Rafe moved next to her and pointed to the corner. “We turn left there. The souk stretches about three blocks. Don’t try anything fancy. You don’t want to get lost here.”
She linked her arm with his as they walked. “I don’t even want to get lost anywhere. Am I expected to bargain?”
“Usually. They’ll go easy on you because you’re American.”
She started to tell him that she didn’t need any special favors, but then reminded herself that she’d never bargained in a market place in her life.
Anticipation filled her as they approached the open-air bazaar. Dozens of people clustered around rows of stalls, moved in groups or stood talking. The stone street looked smooth, as if generations had walked here before. Behind the individual displays, old buildings cast shadows in the late afternoon.
Zara glanced through an open archway and saw two young children playing in a fountain. A small dog danced around, barking. Laughter drifted to her, making her smile.
Up ahead she saw a great pile of rugs. They hung over lengths of rope and chairs. Several stood rolled up in a plastic trash can. To her left was a man selling all kinds of fruit. Everything from dates to bananas to small melons. A display of brass pots caught her attention. She picked up one shaped like Aladdin’s lamp.
“Going to give it a good rub?” Rafe asked.
She laughed. “First I’d have to figure out what I was going to wish for.”
The shopkeeper moved closer. “It is a fine ornament,” he said. “If you’re looking for something more functional, I have lanterns that work. If the lady would be so kind as to step around here?”
He motioned to the side of his stall. Zara started to move, but as she did she bumped into someone. She glanced at the teenager and smiled.
“Excuse me.”
The girl, maybe sixteen or seventeen with beautiful long dark hair and wearing shorts and a T-shirt, squinted at her.
“It’s all right. I wasn’t looking—” The teenager gasped. “Oh, my God! It’s you.” She shrieked. “Princess Zara.”
Rafe swore under his breath. Zara didn’t understand the problem. She turned to ask him, only to find herself suddenly swept away by a crowd that had formed from thin air.
People surrounded her, tugging on her sleeves, touched her hair, yelling out questions. It was far worse than the press conference, because she felt herself being pushed and jostled. Then someone actually pulled several strands of hair free. Hands turned into claws. She was bumped from behind and nearly went down, all the while trapped in the center of a screeching cacophony.
“Princess Zara, come to my house for dinner.”
“Princess Zara, you have to meet my son.”
“Princess Zara, are you really from America?”
“Isn’t she pretty?”
“I thought she looked better on television.”
Words and phrases swirled around her. Zara tried to fight her way free, but she didn’t know which direction to go. She couldn’t breathe and she had a bad feeling that if she lost her footing, she would be trampled. Tears burned in her eyes.
Suddenly a strong arm encircled her waist. She instantly recognized the heat and scent of the man she couldn’t see, and she relaxed as Rafe half carried her away. He pushed and shoved as necessary. One second she’d feared for her life, and the next he was easing her into the car and they were racing away.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
She tried to answer. It was only when the words stuck in her throat that she realized she was sobbing. She covered her face with her hands.
“I can’t do this,” she breathed. “You have to get me out of here. Get me away from Bahania.”
Chapter 12
Zara woke in a room on the edge of the world. Sunlight spilled over a pale tile floor. Large French doors stood open, allowing a soft sea breeze to sweep over her, beckoning her. She rose and crossed to the stone patio, then leaned against the iron railing. From there she could see down into the deep, dark ocean, which lapped up against the rocks of the island.
Except for the call of a few birds, the ocean and the breeze, there was only silence. Blissful silence. No servants, no members of the press, not even a relative of the Bahanian royal family.