Sold! A Romance In The Sudan Read online

  “Mr Master,” Lilly said seriously, her breath tickling his ear. “My name is Lilly Chamberlain. Thank you for helping me.” She hiccupped and then shuddered. “I’m very sorry but I’m afraid I’m going to be sick.”

  And she was, all over his last clean shirt.

  Chapter Three

  Transition

  The train rattled along the tracks, shaking loose every last bone in her body but Lilly didn’t care. She lay curled up on a packing crate, holding on to a can of Coke. It was warm and sickly sweet but to Lilly it wasn’t just a drink; it was a symbol of civilisation.

  She’d lost count of the days that had passed since that fatal evening at the lake. After that knockout blow to her jaw, she’d woken with a crashing headache to find herself locked into the hold of a riverboat.

  Seasickness or rather river-sickness, coupled with concussion, fear, hunger and dehydration, had made her too weak to do anything but lie on the floor. The two fishermen had put down an occasional plate of watery fish stew but had otherwise left her entirely alone. Until they’d reached the town.

  When they’d entered the hold with the rope and collar, Lilly had tried to fight them off but a sock to the jaw had sent her crashing to the floor. By the time she’d come round, they had trussed her up, leaving her unable to defend herself.

  Certain she would be raped, Lilly discovered an inner core of pure steel. Taking no heed of the punches and slaps her captors used to try to cow her, Lilly kicked, bit, swore and even spat.

  They hadn’t raped her but it hadn’t helped her either. Closing her eyes, she could still feel the crowd staring at her as they cut off her shorts and t-shirt. She shuddered as the memory of fear flashed through her.

  “Are you ok?” He was standing next to her, touching her cheek gently. Her rescuer. Her wonderful saviour.

  He’s cute too, her inner self piped up. Tall, dark and handsome. Just what the doctor ordered.

  With a supreme effort, Lilly sat up. “I’m fine, thank you.”

  He was looking her over with an almost clinical detachment. Curious, she stared back.

  At the market, she’d thought he was European. Now she could see him properly, he had the pale skin and aquiline bones of the Egyptians she’d seen in Cairo. The rifle, combat boots and aggressively short, black hair gave him a military look.

  Up close she saw the toughness was real but ,from the moment she’d spotted him pushing through the crowd, she’d been mesmerised by his dark, brown eyes. Among the leering crowd who’d fingered her as if she were a farm animal up for auction, only he had looked at her as if she were a human being.

  Instinctively she’d looked to him for help. He’d charged to the rescue like a knight out of a fairytale and she’d rewarded him by being sick all over him.

  He hadn’t said a word about it. He’d just carried her to a warehouse, sat her in a plastic chair, taken off his shirt and rinsed it under a tap. It was still soaking wet. She could see the outline of his muscles clearly under the fine material as it clung to him.

  “I’m sorry about your shirt.”

  The brown eyes softened and smiled. “You’re a most unusual girl.” He sat down on the packing case next to her, idly examining her face. “I was expecting tears and hysterics.”

  Lilly shrugged. “I did cry but it didn’t help. So I’ve quit. I’m all cried out.”

  Hafiq ran a finger down her cheek. She shivered, not sure if it was his gentle caress or the fever.

  “Where did you come from? There are no tourists here.”

  “I was on a tour of Lake Nasser. You see, I got a bit lost and there was this crocodile.” It sounded absurd when she heard herself say it but he just nodded. “I jumped into a boat and well... here I am.”

  Hafiq thought for a moment. “That fits. I thought they were from the north. From Wadi Halfa probably.”

  “That’s what I thought too,” Lilly deadpanned.

  Hafiq grinned. The girl was tough.

  “I guess you saw a bit more of the Nile than you bargained for.”

  Lilly nodded. It was odd but, after being terrified for days, she felt completely detached. She didn’t really care what would come next, although she hoped the near future contained food. She was days past hungry.

  “I’m sorry to bother you but do you have anything to eat?”

