didn’t risk asking permission to lower the window. Instead, she let it play inside her head, grandly, gloriously, as they cruised along the Seine.
There were couples walking, hand in hand, their hair and the little short skirts of the women fluttering in a breeze that smelted of water and flowers. That smelted of Paris. She saw cafes where people huddled around small round tables and drank from glasses that glinted red and gold like the sunlight.
If she had been told that the plane had taken them to another planet and another time, she would have believed it.
When the car stopped at the hotel, Adrianne waited until her father had stepped out. “Can we see more later?”
“Tomorrow.” Phoebe squeezed her hand so tightly she winced. “Tomorrow.” She fought not to shiver in the balmy evening air. The hotel looked like a palace, and she was through with palaces.
With the entourage of servants and bodyguards and secretaries, they took an entire floor of the Crillion. To Adrianne’s disappointment, she and her mother were ushered to their suite and left alone.
“Can’t we go and have dinner at this place called Maxim’s?”
“Not tonight, darling.” Phoebe peered out through the peephole in the door. A guard was already in place outside the door. There was to be a harem even in Paris. Her face was pale when she turned back, but she smiled and struggled to keep her voice light. “We’ll have something sent up. Anything you want.”
“Being here is no different from being in Jaquir.” She looked around the elegant suite. Like the women’s quarters, it was plush and secluded. Unlike them, there were windows open to the evening. She crossed the room and looked out at Paris. Lights had twinkled on, giving the city a festive, fairy-tale look. She was in Paris but was not permitted to be a part of it. It was as if she’d been given the most glorious jewel in the world and allowed to look at it for a few moments before it was snatched back and locked away in a vault.
“Addy, you must be patient.” Like her daughter, Phoebe was drawn to the window, to the lights, to the life in the streets. Her yearnings were only the stronger because she had once been free. “Tomorrow … tomorrow is going to be the most exciting day in your life.” She gathered Adrianne close to kiss her. “You trust me, don’t you?”
“Yes, Mama.”
“I’m going to do what’s best for you, I swear it.” Her grip tightened, then abruptly she released Adrianne and laughed. “Now, you enjoy the view. I’ll be back in a moment.”
“Where are you going?”
“Just into the next room. I promise.” She smiled, hoping to reassure them both. “Look out the window, baby. Paris is beautiful this time of day.”
Phoebe closed the door between the parlor and her bedroom. It was risky to use the phone. For days she had tried to think of a better, of a safer way. Though she had needed relief, she hadn’t touched a tranquilizer or a drink since Abdu had announced the trip. Her mind was clearer than it had been in years. So clear it hurt. Still, she could think of no way except the phone. Her only hope was that Abdu wouldn’t suspect betrayal from a woman who had tolerated his abuse for so long.
She picked up the receiver. It felt foreign in her hand, like something from another century. She nearly laughed. She was a grown woman, living in the twentieth century, yet it had been almost a decade since she had touched a telephone. Her fingers shook as she dialed. The voice spoke in quick French.
“Do you speak English?”
“Yes, madame. May I help you?”
There was a God, she thought as she lowered herself tosit on the bed. “I want to send a cablegram. An urgent one. To the United States. To New York.”
Adrianne stood at the windows, her hands pressed against the glass as if by will alone she could dissolve it and become a part of the world that hurried by outside. Something was wrong with her mother. Her deepest fear was that
There were couples walking, hand in hand, their hair and the little short skirts of the women fluttering in a breeze that smelted of water and flowers. That smelted of Paris. She saw cafes where people huddled around small round tables and drank from glasses that glinted red and gold like the sunlight.
If she had been told that the plane had taken them to another planet and another time, she would have believed it.
When the car stopped at the hotel, Adrianne waited until her father had stepped out. “Can we see more later?”
“Tomorrow.” Phoebe squeezed her hand so tightly she winced. “Tomorrow.” She fought not to shiver in the balmy evening air. The hotel looked like a palace, and she was through with palaces.
With the entourage of servants and bodyguards and secretaries, they took an entire floor of the Crillion. To Adrianne’s disappointment, she and her mother were ushered to their suite and left alone.
“Can’t we go and have dinner at this place called Maxim’s?”
“Not tonight, darling.” Phoebe peered out through the peephole in the door. A guard was already in place outside the door. There was to be a harem even in Paris. Her face was pale when she turned back, but she smiled and struggled to keep her voice light. “We’ll have something sent up. Anything you want.”
“Being here is no different from being in Jaquir.” She looked around the elegant suite. Like the women’s quarters, it was plush and secluded. Unlike them, there were windows open to the evening. She crossed the room and looked out at Paris. Lights had twinkled on, giving the city a festive, fairy-tale look. She was in Paris but was not permitted to be a part of it. It was as if she’d been given the most glorious jewel in the world and allowed to look at it for a few moments before it was snatched back and locked away in a vault.
“Addy, you must be patient.” Like her daughter, Phoebe was drawn to the window, to the lights, to the life in the streets. Her yearnings were only the stronger because she had once been free. “Tomorrow … tomorrow is going to be the most exciting day in your life.” She gathered Adrianne close to kiss her. “You trust me, don’t you?”
“Yes, Mama.”
“I’m going to do what’s best for you, I swear it.” Her grip tightened, then abruptly she released Adrianne and laughed. “Now, you enjoy the view. I’ll be back in a moment.”
“Where are you going?”
“Just into the next room. I promise.” She smiled, hoping to reassure them both. “Look out the window, baby. Paris is beautiful this time of day.”
Phoebe closed the door between the parlor and her bedroom. It was risky to use the phone. For days she had tried to think of a better, of a safer way. Though she had needed relief, she hadn’t touched a tranquilizer or a drink since Abdu had announced the trip. Her mind was clearer than it had been in years. So clear it hurt. Still, she could think of no way except the phone. Her only hope was that Abdu wouldn’t suspect betrayal from a woman who had tolerated his abuse for so long.
She picked up the receiver. It felt foreign in her hand, like something from another century. She nearly laughed. She was a grown woman, living in the twentieth century, yet it had been almost a decade since she had touched a telephone. Her fingers shook as she dialed. The voice spoke in quick French.
“Do you speak English?”
“Yes, madame. May I help you?”
There was a God, she thought as she lowered herself tosit on the bed. “I want to send a cablegram. An urgent one. To the United States. To New York.”
Adrianne stood at the windows, her hands pressed against the glass as if by will alone she could dissolve it and become a part of the world that hurried by outside. Something was wrong with her mother. Her deepest fear was that
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