laughed. ‘A feast. It is a very interesting idea.’
‘What do you mean?’
He kissed her deeply. Then he helped her to her feet. ‘Patience is a virtue, don’t they say?’
‘I’m not feeling at all virtuous.’
He laughed again. ‘No more am I, but we really must go. I have a banquet of a very different nature to attend. Besides, it will be dark soon, and the biting insects which infest this water will make their appearance. It is high time we returned to the palace.’
* * *
‘What is going on, Stephanie?’
She had not seen Rafiq for five days when he strode into the stables wearing his state robes, though he had discarded his headdress. He had been on a tour of the outlying villages. He looked tired and harassed and she was going to ignore that silly little lurch of her heart, because unless she had a tropical disease, she knew perfectly well that hearts did not lurch.
‘I take it Jasim has been to complain about me.’
‘With good reason, on the face of it. This is a stud, Stephanie. We breed horses. In order to breed horses, we need to bring the stallions in to cover the mares.’
‘But we have established that the source of the sickness is located at the stallions’ oasis, Rafiq.’
‘We don’t know that for certain. We searched the paddock thoroughly and found nothing to justify halting the main function of these stables, never mind the sweeping changes you are proposing. It can’t be done.’
Jasim had done his work well, Stephanie thought. ‘If I had known you had returned, I would have discussed the matter with you personally as a matter of priority.’
‘In all fairness, the smooth running of the stables is Jasim’s responsibility.’
‘Curing the sickness and preventing its spread are what you appointed me to do. If that requires me to make temporary changes to the regime here, then that is my decision, not Jasim’s. And unless you wish to terminate my employment, it’s not your decision either.’
Stephanie did not raise her voice. She mimicked the soft, deliberate tone Rafiq used when he was playing the Prince. She did not let the fury she was feeling show on her face, though she kept her balled fists hidden in the folds of her tunic. She held his gaze determinedly. His expression was always difficult to read, but she understood the nuances now. The way his sleepy lids flickered when he was challenged. The slight downturn of his mouth, when he was holding his feelings in check. And the lift of his brows, when he was forced into an unpalatable decision.
‘Explain to me, the rationale for these measures, if you please.’
Tempted as she was, Stephanie refrained from pointing out that she would have been more than happy to, had he asked her. Though she didn’t doubt that Rafiq valued her honesty, he still found any questioning of his authority a challenge, to say the least. ‘Complete isolation,’ she said. ‘Now that we know that the source of the problem lies somewhere in the oasis, even though we do not know exactly what, we can prevent the disease from spreading. It is the same method I have seen used effectively in containing the spread of yellow fever or typhus among sailors in port. Your stallions at the oasis will still be at risk until we find the source, but there is no other secure place to move them. If we keep them isolated, we can protect the stables, and if we keep the Sabr horses isolated too, then there is no reason why you can’t race them.’
Rafiq frowned, tapping his fingers against the gold buckle of his belt. ‘The work of the stud will be suspended.’
Bloody Jasim! ‘But you won’t lose any more stock,’ Stephanie said through gritted teeth, ‘unless another stallion is infected.’ She sighed, pushing her hair back from her face. ‘It is a lot to ask. To suspend your breeding programme, to have different storage for foods, to keep so many different paddocks operating in isolation, but it means you can enter the Sabr, Rafiq, which is surely more important than anything else, including Jasim’s wounded pride.’
‘But there is no evidence. If I had proof...’
‘Oh, for heaven’s sake!’ she exclaimed, finally giving way to her frustration. ‘Even if I could give you incontrovertible proof, Jasim would still not co-operate. It will be just exactly as it was before. You will take his side again, in the end.’
‘What exactly do you mean by that?’
That soft whisper. That icy tone. Stephanie took an involuntary step back, but then she collected herself, crossed her arms, and held her ground. ‘He told me that you sided with him over Princess Elmira. He meant it as a warning. I thought you trusted me, but it seems he was right and I was wrong.’
She turned away, but Rafiq caught her. ‘Wait.’ The blaze of anger in his face took her aback, but it quickly dissipated. ‘My Master of the Horse will not have his way this time. Implement your measures. I will speak to Jasim, tell him to hand over the stables temporarily to Fadil, while he remains at the training grounds. That way he will not interfere with your work. You understand the risk I am taking by placing my trust in you? I can ill afford to lose Jasim before the Sabr.’
Stephanie threw her shoulders back, standing ramrod straight, as if she were on parade. ‘I understand perfectly, Your Highness.’
Rafiq gave a curt nod, and turned on his heel. Stephanie remained where she was until she was sure her emotions were under control. He took my side, in the end, Jasim had said. And he very nearly had, again. Jasim must have had one of his many spies alert him to Rafiq’s return. She could imagine, all too easily, how he would have slanted his case against her.
Why hadn’t Rafiq sought her out? Why hadn’t he listened to her side? But he had. Stephanie uncurled her fists and her toes. He had sought her out, he had listened. He had taken her side. In the end. It might feel like a defeat, but it was a victory. And a very real reminder too, that Rafiq was a prince first, foremost and last. She rolled back her shoulders and made her way back into the stables, because she was a veterinarian first, foremost and last, with a job to do.
Alone in her private dining room the next evening, Stephanie picked half-heartedly at the fragrant array of dishes set out in front of her and wished she could escape the somewhat oppressive atmosphere of the harem for a while. But unless she wished to pay another visit to the stables, she had nowhere to go. The huge palace was effectively out of bounds to her, without Rafiq’s express permission, and she wasn’t foolish enough to imagine that she could go for a walk alone in the desert after dark. Though that, she thought, wandering listlessly into the courtyard and gazing up at the stars, is what she would like to do.
Though she had not seen Rafiq since yesterday, he had obviously had words with Jasim. The Master of the Horse had taken himself off to the training grounds, and his absence had considerably eased the tension in the stables. Fadil had been apologetically co-operative, asking her quietly if she believed the measures would allow the Bharym horses to compete in the Sabr. Her answer in the affirmative had certainly expedited the implementation of her orders.
She was sitting on the edge of the fountain, gazing distractedly down into the darkened basin when Aida arrived, bringing with her the summons. Assuming that Rafiq wished her to report