  Hafiz laughed out loud. He hadn’t heard such beautifully polite language since Fang Hua, a China doll addicted to stories of the Imperial Court, had left. She’d been fun but incredibly rapacious. He’d sent her back after three months, considerably poorer for the experience. She probably had her hooks into half of Beijing’s billionaires by now.

  Hafiz dug into his bag and produced a bar of chocolate and a packet of raisins. Lilly thanked him but she was so weak that she could hardly tear open the wrapping. Hafiq found himself holding her up and feeding her small bites as if she were a child. She was trembling and sweaty.

  Lilly slowly became aware that she could smell herself. “I stink,” she mumbled. Suddenly that seemed more embarrassing than being stripped in public.

  Hafiq laughed. “We’ll be home in a few hours. I have a big bath. You can go first.” He visualised helping her soap up but seeing her shiver he regretfully abandoned the fantasy. It would have to wait. This girl clearly had a touch of malaria.

  He’d have to give her a couple of days to recover from her ordeal. Then he’d have a bit of fun and ransom her back to her family. He’d probably make a nice profit.

  Lilly was aware of the chills racking her body. Reaction, she thought hazily. It’s relief at being safe again. “I should contact the tour people,” she said vaguely. “ Honey Honeymoons. They’ll be looking for me.”

  “You have a husband?” he asked quietly. It sounded good. A new husband would pay a high price.

  “No!” Lilly couldn’t help laughing. “This is supposed to be a honeymoon but as it turned out, the groom didn’t fancy it.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Ashton, the man I was to marry, went off with Rachel Finn. She’s a tart who works on her feet in the bar of the Anchor Hotel by day and on her back in the rooms upstairs by night.”

  Hafiq guffawed. “You don’t sound very upset about it.”

  “I was. In fact, I cried for weeks,” Lilly admitted. “But now it seems very unimportant.”

  “You have other family?” Hafiq asked.

  “Not one aunt, not one uncle, no cousins and no brothers or sisters,” Lilly said cheerfully. “I am all alone in the world.”

  Hafiq thought for a moment, then relaxed. She had no family but her government would pay. A beautiful, young girl like this would make newspaper headlines. He’d make a profit, for sure.

  “Good,” he said out loud.

  Lilly was taken aback. “What’s good about being all alone?”

  “Oh, you know, “ Hafiq prevaricated. “No screaming relatives to deal with.” Having dozens of sisters, aunts and cousins, all of whom could put up a screech at the smallest matter, he dreaded family conferences.

  This girl was quiet and self-contained. She reminded him of his father’s English wife who had been the daughter of a Kenyan coffee rancher.

  “She’s sweet as honey if you treat her right but a lioness with a scorpion’s tongue if she thinks you don’t value her,” her father had complained loudly for all to hear. “She’s a lot of trouble.”

  But for all his protests, his father had done everything to please her. He had given up his nomadic ways and disbanded his harem. Ten-year-old Hafiq couldn’t remember his own mother, Aini Mali, as she had returned to her desert home in As-Salif across the Red Sea before he could walk. He expected the English woman to despise him but she had surprised him.

  “You’re Hafiq, are you? Well, I’m not your mother, boy but I will raise you as if you were my own.”

  She had been as good as her word. She had taught him to read, insisted he go to school and had petted and scolded him in equal measure as he grew up. Haf
iq had adored her and always thought of her as his real mother.

  When his father died, the family fully expected her to live a long widowhood but Hafiq knew better. She died in her sleep, just a week after burying his father. Hafiq knew she’d died of a broken heart.

  Thanks to her, Hafiq had an education. Thanks to his great grandfather’s genes, he had inherited fantastic business acumen. He was rich and successful but he was aware that he was feeling stale. Making deals was fun but the women in his life bored him.

  The women his sisters paraded in front of him only made him yawn. He didn’t want to risk the prostitutes on the harbour front; sure they were rife with disease that would defy a dozen condoms. Instead, he contracted live-in girls from China and Thailand. They worked hard but they were all depressingly dull. Having packed Ngam home, he hadn’t bothered replacing her.

