Mr. Lawrence was pleased when after several more days at sea, the ship that had sailed from Liverpool finally docked in the New York harbor, and there had been no further attempts by Frank or Jazira to speak with the Captain about marrying them. The last thing Mr. Lawrence needed to complicate matters in Najd were newlyweds. Besides, he knew his young Arabian agent, who he planned to use to get Jazira inside the city of al-Rashid and into the court of the women, would be less than pleased to be working with a woman of his own race who had chosen to marry a foreigner. No, after hearing Major Davenport relate how beautiful the sheik's daughter was, Mr. Lawrence knew she would be the perfect choice for Hasani, a handsome young man the British had befriended and found useful in their affairs with Arab provinces. Hasani was now a displaced person, and he needed a companion if he was going to continue working with the British. Of course, Jazira didn't know about Hasani and Mr. Lawrence planned to wait until they were on the ship to Arabia before going into further detail about what would be required of her once they reached Najd. In an effort to further cement her cooperation, when he saw Jazira nuzzling his stallion in the cargo hold one evening as they neared the New York harbor, Mr. Lawrence told her that the stallion would become hers if she found his daughter in al-Rashid. Mr. Lawrence admitted to himself there were not many moments in his line of work that gave him a sense of pride, but the way Jazira's face lit up with her brilliant smile, when he made the offer of his Arabian in exchange for locating his daughter, would be a moment he would never forget. She was such a winning creature, it was no wonder Frank Hopkins was drawn to her. Mr. Hopkins, however, was a different matter. When he met Frank earlier, after their discussion in the dining room, he asked the cowboy if he had decided to go on to Arabia with them, half expecting him to say no. However, he was faced with a new dilemma when Frank, observing his reaction closely, eagerly agreed to join them on the trip. It would be disaster if Hasani met Frank Hopkins, the entire mission would be compromised. Mr. Lawrence knew he had vast resources at hand once they reached Aden to keep Frank away from Jazira and Hasani. On the other hand, if for some unforeseeable reason, Jazira no longer wanted to cooperate, Mr. Lawrence could always use Frank as leverage, so there was that advantage. Meanwhile, he had the long trip to Arabia to divine a plan for keeping Jazira and Frank apart from one another.
Once they were in the New York harbor, Mr. Lawrence left the ship to book passage for Jazira and himself on the next ship bound for Arabia. Frank followed to make his own similar arrangements. Jazira stood along the thoroughfare waiting, the mustang and stallion held by a attendant a few feet away. In the busy harbor, a place accustomed to international travelers, Jazira's exotic dress did not attract much attention. It was her first time setting foot in America, yet she felt relaxed and comfortable among the bustling crowd, observing everything and everyone around her. Her eyes only rested briefly on the interesting Eastern man in the Western dress of an Englishman. He stood at a large flat surfaced podium going over his books with a monocle over one eye. Then Jazira's attention focused on another person that caught her eye.
The gentleman at the podium, Rasmussen, had felt that someone in the crowd was looking directly at him, and he raised his head from his work. His eyes immediately found the enchanting young woman in exquisite Arabian dress. He stared at her appreciatively for a moment, then called out to his busy assistant nearby,
"Bertholdt!"
When the man came to his side, Rasmussen directed, "Find out who that young woman is, and if she need any assistance. In particular, find out her name."
As Bertholdt walked away, Rasmussen continued to stare, there was something indefinably familiar about this young woman, although it was obvious this was her first time in this harbor, and in this country. Of more interest, was the great ring on the young woman's thumb. It was not a ring made for a woman. There was something even more familiar about that piece of jewelry. Rasmussen noticed that she purposely glanced off to the right. He turned his head to see what had caught her attention, even as Bertholdt reached her side. What Rasmussen saw, astounded him and solved as well as added to the mystery. Immediately he recognized the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and he also recognized the cowboy walking alongside of him. Rasmussen would always remember Frank Hopkins, and the merchant's smile grew wider. So, the enchanting young woman his assistant was speaking with was none other than Sheik bin Riyadh's daughter.
Bertholdt confirmed this assumption, saying, "She says her name is Jazira bin Riyadh and that this is her first time in America, and that she has companions taking care of her passage to Arabia."
Rasmussen was not just a merchant by trade, he was also a merchant at heart. So, the sheik's daughter was returning to Arabia after a well publicized two year absence. Surely, there had to be a profit made in delivering that kind of news to the right people. Prince bin Al-Reeh would certainly be glad to pay for such information. Rasmussen couldn't understand though, how Mr. Lawrence played into the scheme of things, and that, he knew, was where the big profit lay. Change was in the air.