‘It is the way with these Al-Qadim men that they do not live well with itchy consciences. Hassan was honour-bound to tell Rafiq what he had done eight years ago from the moment he recognised your name.’
Leona led them up a wide staircase lined with pale cedar doors set into deep stone arches. It was a beautiful suite of rooms, wide, light and airy, in the coolest shades of pale aquamarine and ivory, with fretwork doors flung open to a balcony and the soft morning breeze.
A tiny dark-haired creature appeared from an adjoining room. She smiled at Robbie and held out her hand to him. ‘Would you like to come and explore?’ she invited.
Robbie looked at his mother; his mother looked at Leona Al-Qadim. ‘This is Nina,’ she explained. ‘She is a trained nanny. Robert, if you want to go with Nina, I promise you will have great fun.’
The boy went without any more encouragement. As he walked away Melanie could hear him throwing out questions again. ‘Are there camels here? Will I be able to touch one? Has my daddy got one I can see?’
‘His daddy must be very proud of him,’ Leona said gently.
‘He didn’t mention him to any of you,’ Melanie pointed out, and walked over to the open windows to gaze out on the kind of view she’d only expected to see on the television screen.
‘Rafiq is an—unusual man,’ Leona answered. ‘He is a brilliant mathematician, incredibly loyal to the few people he loves, but he is a law unto himself and always has been. And his private life is generally sacrosanct.’
‘Serena Cordero didn’t think so.’
‘Ah, Serena Cordero should be eternally grateful to you that you came along when you did.’ Leona smiled. ‘From what I can glean out of Hassan, Rafiq cancelled the rolling cheque that supported her dance tour, and which she was so fond of; then a few days ago he reinstated it. Said bitterness warped the mind, or some such clever phrase. We suspect this change of heart happened because you were busy turning him inside out. Though you will have to ask the big man himself, because he won’t tell us anything.’
‘So you speculate.’
‘Yes.’ Leona admitted it. ‘We feel we have to. We worry about him, you see.’ She released a sigh. ‘I know you might laugh at this, but beneath that big tough exterior Rafiq is vulnerable to hurt.’
But Melanie didn’t laugh. She shifted restlessly.
‘You
would have to know about the circumstances of his birth to understand this, his childhood living here in this palace as very much the resented second son of the old sheikh,’ Leona continued, unaware that she was confiding in one who already knew these things. ‘He is proud—too proud sometimes—and wary about letting anyone get too close to him. But from what Hassan has told me he took one look at you eight years ago and fell in love so totally that when you—’
‘Accuse me of betrayal and I will walk right out of here,’ Melanie cut in.
‘Take note of that,’ another deeper voice advised. They turned together to find Rafiq standing in the open door. There was a smile on his lips but his eyes were narrowed, and though he was attempting to look at ease Melanie could sense the tension in him, the anger that they were standing here talking about him like this.
‘You’re cross,’ Leona murmured. She knew him well, Melanie noted. ‘I was only trying to help Melanie to understand why we—’
‘Then let me help you to understand,’ Rafiq smoothly cut in. ‘My wife did not betray anyone. But your husband may require your help to convince him that he did not do something very similar.’
‘You’ve upset him.’ Leona sighed.
‘I forgave him,’ Rafiq returned.
‘Well, that only makes it worse!’ she cried. ‘You know what he’s like; he will prowl around now, seething with frustration!’
Rafiq offered her one of those bows. ‘Then may I suggest to my lady that she goes and joins him as he prowls?’
He was dismissing her, even holding the door open at the ready. Melanie decided she did not understand these people as she watched Leona Al-Qadim stroll up to Rafiq, smile and kiss him on the cheek before she left the room.
‘That wasn’t very nice of you,’ she remarked as he closed the door.
‘Leona is beautiful, charming and an absolute delight to be around, but she knows I dislike people meddling with my life.’ With that the red-chequered gut rah was dragged from his head and tossed aside. ‘As for you…’ He strode forward, sending her spine erect and at the ready. ‘You lied to me.’
‘I did not lie!’ she denied.
‘By omission you did.’
‘If your brother had kept silent there would have been no reason for you to know!’
‘That you came looking for me while heavily pregnant with my son? That you took the risk of yet more cruel rejection because you cared enough to try again? That you had to sit there listening to him scare you with the kind of scenario that would make any mother’s blood go cold?’