Singing in Silence

Stephanie Bailey

Description

Janey Green, a middle class woman, releases herself from a twenty-year marriage to seek a new life in the Middle East.Life is not what it seems in the Arab world, her experiences lead her to be insightful to the 'unspoken' Arabic culture.Janey meets a local Emirati whom she believes to be a successful businessman, only to subsequently discover that he is a prominent politician, closely related to the royal family.Attractive and vivacious in her midlife she never expects to find true old-fashioned romance, love, or erotic encounters of the third kind!Intrigued and excited she is drawn into a highly dangerous liaison that she has to protect. Utterly fearless she eventually has to defend her newfound lover from the militant organisation Hezbollah.Janey finds herself reflecting on her own naivety in a funny and heartfelt manner, with her man's high libido and her personal maid's nurturing ways.In contrast to the emotional bleakness of life in North Yorkshire, her new world of wealth, status and wild-pace living has taught her survival and given her the strength to regain her power as a woman.Singing in Silence is a political erotic thriller that also captures a tender love.

Informations

• Publié par: eBook Versions
• Date de parution: 22 mars 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780993460715
• Langue: English

Extrait

Published by Furze Publishing
The Old Brewery
8 High Street, Uffculme
Cullompton, Devon EX15 3AB
United Kingdom

Website www.furzepublishing.co.uk

Email furzepublishing.uk gmail.com

Copyright © 2016 Stephanie Bailey

The moral right of Stephanie Bailey
to be identified as the author of this
work has been asserted in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.

ISBN 978-0-9934607-1-5

Also available in paperback
ISBN 978-0-9934607-0-8

This novel is a work of
fiction based on the author s
life experiences. Any resemblance
to actual persons, living or dead,
events or localities is entirely
coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of
this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise
without the prior permission of
the publisher or a licence
permitting copying in the UK
issued by the Copyright Licensing
Agency Ltd,
Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street,
London EC1N 8TS.

Production by
eBook Versions
27 Old Gloucester Street,
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Dedication


I am dedicating this book to Doris and Trevor Bailey, my Mum and Dad who sadly are no longer with us. Mum was a dressmaker and Dad was an engineer and motorbike racer in his younger days and, later, an avid collector of motorcycles until the day he died.
Without their consent to take a chance in life this book would not have been possible, as they personally encouraged and supported my decision to go and work in the Middle East.
I was born in Nottingham and from the age of eight years old grew up in a Derbyshire village. I was twenty-eight when I moved to Yorkshire, where I settled for the next twenty-one years, married, working and bringing up a family.
I have five adult children - Lori, Ross, Alexis, Tom and William - of whom, individually, I am incredibly proud. A mother’s love is unconditional.
After a short spell of four years living in the Middle East, I now reside in beautiful Devon. I awake at 6am each morning to write, gathering my inspiration from the far-reaching, ever-changing farmland views, whilst glancing at all the peculiarities of local village life.
A special thought for Michael and to say, thank you.
SINGING
IN SILENCE


Stephanie Bailey





FURZE PUBLISHING
Contents


Cover
Title Page
Copyright Credits
Dedication

PROLOGUE

Chapter One
The Sailing Club
Chapter Two
The Chance Meeting
Chapter Three
Pearls of Loyalty
Chapter Four
The Office
Chapter Five
White Lies
Chapter Six
A Surprise Sail
Chapter Seven
The Truth
Chapter Eight
Behind Closed Doors
Chapter Nine
A Time of Reflection
Chapter Ten
The Power of the Sea
Chapter Eleven
The Truth
Chapter Twelve
The Burning Bush
Chapter Thirteen
When in Rome
Chapter Fourteen
The Star of Hope
Chapter Fifteen
A Wise Woman s Words
Chapter Sixteen
Life is Full of Surprises
Chapter Seventeen
The Transition
Chapter Eighteen
The Spinning Wheel of Fortune
Chapter Nineteen
The White House
Chapter Twenty
The Shamal Season
Chapter Twenty-One
My Nurturing Personal Maid
Chapter Twenty-Two
Behind Closed Doors
Chapter Twenty-Three
Transformation and Change
Chapter Twenty-Four
Outpouring of Emotions
Chapter Twenty-Five
Letting Go is Never Easy
Chapter Twenty-Six
The Paris of the Middle East
Chapter Twenty-Seven
My Overactive Mind
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The Cedar Shiatsu Treatment
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The President s Party
Chapter Thirty
The Lure of the Mountains
Chapter Thirty-One
The Healing Power of St. Charbel
Chapter Thirty-Two
Faraya in the Mountains
Chapter Thirty-Three
Our Humble Abode
Chapter Thirty-Four
Danger on Our Doorstep
Chapter Thirty-Five
State of Emergency on High Alert
Chapter Thirty-Six
Between Two Worlds
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Wild Horses
Prologue


