Читать книгу His Desert Rose - Liz Fielding - Страница 5

‘THERE was a journalist on the plane, Partridge.’ Prince Hassan al Rashid joined his aide in the rear of the limousine. ‘Rose Fenton. She’s a foreign correspondent for one of the television news networks. Find out what she’s doing here.’

‘There’s no mystery about it, Excellency. She’s convalescing from pneumonia. That’s all.’ Hassan favoured the man with a look that doubted his sanity. But then Partridge was young, British and unbelievably innocent when it came to politics, whereas he had learned the game at his grandfather’s knee and suspected it would be very far from ‘all’. ‘She’s Tim Fenton’s sister,’ Partridge added helpfully. As if that explained everything. ‘He’s the new Chief Veterinary Officer,’ he continued, when he realised it didn’t. ‘He thought a little sun would help with his sister’s recuperation.’

‘Did he?’ How convenient. ‘And since when did being related to the CVO entitle anyone, let alone a journalist, to a seat on Abdullah’s private jet?’

‘I believe that His Highness thought Miss Fenton would appreciate the extra comfort, after being so ill. He’s apparently a great admirer…’ Hassan’s response was a dismissive wave of the hand, but Partridge stuck to his guns. ‘And since you were coming home anyway—’

‘I only learned about the flight when I asked the embassy to organise my own travel arrangements. We both know that Abdullah wouldn’t fly a kite for my convenience. As for offering his personal flying palace…’

‘I think His Highness is fully aware of your opinion of his extravagance.’

‘Yes, well, even the Queen of England flies on a commercial airliner these days.’

‘His Highness doesn’t want the Queen of England to write a flattering piece about him for one of the major news magazines.’

Not that innocent, then. ‘Thank you, Partridge.’ Hassan briefly acknowledged his aide’s unusually wry touch of humour. ‘I was sure you would get to the point eventually.’

Unfortunately it was not something to laugh about. Rose Fenton would doubtless be fêted and flattered as part of the Regent’s charm offensive while Faisal, the youthful Emir, was conveniently out of the country studying American business methods and showing no great eagerness to return home. His own return, Hassan thought grimly, had been precipitated by a friendly whisper that Abdullah was on the point of turning his Regency into something more permanent.

‘Is she aware what’s expected of her?’ he asked.

‘I shouldn’t think so.’

Hassan wasn’t convinced. ‘What about her brother? Have you met him?’

‘At the sports club,’ he said. ‘On the social circuit. Tim Fenton’s good company. He asked for leave to go home when his sister was taken ill and before he knew what was happening His Highness had issued a personal invitation for her to visit Ras al Hajar to convalesce.’

‘And when my cousin makes up his mind to something, it’s a foolish man who argues.’ And why would Rose Fenton argue? Abdullah kept foreign journalists out of Ras al Hajar as a matter of policy. And there weren’t any local ones. This must have seemed like a gift.

‘I don’t think you need worry, sir. Miss Fenton’s reputation as a journalist is formidable. If your cousin is looking for some flattering publicity I’d say he’s chosen the wrong woman.’

‘Maybe. Tell me, does Tim Fenton like his job here?’

Partridge’s silence was all the reply he required. Rose Fenton wouldn’t need to have it spelt out for her in words of one syllable either; she was far too clever for that. And Abdullah would make it easy for her. He’d tell the woman what a great job he was doing, and to prove it he’d whisk her in air-conditioned luxury from the new medical centre to the new shopping mall, via the new sports facilities. Progress in stainless steel and reinforced concrete.

He’d keep her sufficiently busy so that she wouldn’t have time to go looking for anything that might give her other ideas. Even if she had a mind to. After all, a one-to-one interview with the media-shy Regent would be a serious scoop for any journalist, no matter how formidable her reputation.

Hassan wasn’t as enamoured of journalists as his aide, even when they came packaged like the lovely Rose Fenton.

He changed tack. ‘Tell me, Partridge, since you’re so well informed, what entertainments has my cousin arranged to keep the lady amused while she’s here? I imagine he does have plans to keep her amused?’ The idea was distasteful, but he knew that if Abdullah admired the lady it was for her lovely face and fiery red hair rather than her journalistic skills. Partridge’s quick flush demonstrated exactly the effect Miss Fenton produced on susceptible males. ‘Well?’

