The Sheik Retold

The Sheik Retold by Victoria Vane & E. M. Hull & Tara Chevrestt



DEDICATION

To Edith Maude Hull who created the fascinating and exotic world of THE SHEIK

and who first breathed life into Diana Mayo and Ahmed Ben Hassan.





ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to thank my ever-supportive family, my wonderful editor, Tara, and my three fabulous "beta" readers, Kathleen, Jill, and Babs, whose encouragement and feedback proved invaluable.





AUTHOR'S NOTE


When first published in 1919, E.M. Hull’s The Sheik was an overnight bestseller with over fifty printings within the first two years of release. The book was also made into a silent film that catapulted its leading man, Rudolph Valentino, to superstardom. Given its huge success in its time, I have no doubt many readers will wonder at my motive in re-writing this romance classic.

As a reader, I have always found the "forced seduction"/rape-to-love trope appalling, and have never had such mixed feelings about a book as I did after reading The Sheik. It had so much to offer with its strong characters and beautiful descriptive prose, but it fell sadly short for me in so many other ways. I found the narrative too repetitive and the pace plodding. There was too much navel-gazing on the heroine's part, and far too little actual interaction between the hero and heroine for a romance. In sum, I loved and loathed it in equal measure.

Nevertheless, this story captured my imagination and even though I had a number of other writing projects in progress, The Sheik held me hostage and absolutely refused to let me go. Once I began fantasizing about alternate scenarios, dialogue, and plot twists, I knew it was calling to me. I had no choice but to re-tell this story the way I envisioned it.

While I have taken a number of liberties in my re-telling, the main plot, characters, and descriptive passages are largely unchanged. I kept everything I loved and changed what I loathed. Although my version is not completely devoid of violence (to omit all of it would only have watered down Ahmed's powerful alpha character), I have taken out the rape and animal abuse which I abhorred in the original. I have also thrown the bedroom door wide open.

Most important, however, is my portrayal of Diana. Even though she falls deeply in love with her captor, my version of the character stays true to her strong and self-willed nature right to the end.

While I believe The Sheik Retold will compare favorably to E.M. Hull's The Sheik, readers of this book will be the ultimate judge.





CHAPTER ONE


The city of Algiers, French Algeria-May 1920



"Diana, won't you please let me manage this," Jim pleaded with me once more.

"Not on your life," I responded, hackles upright. "I've already been ‘managed’ as much as I can stand, thank you very much."

"That's not what I meant." He gave me a look of dismay that evoked a twinge of guilt on my part. My predicament was not his fault. On the contrary, had I only listened to his advice two months ago…

He continued in a placating tone. "What I am trying to say is that you might be a bit too distraught at the moment to handle this with the tact it may require. Won't you please consider waiting another day, or better yet, let me intercede on your behalf. Given the military governorship, my presence alone should lend more credence to your story. They may have trouble swallowing it, you know. It is quite an incredible tale."

Deep down I knew he was right. First Lieutenant James Arbuthnot was both an officer of distinction in the British Army, as well as a gentleman of the first order, but I would not listen. My mind was filled with a militant mania for justice, vindication, and vengeance—in whatever order they might be achieved. I didn't care that I was at the governor-general's mansion sun beaten, wind burned, wild-eyed, and dressed like a heathen—I probably smelled like a camel too. Nevertheless, I couldn't bring myself to concede once more to a man—not after all I had been through at the merciless hands of men.

I squared my shoulders and met him with my haughtiest stare, one maybe not intended to kill outright, but certainly to maim. "But it's also the truth."

I refused to back down, even though I wasn't certain which office was the governor-general's. With the lack of British diplomatic presence in Algiers, I perhaps should have gone first to the secretary of police, but I was a lowly woman amongst the Arabs and knew the contempt I would experience from them. No, I would begin at the top of the pyramid—with the highest French authorities— rather than letting myself be relegated to the bottom.

"Step aside, Jim. I'll speak for myself."

His grey gaze met mine and wavered, a sure sign of weakness that I was quick to exploit. Leaving him gaping after me, I barreled ahead and straight past the two armed legionnaires who took only seconds to give chase. "Arrêtez-vous ou je vais tirer sur vous!" shouted one of the guards.

"Shoot me then, by Jove!" I flung back over my shoulder.

I'd already proven that I had as many lives as a cat. I'd survived a plot against my life, been shot at multiple times, had endured almost two months of captivity, and had survived a three-hundred-mile trek across the barren Sahara. Although, I'd surely used at least five by now, I figured I must still have three or four lives remaining.

Amidst the melee, a portly man in a highly decorated French uniform flung open a door and stepped into the corridor with hands thrown up in classic Gallic fashion. "Porquoi tout ce remue-ménage?" he demanded with an air of authority and then eyed me with patent surprise. "Et qui est cette femme?"