Life is not what it seems in the Arab world, but I am taking this in my stride. No one can prepare you for the cultural shock of living in the Middle East. My experiences here have led me to be insightful to the unspoken Arabic culture.
The year is 2001. I met him by chance - or so I thought. On this particular day, I had no conception that my life was going to change so dramatically - a full one hundred and eighty degree turnaround. My mother, God bless her, would have turned in her grave, what with me always being the wilful daughter.
I am Janey Green, a middle class, middle-aged woman who has always just been in the bloody middle somewhere!
Not a high-flyer, not illiterate, attractive but not stunningly beautiful. Just balancing nicely in the middle in what you might call a safe place.
Having just released myself from a twenty-year marriage I am now as free as a bird to do what I like. Who said I am na ve? Sorry, but I thought I heard a comment from someone!
This story is nearly true. Well, some of it has to be fiction, or my father would have turned in his grave and I could not cope with both parents looking down, frowning on my life.
I am not green around the gills! Although, I was not prepared in my middle life to find true old-fashioned romance or erotic encounters of the third kind. Well, you might ask, what is the third kind? Another pleasure that I did not know existed!
Most importantly - and this is the big one - I was not prepared for a dangerous liaison that brought unimaginable wealth into my life. An addictive liaison that I had to protect and eventually defend from the militant organisation, Hezbollah.

Chapter One
The Sailing Club


On this particular day I am not looking my best. I step out of the warm sea and slip on a light beach dress, wearing little make-up with my hair damp and unkempt. I walk through the bar area of my local sailing club, The Royal Jubai, to order food. This club has become a little private hub where my friends and I spend most of our time at the weekends.
The club decor is from a past era, Cuban in style though a little shabby around the edges. There is a huge fan in the middle of the ceiling. Behind the bar are highly polished mirrors that sit in a labyrinth of exotic coloured cocktail and spirit bottles. It resembles a scene from a 1950s film set.
The club has a small private beach and mooring for up to thirty yachts. It is not a glamorous place, but The Royal Jubai, as its name suggests, is for members to pose and to learn the art of sailing whilst gathering solace at the end of a busy working week. It is the place for expats, a community of mainly Europeans. The local Arabs would not spend time here, as it serves alcohol which, of course, is forbidden if you are a Muslim.
It is Friday today and the start of the weekend here in Jubai and for me the week has been particularly challenging, sorting property deals in the office and motivating my sales team.
I have at last reached a good place in my life, feeling happy and relaxed for the first time in a long while. I have made a handful of good friends, mainly South Africans. I m grateful to them for bringing fun, laughter and adventure back into my life.
I have been living in this desert city for several months. It s the driest, dustiest heat one can imagine and sweat pours down your face after just a few minutes of venturing outside.
The streets are empty this morning as I make my way across town towards the beach road to the sailing club. I turn into the club car park and stop the car abruptly to show my membership card to Abbas, the security man. Over the past six months he has become my friend, practising his English on me at every opportunity. He bends forward as I lower my car window, his long white Arabic dress flapping hard against my car as we make conversation.
Very windy today ma am.
It s a good day for sailing Abbas.
He looks over my car and smiles showing a set of sparkling white teeth. You have new car. Hellwa! Hey, like you ma am. Hellwa means beautiful in Arabic. Beautiful new car for a beautiful woman, he adds at the top of his voice.
Abbas is a young good-looking local man who often feels the need to give me a compliment. Maybe it s because he knows I am a single woman! I have never encouraged him though as I m old enough to be ... well ... I won t go down the age route this morning. Today the surprised look on his face makes me giggle.
I thank him for the compliment and drive into a space. I am not a materialistic person, but today I feel a sense of achievement as, after six months of working hard and keeping my head down, I am finally earning a decent salary.
I remove my beach bag, lock my car, stand back and admire the fact that I have worked very hard and deserve this BMW.
Abbas inquisitively arrives by my side. You must have very good job ma am buying a new BMW?
We chat for a few minutes about my job in real estate until another car arrives at the security gate.
Simone and David, my South African friends, are due to arrive around 9am with their daughters. I ensure that I arrive before them in order to secure an outside shady table for the day. I order a coffee and settle down to read the weekend paper, the Gulf News .
The kitchen staff are busy setting up an outside breakfast buffet table and my taste buds are fizzing in anticipation as the aroma of smoky bacon floats in the air. Yes, bacon! I mustn t get carried away. I remind myself, I am in a Muslim country and it s turkey bacon. Pigs are considered dirty animals here. All week I have been longing for today just so I can switch off from the office environment and enjoy a full English breakfast.
The wind is blustery, perfect for sailing and, as the club members begin to arrive, there is a sense of excitement. This is due to the weather forecasters predicting strong winds early this afternoon. Sailors love the wind and there is nothing more exhilarating as you hoist up your sails to attain a speed of eight knots.