Chapter 27 · Untitled Chapter

The silence in the majlis stretched until the heavy cedar doors at the end of the formal corridor swung inward once more, their brass hinges turning without a sound.

Footsteps echoed against the polished Najdi stone. It was not another cousin sent to reinforce the threshold, but a man whose arrival had been calculated to circumvent pride with procedure. Ustadh Tariq, the legal representative who had handled the Al-Otaibi estate filings for twenty years, stepped across the inner lintel.

He had left his sandals at the lower step, his dark wool bisht drawn tight over an immaculate white winter thobe, carrying a calfskin folder stamped with the gold foil seal of the notary.

He did not look at me directly as he entered; custom dictated that a formal advocate addressed the head of the house before acknowledging the women seated within it.

"As-salamu alaykum, Saud," the lawyer said softly, inclining his head toward Saud before shifting his glance toward my uncle. "May your evening be blessed."

Saud remained standing near the marble console where our two cups rested side by side.