'I'll show you round so you know where everything is.' She looked very small and very young, clutching her child close to her, but he could understand Beth's apprehension. She had made a brave decision, and could sense that she was in Q'Adaran territory now. He led the way into a comfortable lounge, as spacious as anything she might find in a luxury hotel, hoping to reassure her. 'If you need anything, you only have to ask.'
'Thank you,' she said politely, with a face that was carefully expressionless.
'No one will disturb you, but if you require anything you only have to ring this bell.'
Her eyes widened and then quickly became masked again. 'If you show me where everything is, I can help myself … '
As she stopped speaking and looked at him, he saw she knew that he didn't know where anything was. He only had to ring a bell and whatever he wanted came to him. He had never had to go looking for a thing in his life. 'The staff will do that for you,' he said. 'You don't want to insult them by refusing their help, do you?'
'That's different, then,' she agreed as he tried not to notice her delicate perfume.
He showed her more rooms located off a long and luxuriously carpeted corridor, conscious that this was the first time in his life he had ever acted as a tour guide. She started talking to Hana, explaining things to her, showing complete disregard for his instructions about holding conversations with a royal baby. 'And just in case you need a doctor,' he said, indicating another room, 'this is the medical centre.'
'I sincerely hope we won't need a doctor.'
'And there are two bedrooms at this end of the plane, each with cots. Feel free to choose whichever you like. I have my own quarters at the front of the aircraft, so you won't disturb me.'
'I wouldn't dream of it.'
He continued on as if he hadn't heard her. 'And my support staff will be at the rear of the plane in a completely different section, so they won't disturb you.'
'That's reassuring, isn't it, Hana?'
'There are three bathrooms, all with a shower and whirlpool bath.'
'And a good stock of towels?'
'Of course.'
'Have you ever thought of going into real estate?' she said.
'And there's a cinema in here.'
'No swimming pool?'
He stopped, and turned to face her.
'Do you have a cot for Hana in the lounge?' she said innocently. 'Only I didn't see one.'
'I'll have one brought in for you. And there's a professional nanny on board. I would have ordered two if I'd known Faith couldn't be here.'
'You'd have ordered one?-like pizza?'
He looked down at her.
'Not like pizza, like people you value, Khal, because they're part of our team.'
'Our team?'
She blushed. 'I don't need a nanny, thank you very much. No offence to the nanny.'
'And none taken … by the nanny.'
He flew the plane too. Couldn't he delegate anything to other people? Beth wondered as Khal left her in a swirl of robes that cast up the scent of sandalwood and amber. That was how she would always think of him, Beth realised as her heart lurched, the rugged warrior sheikh with his darkly glittering glamour, and his dangerous, cold black eyes.
The flight was smooth and uneventful, and when the landing gear went down Beth was surprised to find she was excited by the prospect of returning to Q'Adar. Gazing out of the window, she realised things were starting to change for the better under Khal's rule. In the time she had been away, and even taking into account the uprising, he had managed to transform large tracts of desert into a garden of crops. She wanted to congratulate him, but when they landed and the plane drew to a halt on the tarmac she was disappointed to see a limousine waiting for her, while a smaller, faster car sped away with Khal at the wheel.
This was how it would be, Beth realised: the ruler of Q'Adar on a faster and more demanding track, while his illegitimate baby daughter and her mother slipped into the shadows behind tinted windows. But she couldn't help feeling a sense of anticipation at the thought of making things work out for the best for Hana in Q'Adar. At least until Khal told them it was safe to go home. She would never think of Q'Adar as home, would she? Beth reflected as the limousine slid past the soothing sight of orange groves, packed with ripe fruit glowing like tiny Halloween lanterns in the fast-fading sun.
Gunning the engine of his Ferrari until it threatened to take flight, Khal was still debating how exactly Beth was going to fit into court life in Q'Adar. Pure instinct had made him bring her here without any of his usual thought and planning, but when there was a threat to those he cared about he acted fast and decisively. He had never brought a woman to the palace before, and yet here he was with a ready-made family. He'd have to find something to keep Beth busy and out of his way …
'This is our life for now,' Beth whispered to baby Hana as the limousine slowed in front of the grand entrance of the palace. She was taking comfort in the warm baby-scent, with her face buried in Hana's downy black curls, but when she saw the Dowager Sheikha waiting to greet them at the top of the steps her head snapped up. 'Oh, great,' Beth breathed with genuine pleasure, her face lighting with enthusiasm as she remembered how kind Khal's mother had been to her on her previous visit. All the plans Beth had been making on the way to the palace-To achieve any one of them she'd need an influential supporter.
Oh, great, Beth thought, biting her lip as she began to lose confidence. She couldn't imagine Khal's mother would feel much like playing fairy godmother when the clumsy shop-girl from the ball returned to the palace with a royal baby in her arms …
Beth's stomach was performing cartwheels by the time the Dowager Sheikha, minus her usual entourage, came purposefully down the steps. But the driver was opening the door, and there was nothing for it but to get out with Hana and face the music.
'Welcome to Q'Adar, my dear!'
Khal's mother swooped on them, enveloping Beth and Hana in a flurry of floating lavender fabric, delicious scent and tinkling jewellery. Was it possible she had changed so much the Dowager Sheikha didn't recognise her? Beth wondered. 'Well, hello again.' She dipped into a curtsey, fully expecting the bubble to have burst by the time she rose to her feet.
'No need for that, dear.' The Dowager Sheikha put her hand beneath Beth's elbow to support her as she rose again, and her perfume made Hana sneeze. 'Oh, she's adorable! May I hold her?'
'Of course … ' Beth was still trying to accustom herself to the warmth of her welcome.
'This is what we need in Q'Adar,' Khal's mother confided as they walked up the steps together.
'What's that, Your Majesty?'
'Young blood,' the Dowager Sheikha insisted. She paused at the top of the steps to give Beth a quick once-over.
And how did she rate? Beth wondered, thinking back to all the glamorous princesses Khal's mother had assembled at the ball for her son's approval. It was hard to tell what the older woman was thinking behind those penetrating, raisin-black eyes.
'Shall I hand Hana over to the nurses for you? My son has engaged an army of support staff.'
Beth recoiled. 'No.'
'No?'
The last thing she wanted now was a disagreement with the nicest of women, but, like her son, the Dowager Sheikha wasn't used to hearing the word 'no', unless it came from her own mouth. 'No.' Beth spoke more gently this time. 'Hana won't be needing an army of support staff, but what she does need is rest after such a long journey. We're not used to being separated, you see-'
'Not even at the store?' the Dowager Sheikha interrupted. 'I understood that when you're working Hana is in the crèche?'
Exactly how much had Khal told his mother? Beth wondered. 'I'm on hand all the time, and a very good friend of mine-a school friend who lives with us-works at the crèche and is with Hana every moment.'
'I see.' Khal's mother considered this. 'You seem to have it all under control.'
Beth kept her thoughts on that to herself.
'I admire you, Beth Torrance.'
'You do?'
'Yes.'
Touching Beth's cheek, the Dowager Sheikha smiled at her, and for the first time since leaving England Beth felt a little glow of confidence blossom inside her. Maybe she would achieve a few of the small things she hoped to, things she believed she could offer Q'Adar in the short time she would be have. With Khal's mother on-side, the future didn't seem so bleak. But she would never get used to this, Beth thought, as servants bowed and doors opened in front of them as if by magic.