Desert Song (DeWinter's Song 3) (26 page)

* * *

Prince Khaldun moved through Sidi's palace, watching his own steward make an inventory of what remained of the Turk's furnishings. Many items had been stripped away and burned in a hugh bonfire, to symbolize the Egyptians' distaste for all things Turkish.

Mallory, still veiled, walked two steps behind Fizal as they approached the prince.

"I ask a word with you, Highness," Fizal said, bowing.

The prince smiled at his faithful captain. "What is it I can do for you?"

"I know you expect me to return to Kamar Ginena at once, but I beg leave to escort this woman to Cairo."

Khaldun glanced past Fizal to the woman that stood meekly behind him. "This is the woman who slayed Sidi?"

"Yes, Highness."

"I would have a word with her."

Fizal glanced quickly at Mallory. "She does not understand, Majesty. She is shy, and would be too frightened in your illustrious presence."

Khaldun frowned, and his gaze dropped to the woman's hands that were clasped in front of her. They were white, delicate hands—English hands. He suddenly knew who she was. "Walk with me, Fizal, I want to ask you about something. The woman can remain here until we return."

"Yes, Highness."

Khaldun led Fizal into a room where three servants were rolling up a carpet. He ordered them to withdraw, and then turned to Fizal. "I am proud to have you in my elite guard, Fizal, for I feel you demonstrated that you are fearless and can be a leader of men."

"Thank you, Highness."

"There is one other requirement that I always ask of my commanders, Fizal. They must be honest with me."

Fizal looked into Prince Khaldun's eyes. "I will always be truthful with you, if I have not already sworn secrecy to another."

"You know to what I'm referring?"

"I do, Highness—the woman."

"We both know who she is, don't we?"

"Even if you strip me of all my honors, I cannot betray her, Highness."

Khaldun seemed to look inward for a moment. Then he smiled. "You would have forfeited every honor I have given you to help Lady Mallory. That kind of loyalty is exactly what I want in the commander of my guard."

"How did you know it was she, Highness? I hope nothing I said gave her away."

"No, you kept your promise to her. I once had an occasion to study those hands with great admiration. It is clear to me that only someone who loved Lord Michael would have killed Sidi to save him."

"Have I your permission to escort the great lady to Cairo?"

"But why is she being so secretive, Fizal? Why has she not revealed herself to Lord Michael and his family?"

"Her reasons are her own, Highness. I do not question her."

"Then take her safely to Cairo, and I will meet you in Kamar Ginena when you return. Take everything you need to make her journey comfortable."

Fizal bowed. "I will discharge this duty with all haste."

The prince watched the black-draped woman walk away, remembering a time when he had desired her. Now all he could think about was finding the proper man to put in charge of this city, so he could return to his beautiful Yasmin.

Still, it would be a long time before he would forget blue eyes and red hair.

Chapter 28

My Lord,

I know you will understand when I inform you that I am releasing you from our marriage. After having time to think about our situation, I realized that we acted in haste. I'll be returning to England, but do not be concerned that I will contact you or make any demands on you. I don't intend to tell anyone about our marriage. Since it wasn't a Christian wedding, I doubt it would even be legal in England. I know you have been ill, and I hope you will have a speedy recovery. I will always wish you well.

Mallory Stanhope

Michael reread Mallory's letter, trying to make sense of it. What did she mean, their marriage wasn't legal? What did she mean that she was returning to England without him?

"Mother," he called out in frustration. "Mother, will you come here?"

Kassidy came running into the room. "What is wrong? Are you in pain?"

"I want my clothes. I'm going to get dressed and go after my wife."

Kassidy stood over Michael with a determined look on her face. "You aren't going anywhere until you are well enough to travel. When I feel you're ready, then we'll leave, and not before. Besides, we are going to stay together until we are back in England."

Michael groaned and carefully lowered himself to his bed. He was weaker than he'd thought. "If I wait until then, it may be too late. Mallory will already be gone."

"Turn over, so I can apply ointment to your back while we talk about your wife." She said in a voice that told him she would have her way.

Kassidy applied the soothing medicine while he winced in pain. "The wounds are beginning to heal, but you still aren't well enough to ride, Michael."

"I must get to Cairo. Mallory is planning to return to England, and I want to talk to her before she leaves."

His mother closed the ointment jar and handed him a cool glass of water. "I want to hear all about her. I confess I don't know anything about the Stanhope family."

He took a sip of water and handed the glass back to her. "Actually, I know little about her myself."

"Where did you meet her?"

