Claiming His Desert Princess

by Marguerite Kaye

  Her smile was forced, her voice forlorn. Christopher covered her hand with both of his. ‘Why so? If no one knows that you escape...’

  ‘I cannot escape marriage, and that is my fate. One I have been raised to, after all, and so one I should be able to accept with good grace.’

  He should not have been surprised. What was more surprising was that such a beautiful woman was not already married. Christopher dropped her hand. ‘You are betrothed?’

  Tahira shook her head. ‘I was. Have been. Twice. And both times, it has come to nothing.’ Another sigh, and a little shrug. ‘What I deem to be two fortunate escapes, my sister-in-law tells me have placed a shameful stain upon my character. A stain so obvious that I am surprised you have not commented on it.’

  ‘Good Lord,’ Christopher exclaimed, resorting to English. His travels had taught him to be wary of criticising the customs of the many kingdoms he had traversed, but his own recently discovered history meant this was one thing guaranteed to make him reach instinctively for his scimitar. He did so now. ‘Are they forcing you to marry against your will?’

  ‘No!’ She covered the hand resting on his sword hilt with her own. ‘No, it is not like that.’

  ‘You do not have to do as they bid you, Tahira.’

  She sighed, shaking her head. ‘If I do not do as they wish, it is not only I who would suffer the consequences, but my sisters. The reason my sister-in-law’s little chat has put me so out of sorts is that I can’t dispute the facts, much as I’d like to. It is my duty to marry, my brother’s duty to provide me with a suitable husband.’

  ‘Your brother! I thought you said your father was still alive.’

  ‘He is, but he is very frail. It is my brother who reigns, in all but name.’

  ‘Holds the reins, you mean?’

  ‘Oh! Yes, that’s what I meant, of course.’

  The situation could not but revolt him, could not but remind him of another young woman destined to play the dynastic pawn, powerless to resist the will of her family, no matter what her own wishes might have been. Had she lived, would she have braced herself, as Tahira was doing, to bend her will to theirs? Or would she have resisted, and by doing so reshaped both their lives?

  He would never know, and it was pointless speculating, Christopher told himself sternly. Thirty years ago, it was ancient history now. He should be wary of making comparisons, wary of allowing his judgement to be clouded by doing so. ‘Your brother,’ he said gruffly, ‘he will surely take your wishes into account? If you did not like the man...’

  ‘My brother would probably mark that a point in his favour,’ Tahira interjected bitterly.

  ‘You can’t mean that!’

  ‘Do you have any brothers, Christopher?’

  I have five daughters, sir. That hated voice. ‘No,’ he said, ‘no brothers.’

  ‘You are fortunate. My brother is two years younger than me, but he has always demanded deference from everyone, and when he does not receive it, he is adept at finding ways to punish any miscreants. When I was little, it took the form of childish vindictiveness. Spoiling my games with my sisters, breaking our playthings, pinching, kicking, biting. It is no wonder that my sisters and I despise him. But now that he is in charge of our household, he can happily play the despot, pay us back for all those years when we would not love him, or pay homage to him.’

  ‘You exaggerate, surely? A grown man would not act so pettily.’

  ‘My brother’s actions are—they cannot be questioned,’ Tahira said, her lip curling. ‘Now he has decided that I am a bad influence on my sisters, he is determined to separate us.’ She blinked furiously. ‘That is why I find it so hard to reconcile myself to doing my duty. I have another duty, to the dead. I promised Mama, you see, that I would look after my sisters.’

  ‘You clearly love them very much.’

  ‘Yes.’ She clasped her arms tightly around herself. ‘More than anything. When Mama died, I was ten years old, four years older than my next sister. I have kept my promise to look after them all these years. The youngest two don’t know another mother.’ She bit her lip, clearly making a huge effort not to cry. ‘When my brother finds a husband for me I will be forced to break my promise and leave them. My sister-in-law said only tonight that I am making everyone unhappy, that I am being selfish, spoiling my next sister’s chances. She says that they no longer need me. I know she wants nothing more than to have me gone, but I can’t help wondering if some of what she says might be true.’

