Master of the Desert(28)

She would bring everything to a halt if that were the case, Antonia  determined, but for now … The women carried a twinkling veil reverently  over outstretched arms. To try it on, just once, was irresistible. The  veil sparkled bewitchingly, exceeding any fantasy image she could ever  have come up with-and were those tiny jewels sewn onto the floating  panels? Blue-white diamonds? The veil was clearly precious and  significant to the women, judging by the way they handled it.

And they weren't finished with her yet, Antonia realised when they had  draped it over her head and shoulders. Now they were going to secure it  with the most fabulous rope of turquoise-and-coral beads. The turquoise  toned beautifully with the robe, while the coral could have been chosen  to point up the warm-blush tint in her cheeks.

What on earth had she done to deserve this?                       
       
           



       

That was her first thought, and it was swiftly followed by who is this? as an older woman entered the tent.

The older woman shocked Antonia into silence by explaining that  Signorina Antonia Ruggerio had been adopted as a daughter of her tribe.  'And my name is Mariam,' she said. 'I will be your advocate, should you  require me in the discussions to come.'

What discussions? Antonia wondered. And she could speak for herself,  though she nodded and smiled politely. It must be something to do with  the charity, she reasoned. This was a culture she knew little about, and  if she wanted to forge ahead with her work it would be wise to have an  interpreter-at least until she was fluent in the language herself. But a  daughter of the tribe? That was a good thing, wasn't it?

Mariam pretty much confirmed these thoughts, explaining that once the  most powerful tribe in Sinnebar had accepted Antonia as a daughter she  would have no trouble persuading the rest of the country to support her.

Well, anything that would help to spread the reach of the charity was a  good thing, Antonia supposed. Learning that Ra'id was the head of this  most powerful tribe came as no surprise-but if he was also the head of  the ruling council, who was going to refuse him? 'How does that work?'  Antonia murmured, thinking out loud.

With a faint smile and a low bow, the woman called Mariam walked gracefully out of the pavilion.

Ruling council, my foot! Antonia thought, starting to pace. Once again,  everything had been decided by Ra'id. She could see the point of the  fabulous costume now. This wasn't a treat, it was a set-up, a shrewd  move by Ra'id to involve her in some ceremony far away from the prying  eyes of the world in an exotic setting he believed would seduce her. The  ceremony probably wasn't even legal. She would be no more secure than  her mother-no more visible, certainly. So much for her fantasy of the  silken veil! She would be a prisoner in a silken veil, Ra'id's  love-slave, until he tired of her.

She whirled around when he strode into the tent. 'Ra'id!' Mariam had  entered behind him, and she was followed by the girls who had helped to  prepare Antonia for their sheikh.

Ra'id stood in the centre of the pavilion, an ominous force dressed all  in black, still with the howlis wrapped round his face. 'From now on,'  he informed her, 'this is how it will be. These women will wait on you  and I will not see you alone again until we are married.'

'Married?' The word choked off any air supply she might have had in her lungs.

'That is what you wanted, isn't it?'And before she could protest-Yes!  No! Not like this!-he went on, 'Now you are an accepted daughter of the  tribe, I must observe the formalities laid down.'

'Centuries ago?' Antonia challenged him, almost beside herself with shock.

'Oh no,' Ra'id replied evenly. 'Somewhat longer than that, I should think.'

'You are joking?' Then, realising the women standing behind Ra'id were  still waiting for her instruction, Antonia remembered her manners and  invited them to sit down.

Once everyone was seated, she went up to Ra'id; staring into his eyes,  which was all she could see of his fierce face behind the headdress, she  hissed, 'Did you think to ask me first? Did I miss something before you  disappeared yesterday?'

The expression in Ra'id's eyes remained as shrewd and as dangerous as ever. 'I thought you liked surprises,' he said mildly.

