Page 18 of At the Sheikh's Bidding
She felt unaccountably disappointed. She’d imagined she’d be spending the day with him, exploring the harem. She couldn’t have said which disappointed her most. “But… I only have a week.”
“You can stay longer if necessary.”
“No, Ireallycan’t.” She didn’t trust herself to stay longer.
He shrugged. “Then we will have to make sure we make the most of the time you have available.”
There was something in the way he said it, which made her think he wasn’t talking about searching for the diamond.
He beckoned to a waiting assistant before turning back to her. “I will have someone show you the library. You’ve been given unlimited access to its contents, which I think you will find interesting.” He stepped away. “I’ll see you later, Janey.”
She huffed a frustrated sigh and followed the assistant into the palace. At least she was by herself and wasn’t that what she’d wanted? But there was a part of her that was attracted to him, that longed for the connection he offered. But she knew she couldn’t let herself go down that road. She had a job to do, and she didn’t need the complications a man would bring. Especially this man.
CHAPTER8
After collecting her laptop from her room, the assistant escorted her to the older part of the building where the library was housed. It turned out to be nothing like Janey had imagined. The moment the assistant had pointed out their destination—the white minaret towers which pierced the bright blue sky—she’d felt a surge of hope. It was quickly followed by a sense of relief when the large double-doors were unlocked for her, and she entered what appeared to be a series of rooms in one of the oldest parts of the palace.
She was back on familiar ground. Libraries had always been her refuge in times of trouble. Even the smell of them—aged paper and dusty corners—calmed her. As soon as the assistant had gone, she began to explore. Apart from one specially air-conditioned room in which some of the more important papers were kept, most of the books and papers were stored as they would have been for centuries, stacked on ancient shelves. She looked around with satisfaction. She’d happily spend all her time there, safe from Amare’s interest and her own instincts, her brain safely immersed in times long ago. Times which were far from her own world and all its problems. Janey opened her laptop and got to work.
The hours slipped by as she pored over the papers and books, making notes, taking photos on her phone of images, and sifting through books and scrolls and manuscripts of which no other copies existed. It was only when the lowering sun shone directly into her eyes that she looked up, distracted, and realized she’d spent the whole day there.
She stood up and stretched, luxuriating in the peace she’d found in the library and satisfied with the information she’d uncovered. And she was also excited. She glanced down at the fragile yellow map she’d found. It was a plan of the harem quarters, showing exactly where they were in the palace. It also did one other thing. It allowed her to find her own way there, without Amare’s help. She glanced at her watch. She had time before dinner.
She was glad she’d changed into the scarf and abaya. Apart from wanting to fit in, they were also more comfortable than any of her other clothes in the heat. Now, she was glad of them for another reason—their anonymity. She let herself out of the library, locking it with the key the assistant had left with her, and headed in search of the harem buildings.
From time to time, as she walked through the labyrinthine medieval palace, she glanced at her phone where she’d taken photos of the map. She would have been as lost as she’d been on the first night without it. At first, the narrow passages were busy with palace workers leaving work for the night. She slipped on her sunglasses and lowered her gaze, worried she’d be identified as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But no one gave her a second glance, and she moved on, ever deeper into the palace.
After what felt like hours but must have been only half that, Janey arrived at a garden. She frowned and looked once more at the map. No, she was definitely in the right place. The map marked the garden as the harem garden. It looked like a secret garden, overgrown with fragrant climbing plants run wild. The limbs of forgotten trees reached into the darkening sky, catching the last light of the sun.
She checked the map again and peered through the dark tangle of shrubs and trees. A ray of orange light glinted against something on the far side. She stepped out from the relative shelter of the cloisters and into the garden. She soon saw what kept the vegetation so rampant. Water spilled from a broken fountain, feeding the vines, which swung in the evening breeze. She continued through, pushing away the wayward branches, and then she saw what had caught her eye. The dying sunlight was deepening to a dark blood red, making the ancient stonework over a recessed door glow as if it were translucent. Precious stones decorated the archway, lit up like fire as if to signify the importance of the entrance.
At first she didn’t try to open the door, stunned as she was by its beauty. Hope surged through her. Swiftly followed by confusion. Why would such a jewel be left to decline in a corner of the palace? Why wouldn’t it be shown off as the treasure it was? She didn’t know. But she was determined to find out.
She ran her fingers over the tracery of carvings, decorated with precious stones and metals which covered the arch. Their design offering suggestions of what lay within. She buzzed with excitement at the thought she was engaging, first-hand, with what she’d only read about in books, until now. She couldn’t have said how long she stood there looking around the archway, the door, with its inset gold decoration. All she knew was that suddenly she was in semi-darkness. There were no longer any stray beams of sunlight fighting their way through the overgrown garden. The glimpses of sky she could see through the tracery of branches above the high wall which enclosed the garden, revealed darkness had fallen. She realized she was late for her dinner with Amare, and if she left it much longer, she wouldn’t be able to find her way back, with or without the aid of a map.
But, before she left, she had to try the door. She gripped the large handle and pushed it down. To her amazement, it opened, and she stepped inside into some kind of antechamber. She looked around the shadowy space, illuminating dust motes in the bright, white gleam of the phone torch. Ahead of her was another room, this one smaller, even more bejeweled. She was about to step towards it when she heard a door bang and heavy footsteps approach.
She spun around to find two security guards rapidly advancing toward her, their faces grim, their movements swift. Instinctively, she backed away. How the hell had they discovered her there? She wasn’t aware that anyone had seen her approach the building. Then she saw the telltale flashing light inside the hall. The harem buildings might look deserted and undefended, but obviously they were protected by a security system which she’d triggered.
Before she could open her mouth to protest, a guard pulled her roughly out of the room. She staggered back outside into the garden.
“What are you doing here?” the other guard demanded gruffly.
“I... I’m just... I got lost,” Janey stammered, her voice shrunk to a bare whisper. Her heart was pounding with fear, suddenly realizing exactly how vulnerable her position was.
The guards exchanged a look, clearly not believing her excuse.
“You realize this area is strictly off-limits to visitors, don’t you?” the other guard said, his tone laced with suspicion.
Janey shook her head, feeling like a trapped animal. “No, no, I didn’t. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude.” She swallowed.
“Who are you?” the guard asked, stepping closer, his eyes insolently traveling over her face and body. “I don’t recognize you. You are a stranger here.”
“I’m a visitor here. I’m here on official business,” she said, forcing her voice to sound more confident than she felt. She took a step away from them, intending to retrace her steps.
The guard’s lips curled in derision. “Official business? A woman? I don’t think so.”
Anger swept away her fears. How dare they treat her like this? How dare they believe that, simply because she was a woman, she wouldn’t be here on business?