  A single tear ran down her cheek. She brushed it hastily away, and his hand too, when he reached instinctively to comfort her. ‘No, don’t say you feel sorry for me. In my heart I have always known this day would come, but I simply hoped—however, I can no longer hope. You see now why it means so much to me, to explore this site, to help you with your quest?’

  What could he say? Certainly not what was on his mind, which was to suggest that she told her brother to go and drown himself in an oasis. So he clutched weakly at a straw. ‘Your brother has not yet found another suitable candidate for your hand?’

  ‘Not yet, but he is actively seeking one.’ Tahira had control of herself now. She unfolded her arms, pushing her long plait of hair back over her shoulder. ‘My sister-in-law was right about one thing. I have been making everyone’s lives miserable, myself included, but most especially my sisters. I had not quite appreciated—but now I do. I must resign myself to my fate and try to reconcile them to my leaving.’

  Christopher clutched at another straw. ‘It won’t be for ever,’ he said. ‘I’m presuming your husband will be a local Nessarah man. You will be allowed to visit your sisters regularly, I’m sure.’

  She flinched, opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. Gazing down at her hands once more, her brows drew together in a frown. What was she thinking? The frown cleared. When she looked up, her smile was forced. Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to share it with him. ‘There,’ Tahira said, ‘now you know my all-too-common fate, let us talk no more of it. You are fortunate, being free to go wherever you choose, whenever you choose. Unlike me, you are in charge of your own destiny.’

  ‘Not yet, but I will be.’ It was no good, he couldn’t let it go, no matter how much she wanted him to. ‘Your situation, however, is intolerable.’

  ‘No. In many ways I am very fortunate. There are many women who would give a great deal to be in my shoes. I should remember that.’

  ‘But...’

  ‘I must accept the inevitable because there is nothing I can do to change it. I am trying very hard to do so, Christopher, please don’t make it even harder for me.’

  He swore under his breath. ‘I’m sorry. We are from very different worlds, but it seems there are some things—I was informed recently that I was fortunate to be born a man. Though it goes against the grain with me to accept any words spoken by that particular man, it seems he was in this instance right. Is there truly nothing you can do?’

  ‘Only what I have already decided, which is to make the most of my time, helping you here. Unless you can spirit me away on a flying carpet, of course.’

  This time, he accepted her change of subject. Further discussion was futile. ‘I’ll check if there is a magic carpet stall at the bazaar,’ Christopher replied. ‘Where would you like to fly to if there is?’

  * * *

  Relieved, Tahira smiled. ‘Somewhere far away from here. Somewhere which doesn’t exist, or a place that is hidden by the mists of time, visible only to me. A ruined city, or even better, my own little oasis, a place where I can pitch a tent and keep goats and grow fruit.’

  Christopher laughed. ‘You wish for the life of a peasant. Why not wish for a sumptuous palace, a posse of servants to gratify your every whim?’

  ‘The very last thing I’d want,’ Tahira replied with an inward shudder. He did not understan
d. How could he, when he had no idea of her true station? Was it wrong of her to keep him in the dark? But if she told him, it would change everything. She would no longer be simply herself. He would look at her and see all the trappings she left behind at the palace—if he looked at her at all, for wasn’t it more likely that he would put an immediate end to their time together? And rightly so, for if they were discovered together, everyone would assume the worst, and even though his nationality might earn him some protection, at the very least he would be thrown into prison.

  It was wrong of her. While Christopher could admire the courage of an ordinary female for escaping her home, pursuing her dreams, rebelling against the fate her family planned for her, he would be shocked that a princess of royal blood could behave so indecorously. Her breeding, her position, would form an impenetrable wall between them.

  Yet the chances of them being caught together were so very slim. And even if they were discovered, she had never been seen in public without her cloak and veil. No one would recognise her. No, it was too unlikely to worry about. If she were to be caught at all, it would be entering or leaving the palace, and since that had not happened yet, despite a few close shaves—she was worrying over nothing.