"On the voyage coming over. Actually, our first encounter happened just before the voyage. It seems my carriage splashed mud on her as she was crossing the street. She wasn't too happy with me at the time."

"Oh, Michael, you didn't?"

"It wasn't my fault, and I didn't even know we'd splashed her until weeks later. But that isn't the worst of it. When two men were swabbing the deck of the ship, one of them didn't see Mallory, and threw water on her. I grabbed the bucket away from him, and all she saw was me with the evidence in my hand. I admit I did look guilty," he said with a grin.

Kassidy frowned. "I don't find any of this amusing, Michael."

"Neither did Mallory. I can tell you she snubbed me for a long time."

"But you overcame your differences and fell in love?"

Michael looked uncomfortable. "I don't know how I feel about her, and I certainly don't know how she feels about me."

Kassidy was trying to understand. "If you didn't love her, why did you marry her?"

"I felt I owed it to her—at least, I think that's why I married her."

"There's something you're not telling me, Michael."

He sighed. Even as a child, he had never been able to fool his mother. "Also, I was coming here to search for father, and I didn't know what was going to happen to me," he admitted. "Mallory is from a good family, and I . . . well, this family needed an heir in the event that I didn't return."

"Ah, I begin to see. You used that poor girl as a receptacle for the next generation of DeWinters. How could you do that, Michael? I'm not surprised she left."

"It's not the way it appears, Mother. Before the war started, I sent her to Cairo so she would be in no danger."

"Michael, it seems to me that you have misused the poor girl. It's no wonder that she is running away from you. What were you thinking?"

"Even if the marriage started off badly, I won't let her go."

"I should think not. It will be up to you to convince her to remain your wife."

He held the letter out to her. "Read for yourself."

"No. I will not read your private correspondence."

"There's nothing in the letter that you can't read, Mother."

Kassidy quickly scanned the page and handed it back to Michael. "It appears to me she's giving you your freedom because she thinks it's what you want. The only thing that troubles me about her is that she knew you were injured and didn't come to you."

"Something strange happened the first night I was in this house. I know now I was dreaming, but I could have sworn she was with me. I saw her—she talked to me and took care of me. Once before, when I was wounded, she took care of me. I suppose I got the two incidents confused."

"What are you going to do about your wife after you find her, Michael?"

"As I said, I won't allow her leave me."

"Then you have only to convince her that you want her to stay."

"She can be the most maddening woman. I never know what she's thinking, and I certainly don't know how she feels about me. I never realized how a woman can complicate a man's life."

Kassidy looked at him for a moment. "I always thought that you would marry Lady Samantha."

"I had decided I would offer her marriage when I returned to England," Michael admitted. "At the time, she seemed the sensible choice."

Kassidy smiled. "Oh, Michael, you are more like your father than I thought. I can't wait to meet this new daughter-in-law of mine. She may just save you from yourself."

"What do you mean?"

She bent to kiss his cheek. "Never mind, you wouldn't understand. You must rest now. The quicker you heal, the sooner we can get your bride. Perhaps we will arrive in Cairo before she leaves for England."

* * *

Raile entered Sidi's former palace, and Prince Khaldun greeted him with a welcome smile. "Thank you for coming, Your Grace. I have many things I'd like to discuss with you. But first of all, may I introduce you to my wife's father, Sheik Hakeem."

Raile exchanged greetings with the sheik.

"I have a strong liking for your son, lord," Hakeem told him. "I would not be ashamed to call him my son, and I have on occasion."

"Michael speaks highly of you also." Raile turned his attention to Khaldun. "I want to thank you for being my son's friend."

"It was he who first befriended me. Did he not tell you how he saved my life?"

"No, he didn't."

"That's like Michael. Will you sit with me?"

Raile sat in the chair that Khaldun indicated. "The palace looks quite different from when I saw it last."

Prince Khaldun smiled. "That is because my father-in-law detests anything Turkish, and he will be occupying the palace from now on."

"Not a prospect that I'm looking forward to, great lord," Hakeem grumbled. "My daughter's husband would make me into a city dweller, while I enjoy the simple life. I have lived too long roaming about in the desert, and he would confine me in this palace."

Khaldun laughed, knowing the old sheik really meant what he said. "I can think of no man who is more capable of restoring Caldoia to its past glory. You are a fair man, and will rule the people with wisdom."

Sheik Hakeem grinned. "What he means, great lord, is that I have lived too long by my wits, and he wants me to turn respectable now that I am allied with his family. I am too old to change. He puts me in charge of the treasures, when he knows I would rather find a way to relieve the people of those treasures than to guard them. Being respectable is a burden that a man of my talents should not have to endure."

