by Penny Jordan
'Is it… is it the same people who tried to kill Saud?' Claire asked dry-mouthed, suddenly filled with dread.
'Possibly,' Raoul was cautious, deliberately casual, but Claire wasn't deceived, he was going into danger. She could so easily lose him!
'Raoul, you will be careful, won't you?' she begged, watching his frown deepen slightly as though he couldn't understand why she should be so concerned. Careful, she warned herself, another minute and he might guess the truth. If there was to be any dignity in the life she would share with him her love for him was something he must never suspect.
'I think I'm having your baby…' she told him huskily, knowing with deep feminine intuition that this was her strongest weapon, her greatest chance of keeping him safe. For his child's sake he would take fewer risks, think more carefully. 'I was going to ask you if I could visit the doctor when we go to collect Teddy. It's early days yet, but… but I'm nearly sure.' She couldn't stop herself from blushing as he looked at her and then came towards her, sitting on her bed, pulling her down on to his lap.
'So my prayer was answered,' he said softly. She was wearing a soft cotton dress that buttoned down the front and before she could stop him he was deftly unfastening the buttons. His palm felt warm against the bare skin of her stomach, still ridiculously flat. But the evidence was there in the fuller curves of her breasts as he unfastened her bra and exposed them to his warm gaze, his thumb gently probing her peaking nipple. 'My child.' There was something almost reverent in the way he breathed the words touching her breasts with tender lips; a curious fluttering stirred in her stomach as he pushed her back on the bed, his head lying gently against her stomach, his face turned into the warm skin. 'My child.' He said it again, his breath soft against her body, the tender way in which he kissed her bringing an aching lump to her throat and weak tears to her eyes.
He couldn't have been more adoring if he had actually loved her, and for the first time she realised how important his child was to him. She had glimpsed it with Saud, in the tender affection he had for the little boy, and she was overwhelmed by a feeling of humility, a great surge of love that compelled her to put her arms round him, cradling him against her body, feeling the awe and the vigorous sense of achievement in him because his body had proved itself so potently virile.
'You must take care when I am gone,' he murmured, slowly releasing her. 'I shall take you to see a doctor when I get back. And I shall come back, Claire,' he assured her. 'My child will not be brought up without its father or its mother. They will all be our children,' he added, as though he had looked into her mind and seen what she was thinking. 'Teddy, Saud and this…' he dropped a brief, hard kiss against her stomach, 'and this as yet unknown, growing within the protection of your body. We shall love and succour them all.'
When he left she was almost glowing with happiness. His things had been moved into her room, and he had reassured her yet again that he would not be absent for long. But her fragile bubble of happiness burst disastrously the following morning when Zenaide came in to say that Princess Nadia had arrived to drive her to the airport.
Raoul had said nothing about Nadia coming to drive her, but perhaps it was as well that this had happened, Claire decided miserably. At least it served as a reminder to her as to where his feelings really lay. He was glad now because she was carrying his child and would be a tender, caring father. But he would never love her as a woman—as he loved Nadia.
CHAPTER TEN
TRYING not to betray how dismayed she was that Nadia was driving her to the airport, Claire checked her appearance in her mirror. The pale buttermilk linen suit she had chosen looked chic and attractive, her skin betraying just the barest suggestion of a tan. Saud was going with her—Raoul had suggested that she take him—and as she went downstairs to meet Nadia Claire couldn't help wishing that Raoul was there to go with them instead.
Nadia, as before, was expensively and elegantly dressed, her eyebrows rising slightly as she glanced at Claire's suit.
'Chanel?' she questioned unhesitatingly. 'But then Raoul always was very proud and he would scarcely want it to be said that he could not afford to keep his wife decently clothed. He said to tell you that he might be delayed, by the way,' she threw casually over her shoulder as she led the way to the car, and Claire had to bite down on the exclamation of dismay which sprang to her lips. When had Nadia seen Raoul? He had promised to telephone her and she had stuck close to the palace all day waiting for his call. He could not find time to telephone his wife, but he did have time to talk to Nadia, or so it seemed.