‘There have been some activities arranged,’ he confirmed. ‘A dhow trip along the coast, a feast somewhere in the desert, a tour of the city…’

‘She appears to be getting the full red carpet treatment.’ Although he suspected her feet wouldn’t touch the ground long enough for her to feel it. ‘Anything else?’

‘Well, there’s a cocktail party at the British Embassy, of course…’ Then he hesitated.

‘Why do I have the feeling that you’re saving the best until last?’

‘His Highness is hosting a reception at the palace in her honour.’

‘Practically a State visit, then,’ he said, all his worst fears confirmed. ‘But rather an exhausting schedule for a woman convalescing from pneumonia, wouldn’t you say?’

‘She has been ill, Excellency. She collapsed reporting to camera from somewhere in Eastern Europe. I saw it happen. She just pitched forward… for a moment I thought she’d been shot by a sniper. How did she look?’ He asked anxiously, ‘You did see her on the plane?’

‘Only briefly. She looked…’

Hassan paused briefly to consider exactly how Rose Fenton had looked. A little flushed, perhaps. The ruffled collar of her white blouse had provided a frame for a face that was a little thinner than the last time he’d seen her on a satellite news broadcast. Maybe that was why her dark eyes had seemed so large.

Dressed for warmth against the raw chill of the weather, she’d been wearing a scarlet sweater that should have clashed horribly with her red hair, but hadn’t. On the contrary; the effect had been riveting.

She’d looked up from a book she was holding and met his glance with frank curiosity; it had been a confident look that avoided being in any way flirtatious but had still managed to convey the suggestion that she’d welcome his company to while away the tedious hours in the air.

Honesty forced him to concede that he’d been tempted, his own curiosity thoroughly roused by her presence on his cousin’s private jet. And he was not impervious to the pleasure of a beautiful woman’s company to help pass the time.

At one point he’d got as far as summoning the steward to invite her forward. In the few seconds it had taken the man to respond, common sense had reasserted itself.

Mixing with journalists was not a good idea. A man just never knew what they’d print next. Or rather he did know. Too late, he’d learned that it was far easier to gain a reputation than lose it, especially if the reputation suited a certain highly placed individual.

And Abdullah would certainly hear about any conversation they’d shared the minute the wheels touched down. Being seen with him would do her no good at all in palace circles.

She’d be safer sticking to her book, no matter how unexpected her choice. Fantasy was always less dangerous than the real thing.

He realised that Partridge was still waiting for his answer. ‘She looked well enough,’ he said irritably.

Rose Fenton stopped to catch her breath as she stepped out of the chill of the air-conditioned arrival hall of the airport and into the midday heat of Ras al Hajar.

Despite the brave show of daffodils in the parks, London hadn’t quite made spring, and Rose had been bundled up in thermal underwear and a heavy sweater by her unusually anxious mother.

‘Are you all right, Rose? You must be tired from the journey.’

‘Don’t fuss, Tim.’ Her brother’s anxious query made him sound exactly like their mother and she wasn’t used to being fussed over. It made her realise just how sick she’d been. She peeled off the sweater. ‘I’m not an invalid, just hot,’ she snapped, her irritability a sure indication that she wasn’t feeling quite as lively as she would have everyone believe. She’d been very bad-tempered the week before she collapsed with pneumonia, but Tim’s obvious concern made her instantly contrite. ‘Oh, heck, I’m sorry. It’s just that for the last month Mum’s been treating me like some nineteenth-century heroine about to expire from consumption.’ Her smile took on a slightly mischievous slant as she hooked her arm through his. ‘I thought I’d escaped the leash.’

‘Yes, well, I have to admit you don’t look quite as bad as I’d expected from the way she’s been fretting,’ he retaliated, easily slipping into the old habit of brotherly teasing, not in the least in awe of her distinguished reputation as a foreign correspondent. ‘I was beginning to wonder if I should rent a bath-chair for your visit.’

‘That really won’t be necessary.’

‘Just a walking stick, then?’

‘Only if you want me to beat you with it.’

‘You’re definitely on the mend,’ he said, laughing.

