“I suspect it’s due to your persuasive nature.”
Cala ran an international charity dedicated to women and children throughout the world. When Kardal had gone away to boarding school, she had begun to busy herself with her charity work, traveling extensively, raising millions of dollars to help those in need.
She touched the collar of her dark red suit. “I’m not sure of the cause of the generosity, but I am grateful.” She paused to study him speculatively. “Is she really Princess Sabra?”
Kardal told himself he shouldn’t be surprised. News traveled quickly within the walls of the city and his mother always knew everything.
“She goes by Sabrina.”
Cala raised her eyebrows. “I hadn’t thought you could still surprise me, but I find I’m wrong. I’m sure you have a reasonable explanation for kidnapping the daughter of a trusted ally.”
He told her about finding Sabrina in the desert.
“She was looking for the city, but there was no way she was going to find it. She would have died if we hadn’t helped her.”
“I don’t dispute the fact that you should have offered assistance. What I question is you holding her captive. I heard that you brought her into the city on your horse, with her hands tied.”
He shifted uncomfortably.
“Why was she looking for the city?” Cala asked, leaning toward him. “I can’t imagine she’s interested in the treasures.”
“Actually she is. She said she has a couple of degrees. Archeology and something about Bahanian artifacts or history.”
“You can’t remember what she studied?” Cala shook her head as if silently asking herself where she’d gone wrong with him. “It was too much trouble to pay attention. Yes, I can see how a first conversation with one’s betrothed could be tedious.”
Kardal hated when his mother spoke as if she was being reasonable when in fact she was verbally slapping him upside the head.
“She is all I feared,” he told her. “Not only doesn’t she know we’re betrothed, but she’s willful, difficult and very much a product of the west.”
His mother’s dark eyes didn’t show even a flash of sympathy. “You knew her reputation when you agreed to the match. Don’t forget it was your decision. I wasn’t even here when King Hassan approached you.”
“I couldn’t refuse him without creating an international incident.”
Cala didn’t bother answering that. He knew the truth as well as she. Tradition stated that he marry the oldest Bahanian daughter, but it wasn’t a matter of law. Kardal supposed he could have insisted on finding a wife of his own choosing—a love match. But he didn’t believe in love. Not the romantic kind. So what did it matter who he married? The purpose of the union was to produce heirs. Nothing more.
“You and Sabrina have more in common than you realize,” Cala told him. “You would be wise to seek out those things. Also, if she is truly willful, I suspect there is a reason. Much would be gained by finding and understanding her motivation.”
“None of that is necessary.”
“Kardal, your future happiness is at stake. I would think you would be willing to put in a little effort.”
He shrugged. “To what end? Sabrina isn’t the sort of woman who can make me happy.” Except possibly in bed, he thought remembering how she’d looked in the costume he’d made her wear. There she could please him very well.
“A wise man would make peace with his future wife. If she is content, she will be a better mother.”
“If only she were more moldable,” he grumbled. “Why did King Hassan allow her to be raised in the west?”
“I’m not sure. I know that he married Sabrina’s mother very quickly. Theirs seemed to be a match more about passion than affection. I have heard that if not for Sabrina, they would have divorced in a matter of months. Apparently when they did finally end the marriage, Hassan’s wife wanted to take her daughter with her back to California and he agreed.”
Kardal shook his head. “Why would a man allow his child to be taken from him? Bahanian law required Sabrina to stay with her father.” While the law allowed for either parent to take custody of the children, in the royal house, the children stayed with the royal parent. Sabrina had been the only exception.
“Perhaps the king was being foolish,” Cala said quietly. “Men act that way all the time. I know of a man who won’t even bother to get to know his future wife. He also assumes they can never be happy together. All this based on a few hours in her company.”