  Besides, she desperately wanted to help Christopher to solve the mystery of the amulet. She wanted time to prove that the ancients had mined turquoise here. The conclusion of his quest would bring their time together to a natural end soon enough. Surely it wasn’t too much to expect, to make the most of however many days or weeks it turned out to be? Too much to expect, yes, but surely not too much to ask. She needed to store up memories to sustain her for the rest of her life.

  A quirked eyebrow told Tahira that she’d been silent for too long. ‘I was dreaming of my life as a goatherd.’

  ‘You don’t mean it, do you? That’s what you’d have, if you could have any wish?’

  ‘No, I am not so silly as to think I could really survive in such a way.’

  ‘What would you wish for then?’

  ‘Right now? Oh, silly things. I’d like to take a swim in an oasis. Race a horse across the desert. Climb to the top of a huge sand dune and slide down it. Awake in the desert dawn. But I’ve already mentioned that one.’

  ‘But these are things anyone could do.’

  ‘I can’t,’ Tahira said simply. ‘I am not free to spend the night in the desert. Even if I could find an oasis big enough to swim in, I would not dare do so for fear of drowning alone. I have no horse, and as for the dune—I can imagine the feeling, but the practicalities elude me—how does one slide down sand? You see, they are modest dreams, but no more achievable for me than flying on a magic carpet.’

  ‘And that is it, the sum total of your desires?’

  She recalled her earlier thoughts. Dare she? He was so close, she could feel the heat from his body. He smelled of warm skin, lemon soap, something else distinctively masculine. Her heart was pounding. What if he refused? But if she did not ask...

  ‘I wish that you would kiss me, Christopher.’

  He inhaled sharply. ‘Tahira...’

  ‘That was unfair of me. Ignore me.’

  ‘Tahira, you are impossible to ignore.’ He slid his arm around her waist, pulling her to him. ‘Your wish is my command.’

  * * *

  He kissed her. He could not resist kissing her. She did not taste of ripe peaches. She tasted of spices and of heat, exotic and sultry, exactly as she looked, and she set him on fire. Christopher struggled to keep the kiss gentle, struggled not to crush her delectable body to him. He flattened his palm over the sweep of her spine, the swathe of her hair silky against his calloused skin.

  She sighed, the sweetest sound, and nestled closer to him. She was all sensuous curves, scented with jasmine. He licked his way along her bottom lip, then kissed her again as her mouth opened in response. Her fingers curled into his hair. Her breasts brushed against his chest. She angled her mouth, and she kissed him back, and he felt his groin tighten, felt the blood rush, and Tahira let out that soft sigh again, an invitation to pleasure he could not refuse. He kissed her again, his mouth shaping hers, but only for moments before she responded and he pulled her tight against him into a kiss he could easily have drowned in.

  Which realisation made him tear himself away. She stared at him wide-eyed, lips parted in an innocently seductive smile that made him want to pull her back into his arms again for more. ‘Tahira...’

  She shook her head vehemently. ‘I beg you do not apologise. I wanted you to do that.’

  ‘The desire,’ Christopher replied with a short laugh, ‘was entirely mutual.’

  ‘Really? Though that was my first kiss, I could tell it was not yours.’

  Her words were an apt reminder—not that he needed one. ‘Which is precisely why I should not have kissed you.’ He could do nothing about his tainted heritage, but he had no intentions of allowing history to repeat itself. He was no seducer, nor ever would be! ‘Your innocence is entirely safe with me, I promise you. To take such a liberty, I of all people—’ He broke off, shaking his head to dispel the memory her words had unwittingly stirred.

  ‘But you did not. My instincts told me last night that you are an honourable man.’

  ‘It is not simply a matter of honour, Tahira.’

  ‘It was just a kiss,’ she said, clearly perplexed by his vehemence. ‘I don’t understand why—oh!’ She covered her mouth, looking horrified. ‘Do you mean that you have taken such a liberty in the past?’