The interior of Nadia's Mercedes was comfortably air-conditioned, the fine leather seats contoured to provide the utmost comfort, but Claire wasn't in the mood to appreciate the quality of the car's German engineering and attention to detail. Nadia said something to her chauffeur before closing the panel that separated the front of the car from the rear, leaning back in her seat and lighting a cigarette.
'So. You have a brother, Claire, and Raoul has discovered that he has another responsibility. It seems you have also been able to effect a reconciliation between Raoul and his father. You know I find that very hard to believe. Not even our uncle, the Sheikh, has been able to make Raoul overcome his bitterness towards his father—and it isn't even as though Raoul cares in the slightest about you. Oh, come,' she drawled when Claire would have spoken, 'you and I both know the truth. Raoul might have turned to you in a moment of physical need…' she shrugged elegant shoulders, 'that is only to be expected, but he does not love you Claire.
They had been driving towards the city and Claire frowned as they suddenly veered off the main road, heading for the desert. 'A short cut,' Nadia drawled languidly, noticing her reaction. 'It will help us to avoid the congestion of the souk. Have you been there yet, Claire? Most Europeans find it interesting. Has Raoul told you that had he been born of the Sheikh's brother and not his sister our marriage would have been permitted? That would have meant that in time Raoul would have succeeded the Sheikh.' She spoke almost absently and yet Claire had the feeling that something important was hidden in her words. 'In the East, the only way for a woman to wield power is through her husband. My husband is third in line to the throne. He was fifth in line until my cousin was killed, a most unfortunate accident, and then his baby son too was murdered, in London as it happened. He would have been about the age of your Saud. Indeed, I believe there is also a certain physical resemblance, although I must admit that I only saw the child twice. But then, of course, they are related. Why, Claire,' she commented, watching her, 'you have gone quite pale. Are you quite well?'
'It is nothing,' Claire assured her, driven by some impulse to inflict her own wounds by adding casually, 'The early weeks of pregnancy can sometimes be uncomfortable. You have two children of your own Raoul tells me, so you will understand…'
'You are carrying Raoul's child?'
Something had gone wrong, because there was triumphant delight in the dark brown eyes instead of the angry jealousy Claire had expected to see, and when she glanced out of the window Claire was disturbed to see that they were surrounded by desert, with the city nowhere in sight.
She glanced at her watch, frowning as she realised the time.
'My brother's flight—' she began urgently.
'Unfortunately you will not be there to meet it,' Nadia interrupted with ill-concealed venom. 'You are far too trusting, Claire, and have played right into our hands. Hasim was right to guess that you would be our most powerful weapon. You and Saud, who we both know to be the son of my cousin, my dead cousin,' she repeated, 'and not Raoul. Oh yes, it was a clever move, and for a time you had us fooled. We truly believed that Saud had perished as he had been intended to, but Hasim was suspicious about this marriage between you and Raoul, and about the child you were supposed to have borne him. Raoul is a clever man, but not clever enough. He forgot about this.' She touched the birthmark on Saud's leg mockingly. 'This is something Saud inherited from his mother. She was my half-sister.' Her mo
uth curled in mocking contempt. 'She was also my father's favourite. I was too much a rebel, too greedy for power and riches—like Hasim. Has Raoul told you nothing of Hasim, my brother?' she added. 'It was Hasim who urged my father to forbid the marriage between us. Raoul, like the Sheikh, is far too philanthropic. If it were left to them all the wealth we derive from our oil would be wasted on coaxing the desert to flower, on educating ignorant tribes people, but they will not be allowed to do so. Now that we have Saud we can force the Sheikh to abdicate and Hasim will take his place on the throne. We have turned too much to the West in recent years, but once Hasim is in power things will be different.'
Nadia's brother was the leader of the rival faction? Did Raoul know of this?
