Clearly it was a different world when one was connected to royalty.
‘That one, yes!’ said Yousra, as Tora turned to the young woman wearing a robe of aqua-coloured silk, embroidered around the neckline and the cuffs of the sleeves. ‘That colour suits you so well. You look beautiful.’
Tora turned to the mirror and was inclined to agree. But then it was a beautiful gown, whisper-soft against her skin and so cool. ‘I like it,’ she said, and moved on to the next.
And after she’d exhausted both the contents of the wardrobe and tiny Atiyah, who’d been put down for a nap, Tora couldn’t bear to go back to her serviceable skirt and shirt, but returned to the aqua gown that felt so deliciously cool against her skin. Yousra brushed out her hair and made up her eyes, so she had Qajaran eyes, she called them, ringed with kohl, before she hennaed Tora’s feet. ‘Just a little,’ she said, ‘for you will have your hands and feet done for the coronation.’ Tora returned the favour by painting Yousra’s fingernails and toenails and making the younger woman giggle as she tickled her toes.
They were both laughing as they compared the results when there was a knock on the door and Rashid entered.
‘Nice to see someone having fun,’ he said, his eyes sweeping the room to take in the situation. ‘Won’t all that noise wake the baby?’
Yousra bowed immediately, her hands clasped demurely in her lap, her painted toes tucked discreetly under her robe, as if she’d been chastised. ‘Excuse me,’ she said softly.
Tora saw no reason for repentance. She did see an opportunity for bringing Rashid closer towards caring for his sister. ‘It’s actually a fallacy babies need silence to sleep. They hear plenty of noise while in the womb and it is good for a child to grow up hearing laughter. Come and see for yourself how untroubled she is.’
His eyes raked over her. Confused eyes, as if he didn’t know how to respond, so she slipped her hand in his and steered him towards Atiyah’s darkened room, pulling aside the netting. Atiyah lay on her back, one hand to the side of her head as she slept. ‘You see,’ she said with a smile as she looked up at him. ‘Sleeping like a baby. Isn’t she beautiful?’
He supposed she was, with her black curls framing her face and her eyes a dark line of lashes, her lips pink and perfectly serene. He nodded. ‘She is,’ and only then, when he went to reach out a hand to see if the skin of her cheek was as smooth as it looked, realised Tora’s hand was still in his. ‘I take your point,’ he said, and squeezed her fingers before he let them go, and touched fingers warmed by Tora’s to his sister’s cheek. So smooth. So perfect. The baby stirred slightly before sighing back into sleep, and Rashid took his hand away so he didn’t disturb her more.
Tora was still smiling and it was all he could do not to pull her into his arms, but no, that was not the way. ‘Kareem gave me this for you,’ he said, pulling a paper from between the books he carried, and handed her the instructions for accessing the Internet.
‘Thank you,’ she said.
‘And your money has been transferred.’
Tora closed her eyes and clutched the paper to her chest. ‘Thank you so much for letting me know.’
She looked beautiful. She’d ditched the drab uniform and that too-tight bun and was wearing a silken robe that didn’t cling and yet that turned her into a woman again, the woman he knew was hidden below, with breasts and hips and curves in between, and she’d done something with her eyes so they looked smoky and seductive and now, because of something he’d said, she looked radiant.
He’d been mad to ever imagine he could leave her alone.
‘There’s more,’ he said, and his voice sounded thick even to him. ‘Kareem is giving me a tour of the six new palaces tomorrow, and I came to ask you if you would like to accompany me.’
‘Me?’
Her eyes had lit up, as if she wanted to say yes, but they were wary. Guarded. She didn’t trust him. She had good cause. ‘You.’
She looked down at the child. ‘And Atiyah?’
‘There is no reason to haul her around with us. We will be in and out of cars in the heat of the day. She will be much more comfortable staying here.’
‘But—’
‘Please, Sheikha, I can look after her.’
Tora looked at Yousra. ‘Are you sure? We may be gone a long time by the sounds.’
‘It is no trouble. Atiyah is a delight.’
‘So, it’s settled, then,’ Rashid said, feeling better than he had in a long time. ‘We will leave after breakfast.’