‘I had two choices: recover quickly, or die of boredom. Mum wouldn’t let me read anything more taxing than a three-year-old magazine,’ she told him as he ushered her in the direction of a dusty dark green Range Rover. ‘And when she discovered I was watching the news, she threatened to confiscate my TV.’

‘You’re exaggerating, Rose.’

‘As if I would!’ Then she relented. ‘Well, maybe. Just a bit.’ And she grinned. ‘But I’m not tired, really. Travelling in the Emir’s private jet had about as much in common with flying economy as a bicycle has with a Rolls Royce.’ She grinned. ‘It’s flying, Tim, but not as we know it.’ She breathed in the warm desert air. ‘This is what I need. Let me get out of these thermals,’ she said, ‘and you won’t be able to stop me.’

‘I warn you, I’m under strict orders to keep you from doing anything too physical.’

‘Spoilsport. I was banking on being whisked away on a fiery black stallion by some hawk-nosed desert prince,’ she teased, but, since her brother looked less than impressed with that idea, she squeezed his arm reassuringly. ‘Just kidding. Gordon gave me a copy of The Sheik to read on the plane.’ Her news editor’s idea of a joke, no doubt. He had an odd sense of humour. Or maybe it had been an excuse to hand over the book-shop carrier that contained all the information he’d been able to dig up on the situation in Ras al Hajar right under her mother’s watchful eyes. She patted the bag slung over her shoulder. ‘I’m not sure whether it was meant as inspiration or warning.’

‘You mean you actually read it?’

‘It’s a classic of women’s fiction,’ she protested.

‘Well, I hope you took it as a warning. I’ve had my instructions from Ma and, believe me, horse riding of any description is definitely off the agenda. You’re allowed to lie in the shade by the pool with a little light reading in the morning, but only if you promise not to go in the water—’

‘I’ve had weeks of this, Tim. I am not promising anything.’

‘Only if you promise not to go in the water,’ he repeated, with a broad grin, ‘and have a little nap in the afternoon.’ Then, more gently, ‘You gave us all a terrible fright, you know, collapsing in the middle of the evening news.’

‘Very bad form,’ she agreed briskly. ‘I’m supposed to report the news, not make it…’ Her voice trailed off as she watched a long black limousine, windows darkened, speed away from the airport.

The car’s occupant was undoubtedly the reason for the flight of the Emir’s private jet on which her brother had managed to hitch her a ride. Wearing an immaculately tailored dark suit, a discreetly striped shirt and a silk tie, he could have been the chairman of any large public company boarding his private plane moments before take-off. But he wasn’t.

Their gazes had met and mutual recognition had been instant before the door to her cabin had been hurriedly shut by an apologetic stewardess more used to travelling princesses than nosy journalists.

Which had been a pity. Prince Hassan al Rashid came very high on her must-meet list. Amongst the pile of news clippings, the photograph of the hawkish face with piercing grey eyes had been the only one that had caught her attention and held it. If Rose had been seriously seeking her own personal fantasy adventure with a sheikh, on a horse of any colour, he would have fulfilled the role admirably.

Prince Hassan had paused as he’d entered the aircraft, and in the moment before the door was shut those grey eyes had fixed her with a look that had brought a flush of colour to her cheeks and made her want to tug her calf-length skirt closer to her ankles. It was a look that had left her feeling entirely female, entirely vulnerable in a way that for a twenty-eight-year-old journalist was almost embarrassing.

A twenty-eight-year-old journalist, with one marriage, one war and half a dozen in-depth interviews with prime ministers and presidents behind her.

But she was quite capable of recognising a seriously dangerous man when she saw one, and his photograph, a posed, expressionless, formal portrait, hadn’t even come close to the real thing.

What, if any, impression she had made upon him was impossible to tell. In the few moments before the door had been closed discreetly between them, his expression had given nothing away.

It was her first taste of purdah and, despite the fact that she’d been treated throughout the flight like a princess, she didn’t much like it. She knew that, by his own standards, Prince Hassan was showing her far more respect by ignoring her presence than if he had joined her, but as a journalist she could scarcely help being disappointed. It was her disappointment as a woman that disturbed her more.

