by Penny Jordan
Fear thundered through her body, leaving her drenched in perspiration, and trembling so much that he had to drop the gun to pull her to her feet. She heard him mutter something she couldn't understand and she had a vivid moment's recognition of green eyes, no longer ice-cold but hard with a burning anger, as her head was pushed against his shoulder and her body, betrayingly, sank gratefully against solidly braced male muscles, taking the support they offered without paying the slightest heed to her brain's feverish command to resist and pull away.
Dimly she was aware of the doors opening, of hurried, staccato conversation; her eyes fluttered open, to discover that she was still holding the baby and that both of them were safe and unharmed.
The arms that had been holding her fell away and she told herself it was foolish to experience such an acute sense of loss. Dizzily she became aware of her surroundings; of the limp, lifeless dark-suited bodies lying on the floor; of the small, voluble middle-aged man who had erupted into the room, and whose features she vaguely recognised; but most of all of the man who had been holding her and who was now standing several feet away talking calmly to his plump, disturbed companion, both of them pausing to glance at Claire.
She only realised when the baby let out a protesting cry that she was holding him too tightly. Her head felt as though it was full of cotton wool. She seemed to have strayed into another world and she still couldn't take in what had happened. Now, only the overturned table and the smashed crockery remained to prove that it had been real, that she had actually taken shelter behind it while bullets flew about the room. Suddenly, desperately, she wanted to laugh—or to cry—and the only thought surfacing through the muddle of her brain was that if she had to pay for the broken china it would probably use all her godmother's parting cheque.
'Please… forgive me… I am so disturbed that I forget my manners.' Claire smiled vaguely at the plump bearded man. 'I am Sheikh Ahmed ibn Hassan,' he told her, introducing himself, 'and if you had not…' He tried to compose himself, shaking his head slowly. 'Allah must have been smiling upon us this morning, Miss…'
Dutifully Claire supplied her name. 'But, we cannot talk of this here. Will you come up to my suite so that I can thank you more properly…?' He saw her hesitation and smiled, warmth and charm lighting his rather heavy features, and in that instant Claire recognised him.
He was the head of a small Middle Eastern state and she had seen his photograph in the papers. He was in Britain on a state visit, although the Press had suggested there might be something more in it than that. His country would offer a strategic point for Europe and its allies in a military sense, and it was strongly hinted that this could be the purpose underlining his visit. Claire also remembered reading that his nephew and heir had recently been killed in an accident together with his wife, and there had been rumblings of a Soviet plot to instate a ruler of their choice with sympathies to them rather than to the West.
'I can ask the hotel management to vouch for me…' her companion was saying earnestly and Claire realised that he had misinterpreted her hesitation.
She shook her head and proffered a brief smile. 'No… no. I recognise you from your photograph in the papers, Sheikh.'
When they left the room they were followed by most of the other occupants, although Claire noticed that one man stayed behind and the mockery in his green eyes seemed to follow her as she walked out of the room, head held high, the baby still clutched in her arms, surrounded by what seemed like a phalanx of silent men.
The lavishness of the Sheikh's suite made her blink, and as she sat down Claire found herself wondering curiously about the child she was still cuddling. She couldn't blot out of her mind looking up and seeing that gun pointed lethally in the direction of the highchair.
'You must be wondering what is going on,' Sheikh Ahmed announced when she had refused a cup of coffee and his attendants had been dismissed. 'This child,' he looked at the baby on her knee, 'is the only son of my nephew, and will in time succeed me as ruler of our state. Today's events have proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that his life is at risk.' The baby started to cry and he frowned in concern. 'There is something wrong?'
Claire shook her head wryly. 'Not really. He is wet and hungry. His nursemaid… the girl who was with him in the dining-room…'
'I suspect she was a plant who had been paid to leave him unattended. He is normally guarded at all times, but Raoul tells me that the girl insisted that I had said he was to eat in the dining-room. This is not true, and if it had not been for your quick actions…'
'I thought we were both going to die,' Claire admitted, shuddering herself.
