The Veiled Web by Asaro Catherine

Author:Asaro, Catherine [Asaro, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, Science Fiction, Fantasy
ISBN: 9780553762709
Amazon: 147084043X
Goodreads: 672924
Publisher: Bantam
Published: 1999-12-02T00:00:00+00:00

"Ah. Well. Eventually."

"Eventually?"

"I grumbled a bit more," he admitted.

"But why? Do you really have to fast while you're sick?"

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Catherine Asaro - The Veiled Web

"Of course not. You can make it up later in the year."

"Then why did you insist?"

"To do otherwise felt like a weakness to me." He cracked his knuckles again. "I also didn't feel I could stop fasting unless a Muslim doctor gave permission."

"But you hesitated even after he did."

It was a moment before he answered. Finally he said, "Bit by bit I felt as if I was losing what made me Rashid. Brigid and I were already married, and I had come to accept we would live in England for the rest of our lives." Softly he said, "Something broke in me that day. I didn't want to give up any more of myself."

"It's like losing part of your spirit," she murmured.

Rashid gave her a startled glance. "Yes." After a pause he said, "My differences also made some people uncomfortable. So I tried to minimize the differences."

That sounded to Lucia like a tactful description of his trying to deal with prejudice. She wondered what it had been like for him as a North African at Oxford, Cambridge, and Imperial College, mixing with the elite of England's elite.

Before she could ask more, though, he stood up and stretched his arms. "I should get going. I want to get to work before the offices open."

Lucia stood up. "You mean in Tangier?"

He nodded. "I can fly in from Marrakech."

They left the library and walked down the hall. He stopped at the archway of his bedroom. "I will come to tell you good-bye before I leave."

She hesitated, wishing she could bring back his warmth from last night. "Would you like help getting ready?"

He watched her with an unreadable expression. "No."

No. Just like that. She wasn't sure which unsettled her more, how distant he had become or how much it bothered her. She wanted him to hold her, to tell her he would miss her.

"Ah, Lucia." His voice softened. "Your emotions fly across your face like clouds in a file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruis...aar/Catherine%20Asaro%20-%20The%20Veiled%20Web.html (187 of 359)20-2-2006 21:09:19

Catherine Asaro - The Veiled Web

high wind."

She flushed. "I'm sorry I'm that obvious."

"I'm not. It's one of the things I lo—" He stopped. "Well."

Well? What had he been about to say? She didn't know how to interpret his mood. For a moment he had looked shy. Self-conscious. But his reserve was back in place, hiding his emotions. Or perhaps he simply didn't want her company.

Rashid lifted his hand and brushed his knuckles across her cheek. He started to speak, paused, then said, "I have trouble to explain in English. Words have different connotations in Arabic and your language."

"Won't you try?"

He considered for a moment. "Ramadan is a time of purification, for both body and spirit. To fast doesn't only require the act. It also requires the intent."

"I just wanted to help."

"If you helped me dress…" He leaned his head against the doorframe. "When I am with you, my thoughts always come around to the same place.

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