Besides, such respect seemed strangely at odds with his reputation as a playboy prince whose wealth, according to gossip, was pumped straight from his country’s oil wells to the wrists and necks of beautiful women, and the world’s most exclusive gaming tables.

But at home in Ras al Hajar he apparently chose to at least nod to convention. When he had disembarked before her, to be greeted by the officials lined up on the tarmac, he had dispensed with the expensive Italian tailoring and was wearing the trappings of a desert prince. A black prince.

The breeze had tugged impatiently at the gossamer-thin camel hair cloak thrown over his black robes, at the black keffiyeh held in place by a simple, unadorned camel halter. And she had sensed his own impatience with the ceremonial honour paid him as each man stepped forward to take his hands and bow deeply over them.

Tim saw her glance drawn to the limousine as the morning sun flashed from the darkened windows. ‘Prince Hassan,’ he murmured.

‘Prince who?’ she asked, feigning ignorance. She had long since learned that people told her far more that way.

But Tim did not leap in with the local gossip as she had hoped. ‘No one for you to get worked up about, Rose. He’s only the local playboy.’

‘Really? From all the bowing and scraping when he got off the plane, I thought he must be next in line to King around here.’

‘He’s not next in line to anything.’ Tim shrugged. ‘Hassan warrants all that “bowing and scraping”, as you so eloquently put it, because his father took a bullet meant for the old Emir. Several bullets, in fact.’

‘Oh?’ Act dumb, Rosie, just act dumb. ‘He was shot?’

Tim’s disbelieving glance warned her that she might have gone a bit over the top, but he indulged her curiosity. ‘Yes, he was shot, and his reward for a bullet in the shoulder and a smashed leg was the hand of the old Emir’s favourite daughter and a life of ease. Not that he lived long enough to enjoy it.’

‘He didn’t survive the attack, then?’

‘He made a pretty fair recovery, by all accounts, but he was killed in a car accident a few months after the wedding.’

‘How terrible.’ Then, ‘Was it an accident?’

Her brother’s mouth straightened in a knowing grin. ‘Quick for a girl, aren’t you?’ Then he shrugged. ‘Your guess is as good as mine and that’s all anyone can do—guess.’

‘Well, he lived long enough to father a son,’ she said, regret stirring at deeply buried memories. ‘That’s as close to immortality as any of us ever gets.’

‘Rose,’ Tim prompted gently.

She responded with a distracted, ‘Mmm,’ as she continued to watch the limousine speed away from the airport. It might be her job to be interested in anyone who was so close to the throne yet could never aspire to it, but something else was prompting her curiosity about the man behind those grey eyes.

She’d met men who could command the most undisciplined rabble with no more than a look from eyes like that. It wasn’t the colour that mattered, it was the strength, the conviction behind them. His weren’t the eyes of a playboy. And if he was pretending? The thought strayed into her head and stirred the down on the nape of her neck.

Then, realising that Tim was still patiently holding the door for her, she smiled. ‘So, I like a good human interest story. Tell me about him. His father must have been dead before he was born.’

‘He was. Perhaps that’s why Hassan was so indulged by the old man. He was raised as a favourite.’ Tim glanced back at the limousine, disappearing at speed in the direction of the open desert. ‘Too much money, too little to do; it was bound to lead to trouble.’

‘What kind of trouble?’

He shrugged. ‘Women, gambling… But what can you expect? A man has to do something, and despite the title he’s effectively barred from palace politics.’

‘Oh? Why’s that?’ She was too quick with the question and Tim suddenly realised that he was being pumped for information.

‘Leave it, Rose,’ he said firmly. ‘You’re here for rest and recuperation, not to ferret out a non-existent story.’

‘But if you don’t tell me why he can’t get involved in politics I’ll just worry about it,’ she said, quite reasonably, as Tim helped her up into the air-conditioned comfort of the four-wheel drive. ‘I just won’t be able to help myself.’

‘Try. Very hard,’ he suggested. ‘This isn’t a democracy and nosy journalists are not welcome.’

‘I’m not nosy,’ she said, with a grin. ‘Just interested.’ Prince Hassan interested her a lot. Men with eyes like that didn’t waste time playing… not without good reason.