'Raoul, of course, suspects nothing of this. No one does,' Nadia continued, almost as though she had guessed Claire's thoughts. 'Hasim has been at great pains to remain in the background, but soon the day will come when he can take his rightful place as leader of our country, and you have helped us, Claire. With Saud in our hands my uncle will refuse us nothing, and I am sure that Raoul will also pay us well for the return of his wife, especially as she is carrying his child.'
'I thought you loved him.' The words escaped stiff lips as Claire tried to come to terms with what Nadia had told her.
'Loved him? A man who considered his pride more important than me? He could have changed his religion as my father directed but he refused, and humiliated me with his refusal, and I swore then I would be revenged upon him. Of course, he does not know how I feel. It is very easy for a woman to conceal her true feelings from a man, isn't it, Claire? I believe you love him, don't you?'
Averting her profile, Claire stared out of the window. Ahead of them she could see a fringe of palm trees against the horizon and bleakly remembered the oasis she had visited with the Princess. As they travelled along the straight road, the palm trees grew larger and Claire saw that they were indeed heading towards a small oasis, although whether it was the same one she had visited earlier she could not tell. Half a dozen black tents stared blindly at them as the Mercedes swept past in a cloud of dust. Nadia laughed tauntingly as she saw her expression. 'Ah no, I'm afraid there will be no opportunity for escape nor for rescue…'
'But Raoul will know the truth, he will know that I left for the airport with you.'
'By that time it will not matter. Once we let the Sheikh know we have Saud, we shall no longer need to preserve any secrecy.'
Although she talked glibly about ransoming her, Claire suspected that neither she nor Saud would be allowed to live, and as she looked down at the small boy asleep beside her Claire thought wretchedly how she had let him down—and not just him but Raoul as well. Her hand fluttered towards her stomach, the gesture arrested by Nadia's mocking laughter. 'Poor Raoul, he will be beside himself with concern when he learns what has happened, won't he, Claire? Not concern for you, of course, but for the child you carry. You can only be in the very early stages of pregnancy, an acutely vulnerable time…'
She wasn't saying anything that hadn't already raced through her own mind, and Claire turned her face back to the window, pushing down the hood of her burnous as she stared through the tinted glass with burning hot eyes. She wouldn't give Nadia that satisfaction. A cloud of dust on the horizon caught her attention, and Nadia grimaced as the Mercedes swiftly overtook a small cavalcade.
'Badu! The Sheikh and Raoul seek to educate them—when Hasim is in power money will not be wasted on such folly.'
'If your brother does turn towards Russia, do you honestly suppose you will be allowed to retain your wealth?' Claire asked quietly. 'A communist country would never…'
'I shall not stay here.' Anger flashed in the dark eyes. 'Hasim has promised that when this is over I can live wherever I wish. The world shall be my oyster, Claire.'
'And your brother, does he honestly believe he will be able to retain control of the country?'
'Hasim is clever. He has the support of a certain religious faction which is against our present progress. Omarah is too far away from Russia to be strictly controlled, and we have the wealth to protect ourselves.'
So Hasim would use Russian aid to gain control of the country and then once he had he would betray his former allies? Somehow Claire did not think he would be allowed to get away with such treachery.
It was growing dusk when eventually the Mercedes came to a stop at a small oasis. A cluster of tents crouched by the waterside. 'Out,' Nadia commanded, thrusting open the door, and wrinkling her nose fastidiously as they were enveloped in a cloud of sand. A small, squat man, heavily robed, approached the car.
'Well, brother dear, I have brought them to you as I promised,' Nadia called out gaily, 'and it is even better than we hoped. She is carrying Raoul's child.' She cast a taunting look over her shoulder at Claire. 'So we shall have to be extra caring of her welfare. Any news from the others?'
The man she had addressed as her brother switched into harsh Arabic, and both of them ignored Claire as she stood swaying in the darkness, overcome by heat and exhaustion, Saud a heavy weight in her arms. They were miles from anywhere and even as the thought of escape occurred to her, she was forced to admit that there was nowhere for her to escape to.
