Intrigue in Istanbul by Erica Ruth Neubauer

Author:Erica Ruth Neubauer [Neubauer, Erica Ruth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2022-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

I felt my blood run hot and then cold. I didn’t like this woman mentioning my father—it made my skin crawl for reasons I couldn’t pinpoint. Redvers had said the woman couldn’t be trusted, and I wouldn’t have done so even without his warning. But was this a threat rather than a simple observation?

I did my best to keep my face entirely neutral while all this ran through my mind. “He was, actually. He enjoys Istanbul and visits somewhat regularly.”

She smiled again, her dimple flashing. “He and his girlfriend came into Maxim’s several times. I recognized his lady from the restaurant down the street.”

I felt my shoulders relax a bit. Perhaps I was overreacting. Yes, this woman liked to collect information about people, but she’d just told me that outright, so it wasn’t exactly a secret. And she knew about my father because he’d come into the nightclub where she worked. Something I already knew—it had been confirmed by several other people that Father enjoyed spending time at Maxim’s.

I was saved from having to reply by the attendant returning for us. I was glad for the opportunity to gather my thoughts and prepare myself for the next inevitable onslaught. I suspected Katerina wanted something from me, I just wasn’t sure what that was.

There were two attendants waiting in the room, one for each of us. “Don’t worry,” Katerina called to me. “They don’t speak English.”

I didn’t bother responding to that. My attendant smiled at me and led me to the marble pedestal where she gestured for me to remove my towel. I hesitated, thinking of the scars on my back, but did as she asked, standing naked while she spread the soft cotton towel on the marble. I closed my eyes, hoping that Katerina wouldn’t take this opportunity to look at me—those were questions I most certainly would not be answering. Mercifully, she stayed silent, keeping any further questions to herself for the time being.

My attendant didn’t ask either. She simply motioned for me to kick off my wooden sandals, then took me by the hand and led me over to a fountain on the wall. She smiled and picked up a metal dish out of the bubbling water, then reached up to pour the water over my shoulder. She repeated this action several times, dousing me with warm water everywhere. That finished, she led me back to the marble pedestal.

“Down,” she said, indicating the towel. Out of the corner of my eye I could see that Katerina was being walked through the same steps, and I had a flash of jealousy that the woman seemed entirely comfortable in her body with all its sensuous curves, whereas I was always conscious of mine and the scars it bore.

I lay down on my towel, the marble warm beneath me. I had a moment’s relief that even though I was as naked as the day I was born, those scars were now hidden. For the moment, anyway. My attendant put on

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