'Some surprises,'Antonia agreed. But surprises came in many forms. The  chance to dress up in pretty clothes was nice, but when it came to  matters of the heart-things that really mattered-like a marriage between  two people …

She'd done with surprises, Antonia realised. It would be helpful if an  alarm rang on the day you grew up, she reflected-helpful to everyone,  especially Ra'id. She could no longer be seduced by a visit behind the  silken veil, or by fabulous jewels and clothes that looked as if they  had been sequestered from the set of a Hollywood movie. Or by some hasty  marriage ceremony that probably had no legal standing outside this  tent. Before she'd come to Sinnebar? Yes; she had been impressionable  then, before she had met and fallen in love with a man called Saif. But  now there was just one man and one woman, or there should have been. And  you could forget the trimmings; she didn't need them. She would never  settle for anything less than a real marriage based on love. She  certainly didn't intend to be bulldozed into the most important decision  of her life just because this was expedient for Ra'id.                       
       
           



       

'What do you think you're doing?' he demanded as she started tugging off the rope of jewels holding her veil in place.

Ra'id had underestimated her for the last time, Antonia determined. 'If  you don't know … ' she said, and then, conscious that they weren't alone,  she added more discreetly, 'Do you mind if we walk outside? Only I'm  feeling a little faint in here.'

'Of course.'

Ra'id was immediately concerned about her.

About her pregnancy, and the welfare of his child, Antonia amended as the ruler of Sinnebar escorted her out of the tent.

He was at her side in a moment. Pregnancy must have weakened her, he  realized. There was some shade inside the pavilion, but no  air-conditioning, plus he and the other women were used to the heat.

Having removed her veil and carefully placed the rope of precious jewels  on top of it, she took a moment to reassure the women and thank them by  miming with expressive hands. They looked at him for reassurance too,  and with a brief dip of his chin as he strode past them he confirmed  Antonia's wishes. This was not the child-woman he had first encountered  on his yacht, but a woman of purpose who made her own decisions.

She made for a group of palm trees where he had sheltered the previous  evening and there she stopped. 'What's wrong?' he said, joining her in  the shade.

'This-all this,' she said with a sweep of her hands over the jewelled  gown. 'More toys for me to play with, Ra'id? I grew up with this-I  thought you knew that. I have fourteen wardrobes crammed full of clothes  back in Rome. My brother gives me everything that money can buy; at one  time I thought that beautiful clothes and wonderful jewellery, eating  at the best places in Rome, was all it took to make me happy. I took it  for granted, because that was my life. But it's not enough, Ra'id. I've  seen more now, and I want more.'

'More?' He hated the disillusionment spilling from Antonia's lips,  though he wondered if he had ever seen her looking lovelier than she did  now with the morning breeze tossing her hair about and a vision of the  future in her eyes.

'I don't mean more stuff,' she said, perhaps sounding younger than she  had intended. 'I mean more time to be us-to be real-to do real things.'

'If you mean time to work for the good of the charity?' he said.

'Yes!' she exclaimed. 'If you'll let me work for Sinnebar, I'll put my  whole heart into it. I don't need this pomp and ceremony, Ra'id. And, as  for becoming a daughter of the tribe, it's very kind of you-but it's  too late for me to become anyone's daughter. I'm not a child any longer,  Ra'id. Can't you see that?'

His proposal for the tribe to adopt her had been his way of smoothing  Antonia's path so that they could be married. He had come to this  conclusion without consulting her, he realised now. He hadn't even told  her how empty his life would be without her. In fact, life without  Antonia was unthinkable. But had he told her that? Slowly unwinding his  howlis, he stood staring out at the desert over which he ruled. He had  made much of that desert into a garden for his people to enjoy and to  nurture and harvest crops on. Was there as much hope for him?

Then she placed her hand on his arm and stared up at him, pleading. 'Don't drive me away.'

'That's the very last thing I'm trying to do.'

'Then you must know I would never settle for anything less than a marriage based on love?'

Ra'id held her gaze. He looked more magnificent than she had ever seen  him. There wasn't a single item of his clothing, or even his expression,  his hair or his eyes, that wasn't unrelieved black, but she loved him  without fear or favour. What did his outer coating matter? When she had  seen him in regal robes of royal blue trimmed with golden thread and  yellow sapphire, had she loved him more? Saif, in his worn, frayed  shorts and faded top was the man she had fallen in love with, and they  were one and the same. Except, Ra'id al Maktabi was a man turned hard by  duty. But Ra'id's fearful title didn't frighten her. She wouldn't allow  anything to stand in the way of the people they could be. 'You were  wrong about me liking surprises,' she told him softly. Still with her  hand resting on Ra'id's arm, she explained, 'There are some surprises I  do not like at all.'