Master of the Desert(16)

But this wasn't all about work. While she was here she would find Saif  and tell him about their baby. What would happen next was a little hazy  at the moment, but she was sure they could come to a civilised  arrangement.

She would succeed in achieving all her goals this time, Antonia  determined. She had a child to protect and set an example for now-a  miracle she was still getting used to. And expecting a child had only  intensified Antonia's longing to know her mother. She was more  determined than ever to find out what she could about Helena's life in  Sinnebar. Finding Saif was perhaps the most important goal of all.

She'd settle for that, Antonia realised, tightening her grip on the  briefcase that held all the paperwork relating to the charity. If  anything, it was Saif who had given her the courage to continue this  adventure, and just knowing she was in the same country as the man was  enough to make her heart fly. She had a good feeling about this as she  disembarked the aircraft.

He had watched her progress over the past three months, knowing she  would come back to Sinnebar. She had no other option if she wanted to  extend the reach of her brother's charity. Antonia Ruggiero, daughter of  Helena Ruggiero; Tuesday; Wild-child; Criminal; Cheat.

Lover …

She had bewitched him once and would never be allowed to do so again.

He thanked the immigration official on the other end of the phone for  informing him that the individual under surveillance had landed, and  replaced the receiver in its nest. He would see Signorina Antonia  Ruggiero at the meeting in his government offices this afternoon.  Antonia had no idea he would be there. He would surprise her at her  appointment with his Minister of Charities.

Had it been a chance meeting on his yacht three months ago? How likely  was that? He would trust no one with Helena's blood in their veins, and  the coincidence was too much for him to swallow. Antonia had come to  Sinnebar, like her mother before her, to weigh up the ground before  greedily scooping up whatever she could. No wonder she hadn't been  prepared to tell him her name. The charity she represented might be  wholly above board-he'd had it checked out-but as far as he was  concerned Helena's heir was a cheat out to rob his people of their land.  The reckless escapade on a local fishing-boat was nothing more than  vanity for the indulged wild-child of an Italian industrialist with more  money than sense. Antonia Ruggiero had set out to deceive him. She was a  criminal with a plan to steal his people's land-a woman who thought she  could stroll back into the country and threaten him with her mother's  bequest.

Let her try. He was ready for her.

Ra'id smiled grimly as he buckled on his belt with the royal insignia emblazoned on it.

'Signorina Antonia Ruggiero,' a quietly spoken man announced.

As the double doors shut silently behind her, Antonia was instantly  aware of an atmosphere of ceremony and history. She could see the  majestic council-chamber with its high, vaulted ceiling had been adapted  to modern life with consoles and monitors positioned in the centre of a  highly polished oval table, but nothing could take away from the  craftsmanship around her. The gilt scrolling on the ornate plasterwork,  like the exquisitely tiled floor and the artefacts decorating the room,  was magnificent. Lifesized murals on the walls picked out scenes from  Sinnebar's past, while giant gold vases at least twice her height stood  like sentries at the doors. The floor-to-ceiling windows allowed honeyed  light to flood in, and the air was scented and streaked with sunbeams.  She felt it was a privilege to be here where time was measured in  millennia rather than minutes.                       
       
           



       

Air-conditioning cooled her as she walked deeper into the room, and as  she drew close the dozen or so men seated round the table stood and gave  her the traditional greeting.

'Gentlemen,' she said, dipping her head politely before taking her seat.  She had dressed for the occasion in a sober, beautifully tailored suit,  in a subtle shade of dove grey that was both comfortable and modest,  and she was wearing hardly any make-up. Her hair was neatly tied back,  and though she had already given one presentation that morning her  enthusiasm for the charity project had kept her fresh and alert.

She had left that last meeting with a positive feeling. Many of the men  the sheikh had chosen to sit on his council were family men and they had  quickly come to share her passion for the concept. This meeting was the  final stage before Sheikh al Maktabi put his seal of approval on the  scheme. She had been assured he would, as the ruler of Sinnebar always  put the interests of his people first. She fully expected to start work  on a centre for parents and children to enjoy in the next few  weeks-providing the ruling sheikh would allow her to use some of his  land for the project.

He had to-he must-Antonia determined. Ra'id al Maktabi famously cared  about his people. How could he refuse such a simple request?

She was halfway through her summing up when the huge, arched golden  doors at the far end of the room swung open. She felt a shiver of  prescience and, following everyone else's lead, she stood up.

The thought of finally meeting the formidable Sword of Vengeance was  both a thrilling and terrifying moment for Antonia, but as she turned to  catch her first glimpse of him the light streamed into her eyes. It  made no difference. She could still sense his animal power as he strode  towards her.

Tall and lithe, the ruler of Sinnebar was bearing down on her like a  jungle cat, deep blue robes rustling rhythmically as he walked. At his  waist a jewelled symbol flashed.

Fear rippled down Antonia's spine. She had imagined the infamous Sword  of Vengeance would be older. Sheikh Ra'id al Maktabi of Sinnebar's  reputation was built on the solid rock of dedicated service to his  country, but she could see now that this was a man in the prime of  life-and that for some reason he disapproved of her.

'Signorina Ruggiero.'

'Saif … '

The breath shot from Antonia's lungs as His Imperial Majesty, Sheikh  Ra'id al Maktabi, clasped her hand Western-style in greeting. She would  have known that grip anywhere, and the name Saif had escaped her lips  before she'd had chance to think.

But now …

Antonia began to shake as a debilitating fear swept over her.

'Water,' she heard a man's voice command and then someone was drawing  out a chair for her and she sank back. That same someone had stopped her  falling, and now he settled her into the chair, and she found herself  staring down the long stretch of table into the face of a man who was  both a stranger and her lover.

And the father of her unborn child.

The realisation that the father of her baby was none other than the  Sword of Vengeance was a devastating emotional blow. Most things she  could get around, but not this.

Any hope she'd had of finding Saif and living happily ever after had  just been crushed. How could she tell this man-this formidable king-that  she was carrying the heir to his throne? When would she tell him? Would  he be willing to grant her a private audience-or would he find out  somehow and steal her child?

He was darker than night and twice as dangerous, she thought as Ra'id al  Maktabi stared coldly down the table at her. He would think her a  gold-digger, or worse, if she told him about the baby, and would almost  certainly demand that any child of his would be brought up in Sinnebar.

At his signal the hiss of the air-conditioning was instantly subdued to a  hum. 'Don't let me throw you off your stride, Signorina Ruggiero,'  Saif-the man she must now think of as His Imperial Majesty, Sheikh Ra'id  al Maktabi of Sinnebar-insisted evenly. 'Please continue.'

He made a gracious gesture with his hand, but she wasn't fooled. This  was a man everyone obeyed on the instant or suffered the  consequences-which would be swift and terrible, Antonia suspected.                       
       
           



       

Sipping the water they had given her, she tried desperately to collect  her thoughts. It helped to think about the child inside her, the child  who depended on her, and then she widened these thoughts to encompass  the many children who were helped by the charity she represented, and  who depended on her getting this right. 'Gentlemen,' she began,  determined to pick up the discussion without too great a pause. 'I do  have some spare proposals with me.' She turned to one of the  ever-present servants at her elbow. 'Would you be good enough to hand  this copy to His Majesty?' she asked politely, passing over a neatly  bound folder of printed notes.

'You make a persuasive case, Signorina Ruggiero,' Ra'id concluded as he  brought the meeting to a close. 'I will consult with my council, but I  am persuaded to allow you to open a branch of your charity in Sinnebar.'