'And yet thinking that, you did not abandon Saud,' the Sheikh commented watching her. 'Raoul tells me that but for your quick thinking Saud would be dead.'
'Were you… were you expecting something to happen?' Claire asked, remembering the guns which had appeared as though by magic in the hands of the men in the dining-room.
The Sheikh shrugged fatalistically. 'Not so much expecting as suspecting. There is a faction in our country that does not approve of our ties with the West. It is not always easy to know friend from foe and one must always be on one's guard. Saud's nursemaid is an example of how easy it is to be deceived. I myself am widowed and have no female relatives close enough to trust with the child.' He suddenly looked tired and careworn. 'But I must not burden you with our problems. I should like to reward you for…'
'No…' Claire spoke quickly and automatically, reiterating, 'no… please, I would rather you did not. I simply acted instinctively.' She looked down at the child now sleeping on her lap. 'Is there someone who can change and feed him?' It seemed incredible to her that this child, who was apparently so important, should have no one to care properly for him.
'I had hoped to find a nanny for him while we are here, but Raoul is opposed to it. He believes Saud would be better looked after by one of our own race.' He smiled. 'Perhaps because of his own dual blood, Raoul is more opposed to Saud having a foreign nanny than might otherwise be the case. He feels very deeply the differences which set him aside from his peers.'
What relationship did Raoul have with the baby on her lap, Claire wondered, but it was a question she could not ask, she had no desire to pry into the personal life of the man who had looked at her so coldly with those too-seeing green eyes. Had they registered her minute, betraying reaction to his proximity? The momentary weakness which had had nothing at all to do with her shock and had instead sprung from an entirely voluntary response to him as an intensely male man? It was humiliating to think that they might, especially when she had on more than one occasion seen the derisive dismissal of her as a woman in his eyes.
'Er…' She paused, seeing hesitation and embarrassment on the Sheikh's face, intrigued because she sensed it wasn't a habitual expression for him.
'Saud's room is through there.' He indicated a communicating door. 'Would it be trespassing too much to ask you to…?'
'You want me to change and feed him?' Claire supplemented, hiding a small smile.
'We did not bring a large entourage; the boy's nursemaid was to have been sufficient. I feared to leave him behind unprotected, but now… I think what happened this morning will prove to Raoul that we cannot entrust his care to anyone lightly. The girl who had charge of him came extremely highly-recommended, and yet it is plain that she was part of the plot to kill him.'
Remembering how the girl had lost her temper with the child, and looked so pointedly at her watch before she left the dining-room, Claire suspected that he was right.
The Sheikh was charming and as she allowed herself to be manoeuvred into taking Saud into his own bedroom to attend to his needs, she repressed a small smile. This was most definitely not what her godmother had had in mind for her stay in London.
The baby was supplied with every luxury imaginable, from toys to silk and satin clothes, but there seemed to be scant love in his young life, Claire thought pityingly as she first fed and then bathed hi
m. He was not a difficult baby really, responding affectionately to her when she cuddled and held him. She was just towelling him dry, laughing as he lay gurgling on her lap, when the door opened. She tensed automatically, unable to blot out the mental image of men carrying guns and the high-pitched whine of bullets.
Cool green eyes surveyed her speculatively. 'A very domesticated picture. What a shame that it is me and not Ahmed who is witnessing it. What are you hoping for with this touching display of maternalism, Miss Miles? More than a diamond bracelet, obviously.'
Claire winced, recognising that he had overheard her conversation with her godmother the previous night, and then anger replaced embarrassment as she recognised the calculated insult behind his words. He was implying that she was motivated by materialism. Her full pink lips tightened ominously, and for a moment she considered thrusting the still damp baby into his arms and letting him finish the task for himself. That would soon destroy his sardonic dignity. A small giggle bubbled up inside her as she pictured his immaculately suited figure dealing with the squirming baby.
