it to her mother in her own mind.
‘That ring is always worn by the Crown Prince’s bride.’
‘Your brother didn’t give it to his wife,’ Elinor could not resist reminding him.
Jasim gave her a grim look. ‘But he should have done. It was hers by right.’
‘You still don’t believe what I told you about my mother and Murad, do you?’ Elinor prompted tightly.
‘I’m sure my father will confirm the story … if it is true,’ Jasim completed in a sceptical tone that set her teeth on edge. ‘Your own father neglected to mention it.’
Astonished by that casual comment, Elinor snapped, ‘When did you meet my father?’
‘Soon after you staged your vanishing act. Naturally I traced your father to see if you had been in touch with him.’ Jasim recalled the obsessively tidy house and the absence of a single photograph of Elinor. He had not been impressed by the older man’s lack of concern for his only child. ‘He promised to contact me if he heard from you.’
‘My father would never have acknowledged that his first wife enjoyed a romance with one of his students before their marriage. It always annoyed him, particularly as their marriage wasn’t very successful. Did he tell you how stupid I was in the academic stakes?’
Jasim froze. ‘No—why would he have done?’
‘Because I was a major disappointment in that field.’
‘When you disappeared, I was worried sick about your welfare,’ Jasim admitted flatly. ‘Enquiries were made at all the agencies dealing with nannies—’
‘While I was pregnant I took an office skills course as retraining. I thought the hours would suit me better after my baby was born. My flatmates became my friends,’ she confided. ‘Alissa and Lindy were marvellous.’
‘I am grateful that you had their support but had you given me the choice,’ Jasim breathed, ‘I would have been there for you.’
As the private jet landed Elinor noticed the crowd of people outside the airport. ‘Why are all those people standing outside?’
‘Our arrival is quite an event. Sami’s existence has been formally announced and it is probably safe to say that he is currently the most popular baby in Quaram,’ Jasim shared with an amused smile. ‘My brother’s death was a great shock to everyone and the continuity of the royal line means a great deal to our people.’
Several rows of smartly dressed soldiers teamed with a military band, as well as a smiling collection of dignitaries, greeted them on their descent from the plane. A stirring musical score backed the formal welcome while just about everyone craned their necks to get a look at the baby in Elinor’s arms. Rested from his nap, Sami, his big brown eyes sparkling, was looking around with great interest. From a polite distance and only at an affirmative nod from Jasim, cameras flashed to capture the royal party.
A limousine decorated with flags and ribbons collected them from the runway. Surrounded by police vehicles and preceded by motorcycle outriders, they were wafted from the airport into the city and port of Muscar. Everything was much more contemporary and western than Elinor had somehow expected and she scolded herself for not having done more research on her future home. The wide streets of the city were packed with people waving at the cavalcade as they drove past. Jasim gave her a running commentary, directing her attention from the stunning ultra-modern skyscrapers and landscaped green spaces that marked the business district to a conservation area, known as the Old City, where ancient mosques, souks packed with craftsmen and listed buildings were proving a strong draw to the tourist industry.
Soon after he pointed out the main government offices, he added quietly, ‘There is the palace.’
The limousine rounded a vast fountain before turning down a huge imposing drive lined with trees. Gardeners were industriously watering the lush lawns. Ahead loomed a vast structure with a very strange-looking wavy roof that was the ultimate in avant-garde design.
‘It’s … er … very unusual,’ Elinor remarked.
‘Murad commissioned it and it won several design awards. I think it looks more like a hotel than a home and my father detests it, but this will be our home when we are in Muscar. I still believe that the old palace outside the city could have been successfully renovated.’
A throng of people were waiting outside the imposing front entrance. Jasim explained that the crowd was composed of the household staff and he took charge of Sami to make it easier for Elinor to get out of the limo. Perspiration beaded her short upper lip at the same moment that she left the coolness of the car. The heat from the sun beat down on her. Within seconds she felt hot and uncomfortable. She was also starting to feel rather overwhelmed by the level of interest and attention and exceedingly nervous about meeting Jasim’s father, King Akil. All the women hung over Sami with intense interest and admiration while Jasim translated the appreciative comments. It crossed her mind that Murad would have been less gracious and patient with such humble employees.
It was wonderful to step into the air-conditioned cool and shade of the palace. It was built on a very grand scale: the vast main hallway, walled and floored in pale gleaming marble, would have passed muster at an airport. She lingered below the refreshing blast of the air-conditioning until her silk dress no longer felt as though it was sticking to her skin and she had rediscovered her energy.
Jasim rested questioning dark eyes on her. ‘Are you feeling all right?’
‘It’s incredibly hot out there,’ she muttered apologetically, wishing she could retrieve the foolish words almost as soon as she spoke them, for what else could it be but very hot in a desert kingdom in mid-summer?
‘It will take time for you to get used to the higher temperatures. Do you want to take a break before you make my father’s acquaintance?’ Jasim queried.
‘No, let’s just go ahead now.’ Elinor swallowed back the additional words ‘and get it over with,’ which would have been less than tactful. But she really wasn’t looking forward to the coming meeting. She was the pregnant foreign wife Jasim had married behind his father’s back, a wife who had then disappeared for well over a year. She could hardly expect King Akil to look on a humble nanny with that history as a worthy match for his only surviving son.
They trekked a long way through the building. Footsteps and voices echoed to create a noisy backwash of sound. Eventually they reached a set of double doors presided over by armed guards. The doors were thrown wide, an announcement made by a hovering manservant, and finally they were ushered into the royal presence.
Elinor was shocked by her first view of Jasim’s father, who was resting on an old-fashioned chaise longue that seemed ludicrously out of place against the extreme modernity of his surroundings. White-haired, clad in traditional robes and as thin as a rail, King Akil was much older than she had expected and he looked very frail. Formality ruled as greetings were quietly exchanged and then Jasim broke the ice by carrying Sami over for his grandfather’s examination. An immediate smile chased the gravity from the older man’s drawn face.
‘He is a fine handsome boy with bright eyes,’ the King commented approvingly to Elinor in heavily accented English. ‘You named him after my great-grandfather as well. You have excellent taste.’
Elinor went pink with pleasure at that unexpected compliment. She had picked her
