In a loud, defiant voice he replied, 'I told you it was anger. That'll do.'
She groaned sarcastically and then asked, 'Are you defending her? Then go get her back.'
'Curses on anyone shameless and cold-blooded enough to do that.'
'Curses….'
She got out of bed and went to the mirror. Picking up Maryam's comb, she began to fix her hair quickly as she asked, 'What will I do if the man breaks up with me?'
'Tell him goodbye. My house is always open to you.'
She turned toward him and said sadly, 'You don't understand what you're saying. We were thinking seriously about marriage.'
'Marriage! Haven't you dropped that idea after you saw what it's like last night?'
She answered shrewdly, 'You don't understand. I'm tired of being a kept woman. All it brings is ruin. A woman like me who weds really values her marriage.'
'Who's the idiot?' he asked himself. 'In the troupe she was never anything more than a lute player. After thirty a prostitute's over the hill, and she'll be thirty soon. So marriage is her best bet. Is she aiming this talk at you? What a delightful devil! I won't deny I want her. I desire her in the strongest possible way. My scandal bears witness to that.'
'Do you love him?'
As if angered, she replied, 'If I loved him, you wouldn't find me imprisoned here now.'
Although skeptical of her veracity, he longed for her. Yes, even if her heart was not sincere, she had clearly shown a weakness for him.
'I can't do without you, Zanuba. To get you, I've done crazy things, not caring about the consequences. You're mine, and I've been yours for a long time.'
Silence reigned. She seemed to be waiting impatiently for more. When he did not continue, she asked, 'Should I sever my ties with that man? I'm not a woman who can bounce back and forth between two lovers.'
'Who is he?'
'A merchant from the Citadel region called Muhammad al-Qulali.'
'Married?'
'And he's got children, but he has lots of money.'
'He promised to marry you?'
'He's trying to talk me into it, but I've been hesitating. The circumstances and the fact that he's a husband and father suggest there could be problems.'
He put up with her deceitfulness for the sake of her beautiful eyes. 'Why don't we go back to the way we were. I'm not destitute, in any case.'
'I don't care about your money, but I'm sick of living in sin.'
'What's to be done?'
'That's what I'm asking.'
'Explain.'
'I've said more than enough.'
What an unexpected attack! Yes, at first glance it seemed ludicrous, but he wanted her. So he was forced to play along. After a pause he said, 'I won't try to hide my low opinion of marriage from you.'
'I have a low opinion of living in sin.'
'That wasn't how you talked yesterday.'
'Then I had a husband within reach, but today…'
'With a little flexibility, we can meet each other halfway. There's one thing you must never lose sight of: No matter how long I stey with you, I'll never let you go.'
She cried out defiantly, 'Your past adventures really bear that out!'
To hide the weakness of his position he replied earnestly, 'A man doesn't learn without paying a price.'
'Words no longer beguile me. Shame on you men!'
'And on you women too … isn't that so?' he thought. 'Have mercy, niece of Zubayda. You arrive here drunk after midnight, and in the morning you're tired of living in sin. Perhaps she told herself, 'If his second wife was a whore, why shouldn't I be the third one?' How low Yasin has fallen. Have you forgotten the trouble ready to pounce on you outside? Let those problems wait. Just don't lose Zanuba with an ugly remark the way you did Maryam. Maryam? I'm atoning for my sin now, Fahmy.'
He said calmly, 'Our relationship must not end.'
'It's up to you whether it continues or ends.'
'We need to meet a lot and think a lot.'
'As far as I'm concerned, I don't need to think anymore.'
'So either I convince you of my opinion or you convince me of the wisdom of yours.'
'I'll never come around to yours.'
She left the room and did not let him see her smile. He gazed after her rounded back with a look of amazement. Yes, everything seemed amazing. But where was Maryam? On her own, wherever she was. He would not get any rest or peace. He would be questioned tomorrow at Palace Walk and the following day at the Islamic court. All the same, their life during the last period had been one long wrangle. She had even told him quite bluntly, 'I hate you and I hate living with you.'
'I wasn't made to succeed in marriage. Was my grandfather's life like this? I'm the one in the family who most resembles him, so they say. Despite all this, that crazy woman wants to marry me.'
99
The sun was about to set when al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad crossed i: he wooden gangplank to the houseboat. He rang the bell, and the door soon opened to reveal Zanuba in a white silk dress sheer enough to show off her body. On seeing him she cried out, 'Welcome! Welcome! Tell me what you did yesterday. I imagine you came, rang the bell in vain, and stood there for a time before leaving'. She laughed. 'And you must have had some awful suspicions. So tell me what you did.'
Despite the elegance of his appearance and the fragrance of his cologne, his face looked grim and his displeasure was visible in his staring eyes. 'Where were you yesterday?' he asked.
She went into the sitting room ahead of him, pausing in the center of the room near two windows that opened on the Nile. She took a chair between the windows, pretending to be calm, collected, and cheerful. Then she answered, 'I went out yesterday, as you know, to do some shopping. On my way I ran into Yasmina. the vocalist, and she invited me to her house. But she refused to let me leave and pestered me until I was forced to spend the night with her. I hadn't seen her since I moved to the houseboat. If you could have heard her criticize my disloyalty and ask me about the secret charm of this man who'd been able to make me forget my relatives and neighbors …'
Was she telling the truth or lying? Had he actually endured all those pains yesterday and today pointlessly? He knew the reason for every millieme he gained or lost. How could he have suffered those frightful torments for no reason at all? The world was a tricky place, but if this devil was telling the truth, he was prepared to kiss the ground at her feet. He had to determine whether it was true, even if that took the rest of his life. Had the time come for him to return to his senses? 'Not so fast…' he admonished himself.
'When did you return to the houseboat?'
She lifted a leg and began to study her pink slipper decorated with a white rose and her toes tinted with henna. Then she said,'Why don't you sit down first and take off your fez so I can see the part in your hair. Sir, I came home a little before noon.'
'Liar!' The word shot out like a bullet coated with rage and despair. Before she could open her mouth, he continued violently: 'Liar! You didn't return before noon or after noon. I came here twice during the day and didn't find you.'
She was speechless for a time. Then she said in a tone of indignant surrender, 'The truth is that I got home just before sunset, about an hour ago. There was no reason for me to make up a story, but when I noticed the
