The Blood of Flowers: A Novel by Anita Amirrezvani

Author:Anita Amirrezvani [Amirrezvani, Anita]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: bestseller
ISBN: 9780316065771
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Published: 2008-05-02T00:00:00+00:00

I already knew what Naheed was going to tell me. Only a few days before, she had probably met Iskandar's mother and sister at the hammam, and they would have exchanged pleasantries all afternoon as they bathed. At the end of the day, his mother would have been enchanted enough to reveal that she was searching for a good match for her son. Since Iskandar was already in love, I suspected that his family's offer had come quickly and that Naheed's had already accepted. Girls like Naheed were destined to marry wealthy men; but her fate would be even better, for she would be marrying someone she had chosen herself.

I hummed to myself as I walked through Four Gardens. Rosebushes were blooming in a garden near the river, and I stopped to admire them. Small yellow buds with delicate petals were planted near fat red blossoms that had already spread their petals wide. The song that I loved to sing with my father came to me:

I shall plant roses at her feet,

For I am drunk, drunk, drunk on love.

If a girl like Naheed could get what she wanted, perhaps so could a girl like me. I had won Fereydoon as a lover; maybe with more cleverness I could ensnare him as a permanent husband.

When I arrived at Naheed's, we greeted each other with a kiss on each cheek. As her mother's birds chirped merrily in their cages, I looked at Naheed for signs of the good news. But as soon as the servants left us alone, Naheed's face twisted into grief, and she collapsed onto a cushion, crying.

I was astonished. "Naheed, my dear, my life! What has happened?"

She looked up for a moment, her green eyes beautiful through her tears. "They said no," she said, before choking on more sobs.

"Who said no? Iskandar's parents?"

"No, no. My own parents!"

"Why?"

Naheed sat up and tried not to choke on her own sobs. "They found the letters," she said when she finally recovered. "There were too many for me to keep them in my sash. I hid them underneath my bedroll, but I must have been careless. One of my mother's maids betrayed me. She is a wealthy woman now, I'm sure."

"You poor animal!" I said. "Did they even consider Iskandar as a husband for you?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"He's too poor!" said Naheed, sobbing even more. I reached forward and put my arms around her waist, and she leaned toward me and cried on my shoulder. When she had stopped for a moment, she looked at me with so much pain in her eyes that my heart felt heavy with grief. "I love him!" she burst out. "I will always love him! Whatever happens, he and I will always be as close as a cloud and its life-giving rain!"

I sighed, though I was not surprised that her parents had refused a poor man. "Have you heard from Iskandar?"

"He sent me a letter through Kobra, but we have to be very careful now because my parents are watching me.

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