'Sheikh Ahmed asked if I would help, and I agreed,' she said calmly, 'but only because Saud was both wet and hungry, and too small yet to fend for himself. Sheikh Ahmed tells me that you are against his employing a European nanny for Saud.'
'You have been exchanging confidences, haven't you? What else did he tell you?'
'Nothing.'
'Liar. I'm sure knowing my uncle as I do that he also told you of my mixed blood, and now, no doubt, you are on fire with curiosity to know more.'
His arrogance provoked her into an instinctive anger. 'On the contrary,' she told him coldly, 'I have no desire to know the slightest thing about you. Why should I?' She finished buttoning Saud into clean rompers and got up, thrusting the baby towards him, a little surprised by how deftly he held the child, then swept out of the room before he could stop her, seething with fury, because he was right—she had been curious about him. Of course, he must be used to women finding him fascinating. That blend of East and West was a potent one, and he knew it, damn him!
She had always loathed arrogant, self-assured men, Claire reminded herself as she let the door slam behind her and hurried towards the lift, and if she had responded momentarily to the sheer male power of his body against her, it had been a reaction intensified by weakness and relief. After all, she would be a fool to think for one moment that those green eyes might burn with tenderness and passion for her, or that that hard, faintly cruel mouth might touch hers in need and hunger. A complete fool.
CHAPTER TWO
THERE was no reason for her to feel so dissatisfied. Her day had passed pleasantly enough, Claire told herself. She had visited the Tate to admire many old favourites, and then there had been a pleasant walk through the park. Now she was on her way back to the Dorchester to indulge herself with afternoon tea in the promenade room, so why should she feel this tiny feathering of restlessness that kept disturbing her? Perhaps it was because she was alone. She would write to Teddy, send him a postcard of the hotel. Thinking of Teddy reminded her of her ever-present worries about finding his school fees. Generous though her salary was, it couldn't cover them. She would have to find a part-time job. By her reckoning, she could just about manage two more terms with what savings they had left, and the present term's were paid.
'Afternoon tea, madam?' The waiter's voice broke into her reverie, and when she nodded he showed her to a comfortable padded chair, the small table in front of her set for two.
It was just gone five o'clock, obviously a popular time for tea, because most of the tables were taken, and Claire amused herself as she waited for hers to be brought by studying her surroundings. The room itself was long and rectangular with several sets of doors leading off it which she knew led to the restaurants. Decorated in soft buttercup-yellow with the frieze picked out in gold, the decor was an attractive one. Marble columns soared up to the ceiling, and underfoot was a soft patterned carpet rather like an Aubusson. Voices rose and fell mingling with the chink of china cups and the clatter of cutlery against plates.
Nibbling her dainty sandwiches, Claire continued her scrutiny. Expensively and elegantly dressed men and women sat at the small tables, couples in the main, although there were some family groups. All at once she felt very alone, the food she was eating turning to sawdust in her mouth. Pushing away her plate, Claire got up unsteadily, the events of the morning catching up with her. The Head Porter handed her her key when she asked for it, and also an envelope bearing her name. Unable to recognise the handwriting, Claire frowned as she headed for the lift, the small mystery solved when she opened the envelope and realised that the letter was from Sheikh Ahmed.
The lift came. She was the sole passenger and started to read her letter as she was borne upwards. Barely able to take in its contents before the lift stopped, she hurried to her room, unlocking the door with nervous fingers, sinking down into the comfortable chair by the window before unfolding the heavy, expensive paper and reading through the note again.
The Sheikh wanted to see her to discuss something with her. But what? The note was almost deliberately evasive, full of gratitude for what she had done and yet really telling her nothing of the Sheikh's purpose in writing to her. He would send someone to escort her to his suite, his note informed her. Obviously she wasn't going to be allowed to refuse.
