Governess To The Sheikh. Laura Martin

just asking the question to be polite.

      ‘They built this settlement around the oasis and they built strongholds around the other sources of water in Huria.’

      Malik’s face darkened for a second as he thought of the less scrupulous of his ancestors, who had held the people of Huria hostage by withholding water over the centuries.

      ‘Nowadays water belongs to every man, woman and child equally,’ Malik said, ‘but at certain points in our history the less principled of my ancestors used our most precious resource to hold the citizens of this kingdom hostage and enforce their rule.’

      ‘Surely living in such an arid climate sometimes you have to ration the water so it does not run out completely.’

      Malik was pleasantly surprised to see Miss Talbot take such an interest in his country. As he talked she listened to him attentively and did not let her concentration waver to other matters. It was rather enjoyable having someone to talk to who actually wanted to interact with him.

      Although he and Aliyyah had been married for nine years he had never felt able to talk to his wife about anything other than routine matters. She had not once asked him about his plans for Huria, or wanted to discuss his wishes and dreams. Most of that indifference stemmed from the fact that she resented having to marry him. Malik had known her heart was lost to someone else long before they said their marriage vows, but he had never questioned his duty to marry her and assumed she had done the same. Once they had been married for two months and Aliyyah had only ever spoken the words yes, husband or no, husband, Malik had begun to suspect her feelings about their marriage did not mirror his own. He’d never expected love, but he’d hoped for pleasant companionship, a woman to be Shaykhah of the kingdom he loved so much. In the years that followed they had led completely separate lives, only coming together to fulfil the rest of their duty and conceive heirs to the throne of Huria.

      He glanced again at Miss Talbot. She was the opposite of his late wife in so many ways. Whereas Aliyyah spent most of her life locked away in her rooms, Miss Talbot blossomed in the sunlight, and where Aliyyah’s default expression was the frown, Miss Talbot’s was a smile. It was refreshing to have someone so cheerful around the palace.

      ‘At times of drought we do ration the water, prioritising drinking water above all else. We’ve had some tough years, but thankfully nothing too terrible in my lifetime.’

      Malik watched as she digested the information, considering what he had just said. He liked how he could see her different thoughts as her expression changed.

      Malik sat back in his saddle and contemplated another way Miss Talbot was different to his late wife: he was attracted to her. He could not deny Aliyyah had been beautiful; she was admired by everyone. But there had been no spark between her and Malik, no fire, no passion. Miss Talbot was a different matter. She was passionate about everything and her self-confidence and happy demeanour made her glow. Malik had found himself trying to catch glimpses of her over the past few days, wanting to see her as she walked across the courtyard or shielded her eyes from the sun. Although they disagreed on many aspects of how to raise his children, Malik loved the fire in her eyes when they argued and her determination to convince him she was right. All of these things made her attractive, qualities Malik had never paid attention to in anyone else, but when Miss Talbot looked him in the eye and smiled that genuinely happy smile, he couldn’t deny the rise in his body temperature or the desire that flared inside him.

      * * *

      They rode at a comfortable pace, with Ameera and Aahil ahead, pestering Wahid with questions, and Malik and Hakim level with Rachel. She felt strangely contented, riding along with the Sheikh and his children. She knew she’d done a good thing here, asking him to accompany them. Already Hakim was appreciating all the attention from his father, and Rachel had seen the Sheikh’s face as he swung his son up on to the horse in front of them. There was no questioning he cared for his children, he just needed to be shown how to demonstrate it.