Swords of Arabia: Betrayal (38 page)

***

So,
the
time
for
talking
was
done.
Now,
only
a
final
decision
was
needed.
A
decision
that
would
affect
Narash’s
future
for
decades,
perhaps
centuries
to
come.
Those
involved
in
making
that
decision,
however,
were
acutely
aware
of
an
added
and
more
immediate
danger.
Put
simply,
it
was
that
the
issue
was
so
divisive
that
whatever
that
decision
was,
there
was
a
grave
risk
that
the
emirate
would
collapse.
Those
closest
to
Talal
realised
that
Narash
itself
may
not
last
much
beyond
a
few
hours,
once
the
decision
was
taken.
Wrongly
handled
it
could
rip
the
emirate
apart
and
Narash
would
implode
within
days.
All
parties
were
aware
of
that
and
tensions
ran
high
as
they
prepared
for
the
crucial
majlis
.

What
most
were
not
aware
of
was
that
some
of
those
present
would
not
survive
the
meeting
itself.
Instead
they
would
fall
by
the
gun
or
by
the
sword
–
both
of
which
would
be
wielded
by
the
closest
of
kin
and
the
closest
of
friends.

Chapter
Sixteen

Summer
1916

The
inner
council
was
split
–
and
to
a
dangerous
degree.
So
fundamental
was
the
divide
that
each
member
knew
there
was
no
going
back
to
the
patched
up,
‘better
than
the
alternative’
show
of
unity
that
had
kept
Narash
safe
through
the
previous,
dangerous
months.
Now,
bitter
divisions,
and
even
more
bitter
rivalries,
would
be
out
in
the
open.
There
could
be
no
other
way.
As
a
symptom
of
this
deepening
fracture,
the
two
regents
were
now
locked
in
a
bitter
and
increasingly
open
power
struggle.
Many
had
expected
it;
few
welcomed
it.
Had
times
been
different,
more
settled,
perhaps
they
may
have
kept
that
fragile
unity;
perhaps,
though
many
doubted
it.
When
someone
wants
a
throne
at
present
occupied
by
another,
it
is
rare
that
things
are
settled
peacefully,
even
in
more
settled
times.

The
terms
of
each
great
power’s
offer
were
discussed
by
the
inner
council.
During
it,
Firyal
and
Zahirah
were
careful
not
to
spell
out
the
true
scale
of
the
lands
conceded
by
the
British
to
Badr,
showing
only
the
overall
general
treaty
of
recognition
and
granting
of
protectorate
status.

Despite
the
security
it
seemed
to
offer
he
remained
obdurate.
He
wanted
a
continuation
of
the
Ottoman
alliance
–
and
would
take
his
fight
to
the
majlis
.
Nasir,
on
the
other
hand
had
finally
and
formally
come
down
firmly
on
the
side
of
an
alliance
with
the
British.
Neither
side
had
the
power
to
force
through
their
conflicting
visions
without
further
support.
That
being
the
case,
the
scene
was
set
for
a
bruising
battle
for
that
support
within
the
majlis
.
Nasir,
conscious
of
the
external
pressures
mounting
on
the
small
emirate
wanted
a
gathering
summoned
as
soon
as
was
practicable.
Badr,
unusually,
was
for
waiting
a
while
to,
as
he
said,
‘see
how
events
unfolded’.
On
this
he
was
over-ruled,
all
the
others
in
the
inner
group
felt,
as
Nasir
did,
that
time
was
not
a
commodity
they
had
a
great
deal
of.

That,
and
a
further
private
reason,
lay
behind
their
demands
for
an
earlier
date.
So,
a
meeting
was
quickly
called
and
each
grouping
had
messengers
ready
to
advise
its
particular
great
power
backer
of
their
success
–
or
failure.

By
tradition,
the
assembly
of
notables
was
only
a
consultative
body.
Its
actual
power,
however,
fluctuated
and
was
dependent
on
how
strong
the
ruling
emir
was.
Fouad
had
always
been
scrupulous
in
listening
to
the
multitude
of
views
expressed
within
it,
but
had
rarely
allowed
it
to
overly
influence
what
he
actually
did
subsequently.
Talal’s
faction
wasn’t
yet
strong
enough
to
do
the
same;
nor
would
they
be
until
he
reached
manhood.
If
he
reached
manhood.
Thus,
what
the
notables
said
must
be
both
listened
to
and,
if
unavoidable,
acted
upon.

From
the
moment
it
was
formally
opened
by
Badr,
the
majlis
had
been
in
uproar.
All
present
knew
that
the
choice
was
formidable
and
breathtakingly
dangerous.
To
complicate
the
picture,
as
ever
in
any
gathering
of
men
where
great
choices
were
to
be
made,
the
larger
issues
were
clouded
with
smaller
personal,
indeed,
selfish,
considerations.
These
latter,
Nasir
and
those
grouped
round
the
young
emir
knew,
could
prove
crucial.
Over
the
decades’
long
alliance,
much
had
been
shared
by
the
two
nations.
Many
families
had
close
business
links
with
Turkish
interests.
Some
Turkish
merchant
families,
like
the
once-influential
Ihahis,
had
actually
settled
in
the
emirate.
Before
Suleiman
the
younger
had
fled
some
two
or
three
years
previously,
the
family
had
been
one
of
the
most
powerful.
Many
of
the
Narashi
social
and
business
elites
had
sent
their
sons
to
the
Ottoman
capital
and
there
they’d
met
powerful
figures
from
either
the
Sultan’s
court
or
even
more
powerful
figures
at
the
top
of
either
Turkey’s
military
or
its
business
communities.
It
was
at
the
Ottoman
court
itself
that
Badr
himself
had
spent
a
number
of
years
in
his
early
youth.
There
he
had
met,
and
become
friendly
with,
Husain
bin
Ali,
then
just
one
of
a
number
of
hangers
on
from
the
ever-feuding
Hashem
clan
who
littered
the
court
of
the
Sultan.
Despite
the
difference
in
their
ages,
the
middle-aged
princeling
took
a
liking
to
the
young
Narashi.
Being
by
nature
devious
and
serpentine,
the
older
man
was
exceptionally
well-placed
to
help
the
naïve
young
new
arrival
avoid
some
of
the
worst
dangers
of
the
decadent
and
vicious
court.
Their
friendship
grew
and
flourished,
so
much
so,
that
Badr’s
first
wife
was
a
close
relative
of
the
diminutive
and
lethal
plotter.