Repressing a sigh, Claire found the card she had bought for Teddy and started to write to him. The summer holidays were coming up and she already knew that Teddy had been invited to join a schoolfriend on his father's yacht. She had been worrying about how she was going to pay for the clothes that he would need, but her godmother's generous cheque had solved that problem. It would also enable her to give Teddy some money of his own to spend while he was away and she was just writing to him to this effect when she heard the sharp rap on her door. Guessing in advance that it would be one of Sheikh Ahmed's armed men, she went to the door and opened it, suppressing a small stunned gasp of dismay when she realised he had sent Raoul.
'I'll just get my bag and my key,' she told him, surprised to find that he was following her into her room. Her key and bag were on the far bed and as she picked them up she was astounded to discover that Raoul was openly reading the card she had been writing to Teddy.
'Your lover?' he questioned, without a hint of embarrassment at being discovered.
'My relationship with Teddy is private,' Claire responded furiously. From the first moment she had set eyes on him something about this man had antagonised her, and it was plain that he shared her antipathy. He was looking at her with something that bordered on acute dislike.
'That will be something my uncle hasn't bargained for,' he murmured under his breath as he straightened up, but before Claire could question him further he was heading for the door, the small courtesy of opening it for her and then standing back so that she could precede him, drawing a thin, sardonic smile from his lips. 'My mother used to say that the thing that made her fall in love with my father was his good manners. My countrymen…'
'Believe in treating their women like possessions,' Claire said unwisely. 'No wonder your mother chose to marry a European.'
'You prefer European males to Eastern?' The dark eyebrows shot up. 'Why is that, I wonder? Because you know it is easier to dominate them? Are you then a modern, liberated woman, Miss Miles, who believes herself equal or indeed superior to my sex? A woman who chooses her lovers as her grandmother might have done a new gown and discards them just as easily…'
Trying to hold on to her temper, Claire responded briefly, 'And you? Am I to infer from what you have said that you prefer your women to be of a more biddable disposition; Muslim women, in fact, taught from the cradle to revere and worship the dominant male? How fortunate we both are that we can indulge our separate tastes without opposition.'
She had meant the words as a taunt, but had been totally unprepared for the look of dark, almost brooding anger that tightened every feature, his eyes al
most black as they bored into puzzled grey ones.
'You might be able to indulge your preferences, Miss Miles,' he said at last, 'I am less fortunate. Muslim fathers are careful where they bestow their daughters, and like any child of a dual-race marriage, I am totally accepted by neither. Indeed, if it were not for the good offices of my uncle Sheikh Ahmed, I doubt I would even have a country to call my own.' He saw her expression and his face hardened further. 'You might find the thought of a marriage between East and West a romantic concept, Miss Miles,' he told her, correctly reading her thoughts, 'but my mother soon discovered to her cost that my father had no intention of keeping the promises he made when they became man and wife. In the East at least a woman has the comfort of her family if she should be deserted or ill-treated by her husband, in the West… My father married my mother purely for her wealth. Once they were married and I was conceived, he devoted all his spare time to other women and gambling. My mother died shortly after I was born. The shame of her husband's desertion was something she could no longer endure, and once my father discovered that he was not going to benefit from his marriage, he gave my uncle the option of either bringing me up himself or placing me in an orphanage.'
Why was he telling her this? Only this morning he had savaged her with the knife thrust of his contempt for merely betraying a brief curiosity, but now he was telling her the intimate details of his life, and in such a taut, bitter way that she guessed every word was a sharp thorn piercing an old wound. She couldn't understand it.
They were borne upwards in the lift towards the Sheikh's private suite. As before, the Sheikh was alone, his smile welcoming and she was sure sincere, as he waved her into a chair.
'Please, sit down, Miss Miles,' he glanced at his nephew as Claire obediently sank into a plush chair. 'Has Raoul said anything to you of my purpose in asking you to join us?'