‘And I’m Charley’s Aunt. You’re here as Prince Abdullah’s guest, Rosie. Break the rules and you’ll be on the first flight out of here. And so will I, so drop it. Please.’

It was years since Tim had called her Rosie, and she suspected that this was his way of reminding her that, despite the fact that she was a well-known and respected journalist, she was still his little sister. And this was his territory. So she shrugged and let the subject drop. For now. Besides, she knew, or suspected she knew, the answer to her question. Hassan’s father might have been a hero, but he’d been a foreigner, a Scot who’d been drawn to the desert. She had the press cuttings to prove it.

But it wouldn’t do to let Tim know that. ‘Sorry, it’s just force of habit. And boredom.’

‘Then we’ll have to make sure that you don’t get bored. I’ve arranged a small party to introduce you to some people, and Prince Abdullah has pulled out all the stops to make sure you have a good time.’

Rose allowed Tim to run on about the receptions and parties lined up and waiting for her pleasure, not pushing the subject she was most interested in. After all, receptions and parties were the places to hear all the latest gossip and, with luck, meet the local playboy.

‘What was that about a reception at the palace?’ she asked, tuned in for the important words even while her brain was thinking about something else.

‘Only if you feel up to it,’ he added. He glanced across at her and pulled a little face. ‘I should warn you that the ride in Abdullah’s private plane might have strings attached. He’s not above trying to charm you into recording a flattering interview with him.’

‘Well, he’s out of luck,’ she said, mentally scratching the interview with Abdullah, number two on her Ras al Hajar must-do list. A pity, but it would give her more time to concentrate on Prince Hassan. After all, she was on holiday and entitled to a treat. ‘I’m here to relax.’

‘Since when did relaxation get in the way of work? I can’t see you turning down an exclusive interview with the ruler of a strategically important and oil-rich country, no matter how sick you’ve been.’

‘Regent,’ she reminded him, abandoning all pretence. ‘Isn’t the young Emir due back from America soon? Or could it be that now he’s had a taste of life at the top, Prince Abdullah is reluctant to step down? I mean, once you’ve been King anything else has to be something of an anticlimax. Doesn’t it?’ Tim frowned, his glance suddenly anxious. She grinned and put a reassuring hand on his arm. ‘I’ll just stick to lying quietly by the pool with a little light reading, shall I? Relaxing.’

He swallowed. ‘Perhaps that would be best. I’ll tell His Highness that you’re too weak for partying just yet.’

‘Don’t you dare! Tell him… Tell him, I’m just to weak to work.’

Hassan remained deep in thought for a long time after the car had come to a halt. ‘You’ll have to go to the States, Partridge. It’s time Faisal was home.’

‘But Excellency—’

‘I know, I know.’ He waved impatiently. ‘He’s enjoying the freedom and he won’t want to come, but he can’t put it off any longer.’

‘He’d take it better from you, sir.’

‘Maybe, but the fact that I feel unable to leave the country will ram home the message more effectively than anything either of us can say.’

‘What do you want me to say?’

‘Tell him… tell him if he wants to keep his country, it’s time to come home before Abdullah takes it from him. I can’t put it plainer than that.’

He climbed from the limousine and strode towards the huge carved doors of the coastal watch-tower he had made his home, his feet ringing on the stone slabs of the courtyard.

‘And Miss Fenton?’ Partridge asked, his pace slower as he leaned heavily on his walking stick.

Hassan paused at the entrance to his private apartments. ‘You can safely leave Miss Fenton to me,’ he said sharply.

Partridge paled, swinging round in front of him and forcing him to a halt. ‘Sir, you won’t forget she’s been ill—’

‘I won’t forget that she’s a journalist.’ Hassan’s face darkened as he saw the anxiety in the man’s face. Well, well. Lucky Rose Fenton. Needed by a fabulously rich and totally powerful older man for her ability to make him look good, desired by a young and foolish one with nothing in his head but romantic nonsense. All in one day. How many women could start a holiday with that kind of advantage?

It occurred to him that Rose Fenton, blessed with both brains and beauty, probably started every holiday with that kind of advantage.

‘What are you planning to do, sir?’

‘Do?’ He wasn’t used to having his intentions questioned.

Partridge might be nervous, but he wasn’t cowed. ‘With Miss Fenton.’

