I Married a Sheik by Sharon De Vita Read Free Book Online Page B

deciding to take a break. "Kadid, who is Mrs. Jourdan?"
    He handed her the icy glass of cola, then clasped his hands together in front of him. "She is a very old and very dear friend of the sheik's. He is not only greatly fond of her, but enormously grateful to her."
    Faith frowned. "Grateful?" This didn't make sense. "Why is Ali grateful to her?"
    Kadid was thoughtful. "When the sheik first came to America, he was only sixteen years old. There was political unrest in our country, and as an only son and heir and a descendant of the royal family, there was of course enormous concern for his safety, so his father sent him to America."
    "To live with the Coltons."
    "Yes," Kadid said with a slow nod. "Although English is a required language for all school children, Ali's English was not…shall we say, perfect." His wrinkled face creased into a smile. "As you know, children, particularly children of that age, can be cruel to anyone who is not the same as they are." He shrugged his shoulders. "The sheik was a foreigner, of royal blood, and not used to the language, customs or ways of your beautiful country."
    Intrigued, Faith reached for the other half of her sandwich. "Go on."
    "It was a…difficult time. He was at a very vulnerable age, an age when a boy is struggling to become a man, to show his strength, to develop his pride, and it was most difficult to be the object of cruelty."
    "People were cruel to Ali?"
    Having been the butt of cruelty herself as a child, Faith had grown to abhor any hint of cruelty toward anyone.
    Kadid nodded sadly. "Yes, I'm afraid so. The sheik has always kept his own counsel. As a member of the royal family, it is of course expected, accepted—"
    "But you knew?"
    His wrinkled face once again creased into a smile. "Yes. I have been with the sheik since his birth and perhaps know him as well as his father. It is the honor of my life."
    "So where does Mrs. Jourdan come in?"
    "Mr. Colton was aware of the difficulties the sheik was having. Mrs. Jourdan was a teacher at the private school where the sheik had been enrolled. Mr. Colton had heard that Mrs. Jourdan did private tutoring. She was a much-beloved, much-respected member of the community, as well as an excellent teacher, kind, loving, nurturing. With Ali's father's permission, Mr. Colton made arrangements to hire Mrs. Jourdan to help the sheik with the language, as well as with the difficult cultural adjustment he was having."
    "Maureen Jourdan was his teacher?" Faith asked in some surprise.
    "Ahhh, but not just his teacher. She was that, yes," he said with a slow nod and a sly smile, "but over the years, she became so much more to the young sheik. She became his mentor, his friend, and in his mother's absence, a substitute mother. She taught him not just the language, but how do you say…" He seemed to search for the right word. "The lingo of your country and the ways of your culture." He smiled again, revealing very white teeth. "The Big Apple." He covered his mouth to hide a chuckle. "We had heard this expression, of course, but we thought this was merely a large piece of fruit." He shook his head at his own foolishness and Faith thought about her trying to explain her Wizard of Oz reference to Ali yesterday. Now it made sense.
    She never thought about how difficult American pop culture or slang language could be for someone who had not been born in America.
    "Mrs. Jourdan became the sheik's biggest supporter and of course a surrogate mother to the young, and at times, very frightened young man. She encouraged him, taught him, believed in him, and yes, loved him. As he in turn grew to love her."
    Intrigued, Faith listened, chewing thoughtfully.
    "It was Mrs. Jourdan who instilled in Sheik Ali the confidence to know that one day he could return to your country, and start his business. She believed in him so much, in fact, that when he did return to America nearly ten years later, to open this business, she was his first investor."
    Finished with