The Sheik's Rebellious Mistress Page 0,53
the American movies where the Secret Service guards would communicate about the American President through hidden microphones, but she"d never thought she would be part of that process.
When she reached the exit, by luck more than her sense of direction which was generally backward at best, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw a limousine already positioned outside with an SUV in front and behind it. A guard was holding open the door and she smiled to the strange man as she stepped into the darkened interior.
She sat still as the car drove her through the streets of the city and when they stopped, she was fascinated by the market place. It was like an old world bazaar. There were tents with brightly colored fabrics protecting each vendor"s face from the harsh sun. About half of the women were wearing the burka while the other half were dressed in western clothing, the teenagers even exposing navels and wearing earrings while the spoke on cell phones or listened to music through headphones. Good, she thought to herself as she smiled to each of the vendors, pretending to ignore the guards that were surrounding her. This was exactly the type of environment she was hoping for. It suited her purposes perfectly.
“That looks lovely,” she said to one vendor who was displaying several long, colorful robes. “How much?” she asked and instantly the vendor smiled, bowing slightly as he gave her a price. Electra smiled tentatively and looked at Micha who was standing behind her. “Is that a good price?” she asked.
The angry expression on Micha"s face told her the answer before he spoke, furiously waving his hands and gesturing toward other stalls lined up down the main aisle of the marketplace. After several comments, the vendor blushed, bowed deeply and nodded his head.
“What did you say to him?” Electra asked as she watched the vendor hand the neatly wrapped robe to Micha.
“He quoted a price three times the usual for you.”
Electra was horrified. “Really?” she asked, looking back at the man. “Why?”
“Because he knows you are the bride and therefore, wealthy. He was ripping you off.” Micha tried to take the bag but Electra maintained it in her own hands. “That"s okay. If I can"t carry something, I shouldn"t buy it, right?” she asked.
“We"re here to serve you,” he said, bowing slightly and reaching for the package.
“No!” she snapped a little too loudly. Noticing the stunned look o n his face, she smiled quickly to appease him. “I"m sorry, Micha. I know you"re just trying to do your duty but Its been only one dayand I"ve been waited on, pampered and basically coddled so much, I"d just like to do something for myself for once. Youknow how independent I"ve been in the past. Soon, all of this will be taken away from me and I"ll be hidden in the palace with nothing better to do but figure out which outfit I"ll wear to dinner that night. I need something that tells me I"m not going to perish. If that something is simply carrying my own bag, what"s the harm?”
Her explanation seemed to sooth his concern and he bowed again but stepped back, signaling that he would allow her to carry her own purchases.
Breathing a sigh of relief th at her plan wouldn"t be spoiled by overly attentive servants, she turned and looked down the rest of the aisle. There were so many vendors and obviously word of who she was had spread. Many people were looking in her direction, smiling brightly and some even bowing.
Electra"s heart sank. If she was known to everyone, how was she going to slip away unnoticed? This might be harder than she"d thought.
Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and pasted a bright smile on her face, then continued down the aisle toward the next stall. She bought one item from each vendor, including a large bag that would hold all her purchases. Acting as if she didn"t want to leave any vendor out, she continued to purchase at least one thing from all of them, delighting the vendors and the populace alike.
Slipping behind one of the brightly colored fabrics at one stall, she stayed hidden long enough to determine how many seconds it took for her guards to become concerned. They were perfectly vigilant so she calculated she had only a few seconds. One or several of them had an eye on her at all times. This wasn"t good, she thought. She needed