GOVERNESS TO THE SHEIKH

by MARTIN, LAURA

  Rachel gripped Ameera and Hakim firmly by the hands, leading them towards the plush carrying chair set at the bottom of the steps. Although she had insisted she ride the night before, Rachel had decided if the Sheikh was going to force his children to attend this trial the best thing she could do for them was to keep them close and safe and try to shield them from the worst. That meant having the safety of the carrying chair to retreat into.

  Purposefully not looking at Malik, Rachel gave Wahid a short nod of acknowledgement before climbing into the plush carrying chair. She arranged her crisp cotton dress around her, then helped Hakim and Ameera in. Rachel knew Aahil wouldn’t join them. The young boy was anxious for his father to be proud of him and despite his nerves wanted to be right by his father’s side all day. Rachel had known trying to persuade him otherwise would have been pointless. Aahil idolised his father, looked up to him and strove to be like him—Rachel’s protestations would have made no difference at all.

  Surreptitiously she watched as Aahil mounted his horse and Malik did the same. They looked impressive up on their strong desert horses, dressed in traditional ceremonial robes. Most of the time in the palace Malik wore simple breeches and a shirt. Rachel supposed it was a habit from his days spent studying in Europe. When he had official business to oversee he donned the more traditional white robes, his status and wealth hinted at by a small band of coloured embroidery around the hem, stitched in rich red-and-gold thread. Although she was annoyed with the Sheikh she couldn’t deny he cut a fine figure today. He was handsome and confident and powerful, all the things a leader should be. She just wished he was a little more realistic about what an eight-year-old, a six-year-old and a four-year-old should be exposed to.

  Suddenly Malik turned on his horse and through the gauzy curtains their eyes met for a moment. Rachel hastily looked away. She might be annoyed with him, but that didn’t dampen the memory of the kiss they had shared. A wholly inappropriate kiss. A kiss that still made her skin tingle and her cheeks flush. Even when she was irritated by his behaviour she couldn’t deny there was something rather mesmerising about Malik. She wasn’t sure if it was his confidence or the rather heady mixture of good looks and authority, but she found herself secretly wanting to be alone with the Sheikh again, even if the sensible part of her knew it was a terrible idea.

  ‘How long until we get there?’ Hakim asked, his little face white with worry.

  Rachel pulled the small boy closer into her and cuddled him. Of all the children it was Hakim she was most worried about today. Not only was he the youngest, but he was the most sensitive as well, and since being told they were going to the trial Hakim had retreated into himself, hardly speaking at all.

  ‘It will be a couple of hours in the carrying chair,’ Rachel said. ‘Why don’t you lean against me and try to have a sleep?’

  Eventually both children fell asleep in Rachel’s arms and she enjoyed the surge of love she felt towards them. As they glided through the desert Rachel felt a pang of sadness that she would never have children of her own. The life of a governess could be quite a lonely one. Not quite a servant, not quite part of the family, Rachel had been warned many times she might feel isolated in her new job. So far she hadn’t felt anything but joy and love for the children she was looking after, but she did wonder if one day she might become jealous. Governesses were not expected to marry or have their own families. They looked after other people’s children, never their own. Rachel had always been very maternal, always loved children and even now she felt a little sad that she would never nurture her own baby through childhood and into adulthood. She’d always known she wasn’t destined for love or marriage or motherhood, always welcomed the fact, knowing whatever happened she did not want to live life like her parents, but sometimes it felt unfair to give all her love to children who might not remember her in a few years’ time.

  Rachel allowed herself a few moments of silent sadness, then bent down and kissed the heads of Ameera and Hakim. In reality she was blessed. She loved her job and she loved these children. She would have to remember to be thankful for everything she did have. Burrowing a little deeper into the cushions, she closed her eyes and tried not to think of the trial ahead.

  * * *

  They arrived in the village of Talir mid-morning, and as the carrying chair was set down Rachel could already feel the heat of the sun trying to invade their cool sanctuary. Gently she shook the children awake and smiled at them warmly as they opened their bleary eyes.

  The curtains on one side of the chair were pulled back and a hand thrust inside to assist her out. Rachel took it, allowing herself to be pulled up out of the chair and into the world. As she rose she realised the firm grip belonged to Malik and within a second they were standing face-to-face, their bodies far too close for two people trying to keep their distance from one another.

  ‘Thank you, Your Majesty,’ Rachel said quietly, pulling her hand from his and turning back to help Hakim and Ameera emerge from the chair.

  Rachel felt his strong hands on her shoulders and firmly he turned her back to face him.

  ‘I know you have your doubts about today, but the children will be shielded from anything unsavoury,’ Malik said.

  Rachel gave a short nod, acknowledging his olive branch even if she still didn’t agree the children should be here.

  ‘Together we will protect them whilst ensuring they understand about the justice system of Huria.’

  Hakim sidled in between them and Rachel felt his small hand slip into hers. She wondered whether Malik saw the frightened expression on his youngest son’s face or whether he was too preoccupied thinking about the lesson his children would learn today.

  To her surprise Malik crouched down in front of Hakim and tilted his son’s face upwards.

