HONEYDEW (A murder mystery)

Chapter 41

I was still in bed and by now I had acquired a full-blown cold.

The doctors blamed the harsh winter for my current state. It was already late December and the climate should have turned soft, but rather it had turned even brisker. Aahil had asked Mrs Mariam to come down to my place for the time being, and she had been more than happy to oblige.

She had come several times to freshen the bath towels and to ask if I needed anything. Even Ayath came up once or twice to ask me if there was anything that she could get me, that would make me comfortable, the concern beneath her carefree nature surprising me.

Funny how it took being ill, I thought, to see the better side of people. However, it was Aahil's attention's that I found myself wanting and appreciating most.

A soft knock on the door made me glance upwards, I closed the book that I had been reading from the past few hours, rubbing my eyes and settling comfortably to sitting position.

"How do you feel?" Aahil inquired, coming over to the bed, where I was sitting propped up by the pillows.

My pulse leapt to see him. He had been out since this morning and from his immaculate appearance, it was obvious that he had come straight from some important board-meeting.

"Don't ask," I groaned.

I didn't like him seeing me like this. Red-nosed and ragged. I had checked my reflection a few minutes earlier and cringed at the sight. I was wearing an oversized red t-shirt and white trousers, my long messy hair was loosely tied which gave me an appearance of the ghost.

"Feeling any worse?" He moved the tray that I had finished with from the bed and sat down beside me.

He smelt of fresh air and his own, disturbingly masculine scent and I inhaled deeply. Funny, how I felt nauseous only during the mornings. I made a mental note to say that to my physician the next time I would consult him.

"No, I want to get up," I mumbled nasally and sneezed promptly into the hanky I had kept ready.

A black eyebrow lifted in mocking disapproval, "Not until tomorrow."

"Who says so?"

"I do."

And his word is law, I thought, feeling too rotten to argue against it.

"It's alright for you," I complained hoarsely. "You ought to try lying here with no one to talk to and nothing to do. It's so boring."

He made a wry gesture with his mouth, "From the sound of your voice, you shouldn't be talking too."

He glanced at the volume of books lying on the duvet on the far side of the bed, "Have you finished those?" He asked pointing towards them.

I nodded my head, wincing as a dozen hammer seemed to strike up in unison, "I've read so much that I have given myself a headache."

"Would you like the television bought up?"

I wrinkled my nose and put my tongue out, "There's enough soap in the bathroom," I replied drily.

"Oh, very droll," He let out a hearty laugh, "Wouldn't it be wonderful if all ladies grew as sensible."

"Well, what would you recommend,  that didn't overtax my eyes and still managed to stimulate my intellect?" I enquired tremulously through the furore of emotions I felt just at his mesmerizing gaze.

Consequently, at that moment I felt a sneeze coming on and I grabbed my hanky, and I when I looked up again he had tossed his jacket down at the foot of the bed and was loosening his tie, "A darned querulous little patient aren't you?"