Long seconds passed. Then he moved past her, marched to the door, and wrenched it open. The guard stepped forward, and Khalil barked a series of orders. When he finished, he looked at Joanna.
‘It is done.’
She could hardly draw breath. ‘You mean—you mean, you’ve given permission for me to ride?’
‘Once daily, and only in the company of two of my men.’ His face turned stern. ‘I will be away the next few days, Joanna. My men will guard you well and keep you safe.’
‘They’ll make sure I don’t run away, you mean.’
His expression didn’t change. ‘I must have your word that you will never try to slip away from them.’ When she hesitated, he closed the slight distance between them and clasped her shoulders. ‘Your word, Joanna! Or I will not permit you to ride.’
Joanna bit down lightly on her bottom lip. What did it matter if she lied? She wasn’t his guest, she was here against her will!
‘You have it,’ she said.
She smiled faintly, then made her way past him and out of the door.
‘Do you speak English?’ Khalil heard her say to the guard, and when the man answered that he did, Joanna nodded. ‘We will go to the stables,’ she said, as if she had spent her entire life giving orders to men with fierce faces and flowing robes.
Despite himself, Khalil smiled as he walked slowly to the window. They were out in the sunshine now, Joanna and the guard. Another of his men joined them so that they flanked her. They were big men, better than six feet tall, and she was a woman of average height made smaller looking by fragile bone structure. Yet, in some strange way, she looked every bit their equal, if not physically then surely in determination.
And in courage. Sighing, he turned and sat down slowly at his desk. She was not quite what he’d thought she was, this Joanna Bennett. Khalil frowned and picked up his pen. It would be good when her fool of a father came to his senses and agreed to do that which had to be done. His people would be safe, Abu would take a step back, and Joanna—she would go back to the pretty world in which she belonged. He would forget her in an instant…
Certainly he would.
The pen dropped from his fingers. It seemed a long time until he picked it up again and bent over the papers strewn across his desk.
* * *
Joanna’s guard seemed confused early the next morning when she opened her bedroom door and stepped out into the hall.
‘I’m going horseback riding,’ she said as she pushed past him and strode briskly down the corridor. She knew he couldn’t understand her; knew too that she wasn’t supposed to simply make her announcement and walk out, but it was all part of the painfully simple plan she’d hatched.
Pathetically simple was more like it, although now that she knew Khalil would be absent from the palace for a few days the odds of the plan working had improved. Still, everything would have to fall into place at once, if she were to make good her escape. It was why this initial attempt had to be done just this way.
Would the guard stop her?
He wouldn’t, she thought with fierce exultation. He’d obviously been told she’d been granted a new privilege and now he was torn between that knowledge and whatever it was he was supposed to do next, perhaps notify the stable boy to saddle the mare, perhaps notify the men who were to accompany her that she was ready to ride.
At the door, she glanced over her shoulder. He’d finally started after her, but that was unimportant.
All that mattered was that he had let her get past him.
The next morning, she opened her door at the same hour. The guard was waiting, along with the men who’d ridden with her the prior day.
Joanna smiled. ‘Good morning,’ she said pleasantly. ‘I was hoping Rachelle was here, with my breakfast.’ She made a show of peering up and down the corridor. ‘Not yet? Well, that’s all right.’ Still smiling, she stepped back into her room and shut the door.
At two in the afternoon, she repeated the performance of yesterday, pulling open the door, stepping past the surprised—and solitary—guard, and marching to the door. After a bewildered pause, he went trotting off in the other direction, looking, she was sure, for the men who were to ride with her.
She reached the stables first and caught the stable boy short. He was lying in an empty stall, dozing, and she had to clear her throat half a dozen times before he heard her.
Shamefaced, he sprang to his feet and said something in an apologetic tone.
Joanna smiled at him and pointed towards the mare. By the time the men who were to ride with her came scuttling into the stable, Sidana was saddled and ready.
The third day, she made her move in late morning. No one seemed too surprised this time; her erratic pattern had become the norm. That was what she’d counted on, and Khalil’s absence only made things easier. Even if her guards had thought to report her, who would they have reported her to?
Besides, she was careful not to arouse suspicion. Each time, she waited politely for the men to catch up to her at the stables and once they were on their way, she made a point of not seeming to be anything but a clumsy rider.
At lunchtime that third day, she took the fresh grapes and nuts from her plate, along with the slices of bread that always accompanied her meal, and stashed them inside the deep pocket of the hooded robe Khalil had given her the day he’d taken her to Adaba.
