‘This is pointless! If you really think I’m dumb enough to fall for some charade you’ve set up in my honour—’
‘Get into the saddle, Joanna—or I’ll lift you on to Najib’s back and you will ride with me!’
Ride with him? Feel his arms around her, his heart beating against her back? Feel his breath warm at her temple, his thighs hard as they enclosed hers? Colour flamed in her cheeks.
‘I’d sooner ride with the devil,’ she muttered, and she grabbed for the pommel, stabbed her foot into the stirrup, and climbed into the saddle.
‘All right?’ She nodded and Khalil sprang on to Najib’s back in one fluid motion. ‘Hold the reins loosely but firmly, so the mare knows you’re in command. You’ll have no problem with her. She is sweet-tempered and obedient, and very well trained.’
‘The perfect female,’ Joanna said sweetly as they started from the courtyard. Behind them, two of Khalil’s men and their horses fell into place at a slight distance.
Khalil laughed. ‘I never thought of it that way, but now that you point it out, I suppose she is.’
‘You still haven’t told me where we’re going.’
‘You’ll know the place when you see it.’
‘I’ve no idea what that’s supposed to mean.’
Khalil smiled. ‘Why don’t you relax, Joanna? You’ve complained about being cooped up—well, here’s your chance to enjoy some fresh air and new sights. Look around you, and enjoy this beautiful day.’
He was right, she thought grudgingly. It was, indeed, a beautiful day. The dark green mountains pierced a sky so blue and so bright it almost hurt the eyes. It was spring, and wild flowers were beginning to carpet the gentler slopes, filling the air with their sweetness.
It was lovely here. Joanna thought of New York and Dallas, of crowded city streets thronged with people and automobiles. All of it seemed far, far away. How easy it would be to be happy in a place like this, she thought suddenly. Unbidden, her gaze flew to the man riding at her side.
What was wrong with her? Here she was, being taken out on a tether and thinking nonsensical thoughts, while somewhere her father must be agonising over her welfare.
‘Listen,’ she said, glaring at him, ‘if you think taking me to some—some staged bit of theatre will turn my head around…’
‘There is the stage, Joanna, and the players.’ Khalil reached out and caught the reins of her horse. ‘An hour from now, you can tell me what you think of the production.’
Before she could speak, he tapped his heels into Najib’s flanks and both horses shot forward. Joanna clung to the mare’s reins, too intent on what she saw to be afraid of the sudden swift motion.
They were entering a town, a real one, with houses and narrow streets. Not even Khalil could have had this place created overnight, she thought wildly as he brought their horses to a stop.
‘Would you like to get down and walk around, Joanna?’
She started. Khalil had dismounted. He was standing beside the mare, looking up at her, his face as expressionless as a mask.
She nodded, too bemused to offer any objection when he held up his arms. She went into them readily, her hands light on his shoulders to steady herself, and he eased her gently to the ground.
‘What is this place?’ she asked.
‘It is Adaba. Our central marketplace.’ He took her arm and they set off along the narrow street, his two men trailing behind them. ‘I thought you might like to see some of my downtrodden subjects with your own eyes.’
She wanted to make a clever retort but already her gaze was moving towards the market ahead. People were selling things and buying things, and she could hear bursts of chatter and laughter. It looked very much like the outdoor markets that flourished in lower Manhattan. People were busy. And happy. But—but…
‘Observe the way my people cringe at the sight of me,’ Khalil murmured.
In fact, most of the people didn’t seem to notice him or, if they did, they paused in their transactions only long enough to smile and touch their foreheads.
‘What did you do,’ Joanna asked with a chill smile, ‘tell them you’d chop off their heads if they threw themselves at your feet this one time?’
His hand tightened on her arm. ‘Why be so uncreative, Joanna? Perhaps I threatened to skin them alive if they didn’t behave.’
‘No doubt!’
A woman came hurrying up to them. She touched her hand to her forehead but Khalil stopped her, put his arm around her shoulders, and kissed her cheek. The woman glanced shyly at Joanna and said something that made him laugh before she melted away into the crowd.
