the curtains serving as his spotlight. Her beauty was now possibly the biggest challenge of his day, for Mikael was momentarily sideswiped. Her black eyes were huge in her exquisite face, her hair thick and glossy, and her complexion quite simply flawless. His eyes roamed her face—as far as Mikael could tell she wasn’t even wearing make-up. She was the first woman to actually stun him—so much so that when she held out her hand Mikael handed her his drink.
How did that happen? Mikael wondered as he turned again and made another drink—for himself this time.
‘I am Princess Layla of Ishla,’ Layla said, because, given Mikael’s poor manners, perhaps he was not aware of to whom he was speaking.
‘Really?’ Mikael said.
Layla waited for him to continue.
‘So you’re the reason I was almost late for court this morning.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘Your convoy held me up,’ Mikael said. ‘Look, I don’t know what your issue is—in fact I don’t even want to know. I’m in the middle of a very complicated case and I am going on leave soon.’
‘I know all about your case, but I need for you to speak with my brother. I want you tell him that I am taking a week off from royal duty and that he is not to look for me or inform my father.’
‘Can’t you tell him that?’
‘I have written it all in a letter that he must be reading about now. I need you to reiterate the contents to him,’ Layla said. ‘If I speak with him it will get all emotional and I might back down—that is why I want you to do it for me.’
‘You need an embassy.’
‘No,’ Layla shook her head. ‘I do not want to make a big incident—unless I have to, of course.’
He heard the warning note in her voice, saw then the fire in her eyes, and he understood why Wendy had been unable to say no to her. She was pretty unstoppable.
Mikael, though, could not be manipulated. ‘As I just said, I am near the end of a huge case. I’m not taking anything else on.’
‘You will make one phone call for me,’ Layla said. ‘But first you can arrange for some refreshments to be brought in.’ It had been a long afternoon of shopping after all.
Mikael felt the shock from the muscles in his face as they broke into a smile.
Was she for real?
‘You want me to arrange refreshments before I make your phone call?’
‘Just something light.’ Layla nodded. ‘Maybe some fruit, and also something sweet.’
Mikael pulled out a roll of mints. ‘Here’s your refreshments.’
She took one and popped it in her mouth, and he watched her eyes widen in delight as she rolled the mint across her tongue.
‘I like.’
So too, Mikael decided, did he!
‘ONE PHONE CALL,’ Mikael said.
But there was no way, Mikael knew, that this was going to go away with one phone call. He had only agreed to it because Layla had eked from him the first smile he had given in weeks.
He opened the curtains and invited her to take a seat.
‘First, though—’ Mikael went on, but Layla interrupted.
‘I give you some details.’
‘No,’ Mikael said. ‘First we need to discuss my retainer.’
‘Retainer?’
‘I’m very expensive,’ Mikael said.
‘Oh, you want payment up-front?’
‘Absolutely.’
‘I have this.’
Mikael was a master at keeping his face impassive—poker would have been a lucrative hobby if he’d so chosen—but even he was struggling as, from her tunic, Layla took out a stone that looked more like a paperweight and placed it on the desk between them.
‘It is called Opium,’ Layla explained. ‘It is a rare black ruby that was gifted to me by the King of Bishram on my birth, so I would expect it to be worth quite a bit.’
Mikael said nothing at first. He just stared at the stone that was almost as beautiful as its owner and thought of her walking the streets with that in her pocket. After a long stretch of silence he picked it up and decided to put it in his safe for now, then he sat back at his desk and looked at her. ‘What exactly are you hoping to achieve this week?’
‘There are things that I would like to do before I marry.’
‘Such as?’
‘They are not your concern. All I want is a week of freedom from my duties and a week away from my family.’
‘To do what?’ Mikael persisted. ‘If I’m to ring your brother then I need to know what you intend to get up to.’
‘I would like to dance,’ Layla said. ‘It is forbidden in Ishla. And I would like to try an Irish coffee….’
‘There are other drinks.’ Mikael smirked.
‘My brother mentioned Irish coffee once, many years ago. I thought it sounded nice that the cream stays at the top.’
‘What else?’
Layla looked across the table at Mikael. For the first time in her life she felt a little… Layla tried to decide how she felt. Intimidated? She wasn’t sure if that was the right word, but it had never entered her head that Mikael might say no to her request. More than that, though, the effect of his smile had unsettled her stomach in a way she did not understand.
Certainly she wasn’t about to tell him all the adventures she was seeking—though her eyes did fall to his mouth, which she had briefly imagined upon hers, but then she met again the cool of his gaze. ‘I don’t know you well enough to tell you,’ Layla said.
‘How long have you been planning this?’
‘For quite some time,’ Layla admitted.
‘Would your family have guessed that you were going to escape?’
‘No.’ Immediately she shook her head.
‘‘You’re sure of that.’
‘Very sure,’ she said. ‘I learnt a very long time ago that I get in trouble if I tell anyone my thoughts.’
‘You
