Lucy drew in a deep breath. “I’m sorry. Tell me again. Why does your mother want to see me?”
“She said I should not tell you. That you seeing, is the best. No, I was talking about the Princess who will soon be Queen. We are all very excited. She is of the best noble family.”
Lucy’s heart sank. “What’s she like?” She tried to keep her voice neutral, tried not to express the aching jealousy that surged within her.
“Very beautiful of course. She has large—”
“No,” Lucy interrupted, trying to contain her irritation at what Aakifah had just said. “What’s she like as a person?”
Aakifah shrugged. “We know only what she looks like. People like us know little about the rich people in our country.”
“Does she do good works? Does she help people?”
“Oh no, that is not her job. All we know is that she is a very suitable wife for the King, it will be very good for the country.”
“In what way will a woman who keeps herself to herself be good for the country?”
“It is about tradition, connections. Of course she will not be of real help in other ways.”
Anger blazed inside, burning away the hurt and jealousy. She remembered the times when Razeen had appeared in public—so distant from his people, so different to the real Razeen. He’d said that that was what was expected, that that was what his country needed. But how could that be so, when people like Aakifah and her family needed more practical help than watching their royal family uphold tradition?
“Of course.” Lucy finished her coffee. “Shall we go?”
Aakifah helped Lucy step over some fallen pieces of sheet metal and led her to a narrow doorway in a old stone wall. Lucy followed Aakifah through the open door and found herself in a small, dark room, crammed with women. Lucy recognized Aakifah’s mother who smiled at her and spoke a stream of Arabic.
“My mother offers you a thousand thanks for coming.”
“My pleasure. I’m very pleased to see her again.”
She sat where indicated and returned the mother’s eager nods of welcome. “Perhaps you could tell your mother that I hope she is well?”
Aakifah nodded and was greeted by a barrage of foreign words from her mother. She nodded a few times before turning to Lucy. “My mother thanks you and says that she’d asked you to come because of my little sister.” Aakifah pursed her lips together grimly. “She is the youngest of eight of us but my mother insisted she breast feed her. But my mother hasn’t been well. She’s been very tired and my sister is pale. She has the white sickness.”
“The what?”
“I don’t know what you call it but a few years ago a doctor who was treating my cousin for it said there were tablets you could buy overseas. Could you help us get some please?” Suddenly everyone was quiet; the tension in the room was palpable. In the gloom, Aakifah’s eyes shone. “She just lies there: she doesn’t play, she can’t concentrate. We are so worried she will become like my cousin, whose parents could not afford the treatment.”
“Let me see her.”
Lucy was no doctor but a quick check of the little girl made her realize the girl was suffering from extreme anemia.
“You need to get her to a doctor.”
“We cannot afford the doctor. My mother said I should ask you what to do. I’m sorry, but we didn’t know what else to do.”
“That’s OK. You did the right thing. I’ll get the palace doctor to call. It looks like anemia to me, but the doctor will need to confirm before we start treatment. What does she eat?”
It only took Lucy a short while to identify the problem. Their diet was seriously deficient in iron. She knew from her studies that the bread, which was their main staple food, could be contributing to their inability to absorb iron and the children were all breastfed from mothers who were often lacking iron themselves.
“I will ask at the palace and arrange for a doctor to come to you.”
“But we can’t pay.”
“Luckily, I can.” She put her hand on her friend’s arm. “No, really. I’m happy to help. Don’t worry. And I’ll see what else can be done to help you and other girls like your sister. Leave it with me.”
Lucy arrived back at the palace and immediately tried to see Razeen.
“He’s not available.” The assistant was polite but firm, different to the day before. Lucy suddenly realized just how much things had changed.
“I’ll wait.” She smiled, equally firmly, at the assistant and sat outside his suite of offices.
The assistant crossed her arms. “That will not be convenient. His Majesty will not be able to receive you today. He has other matters to deal with.”