Hassan gave a short laugh. ‘What do you think I’m going to do with her, man?’ The image of the book she had been holding swept into his mind. ‘Abduct her and carry her off into the desert like some old-time bandit?’

Partridge immediately flushed. ‘N-no.’

‘You don’t sound very certain,’ he pressed. ‘It’s what my grandfather would have done.’

‘Your grandfather lived in a different age, sir,’ Partridge said. ‘I’ll go and pack.’

Hassan watched him go. The young man had guts, and he admired him for the way he coped with disability and pain, but he wouldn’t put up with dissent from anyone. He’d do whatever he had to.

Thirty minutes later he handed Partridge the letter he had written to his young half-brother and walked with him to the Jeep that would take him down to the jetty. The courtyard was full of horsemen with hawks at their wrists, long-legged silky-coated Salukis at their heels. Partridge’s eyes narrowed. ‘You’re going hunting? Now?’

‘I need to heat the London damp out of my bones and get some good, clean desert air in my lungs.’ And it occurred to him that if Abdullah was planning a quiet coup, it might be wise to take himself to his desert camp where his presence would be less noticeable. ‘I’ll speak to you tomorrow.’

‘This is it.’

‘It’s beautiful, Tim.’ The villa was out of the town, set on the hillside overlooking the wild and rugged coast near the royal stables. Tim’s title might give him control of the country’s veterinary services, but his main concern was the Regent’s stud. Below them was a palm grove and around the house there were oleanders in flower, bright birds… ‘I expected desert… sand dunes…’

‘Hollywood has a lot to answer for.’ The door opened at their approach and Tim’s servant bowed as Rose crossed the threshold. ‘Rose, this is Khalil. He cooks, cleans and looks after the place so I can concentrate on work.’ The young man returned her smile shyly.

‘Good grief, Tim,’ Rose said, once she’d admired everything, from the exquisite rugs laid over polished hardwood floors to the small swimming pool in the discreetly walled garden beyond the French windows. ‘It’s a bit different from that scruffy little house you had in Newmarket.’

‘If you think this is luxury, just wait until you see the stables. The horses have a much larger swimming pool than me and I have a fully equipped hospital, anything I ask for—’

‘Okay, okay!’ She grinned at his enthusiasm. ‘You can give me the grand tour later, but right now I could do with a shower.’ She lifted her hair from her neck. ‘And I need to change into some lighter clothes.’

‘What? Oh, sorry. Look, why don’t you make yourself at home, have a rest, something to eat? Your room is through here.’ He shepherded her through to a large suite. ‘There’s plenty of time to see everything.’

She stopped in the doorway, but it wasn’t the splendour of her room that surprised her. It was the fact that every available surface was obscured by baskets full of roses. ‘Where on earth did all these come from?’

‘Wherever roses are grown at this time of year.’ Tim shrugged, obviously embarrassed by the excess. ‘I should have thought you were used to it by now. I don’t suppose anyone ever sends you lilies, or daisies or chrysanthemums. Do they?’

‘Rarely,’ she admitted, looking for a card, but finding none. ‘But they usually come in dozens. These appear to have been ordered by the gross.’

‘Yes, well, Prince Abdullah sent them over this morning so that you’d feel at home.’

‘He thinks I live in a florist’s shop?’

Tim pulled a face. ‘They do everything on a grander scale here.’ He glanced anxiously at his watch. ‘Rose, can you look after yourself for an hour or so? I’ve a mare about to foal…’

She laughed. ‘Go. I’ll be fine.’

‘If you’re sure? If you need me—’

‘I’ll whinny.’

His face relaxed into a smile. ‘Actually, I think you’ll find the telephone system is perfectly adequate.’

Alone, she turned back to the roses. Creamy white, perfect florist’s blooms. She resisted the urge to count them; instead she thoughtfully riffled the satiny petals of a half-open bud with the edge of her thumb. The flowers were beautiful, but scentless, a sterile cliché without any real meaning.

And her thoughts wandered back to Prince Hassan al Rashid. The playboy prince was something of a cliché too. But those grey eyes suggested something very different behind the façade.

Prince Abdullah might woo her co-operation with his private jet and his roses, but it was Hassan who had her undivided attention.