Falling silent, Gina helped herself to some bread and a few olives. Soon she would have to tell Jake about the extra job Zahir had asked her to do—but not yet. She wanted the chance to complete her presentation on the Heart of Courage first. When Jake’s work was also completed, and he was thinking about travelling home, then she would tell him. The man was so ambitious that for all she knew he might be funny with her because she’d been asked to undertake the inventory and he hadn’t. It definitely wasn’t above him to be jealous and petty about her perceived good fortune.
‘It is another world here, isn’t it?’ She forced herself to be sociable and friendly.
‘By the way, there’s the most bizarre rumour going round that the Sheikh was shot by some rebels the other day when he went to try and make peace with them. He wasn’t killed, obviously, just wounded. This place is like some kind of paradise lost, but I still get the feeling that anything could go off at any time, don’t you? I didn’t see him at all yesterday. Do you think the rumours are true?’
Schooling her expression to stay calm, Gina swallowed some food, then delicately touched her napkin to her lips. ‘I don’t think we should speculate about it. If it is true then I only hope the poor man is resting and recuperating as he needs to, so that he can heal.’
‘I don’t like to think we won’t be able to finish our presentations if he really is laid up with a gunshot wound. We’ve both worked hard these past two months. I don’t want it all to be for nothing.’
Finally Gina lost patience. Pushing to her feet, she glared at the man, who was dressed in another inappropriately garish shirt this morning. ‘Don’t you ever think about anybody but yourself? The palace has paid for you to travel first class, and we’ve been waited on hand and foot, as well as receiving a generous advance for our research on the Heart of Courage. I’d hardly call that “nothing”, would you?’
Throwing her napkin on top of her plate, she marched away, leaving the two sweet girls who had been assigned to serve them staring at her as if she was a species from another planet.
In his study on one of the upper floors, the sound of girlish laughter reached his ears. Frowning in puzzlement, Zahir moved across to the sandstone and mosaic embrasure and glanced out. There were two women seated at the marble inlaid table in the intimate courtyard below, where a silk canopy protected them from the fierce midday sun. One wore the traditional black garb of a widow, and the other a long coral silk dress with a loose white overshirt and an incongruous straw hat that made him smile.
Seeing them together, clearly enjoying each other’s company, was a revelation. Rarely had a sight and sound given him more pleasure. Without knowing he’d intended it, he found himself outside, approaching the table where they sat. When the women started to rise from their seats he gestured for them to stay where they were.
‘I was beginning to fear I would never see you smile or hear you laugh again, my sister.’
‘It is all Gina’s doing. See how good she is for me? Not only is she clever and kind, but she has a wicked sense of humour, too.’
‘Is that so?’ Immediately Zahir’s interested glance moved from his sister to the fair-skinned woman seated by her side. Her lovely blue eyes had been brimming with humour just a few moments ago, but now, beneath his scrutiny, her expression turned serious. He didn’t know why, but it grieved him.
‘Good afternoon, Your Highness,’ she murmured.
‘You are looking very well, Dr Collins.’ He smiled. ‘Like a rose plucked from an English country garden and planted out here in the desert.’
‘Such a rose probably wouldn’t survive in this heat.’
‘If it was tended and looked after by an expert gardener, I have no doubt it would blossom.’
Helplessly, he fell into a trance, his skin prickling hotly with languorous need. He ignored the fact that his sister was staring at him speculatively. Then Gina reached out to gather up some papers that were strewn across the table, and Zahir snapped out of the hypnotised spell that had overcome him.
‘I will let you get back to your conversation. I apologise for disturbing you both,’ he muttered, then turned abruptly and strode away.
As his dark robes flew out behind him, his booted footsteps ringing out across the paved courtyard, Farida frowned. ‘My brother does not seem at all like his usual self this morning. It could be that he has suffered a sleepless night because of his wounds. You know he was wounded in a skirmish with some rebels the other day?’
‘Yes … I heard what happened. It was a shock.’ Lowering her lashes, Gina tried to scan some of the notes she had made with regard to the inventory that was underway, but all she saw on the screen of her mind was the disturbing heat in Zahir’s riveting dark eyes. It made her press her thighs together beneath her dress, because suddenly she ached to the very core of her being for his ardent lovemaking.
Inevitably, she remembered the night she had surrendered her virginity. The erotic electricity their bodies had generated had been so powerful, so magnetising, that when he had penetrated her she hadn’t experienced the slightest pain or discomfort. Their bonding had been so perfect, so natural, that she had no doubt it had been written in the stars.
Realising that Farida was waiting for her opinion, Gina strove for a reassuring smile. ‘Your brother … His Highness … is clearly a very strong, fit man, and I’ve no doubt that he’ll make a full and speedy recovery.’
The other woman shrugged. ‘That is what I tell myself, too. But no matter how strong he is, he is not infallible. No one is. This house has known too much death of late. It needs new blood to revitalise it and give us hope. Perhaps it is a good thing that Zahir intends to marry soon. Even if I cannot agree with his bride of choice.’
Feeling as if her breath had been seared inside her lungs, Gina stared in shock. ‘The Sheikh is getting married?’
Farida sighed and nodded. ‘His intended is an Emir’s daughter. She is plump and plain, and I’m sorry to say not very clever. Thank Allah he is not looking for scintillating company, because he won’t enjoy such a thing with her. No … He has only seen the girl once or twice, but her family rule a great kingdom, too. It is a marriage of convenience my brother has planned, and I see nothing but pain and unhappiness ahead for him should he go through with it.’
It was hard for Gina to speak because of the dryness in her throat. ‘But what about the Heart of Courage’s prophecy that all your family will marry for love, not dynastic advantage?’
‘You know about the jewel?’
She’d forgotten she wasn’t supposed to mention it to Farida. Her heart raced as she quickly sought to explain. ‘Knowing I was going to undertake an inventory of the palace artefacts, I did some research before I came and discovered the existence of the jewel. It’s got quite a history.’
Leaning forward, Farida grabbed Gina’s hand. ‘I totally believe in the prophecy! One cannot and should not argue with fate. As soon as I set eyes on Azhar I knew it was meant that we should meet and fall in love. In fact I loved him from the very first moment, and I will not stop loving him for the rest of my life—even though he is gone from me. My heart keeps him alive. Do you understand?’
‘I do … I believe everything you say, Farida. But your brother …? He doesn’t believe in the prophecy?’
‘He does not. I have tried to talk to Zahir many times about it, but he will not listen. Because my parents married for love, and my father pined for my mother so much when she died that he himself passed away shortly after, and then I sadly lost Azhar, he is scared to experience a love so profound in case he will be a broken man if he should lose it. There is no convincing him otherwise. He can be very stubborn at times—especially when he thinks he is right!’
‘So