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Ahmed must get many new things for the clinic."
Lucia's smile faded. "I'm sorry."
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"Is not so bad. We fix, in sha' allah."
Despite Khadija's words, the incident obviously troubled her. Ahmed's medical clinic
was the only one in this region of the mountains. Many people had come to depend on
him. She didn't see how a dog could have been trapped in the clinic, though, unless
someone let it inside on purpose.
Stop it, Lucia told herself. After hearing about Rashid's accident, she was growing
suspicious of everything.
The meal ended soon. As Lucia stood up with Khadija, Rashid came over to them. He
and Lucia walked back to his suite in sleepy silence, under the paling salmon sky.
In Rashid's room, Lucia was surprised to see that the maids had already tidied up and
changed the bedding. "That was nice of them," she said.
Holding on to one of the bedposts, Rashid pulled off his slipper. "Nice of whom to do
what?"
"The maids. To clean up the room for us."
He froze, watching her. "You think so?" His voice had a still quality, as if he expected
an explosion from her.
"Shouldn't I?" She doubted she would ever feel comfortable being waited on by
servants. She had learned their names, but beyond that she had no idea how to act.
Rashid took off his other slipper. "I suppose." He wouldn't look at her.
"What is it?" she asked.
"It's nothing."
"Yes, it is."
He glanced at her. "While cleaning a room, one might happen to notice certain things."
"Certain things?"
"Such as bedding."
"Bedding?"
"One might verify& certain things."
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Catherine Asaro - The Veiled Web
"Oh." She suddenly understood. Apparently Rashid wasn't the only one interested in her
virginity, and loss thereof.
Lucia had actually been surprised herself by the proof of her inexperience. Although she
had heard that even modern forms of a woman's monthly protection might leave that
proof at least partially intact, she had never thought about it much. Her intense training
program, combined with her low weight, had disrupted her cycles, until her doctor had
recently insisted she gain ten pounds. The gain solved the problem, leaving no doubt she
could have children, but it made her feel heavy as a dancer. To her surprise, reviews of
her work glowed even more. She suspected it had more to do with her curvier shape
than any sudden improvement in her artistry.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"Actually, no." He sat on the bed. "But if the maid happened to notice and that
information happened to reach my mother's ears, would you be offended?"
Had this conversation taken place in America, Lucia knew she would have been angry.
But everything had different shadings here, awash in a sea of cultural cues. She knew
she had made many gaffes, yet Rashid's family was always gracious to her. She could
do the same for them. Besides, she was too tired now to be angry at anyone.
"I'm all right with it," she said.
" 'All right with it'?" Rashid smiled. "An apt phrase."
He yawned again. "I am not all right with being awake. I will pass out if we don't get
some sleep."
They settled together under the downy soft covers, in each other's arms. Lucia had just
begun to doze when the muezzin's call drifted through the window, rising and falling in
a drawn-out cadence.
"Ah& " Rashid groaned. "I can't."
She opened her eyes halfway. "Do you have to?"
He blinked at the ceiling, struggling to keep his eyes open. Then he slowly sat up. "It's
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Catherine Asaro - The Veiled Web
my own fault," he muttered. "I didn't have to do e-mail in the middle of the night."
"We have a word for that. Workaholic."
"An appropriate word." Tilting his head, he listened to the chant. "Do you know what
he's saying?"
"Well& no."
Rashid gave her a tired smile. " 'Prayer is better than sleep.' "
"Ah."
"Now he is saying, 'God is most great. There is no god but Allah.' "
"Is it always the same?"
"Except the part about sleep. That's only in the morn-ing." He rubbed his eyes. "I will
come to see you before I go."
"Are you flying back to Tangier this morning?"
"As soon as I can."
"I'd like to visit JI sometime." Her eyes drooped closed. "I need to call Carl Martelli too.
I've never been gone from MDT this long."
Rashid spoke in an odd voice. "It's hardly been more than a fortnight."
"A what?"
"Two weeks."
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