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“You’re sure about that? You just e before”
Zayed shrugged “It seeeeated to me in any way I would, however, insist that she conduct any outside romances very, very discreetly, and she would have the sa you”
“Are you sure that it wouldn’t be better worth your while to get the law changed?”
Zayed shook his head “I looked into it, believe me,” he explained “It’s just not possible If I want to buy out aze for a few h to be sure that I mean what I say when I tell you this is strictly business, but I hope that you can trust me”
Zelda s you well enough,” she said
“Let ive : if I wanted to simply buy a woman to be my wife, I wouldn’t have to look very hard to find volunteers,” the Sheikh said “Plenty of women both here and in the US would be happy to marry me for my money But I don’t want that”
“How do you knoouldn’t beyou for your money, too?” Zelda wasn’t sure why she felt so contrary, but she couldn’t stop herself fro
“A wo oes to work in the kitchen is not the type of woman who marries a man for his money,” Zayed said He smiled slowly “You are an adventurer; it’s just that you’ve run into a snag on this occasion Allow me to help you, and we can both profit from this”
Zelda thought about it for a longpastries fro contemplatively at her coffee
She considered the iotten of the Sheikh while they’d been en route to Murindhi; she’d noticed him, of course, and he had always seeuests on the boat, almost fawned on by them
In so e, exotic banquets for hiht that he was clearly a generous person; the guests had all been extre hours, the crew all seemed very happy, and well-paid for their work
Of course, Zelda thought, that was the way that he acted with people who he was already connected to; he had no real connection to her He knew all along that you were an iht He could just as easily have let port authority handle you He could have let them cart you off and throw you in jail to either end up in prison or get deported He had to come to her rescue, and even if his motives were somewhat selfish—even if he’d done it mostly to indebt her to him—Zelda didn’t think it spoke poorly of a man to think quickly, and to be that up front
“Hoould this work?” Zelda asked, finishing off her pastry and aze
“You will be with me in public,” the Sheikh explained “As soon as possible I will issue an announce the date for our wedding I think you’ll agree that teeks froood idea, since that’s e told the authorities” Zayed smiled “Of course, as my wife, you’ll need to have an appropriate wardrobe and quarters, which we can see to quickly We will have to plan a wedding; fortunately, I have enough staff at my home here to take care of that”
“So we’re going to have a wedding? An actual wedding wedding?” Zelda stared at the Sheikh “Not just likego to the courthouse or so?”
Zayed shook his head “I’m a very wealthyweren’t a very public affair,” he explained, his voice gentle “We have to be seen to be truly man and wife by the media, by the people, and by those ill determine whether or not I can buy the company I’m interested in” He poured her another half-cup of coffee
“So teeks, and we get e ceremony for everyone to see,” Zelda said “And then what?”
“You make some appearances as my wife, and we hold
out long enough for the purchase of the coh, after which you can do whatever you like”
“And I could leave whenever I wanted?”