Raile smiled. He knew why Michael was so fond of the old sheik.

Prince Khaldun stood. "Your Grace, will you walk with me? I have something of a personal nature to discuss with you."

Already Hakeem had moved into the hallway, berating the men who were laying a rug. "No, you sons of sheep dung, I don't want red in this hallway. Have I not told you that I want blue here?"

Khaldun smiled. "He is a man of colorful language, but a man with honor, though he would have you believe otherwise."

"Then you made a wise choice." Raile and Khaldun stepped into a huge anteroom.

Raile looked about the room. "I confess I will be glad to leave this city. It holds no pleasant memories for me."

"I understand that. Will you be going to Cairo before you leave?"

"Yes. My ship, the
Nightingale
, is docked in the harbor there."

"What I want to ask now may seem strange to you. I have many ears in the desert, and I have come upon something that I feel I should share with you. You can decide what you want to do with this information."

Raile had been looking at the high domed ceiling, and he dropped his eyes to Khaldun. "I would be interested to hear what it is."

"How much do you know about Michael's wife?"

"Only what little he's told me. I don't even think he knows much about Lady Mallory himself."

"What would you say if I told you that Lady Mallory had been with Michael in Caldoia from the beginning?"

"Tell me what you mean."

"I happen to know that Lady Mallory was the one who arranged your escape from Sidi's prison. She's the one who shot Sidi when he was going to kill Michael. And, for the first days of Michael's illness, she was the one who nursed him."

Raile nodded. "I went to Michael's room one night and came upon her unveiled. I knew then that the woman who pretended to be an Arab was indeed my son's wife. I have said this to no one, especially not to Michael. Do you know why she kept her identity from us?"

"That is known only to Lady Mallory, but she loves your son, and he loves her. Is it not right that they should be together?"

"I know Michael is determined to reach Cairo in,time to prevent her from returning to England, and I believe he will be able to travel within the week."

The two men shook hands. "I was leaving for my home today," Khaldun said, "but I have decided to remain until Michael is well enough to travel, so I can ride some of the way with you. It will be a sad day for me when I must part from my friend."

"I'm glad you decided to share what you knew about Lady Mallory with me, your Highness. I will discuss this with Michael's mother, and we'll decide whether we shall tell Michael."

"They started their marriage under difficult circumstances. May Allah guide them to a life together."

* * *

Mallory stood before the doorway of her parents' home, but before she knocked, she turned to Fizal. "There is no need for you to remain. Thank you for all you've done for me. "I shall miss you, my gentle watchdog."

He looked at her with admiring eyes. "If ever you are in trouble or you need me, no matter how many years have passed, I'll come to you, lady."

She smiled and held her hand out to him. "I'll remember that."

She watched him ride away, feeling lonely.

She knocked softly on the door, and Safwat soon appeared. "My lady, I have been so worried about you. It is good you are safe."

"Have my parents returned?"

"Follow me, my lady, and I'll take you to them."

When he led her into a small office, Mallory stared at the two people who were packing boxes with Egyptian artifacts. They looked up only when Safwat cleared his throat.

Lord Tyler glanced at Mallory, and then angrily at his servant. "I thought I told you we weren't home to anyone tonight."

Mallory felt his words like a slap on the face. Her own father didn't even know who she was.

"Don't blame Safwat," she said, studying her father's face dispassionately, and then looking at her mother, who stared back at her coldly. "He thought you would want to see me, since I'm your daughter."

"Mallory?" her mother asked.

"So you returned," her father replied. "We didn't know what to think when we found that you had been here and then left. It was thoughtless of you not to leave word of where you were going."

But she had been abducted, and Safwat knew it. Why hadn't he told anyone? Mallory watched the two strangers walk toward her. Why had she expected a warmer welcome? She should have known better, after all these years.

"I envisioned you as a small girl until I went into your bedroom and saw your clothing," her mother told her. "You are quite lovely."

Her father looked her up and down. "That damned red hair! It comes out every so often on your side of the family." Neither tried to touch her or show any affection.

Mallory wanted to run away, to escape from these people. In that moment, she realized that Cousin Phoebe had protected her from their indifference all of her life. They were even more unfeeling than she had expected.

What did it matter? Mallory had been through harder in the last weeks; she could certainly endure this. "Did Safwat not tell you that I was abducted?" She had to know.

"He did rave on about some ridiculous tale of abduction and enemies sneaking into the compound. But he's always been one to exaggerate, and we didn't believe him," Lady Julia said.