'You will be pleased to know that your husband is busy trying to vanquish the rebels,' Nadia taunted her, reverting once more to English. 'But my brother's men are skilled guerrillas and it will be some days yet before Raoul is able to return. By that time we will already have been in touch with the Sheikh.'
Before Claire could stop her, she picked Saud from her arms, showing him to her brother, pointing out the tiny betraying birthmark.
'We lost three valuable people in London. As well as paying for you, Raoul will have to make reparation for them. I hope he values his child-to-be highly, Claire, for if he does not…' She laughed when she saw Claire's expression and tormented, 'Oh you need not worry, we shall not hurt you, you will simply be set free… The desert has its own methods of punishing intruders.'
She was taken to a tent, far less luxurious than the one she remembered from before, and a surly girl brought food and water. Saud was fretful and remembering how cold desert nights could be, Claire wished she had something to wrap round him to keep him warm.
Although she had been sure that she would never sleep, she did so, so heavily that it occurred to her when she woke, cramped and cold just before dawn, that her food must have been drugged. Her main fear that Saud would be taken from her had not been fulfilled. As their chances of escape were nil, it was probably easier to allow her to continue looking after him, Claire decided, trying to coax him to drink a little of the water she had been brought by the same surly girl who had served them the night before.
She could hear sounds of activity from outside, and then the flap of the tent was thrust aside, and Nadia strolled in. 'Farewell, Claire,' she drawled. 'From now on Hasim will take care of you. I am returning to the city—to see how the Sheikh reacts to our demands. I doubt we shall meet again…' She was deliberately trying to frighten her, Claire knew, but she refused to give in to the insidious tug of fear spreading swiftly through her veins.
'You will never be able to get away with this,' she retorted with more assurance than she could feel.
'You think not? Who is there to stop us? Raoul will never discover where you are. Never!'
Claire knew that she was probably quite right. After the tent flap was dropped in place behind Nadia, she heard the Mercedes purring away and then silence, punctuated only by brief outbursts of Arabic. Apart from the same girl who had brought her food earlier Claire saw no one all day. She tried to keep her spirits up by playing with Saud and by forcing herself to take some simple exercise—walking up and down her tent—but the relentless tide of fear she was constantly trying to hold at bay wouldn't relinquish its cruel grip.
Another night passed, another dawn was heralded by the now familiar sounds of the camp, then disturbed when Claire heard the sound of a vehicle arriving
and a staccato burst of conversation. Had the Sheikh responded to their threats already? She was being foolish to hope, Claire berated herself, Hasim would never allow them to go free. While Saud lived there would always be another contender to the throne. Instinctively her arms fastened tightly round the little boy as she heard impatient footsteps approaching the tent.
They were taken outside and forced to sit beside the oasis as Claire witnessed tents being taken down and placed in sturdy Land-Rovers, and heard shouted, muddled instructions on the cool morning air. As the sun gradually rose, all signs of occupation of the oasis were swept away. They were obviously going to move on, but why? Had the Sheikh somehow discovered where they were? Hope flamed in Claire's heart, only to be doused when Hasim approached her. He was flanked by two men, both carrying rifles, and Claire stiffened automatically, remembering the scene in the breakfast-room of the Dorchester.
'Thanks to the ingenuity of your husband, we are forced to move on to a more secure place. Oh no, you are not to come with us,' he murmured, when Claire moved towards the nearest Land-Rover. His eyes rested on her body and he shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. 'Is it true that you are carrying his child?'
When Claire nodded her head, too weary and terrified to lie, he grimaced. 'You will not survive to bear it, I fear, but as any man who takes the life of a woman with child is thrice cursed by Allah, I cannot do as Nadia would no doubt insist and use these,' he indicated the guns carried by his men, 'to bring your life to an end. You have two choices. Either you leave the oasis now, taking the child Saud with you; or you remain here, where you might survive until you are found, but we shall kill the child before we leave.'
