Her grip tightened on the handset until her bones creaked painfully. ‘What’s happened? Is Grandfather okay?’ she demanded.
‘Oh, yes. I’m sorry, piccolina, I didn’t mean to scare you. He’s having a better day today, and has been making a bunch of calls all morning. He tried to call you a few times, and you know how he frets when he can’t reach any of you.’
Allegra sagged onto the bed in relief, and cursed herself for not taking her phone with her to the banquet. ‘Can I talk to him?’
‘Sì, of course. Hold on.’
Allegra squeezed her eyes shut, dismay at the news she was about to deliver eating her alive.
‘Allegra mia?’ her grandfather greeted her, his voice much stronger than it’d been a few days ago.
‘Yes, I’m here, Grandfather.’
‘Where exactly is here? You’ve had an old man climbing the walls with worry,’ he admonished.
‘I’m still in Dar-Aman. I’m sorry, I was at dinner and I didn’t bring my phone with me. I... I was going to call you when I got back to New York tomorrow.’
‘With good news, yes?’ Naked hope pulsed in Giovanni’s voice.
Allegra’s throat clogged with shame and sorrow. ‘Grandfather...’ She stopped, unable to find the words that would break his heart.
‘I spoke to Matteo an hour ago. He had good news for me regarding the necklace I sent him to find.’
Her heart lurched, and she forced a swallow before she could speak. ‘I’m glad, but I couldn’t... I don’t think I’ll be able to retrieve the box for you.’
Heavy silence greeted her confession, broken once by her grandfather’s deep, ragged exhalation. ‘Was it not there?’ he asked, his voice bleak with disappointment.
‘It was...it’s here. But Rahim...the sheikh, is refusing to part with it.’
Giovanni exhaled again. ‘I’m not surprised. It was his mother’s treasured possession and must hold sentimental value for him. But... Allegra mia, my need is greater, and I’ve reached a point in this life when I can afford to be a little selfish about my needs.’ The confession was hushed, his voice now whispery with desperation. ‘If you have seen it, if it’s within your grasp, then don’t fail me, ragazza mia. Per favore.’ The raw, anguished plea held a note so viscerally harrowing Allegra’s eyes prickled.
‘This isn’t just a box to you, is it, Grandfather?’ It couldn’t be, not when the thought of not having it back was breaking his heart.
‘No, it’s not,’ he confirmed. When he didn’t elaborate, Allegra blinked back her tears and forced strength into her voice.
‘I’ll bring it back, Nonno. I promise.’
Giovanni exhaled shakily. ‘Ti amo, nipotina.’
Allegra pressed the end button. She knew what she had to do, but didn’t allow herself to think beyond her next breath, her next step.
Catching up the wrap she’d dropped on the curved window seat earlier, she tugged it over her negligee and hurried to the door.
The hallway was silent, half of the lamps turned off. The double doors Nura had told her about loomed ominously before her. Fuelled by adrenaline and the promise not to fail again, she grasped the ornate golden handles. A part of her had feared the doors would be locked. After all, wasn’t that how harems worked? Or did Rahim allow whatever woman wanted him to just sail through the doors and into his bedchamber at their whim?
The thought brought acid distaste to her mouth, but not enough to stop her from walking through the doors and shutting them behind her. The hallway snaked into semidarkness, with a single Tiffany lamp burning on a delicately balanced console table a dozen feet away. Holding her breath, Allegra followed the run of Persian rug, her footsteps muffled by the thick carpet. In the curve of the hallway, she stopped. Heart hammering, she took in the twin Moroccan lanterned lamps bracing either side of giant carved doors.
She didn’t need a sign or plaque to tell her those were the doors that led to Rahim’s chamber. The heat flooding her veins and the quickening of her blood was evidence enough. But if that wasn’t enough, as she forced herself to move closer, his lingering scent curled around her senses. Her nostrils quivered, along with every screeching nerve ending in her body.
Desperately pushing the sensations away, she raised her hand and knocked lightly. She suppressed the half-formed plan bubbling at the edge of her mind and waited. After a full minute, she tried again, then pressed her ear to the door. Fighting not to give in to the voice screaming at her to reconsider what she was doing, she opened the door, again surprised when it gave way.
The living room was vast and probably as breathtaking as the rest of the dreamlike palace, but Allegra was too preoccupied with blocking out the many and varied consequences of being caught to appreciate its beauty. Instead she searched frantically, hoping against hope that the cabinet containing the trinket box had been moved from the bedroom to the living room.
When that optimism was dashed, she hurried, dry-mouthed, through the Moorish arch that led into another room.
Her blood pounding loud enough to drown out every single sound, Allegra entered Rahim’s bedroom and stopped. Beneath her bare feet, the softest carpet cushioned her soles, making her toes curl for a delicious second before the sheer visual heaven of her surroundings flattened her.
Although she’d expected it to be grand and opulent beyond her wildest imagination, the sight of Rahim’s bedroom made her jaw drop. Every imaginable luxury had been lavished on the room, from the magnificent chandelier from which the stunning frescoes etched into the ceiling seemed to flow from, to the solid gold framed mirrors and paintings positioned around the room.