Joanna tried unsuccessfully to wrench her arm from his grasp. ‘What’s so funny?’ she demanded. ‘Or does the sight of a captive always rate a chuckle in this crowd?’
Khalil grinned. ‘She wanted to assure me that even though your eyes are an interesting colour, she still prefers the blue of mine.’
‘A fan,’ Joanna said drily. ‘How wonderful. Did she want your autograph, too?’
‘Her name is Cheva. She was my nurse, when I was a boy. She loved my English mother very much, and it always pleased her that I inherited her—’
Joanna stared at him. ‘Your mother was English?’
He laughed. ‘Close your mouth, Joanna. It is a warm day, and there are flies about. She was, yes.’ His arm slipped to her waist as he led her deeper into the crowded marketplace. ‘She was an archaeologist, come to Jandara on a dig. I know you would like me to think my barbarian father abducted her, but the truth is they met at an official function, fell in love, and were married ten days later.’
‘And were they happy?’
‘The barbarian and the Englishwoman?’
‘No,’ Joanna said quickly, ‘I didn’t mean—’
‘They were very happy. Is that so difficult to believe?’
Joanna looked at him. ‘I—I’m confused,’ she whispered. ‘I don’t—I don’t really know what to believe.’
His arm tightened around her. ‘Perhaps you will know, by the afternoon’s end.’
* * *
When the sun began dropping in the sky, they made their way back to the horses. By then, Joanna’s head was spinning. Nothing was as she’d expected—and yet, in her heart, she knew that everything was as she’d begun to suspect it might be.
She didn’t speak the language of Khalil’s people, but it didn’t matter. Many of them spoke English, especially the younger ones.
‘It is an important language, the language of nations, Prince Khalil says, so we learn it,’ a horse trader told her earnestly. ‘We start young, when we first enter school.’
‘Ah,’ said Joanna. ‘Only boys learn a language, then?’
‘Is that how it is in your country?’ the young man said, frowning. ‘That only boys may learn?’
She stared at him. ‘No. Of course not. Boys and girls both learn what they wish.’
‘Here, too.’ He smiled. ‘I am glad
to hear that America believes in educating its women.’
Khalil laughed. ‘I assure you,’ he said, clapping the young man on the shoulder, ‘it does!’
At a stall where fresh fruits lay heaped in abundance, a group of young women stood chatting.
‘It must be difficult,’ Joanna said to one of them, ‘to raise a family here, so far from modern conveniences.’
The young woman nodded. ‘It is not simple.’
Joanna’s brows arched as she glanced at Khalil, who stood several feet away, lounging against a stall.
‘Why don’t you leave, then?’ she said. Her voice fell in pitch. ‘Is it because Prince Khalil will not permit it?’
The young woman repeated Joanna’s words to her friends, who covered their mouths and laughed.
‘We are free to leave, if we choose,’ she said, turning back to Joanna. ‘But only a fool would wish to live in the south, under the rule of Abu. Surely, you know this.’
Joanna stared at the woman. I don’t know what I know, she wanted to say… But she only smiled.
‘Thank you for talking with me,’ she said.
She was silent when Khalil took her hand and drew her forward along the dusty street.
‘Well, Joanna?’ he asked softly. ‘Have you seen reality?’
‘It’s been a long day, Khalil. I’m tired. Can we go back now, please?’
He looked at her, then nodded. ‘As you wish.’
They made their way to where the horses waited. Joanna walked to the mare’s side and put her hand on the animal’s neck. She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead lightly against the coarse hair.
‘Joanna.’ Khalil’s voice was gentle and so was the hand he placed on her shoulder. He said her name again but she didn’t answer. After a moment, he spoke to his men. One of them reached for the mare’s reins, and they led her away.
Khalil clasped Joanna’s waist and lifted her on to the back of the stallion, then swung into the saddle behind her. His arms went around her as he gathered the reins into his hands, but she didn’t protest. A terrible languor had crept over her.