Married to the Sheikh Read Online Free PDF

and not raping their wives for a start. I’ve been thinking; maybe, if you’re willing, you could go to the other tribes and help their women in the same way that you’ve helped my mother and some of the other women here. Perhaps that would show them that we want to be peaceful.”
    When Sarah first met Akbar’s mother, Fatima, she had a severe leg wound which Sarah had treated simply by cleaning it up and giving her a basic course of antibiotics. Since then, Sarah had treated several other people in the camp for various illnesses ranging from a toothache which required an extraction, to treating headaches with paracetamol. Sarah wondered how many other women were suffering from similar, but treatable, complications and illnesses in the other tribes.
    “Maybe together, we as a couple could show everyone that we’re here to bring peace.” She liked the idea of them being a team and working together as a pair: a partnership of equals. “How would I approach the other tribes?” she asked.
    “You could start with the friendliest tribes, the ones that came to our wedding and then as your reputation grew, other people would let you come to them.”
    “But how would you feel about me travelling around this dangerous country?” She couldn’t understand why he would encourage her to do this, but wouldn’t let her work at the hospital.
    “Some of my men could come with you.”
    “As bodyguards?”
    “Yes, but also to negotiate your access to the women’s tents.”
    Sarah could see the sense in that. Sarah could hardly walk into a strange Bedouin camp and ask to meet some of the women.
    “What if you came, too? While I treat anyone who needs help, you could sit with the men, talk to them, and show them that we want to be friends with them.”
    “I thought you wanted your independence. I thought you wanted to get away from me.”
    “No, never! I just want to work as a doctor.”
    “And you will. You will be the greatest doctor that the Bedouin have ever had. You’ll also be the mother of great sons.” He slowly ran his hands over her breasts, down to her belly. He lifted up the hem of her blouse so that her stomach was exposed and began kissing it.
    That night, Sarah didn’t bother to take her contraceptive pill and a few weeks later, she threw the remaining packets away.
     

Chapter 7
     
    It was mid-morning when they arrived at the camp of the Mansoori tribe. Sheikh Akbar said that several of the Mansooris had attended their wedding, though Sarah couldn’t see a single familiar face.
    They brought a camel with them as a gift in return for the wedding presents they had received and the first half of the visit was spent discussing the animal. All the men agreed that the camel was a very fine specimen. It had good teeth, large beautiful eyes, and soft golden hair. Everyone patted it and admired it as if they were discussing a glamour model and not an imposing beast with a foul temper.
    Finally, the camel was taken away to get some food and water, and the head of the tribe, an older man with a long shaggy beard, invited Sheikh Akbar into his tent and Sarah was invited to visit his wife, Neema.
    When Sarah walked into Neema’s tent, the first thing she noticed was how dilapidated it was. Instead of a multitude of bolsters and cushions on richly woven rugs, there were just a few large pillows lying on threadbare carpets. It certainly didn’t appear to be the tent of a sheikh’s wife, but Sarah knew that she was in the correct one as it was full of women sitting in a line along the far side, staring at her, with the sheikh’s wife perched in the middle on a noticeably higher cushion.
    Nobody said anything. No one greeted her or offered her tea as they should have done according to local custom. Finally, Sarah came forward and presented herself to the sheikh’s wife, which was followed by a long silence. Neema eventually gestured to her to sit.
    “Why are you here? What do you want?” Neema asked. She was an