The Property of a Lady - Elizabeth Adler [45]
“I am a successful man,” he said proudly. “The Princess Sofia’s diamond necklace was the foundation of my good fortune. Without her generosity, I would have been nothing. I have never let my family forget this, and now at last we are able to repay some of our debt. Anna Ivanoff has a family. The Kazahns will treat her as their own daughter. Send her to us, Missie, and she will be a princess again.”
Missie laughed and said, “Her name is not Ivanoff, Tariq, and she would not know what you meant if you called her that. She is not a Russian princess, she is just another little American girl. But thank you for your kindness.”
“My yacht is at Monte Carlo. At least come and spend some time with us there,” he said impulsively. “Think how the children will enjoy it.” He waited eagerly for Missie’s response, loath to let go of her. She was his one contact after all these years with the family he had adored and respected. He saw the hesitation in her face and bellowed suddenly, “No one says no to Tariq Kazahn.”
Missie laughed as people turned to stare. “Oh, very well then,” she agreed. “It will be good for Anna.”
For Tariq the two weeks with Prince Misha Ivanoff’s granddaughter as a guest on his yacht was the highlight of his life. Nothing could ever match this, he told himself as he watched his own granddaughter play with young Anna, just the way he and Misha had played together as children. The only trouble was, he didn’t want to let her go.
“You say her own mother doesn’t have time for Anna. Then why not let her come and live with me?” he begged Missie each night when the children had gone to bed and they were sitting on deck under the balmy Mediterranean night sky. “She will be as my own grandchild, my own blood. Just look how she blossoms here with us, she sparkles, she laughs. She and Leyla are like sisters. What have you got to lose, Missie? And you too are welcome; my house is big enough for everyone. I am a rich man, Anna will want for nothing. When I die, she will share my fortune. Just say she can come live with us, where she will be happy.” He looked at her and added craftily, “Just ask yourself what Misha would have thought best.”
His strong dark profile was etched against the midnight blue of the sky and Missie thought that in the half-light, he looked like a young man. But Tariq was old. Who knew how much longer he had for this world? And after he was gone, would his son and grandson still want Anna, the way Tariq did? She imagined the family outcry when it was known that Tariq had left part of his fortune to Anna and knew it would not be fair to put such a burden on them. No, Anna was her responsibility and hers alone. She must provide for her as she had always done and she must watch out for her safety as she always had done. But what about after she was gone? She sighed. She could only hope that God would be good to her and allow her time until Anna was old enough to take care of herself.
Night after night Tariq talked about Anna, using everything he could think of to persuade her, and Missie listened and said nothing. But she was tempted. After all, she told herself, Anna’s mother scarcely cared whether she saw the child or not. But it was all so much more complicated than that. Though Anna didn’t know it, she was an Ivanoff, and if her identity was ever discovered, she would be in danger…. She knew it was impossible, yet she felt herself weakening.
“She will have a real family, a real home,” Tariq said proudly. “As a Kazahn she will be treated with respect.”
But it was seeing how happy Anna was with Leyla that almost made Missie change her mind. Although Anna was six years older, the two children had had an immediate understanding and liking for each other. After two weeks, they were inseparable.
“I will agree to this,” she told Tariq the night before they were to leave for Paris and home. “Anna may come to you for the summer holidays, three months every year.”
“A million