  ‘No! Absolutely not. I do not refer to myself.’

  ‘Then who...?’

  ‘It doesn’t matter. You are right. It was just a kiss.’

  Just a kiss. He took her hand. Her fingers were long and slim, her nails patterned with henna. His bloodline did not define him. He was nothing like that man, nor ever would be. ‘Just a kiss,’ he repeated, ‘but a very delightful one.’

  She was blushing charmingly. ‘Do you mean that? You forget, I have no experience and am therefore in no position to judge.’

  ‘I don’t forget, Tahira.’ He cupped her chin in the palm of his hand. ‘Your innocence is something I would never forget, never take advantage of, I swear.’

  ‘If I was betrothed, you would not have kissed me, would you?’

  ‘Of course not.’

  ‘So I may assume you are also free?’

  ‘I am neither betrothed nor indeed married, if that is what you are asking. In fact, I doubt the woman exists, who would tolerate my investing every penny I earn in excavating holes in the ground. Nor would any, I am certain, endure the travails of traipsing around Egypt, living in caves and tents while I spend most of my waking hours digging up bones.’

  ‘It sounds to me like paradise,’ Tahira said whimsically. ‘I wish I could live such a life.’

  ‘Be careful what you wish for. The reality is hot, exhausting, uncomfortable, often tedious, extremely hard work for little reward.’

  ‘What you mean is that I’m completely unfit for such a life.’ Her smile wobbled. ‘I do understand the difference between dreams and reality, Christopher. And my reality—at least I can be reasonably sure that I’m fit for purpose as a wife. It’s what I was raised to be, after all.’

  ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to patronise you.’ Or hurt her, which he clearly had.

  But Tahira shrugged. ‘You spoke the truth. We are, as you have pointed out, from very different worlds.’

  ‘Yet here we are, together.’

  She smiled at that. ‘A hiatus from reality.’

  ‘Sadly,’ Christopher said, looking up at the sky, ‘one which must draw to a close for tonight. Isn’t it high time you left, if you are to be back before dawn?’

  ‘Yes.’

  Turning away, Tahira stumbled. As he caught her, peering down at the sand to see what had t
ripped her up, Christopher saw not a rock, not the gnarled root of a shrub, but something gleaming dully. Pulling it free from the sand and dried mud which encased it, he stared at the object in astonishment. ‘It’s a pot.’

  His heart began to pound as he rubbed the surface clean. ‘A silver vessel,’ he said, turning it over in his hands to examine the patina and shape. ‘Very old.’

  He could see his excitement reflected in her face. ‘I’ve never seen anything—never found anything—Christopher, what do you think it means?’

  He shook his head, though he couldn’t suppress his own smile. ‘This is not the kind of item a lowly miner would own.’ His laughter echoed into the desert night. ‘It means we most definitely have more work to do here.’

  * * *

  Christopher had visited many souks and market places throughout Arabia, but the bazaar in the centre of Nessarah’s main city, which he decided to visit the next morning, not to buy a flying carpet but for a far more serious purpose, took his breath away. The building itself was unremarkable, white painted with narrow slits for windows which were cut seemingly at random into the fortress-like walls. The geometric octagonal shape of the structure was the only clue that what was contained behind the massive wooden doors which stood open wide to the early morning sunshine was the antithesis of plain.

  The entrance led through a narrow passage to a huge central atrium which soared the full height of the building. Light poured down from the apex of the vaulted ceiling, a dome which had been sliced open to the sky. The dome itself was moulded in an elaborate pattern to give the impression of overlapping tiles in gold and turquoise, while the supporting pillars and columns were also brightly patterned in vivid colours of emerald, mustard yellow, cobalt and white. Terracotta tiles paved the ground, a fountain populated by a shoal of tiny fish stood under the open dome, and low divans were scattered invitingly for weary shoppers to rest their feet and pass the time of day.