‘You ate well today, Joanna,’ Rachelle said with a pleased smile, when she came to collect the lunch tray.
Joanna nodded. ‘Everything was delicious. The grapes and nuts, especially, were wonderful!’
The girl’s smile grew. ‘I am glad you liked them. I shall make it a point to bring you more, for a snack.’
Joanna felt a twinge of guilt, but then she reminded herself that Rachelle, too, was her gaoler, the same as Khalil.
She smiled brightly. ‘I’d like that.’
The snack went into the robe’s pocket, too, along with the bread, cake, and raisins from dinner. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do. She had no idea how long it would take her to reach the south, and freedom, but tomorrow she was going to make her break.
The next morning, well before breakfast, Joanna dressed, put on her hooded robe, then flung open her door. A guard she’d never before set eyes on stepped in front of her.
‘Good morning,’ she sang out and started past him.
The guard moved quickly into her path. He didn’t have to speak. His body language said it all.
Joanna’s heart pounded harder. ‘Out of my way, please,’ she said, dodging to the right. But he dodged, too, blocking the corridor. She faced him squarely, her back rigid with displeasure. ‘I am going riding,’ she said. When he didn’t move, she repeated the words, more loudly and more slowly. ‘I—am—going—riding. Do you hear me? Step aside, man!’
She thrust out her hand. It landed on his chest, a steel wall under the press of her palm, but he didn’t move an inch. Joanna drew herself up.
‘Get out of my way, you fool! I have the Prince’s permission to ride. I’m going to the stables. Dammit, are you deaf?’
‘What’s the matter, Joanna?’
Joanna spun around. The child, Lilia, was standing behind her, her pretty face wearing a frown.
‘Lilia.’ Smiling, Joanna dropped to her knees and took the girl in her arms. ‘How good to see you! I’ve missed you.’
Lilia smiled shyly. ‘It is good to see you, too. I meant to ask Uncle Khalil if I might come to visit you, but he went away before I had the chance.’ The little girl looked at the guard. ‘Is Ali giving you trouble?’
It was hard not to laugh at the regal tone in the young voice. Joanna stood up, her hand on Lilia’s shoulder, and nodded.
‘Yes, he is. Your uncle gave permission for me to ride whenever I wished, but Ali doesn’t seem aware of it.’
‘Oh, you’re just like me, Joanna,’ Lilia said happily. ‘I, too, like to ride just past dawn, when the earth smells sweet!’ The girl stepped forward, a little figure accustomed to command. ‘I will take care of Ali.’
Joanna held her breath while Lilia spoke. Ali’s eyes darted to her. He didn’t look happy, but, after a moment, he touched his hand to his forehead and stepped aside.
‘Thank you,’ Joanna said. Her knees felt weak with relief.
‘May I ride with you?’
Joanna stared at the child. In her pleasure at seeing her, she’d all but forgotten her reason for this early morning ride. Now, guilt shot into her breast like a poisoned arrow.
‘Oh, Lilia,’ she said softly. ‘I don’t think—’
‘Please?’
She glanced at the guard. The man was obviously uncertain of what to do next and suddenly she realised he’d yet to notify anyone that she was about to go riding.
Forgive me, Lilia, she thought.
‘Yes, all right,’ she said with a forced smile. She took the child’s hand and they began walking, Lilia babbling happily and the guard trailing uncertainly in the rear. When they reached the stables, Lilia hesitated.
‘I almost forgot,’ she said. ‘I may not ride without an escort. I will tell Ali to send for—’
‘No,’ Joanna said quickly. She bit her lip, then squatted down and framed the child’s face in her hands. ‘No,’ she said softly, ‘not yet. Why don’t we have our horses saddled first? That way, we’ll be ready to ride when the escort arrives.’
Lilia shrugged. ‘As you wish, Joanna.’
The girl gave an order to the sleepy-eyed stable boy, who led out the white mare and a roan pony. The pony was saddled first, and then the boy turned to the mare. But he’d only got the bridle on when the guard, who’d grown increasingly restless, said something sharp-toned, spun on his heel, and trotted out of the door.
There was no time to spare. Joanna bent quickly, kissed Lilia’s puzzled face.
‘Forgive me, Lilia,’ she whispered.
She straightened up, pushed the boy aside, and leaped on Sidana’s back. Quickly, she gathered up the reins and kicked her heels hard into the mare’s flanks. Before anyone had time to move, the horse was out of the door with Joanna bent low over its neck, riding hell-bent for freedom.