance to talk. I was too afraid he’d say something that would scare me and I’d come running home with my tail between my legs so I hung up on him. People just don’t do that to Rashid so no matter what, even if I came home right now, he’d still be livid. Hopefully he’ll be calmer next week when I touch base with him, but probably not.”

Suzanne nodded knowingly. “That’s probably the best move, but I agree that he will be furious when you call him next weekend to reassure him.”

“Hopefully I’ll be fully engaged in my new life and he won’t have as much influence on me. Right now, I’m pretty terrified of what’s to come.”

Suzanne shook her head and squeezed her friend’s arm. “Don’t think of it like that. I’ll be with you the whole time. What you need to focus on is finding the kind of guy you want to marry, or more specifically, the fun you’ll have working with Mary.” She settled back in her seat and pushed her chair back so it was more comfortable, showing Zarah how to do it since she’d only been on private jets with more luxury. “So tell me about the guy you picture in your mind when you think of the kind of man you want to marry.”

Zarah’s mind instantly pictured the man from her dreams. Or nightmare? She wasn’t sure what it was, but she’d been having that dream almost every night for the past few weeks. The dream always ended the same way, with the wave starting to crash down over the top of her, but just as she was about to panic, the faceless stranger’s strong arm reached down and she was able to grab his hand, holding onto him for safety. It was such a strange dream and it scared her that it was so consistent. The ship and the storm were always the same. The man came out of the same door each time and as soon as she saw him, she knew that she was going to be okay.

It frustrated her that she was waiting for the man to save her in her dreams. Did that mean she wasn’t capable of saving herself? Wasn’t that what this whole adventure was about? She wanted to prove that she could make it in the world without a man’s protection but subconsciously, was she telling herself that she needed a man in her life to protect her?