  Now he had an English girl of his own. And for a thousand dollars too! Way cheaper than the Egyptian sharmotas and the Asian mail order dolls.

  Hafiq was feeling good. He was convinced he’d found a rare bargain.

  Chapter Four

  Fever

  A week later Hafiq wasn’t so sure about his great bargain. After a hot shower, a bath and another shower, Lilly had finally felt clean again. Despite her fever, she’d wolfed down a meal and kept it down. Getting the collar off her neck had been more difficult.

  “It’s a simple pin but the metal is corroded and twisted at the top and bottom,” Hafiq said after examining it carefully. “I can get it out but it’s going to take some work.” He looked at her meditatively. “Perhaps it’s better to leave it as it is. It’s sexy.”

  “Not when you’re wearing it,” Lilly grumbled. “Every time I move my head it bangs my collarbone. My neck is one big bruise.”

  It was the one and only complaint she’d made. Hafiq still couldn’t believe how calm she was. “I’ll get it off,” he soothed.

  He took her out to the terrace and had her lay her head on the wall that ran along its edge. Carefully positioning the end at the back of her neck, well away from her face, he hammered the pin ends until they were smooth. Then he used a nail to push the pin through and out of the other side.

  It had only taken the fishermen a few minutes to secure the collar but it took Hafiq a good half an hour to get it off. While he was working, Lilly hadn’t moved a muscle. When he finally took it off and saw the relief on her face, Hafiq felt like a hero.

  Unfortunately, as he had predicted, Lilly fainted immediately after. She had fallen victim to malaria.

  As he was tucking her into bed, she came round and was sensible long enough to tell him that she’d had the foresight to take all the recommended vaccinations for visiting Africa, including chloroquine, the malaria preventative. The medicine had prevented the fever from taking a life threatening hold but Lilly still felt terrible.

  “Maybe that’s what made me so sick,” Lilly ventured as the chills cycled through her body.

  “More likely it was the food poisoning that stopped it from working properly,” Hafiq sighed. “Never mind, go to sleep. I’ll give you another dose and you will feel better soon.” The better shape she was in, the bigger the reward he would get.

  But Lilly had fallen into a fever. At first he wasn’t too worried. He didn’t trust his staff to look after her, so he put his business on hold and took care of her himself.

  Hafiq had bounced a few baby nephews, nieces and cousins on his lap but he’d never taken care of another human being before. Looking after Lilly proved a fulltime occupation.

  He stood her under a cool shower when she felt hot, piled her under blankets when she felt cold and soothed her as she shivered with fever. Despite her suffering, Lilly never cried or complained. Hafiq slowly found himself becoming fond of her.

  When her temperature rose sharply on the fifth night she became so delirious that he panicked. He cradled her in his arms, convinced she was at death’s door.

  At three o’clock in the morning he remembered hearing of a retired Libyan doctor moving into a villa just a few miles away. He packed Lilly into his truck, stormed through two army security checks and blasted his car horn until the old man had come scuttling out of the house.

  Hafiq thought it was the handful of cash that had persuaded him to look at Lilly. He had no idea the Vector SMG in his hand made the old man think his last hour had come.

  Nervously aware of the rifle, the doctor took one look at Lilly and pooh-poohed Hafiq’s concern. “It’s just a little fever. A touch of malaria.”

  “I’ve given her chloroquine but it’s not working!”

  “Foreigners take a little longer to get over it,” the old man soothed him. “She hasn’t our resistance. She’ll be all right in a day or so.”

  “Thank God!”

  Realising this was a worried and not a murderous young man, the doctor told him to bring Lilly inside. While his wife set about making tea, the doctor examined Lilly thoroughly. What he saw, reassured him.

  “She’s fine. Really. I think she’s over the worst of it already.” He looked at the grazes and bruises. Now that they were healing, they’d turned into interesting shades of black, blue and green. “She fell?”

  “Car accident,” Hafiq lied smoothly. Gossip was meat and drink to Port Sudan residents and he didn’t want the story of how he found his girl naked, in a market ,to become a nine days wonder. He didn’t want the authorities lining up, sniffing for a share of the pickings.

