‘Exalted One?’
Rashid didn’t move, his heart unaccustomedly heavy. ‘What is it, Abdullah?’
‘The woman—Chantal—she has been leaving messages for you, O Sheikh.’
Rashid did turn round then, his narrowed eyes growing even more flinty than usual. ‘You dare to speak to me of such matters on the day of my wedding?’
‘I merely pass on messages, Sheikh, just as I have always done.’
‘Then pass them on no longer,’ said Rashid tonelessly. ‘I instructed Chantal not to contact me. She knows that I am a man of my word.’
‘Indeed.’ Abdullah nodded.
‘Did she choose one of the pieces of jewellery I left?’ Rashid enquired, as an afterthought.
Abdullah shifted uncomfortably. ‘She said that making a choice was impossible, Excellency.’
‘And?’
‘She kept them all.’
For a moment the Sheikh was still, and then he smiled a cynical smile. ‘So be it,’ he murmured. ‘Then there is nothing more to be said.’ He stilled once more as bells began pealing loudly in the palace courtyard. ‘She is here,’ he breathed. ‘Jenna has come.’
Moving stiffly in the heavy wedding gown, and surrounded by her women-in-waiting, Jenna made her way slowly towards the Throne Room, where Rashid awaited her.
And with her first glimpse of him a small, instinctive sigh escaped from her lips—for he looked as perfect as it was surely possible for any man to look.
He wore robes of silver, far plainer than her own, and from his belt hung the priceless Quador sword which was never far from his side. He turned around and his carved face was stern, but for one brief moment the dark eyes softened as he bowed his head with imperial grace.
He had got what he wanted, she thought as she moved across the crowded ornate room to his side—while her own wishes had been cast aside in the tide of his arrogant determination.
‘You look exquisite,’ he murmured.
And so did he. She bowed her own head, because, stupidly, the appreciative blaze from the black eyes had made it seem like the most wonderful compliment she had ever received. A tiny morsel thrown to a starving dog. ‘Thank you.’
The ceremony passed in a blur. Ancient words were spoken. Heavy crowns placed upon their heads. The wedding vows were quietly made—vows of love and endurance and fidelity. And, staring into the onyx glitter of his eyes, Jenna found the words all too simple to say. A wave of sadness rocked her, for she had loved him with all her heart, and deep down she suspected that she still could.
But as Rashid echoed her words of undying fidelity they sounded hollow and empty in her ears.
He placed a circlet of rubies on her finger as the words of the ceremony echoed around the high-vaulted Throne Room.
They were married. Man and wife. Jenna felt faint as her eyes were drawn to a sudden cloud-like spectacle outside the window—the blur of wings as a thousand white doves were released into the skies.
How free they looked, she thought wistfully. How carefree.
Rashid felt her tremble beside him as she watched the birds fly away. ‘What troubles you, Jenna?’ he whispered.
He did. She turned to face him, her brow criss-crossing with concern. ‘Will the doves not fly straight into the desert and perish?’ she questioned worriedly.
He gave a brief, hard smile. Did she think so badly of him? ‘I am not such
a barbarian as to condemn such living beauty to death,’ he demurred. ‘No, they will be carried on the warm thermals to more hospitable climes than Quador. Who knows? They may settle where no dove has ever settled before—a new beginning for them as well as for us, sweet Jenna.’
Jenna suppressed a sigh of longing. He could make his words sound like poetry—if only he meant them!
After the wedding came the feast in the Banqueting Hall, and there were murmurs of approval from the glittering assembly as they looked around, observing for themselves the vast wealth of Quador.
Meats were turning on vast spits. Huge bowls of jewel-bright and glistening fruits tempted the eye and the palate. But Jenna had little appetite for food and she felt dazed in the spotlight of so many curious stares.