  ‘We will keep you safe, Hakim,’ he said quietly. ‘There is nothing to worry about.’

  The village elder they had met on their previous visit stepped forward from the crowd to greet the royal family. Rachel listened to his welcome carefully. Since arriving in Huria she had been studying the language in her spare time, normally after the children had gone to bed. She was determined to master the language her young charges spoke naturally, but at present she only could understand a few words of the village elder’s welcome.

  After the lengthy speech the elderly man motioned for them to follow him to the village square. Rachel couldn’t help but remember the last time they were here, the village had been filled with music and dancing and laughter, now they were assembled for an execution. The square was full; it seemed every inhabitant was present. Rachel was shocked to see so many children scattered throughout the crowd. It seemed that the Sheikh wasn’t the only one who wanted his children to see justice prevail.

  They were led to a row of plush cushions set out in the shade and immediately Rachel gathered Ameera and Hakim to her side. Neither child protested, and she could feel the tension and worry emanating from her two young charges.

  Rachel was surprised to see Malik sit down with them, she had assumed he would oversee the trial, but it appeared on this instance he was just there as a spectator like the rest of them. He came in close to his children, bringing Aahil with him, and Rachel felt the eyes of the crowd on the little family group.

  ‘In a minute the bandits will be brought into the square,’ Malik said as he helped his children get comfortable. ‘There will probably be lots of shouting from the crowd, these men have stolen from and hurt a lot of people from Talir, but you have nothing to be afraid of. They will shout at the bandits, but they will not become violent.’

  Rachel had to admit his words had a soothing effect on both her and the children. Even as the bandits were brought forward through the crowd and the shouting started none of the children flinched, but instead looked on curiously.

  ‘The bandits will line up in front of the village and hear the crimes they h
ave been accused of,’ Malik explained. ‘They will have a chance to speak in their defence before they are sentenced.’

  Three of the four men stood with their eyes fixed to the ground. The fourth, the leader of the bandits, stared defiantly at the crowd, as if baiting them to attack. The fifth bandit, the one Malik had badly injured, was deemed too unwell to stand trial. If he ever recovered from his wounds he would be sentenced separately.

  The village elder started to recite the men’s crimes. The list was long and every so often Malik would lean in and translate snippets for her. As he did so his breath tickled Rachel’s neck and she felt her skin pucker and shiver. With Malik’s unexpected gentle approach and careful explanations for the children, Rachel felt her previous misgivings about coming to the trial start to lessen. Although she still would prefer the children to be safely back at the palace, she couldn’t deny Malik was handling the situation well.

  After about twenty minutes the list of crimes the bandits were charged with petered out and immediately Rachel felt a change in the mood of the crowd. The bandits were now allowed to speak on their own behalf, but she suspected their victims were not going to be very sympathetic to their sob stories.

  ‘This man is saying he joined the group in order to provide for his family,’ Malik said softly.

  The bandit was heckled by the crowd and soon he fell quiet.

  ‘The people of Talir often struggle and go hungry if it is a hard year for farming, so they will not be sympathetic to such pleas,’ Aahil said, glancing at his father for approval.

  ‘That is very true, Aahil, although we must not forget that this man’s family is in all likelihood innocent even if he is guilty. They will suffer for his crimes.’ Rachel watched as Malik stared off into the distance, amazed again by how much Malik cared for the people he ruled, even the families of criminals.

  The other men made similar pleas, all except the head bandit, who just spat on the ground in contempt when it was his turn to speak.

  ‘The council of elders will now deliberate and decide on the sentence,’ Malik explained as the noise from the crowd started to grow. People were chattering and taking the opportunity to discuss the trial whilst the elders deliberated.

  A young woman approached from the square and offered them all refreshments, and Rachel gratefully sipped at the cool, sharp liquid. She was feeling a little nervous again, as if she could sense the crowd might turn at any moment, and she wondered when Malik would let her take the children home.

  Suddenly there was silence. A village elder stepped forward and started to speak.

  ‘He is pronouncing all the men guilty of banditry, of beating their victims and of having no regard for the lives of others.’ Malik paused and Rachel found she was holding her breath. ‘They are all sentenced to death.’

  As the words were delivered Rachel felt Hakim’s little body stiffen and burrow into her. Ameera seemed frozen and Aahil was valiantly trying to appear calm and collected.

  ‘We need to leave,’ Rachel said firmly. She stood, pulling the children up with her.

  ‘They’re going to stone them,’ Ameera said as Rachel tried to pull her away.

  Rachel felt sick. She knew about crime and punishment, knew that to live in a stable society you needed to have laws and people who broke them needed to be dealt with accordingly, but the idea of stoning someone to death made her shudder.

  As the sentence was delivered there was a roar from the crowd and Rachel could only watch as the people of Talir surged forward. Hakim cried out in panic and even Aahil huddled closer to his family. There were shouts and cheers from the villagers as they pressed in towards the condemned men.

  Rachel saw Malik glance at his family, huddled together and scared by the sudden change in atmosphere. Decisively he strode forward, motioning for Rachel to keep his children where they were, and he mounted the small platform the elders had sat on.