  Appeased by the old man’s words and clutching some extra medicines, Hafiq had driven home sedately. Money and apologies at both army checkpoints soothed ruffled feathers and prevented an angry summons from town officials.

  Driving into the gates of his home, Hafiq determined to get some rest. Carrying her indoors, Hafiq thought for a second and then decided to take her to his room. It was his rule to keep his room a private sanctuary but he couldn’t face sleeping in a chair in the guestroom again.

  He sponged Lilly down again, dressed her in a pyjama top he found in a drawer, tucked her under the covers and felt her forehead. He thought it was cooler but it might have been the effect of the early morning air. At least she wasn’t delirious anymore.

  Hafiq lay down with a groan of pleasure. He hadn’t slept in his own bed for almost a fortnight. Rolling onto his side to take one last look at Lilly before catching some sleep, he was surprised to see her looking at him. Her eyes were clear and bright with recognition.

  “Hello,” he said quietly. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m good.” Her voice was low but she sounded like herself. “Where am I?”

  “My place.” Hafiq replied.

  Her eyes were a few inches away from his. She smiled. “More like in your bed, I think.”

  Hafiq grinned. She was definitely over her fever. “Do you want anything? A drink of water, something to eat?”

  “No thank you.” She could see shadows under his eyes. She was aware that he’d not left her side for days. “I know I already said this but thanks for looking after me.”

  “It’s no problem.” He was so happy to see she was all right, that he really didn’t mind. He’d grown more than fond of her.

  Seeing the smile in his eyes Lilly smiled back. Without thinking about it, she wriggled closer and settled herself against him.

  Hafiq stiffened with surprise. He wondered what she was doing, then realised she was just making herself comfortable. The trust she showed stirred his heart. He carefully put an arm around her, settling her head on his shoulder. He was rewarded with a happy sigh.

  “This sounds really corny,” Lilly muttered, “but I feel really calm. It’s like I’ve died and this is the start of a whole new life.”

  Hafiq stroked her hair. He was so tired that he couldn’t keep his eyes open. “I never thought I’d be a midwife,” he mumbled. Two seconds later, he was fast asleep.

  Chapter Five

  Seduction

  When Lilly woke up, she was instantly aware of being alone
. She touched the pillow next to hers. It was cool. He must have gotten up ages ago.

  Lilly suddenly felt abandoned. Hastily she got out of bed. Peeking through the windows she could see a terraced garden. It was deserted. A quick glance in the room next door revealed that it too was empty. She recognised it instantly as “her” room. Someone had made the bed and tidied the bathroom.

  Looking around, she spotted the slave collar lying on the bedside table. Half curious and half repelled, Lilly picked it up. It was just a thin rolled iron circlet with two loops at the ends but to Lilly it looked evil. She shuddered as she remembered its rough edges scraping her skin.

  “Thought you’d like to keep it. It’s not the usual tourist souvenir, is it?”

  Lilly almost jumped out of her skin. He was standing right behind her.

  “Jesus!” She was instantly flooded with guilt. “Sorry. Taken His Name in vain. Didn’t mean that.”

  “Gave you a scare, huh?”

  He wore swimming trunks and had a damp towel thrown over one shoulder. Lilly suddenly realised how big he was. At six feet two he towered over her. She knew he was strong by the way he’d carried her but now she could see the muscles rippling down his chest and arms. She’d seen bodybuilders with less muscle.

  He’s gorgeous! Her inner voice exulted. Give him a kiss!

  He was so close that she could smell him. It was a clean scent, with a hint of salt. From the sand on his feet she realised that he had been swimming. She finally identified that steady noise in the background as ocean surf.

  “Let’s have a look at you.” He slung the towel over his shoulder, put an arm around her and casually put a hand on the side of her neck.

  Lilly became enormously aware that she was wearing nothing but a pyjama top that barely covered her bum. It was plain black but made of the softest China silk. The way it was clinging softly to her body, outlining her curves and fluttering lightly across the tops of her thighs, set her senses tingling.