CHAPTER TWELVE
Later, there was a knock at the door to Paige's room. She opened it, half expecting to see Razim. But it wasn't him. Instead, he had sent one of the servants to let her know that it was time.
After the servant had left, Paige glanced at herself in the mirror. The plain blue dress she'd worn at breakfast would do, she told herself. There was no sense in getting dressed up for something like this. This wasn't a day she would ever want to remember.
With one final check of her hair, Paige left the room and made her way downstairs. She halted at the foot of the stairs and listened for a moment. She could hear two male voices from inside the reception room. Razim's and the other, an elderly sounding voice.
Paige drew in a deep breath and walked into the reception room. The doors to the terrace were open and a fresh breeze was sweeping into the room.
Razim was standing by the table. Alongside him was a stooped figure in traditional Qazhar robes and headdress. Paige estimated the elderly man must be seventy years old. He turned and peered at Paige. She thought the man looked at her with a disapproving expression. But, she dismissed it as a figment of her imagination.
Razim and the man walked toward her.
"Paige, I'd like you to meet Sheikh Ahmed," Razim announced.
The elderly man bowed ceremoniously. Paige looked at the wizened figure. His aged features exuded control and authority. "It is an honor to meet the wife of Sheikh Al Kharif," he said slowly. Paige was surprised he could speak English.
Paige felt herself bristle. Had he just said that with a thick layer of sarcasm? It had certainly sounded like it to Paige's ears.
Paige glanced at Razim to see if he'd noticed, but his expression was blank.
Ahmed gestured toward the table. "If you would follow me, I have prepared the necessary document." Ahmed lifted a brow. "I take it you are familiar with the ceremony."
Razim cut in before Paige had a chance to say anything. "I've described to Paige just what is expected."
Ahmed nodded approvingly. "That is good." He looked at Paige. She felt as if she was being assessed. Scrutinized. Did Ahmed have opinions about her? His gaze was filled with a mixture of curiosity and obvious disapproval.
Ahmed gestured toward the table. "If you may be so kind," he said. "Everything is ready."
What was she supposed to do? Thank him for ending her marriage to a man who so obviously still had a deep affection for her?
She followed Razim and Ahmed to the table. Laid out, on a wide, ornately decorated mat was a parchment. It was brown and about the size of a regular letter. But it didn't resemble anything she'd ever seen. In the first instance, it was clearly very old. Probably centuries. She could see around twenty even lines of characters in the Qazhar language written there. Delicately rendered images, mainly desert scenes, decorated the border of the document.
So this was the famous divorce scroll, Paige said to herself. She wondered how many times this had been used. And just how much misery it had been responsible for.
"If you would be so kind as to stand in front of the parchment," Ahmed said.
Paige did as she was asked.
"Both of you," Ahmed added sternly when he saw that Razim hadn't budged an inch.
Razim took a step and edged closer to Paige. This felt more like a wedding ceremony instead of a separation vow, she told herself. But, this time, Razim wasn't smiling. In fact he could hardly look at Paige.
Paige noticed a sheet of paper next to the parchment. She recognize the form of the words. They were written in phonetics, using Western characters. She suppressed a wry smile. Razim had thought of everything. This way she would be able to say the words. Paige knew a little of the Qazhar language. Beneath the phonetics she saw two lines of words, this time in English. She read them and forced herself look away.
BY THIS ETERNAL DECREE I AGREE TO THE ENDING OF THIS MARRIAGE AND GIVE UP ALL CLAIMS AND RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO MY LORD.
The wording was stunningly archaic, she told herself. Apart from which, Razim was not her lord. He never had been, despite what he might have thought.
"Are we ready to proceed?" Ahmed asked.
"Yes," Razim said firmly. He looked at her, waiting for her response. He tilted his head with curiosity, taking note of her hesitation. Did he think she was about to change her mind?
"Yes," she announced.
Paige glanced at Razim and saw his jaw tighten and his nostrils flare. He lifted his chin and stared resolutely ahead, ignoring Paige.
"May I ask you both to place your right hand on the parchment," Ahmed said. He pointed at the bottom of the scroll where there was a blank area and some obvious discoloration of the parchment. The traces of many hands could be seen right there, she told herself.
Her hand touched Razim's. She heard a disapproving sound from Ahmed. He reached down and pulled Razim's hand away from hers. This was a physical separation as well as a legal one. It seemed appropriately symbolic.
