Master of the Desert

‘I wouldn’t go that far,’ he said dryly, but he was relieved that Antonia was recovering. This visit couldn’t have been easy for her, mentally strong as she was. So much for his determination not to get drawn in! He almost convinced himself that today was different, and that today he had no alternative other than to help her out; having agreed to help Antonia make the place habitable, he would delegate the work to the most appropriate team of experts the moment he returned to the capital, and at that time he would distance himself from her. ‘Now, I think you should rest.’ He was concerned for her, and worried that her enthusiasm for the project would make her forget that she needed to look after herself now.

‘Rest? Rest where?’ she said, gazing anxiously around the derelict ruin she had inherited.

Following her gaze, he felt her uncertainty, and her sense that the enormity of the task she had taken on might just be too much for her in her present condition.

Feeling nothing when she stared at him trustingly was a battle fought and quickly lost. ‘I’m going to take you somewhere to rest up where you can bathe in fresh, clean water.’

‘The water you’ll be bringing here,’ she said quickly, as if he might be allowed to forget.

‘That’s right,’ he said, admitting to rueful admiration as he went to fetch her horse. ‘The water you’ll need if you’re still interested in restoring this place?’ He turned to look at her when he’d checked the girth.

‘Still interested?’ she demanded. ‘You don’t know me, Ra’id.’

But he was beginning to. This time she didn’t pull away when he offered her a leg up onto her horse.

This just wasn’t fair. Of all the things Ra’id had said or done, bringing her here was the cruelest—somewhere so beautiful, so tranquil, so instantly enthralling.

They rode the short distance in silence. She didn’t know where Ra’id was taking her beyond his promise of rest and fresh water, but as they crested the dune and she saw his tented pavilion on the shore of the oasis she could have cried at the beauty of it—and with despair that this aweinspiring wilderness she was quickly coming to love could never be hers to enjoy free of Ra’id’s disapproval.

She felt gritty and grubby as she eased in the saddle to survey the limpid and oh, so tempting waters of an oasis streaked with moonlight. ‘What do you think?’ Ra’id asked, reining in his prancing stallion beside her. ‘I think it’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen in my life,’ she said honestly, starting the steep descent.

Leaning towards her, Ra’id steadied her horse. ‘If you want to take a dip, I’ll keep watch while you swim…to make sure you’re safe.’

‘You’d do that?’

‘Of course,’ he said, as if it were no big deal.

They had reached the flat ground, and Ra’id was waiting to help her down. ‘I can manage, thank you,’ she said, freeing her feet from the stirrups, but she was weary as she slid down from the saddle. She pulled herself round before facing him. The days of showing her soft underbelly to the world, and to Ra’id al Maktabi in particular, were well and truly over. ‘Would you like me to light a campfire while you see to the horses?’

Ra’id unbuckled the saddlebags and threw them over his shoulder. ‘If you’re up to it.’

‘I’m up to it.’ She rested one hand on her horse’s warm, steadfast neck for a moment, thankful for the survival course her brother had insisted she must take before involving herself in any more dangerous sports.

‘Then let’s set up camp.’

‘Do we have food?’

He patted the saddlebags.

‘You’ve thought of everything.’

Not quite. He had totally underestimated her, Ra’id concluded as Antonia walked ahead of him to the pavilion.

She wasn’t quite out for the count, and had enough fizz left in her to agree when Ra’id offered to light the fire after she had helped him with the horses. ‘You swim,’ he said. ‘Go on—you’ve earned it.’

She had nothing to prove, Antonia realised. She didn’t have to stand on her pride, or work herself into the ground. They’d been a good team, and they could both cope with outdoor living, though Ra’id understood this terrain a lot better than she ever would, and he would know just where to look for tinder.

She couldn’t see Ra’id when she reached the edge of the oasis, so she dropped her clothes and plunged naked into the water. The sudden chill on her overheated skin was like a healing balm, and as she powered into her first stroke she felt her cares float away. Everyone needed time out, Antonia reflected, rolling onto her back so she could stare up at the lantern moon. This precious time in the desert had been a welcome reminder that she could make a difference if she tried.