  At the sight of their Sheikh the crowd fell silent and stopped in its tracks.

  ‘People of Talir, you have been grievously wronged by these men,’ Malik said calmly, ‘but do not disgrace yourselves. Justice will be done, be patient and let it be done right.’

  Without a single glance behind him Malik walked from the dais and back to his family. He picked Hakim up, took Ameera’s hand and motioned for Rachel and Aahil to follow him. Quickly they left the village square, flanked by the palace guards. Still, there was silence from the crowd, and even as Malik helped Rachel into the carrying chair she could not hear a single villager whisper. Their Sheikh had spoken and they would obey.

  Chapter Eleven

  Malik paced backwards and forward across the courtyard, unsure of what to do. Never in his life before had he been struck with such uncertainty. No matter what decision needed making or steps taken, he had never hesitated, weighing the options calmly and deciding swiftly on the way forward, but tonight he was at a loss.

  The ride back from Talir had been awful. Inside the carrying chair he had heard Rachel’s soothing murmurs directed at Hakim and Ameera. The whole journey she had talked to them and sung to them, stopping only when both had drifted off to sleep. Malik only had to look at any one of his children’s faces to realise how damaging it had been to take them to the trial.

  It had all been going so well. With his calm explanation of what was occurring, his children had seemed interested and relaxed. Malik had felt pleased to be showing Aahil, Ameera and Hakim an example of Huria’s justice system and they had not seemed fazed in the slightest. And then the crowd had turned ugly, surging forward towards the bandits, ready to draw blood. At that moment Malik had glanced at Hakim’s face and seen pure terror. He hated that he was the reason his son had felt such fear, that any of his children had felt such fear.

  As a young boy he could remember being summoned for one of the weekly audiences with his father. The older man had often used the hour a week they spent together to lecture Malik on qualities needed to rule a kingdom. On this particular occasion his father had told him how it was necessary for a Sheikh to keep his distance emotionally from everyone. He had to stand unshakeable and alone, a man people could look up to. A Sheikh could not show pleasure when he was happy or shed tears when he was sad, he must remain stony faced and detached.

  Throughout his life Malik had tried to emulate his father and be true to the older man’s teachings. He had not cried when his father had died, or shouted his joy from the rooftops when Aahil was born, he had quietly got on with doing his duty. But now, with the memory of Hakim turning to Rachel in his moment of distress, Malik wondered whether he had kept his distance from his children too much. He was never the one they turned to in moments of happiness or fear, and that hurt, but he only had himself to blame. For too long he had followed his father’s teachings blindly, not assessing and adapting for his own situation. Yes, a Sheikh did need to be seen to be unflappable and constant to his subjects, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t laugh or cry with his children in the privacy of his own home. Slowly Malik was realising that although his father had been a good ruler of Huria, maybe he hadn’t been the best role model as a parent.

  Malik paused in his pacing as Rachel slipped out of the boys’ room and closed the door quietly behind her. Silently she descended the steps to the courtyard and moved towards him. He braced himself for her tirade. She would be justified in chastising him, as she had warned him that the children were too young to go to the trial, but he had thought he knew best.

  ‘They’re all asleep now,’ Rachel said, as she walked past him and perched on the low wall surrounding the fountain.

  Without speaking Malik came and sat beside her. He watched as she absentmindedly trailed her fingers along the surface of the water in the pool and waited for a chastisement that never came.

  She looked tired, Malik realised, and for a moment he felt guilty. He had employed her as a governe
ss, but in reality she was doing two jobs: governess and nursemaid. She educated his children during the day, but she was also there for them with a kind word, loving cuddle or just her company, whatever the hour.

  ‘I was wrong,’ Malik said quietly.

  He didn’t often have to admit fault and he found the words hard to utter, but he knew that to move on they had to be said.

  Rachel raised her head and met his gaze, smiling sadly.

  ‘It’s all right,’ she said softly, taking his hand in her own.

  Malik felt oddly comforted by her touch and he realised that hardly anyone ever dared to touch him. Of course his manservant shaved his beard every morning and he shook hands with visiting dignitaries and supplicants, but no one touched him like this.

  ‘The children...’ Malik began, but trailed off. He could still see the panic on Hakim’s face and the way he had clung to Rachel even when they were back in the safety of the palace.

  ‘The children will be fine,’ Rachel said. ‘They’re very resilient and they will all bounce back.’

  Malik wondered if she was speaking the truth or just trying to reassure him.

  ‘You’re not a bad father, you know,’ she said quietly, getting to the root of his fears in one quick sentence.

  He looked at her for a moment, wondering whether to deny that that was what was worrying him, and then realised there was no point. Rachel was observant and intuitive, she had got to know his children as if they were her own in the space of a few weeks, and Malik wondered if maybe she understood him a little, too.

  ‘I shouldn’t have insisted they attend the trial. You were right.’

  Rachel shrugged. ‘You weren’t to know it would turn violent. Up until the sentencing I have to admit it was a good educational experience for them. And you calmed things down and got the children out when they needed it.’

  She could be gloating that once again she had been right and he had been wrong when it came to decisions about his children, but instead she was trying to bolster his self-esteem when it came to parenting.