Her heart was pounding and her legs felt curiously weak. Paige's throat tightened as she thought about what she was doing.
Ahmed started intoning some words from a book he had drawn out of his robe. The sound of his voice was alien and hypnotic. He spoke for about a minute and then closed the book. Ahmed fussed with the fabric of his robe as he tried to fit the book back into his pocket.
Paige looked at Razim and saw a hint of impatience in his eyes. Was he that desperate to get this over and done with?
Then Ahmed pointed to the scroll and spoke to Razim in the Qazhar tongue.
After one final glance at Paige, Razim started to intone the words from the scroll. His voice was steady and firm, displaying not even a hint of emotion.
He stopped speaking and looked at Paige.
Now it was her turn.
She peered at the words on the sheet and started to pronounce the phonetic version of the Qazhar words. It sounded strange to hear her own voice speaking in Razim's native tongue.
Finally, she was finished. She felt an odd sense of relief, having completed her part.
Ahmed's voice sounded, loud and emphatic. He spoke for almost a minute and then fell into silence.
Was that it? Was it all over?
Paige glanced at Razim and squinted at him, seeking an answer. His features were set in a grim expression.
That was all the answer she needed.
It was all over.
In spite of all her preparation, all her careful consideration, she couldn't help feeling emotion sweep through her body. There was a sudden heaviness in her heart and she swallowed, despite her throat being inexplicably tight.
Ahmed nodded sagely and looked at Razim. Ahmed said something and then strode away from Razim and Paige. He walked out onto the terrace.
Now that Ahmed was gone, Paige felt emboldened to speak to Razim. "Is that it?" she asked quietly.
Razim nodded. "It's over."
Paige saw a heavy expression in his dark eyes. She could still see the tightness in his jaw. Looking down she saw that both his fists were clenched tightly.
For a moment, Paige didn't know how to react. Of course, it wasn't a time for any kind of celebration. But, surely she should have felt some sense of relief.
But she didn't.
There was a mixture of emotions in her body now, the most noticeable one being that of regret.
Instant, burning regret.
She hadn't expected that. Not at all. She'd been sure about this, right from the moment she'd landed in Qazhar.
But, to feel such obvious regret, wasn't something she'd expected. It had hit her from the moment she'd lifted her hand up off the parchment. A sickening sensation had settled in her stomach.
"What do we do now?" she asked Razim.
"Nothing," was his reply. "There's nothing more to be done."
His voice sounded as grim as the expression on his face. She could see just how much this had meant to him. Not that she was surprised. But, seeing him like this just brought it home to her how much the marriage had meant to him. And how much she had meant to him.
The reality of what she'd done hit her.
She was no longer married.
She was free of Razim. They had concluded their arrangement. Both of them had kept their promises to one another.
And now it was time to move on.
Razim turned to face her. "You'll be leaving soon, I suppose," he said.
She blinked, startled at the suddenness of his remark. It had been uttered in a tone of voice which had been almost clinical.
"I guess so," she said.
"I'll make the arrangements," he said. "You'll probably want to fly out later this afternoon."
She felt her mouth open, betraying the shock she felt. Did he want rid of her so quickly?
"That would be fine," she said hesitatingly.
Razim took a few steps away from her. She called out to him. "Razim." He turned. "Is that all you have to say?"
He frowned. "What would you wish me to say? Thank you?" he said. There was acid in his voice. For the first time since she'd returned she sensed bitterness in his attitude.
"Never mind," she said.
"Do you want me to send up one of the servants to help you pack?" he asked.
A knot of pain twisted in her middle as he said those words. "If you like," she replied.
Razim nodded and was starting to make his way out of the reception room when Paige heard Ahmed's voice.
"Sheikh Al Kharif. May I have a word?" he asked.
"What is it about?" Razim replied.
Paige saw Ahmed glance at her.
"It is a delicate matter. One which I would prefer to share with you once the lady has left the room."
She was being dismissed!
Paige felt instant indignation and was about to reply when she reminded herself that she no longer had any place here. She was no longer the mistress of this palace.
Razim looked at Paige. Before he could say anything, she waved a dismissive hand. "I'm going upstairs," she snapped.
Then she headed for the hallway and started to quickly make her way up the stairs. It wasn't just to get away from the men in the room down there, she told herself. It was also to hide the fact that her tears had suddenly decided to make an unwelcome appearance.