Desert Wedding. Alexandra Scott

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СКАЧАТЬ using his name directly. ‘Help!’ Best to make a joke of it. ‘I don’t know what I should call you.’

      Because he was busy with the waiter he made no immediate reply, but when they were alone again his eyes sparkled. ‘For my part, I’ve no intention of calling you anything but Georgia. And my friends call me Nat.’

      ‘Nat,’ she repeated reflectively. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever known a Nat before. Well, thank you for bringing me; it’s a magical place.’ She sat back in the chair, turning her face up so that she could see through the trellis to the sky. ‘Why—why is the sky so different here? Millions of stars on a backdrop of black velvet.’

      ‘That’s why you came, isn’t it? You were curious about the desert.’

      ‘Yes, of course. At least, one of the reasons...’ her voice faded.

      ‘And the others?’ Nat looked up to nod at the waiter who had filled their glasses, then looked enquiringly at her when the man had withdrawn.

      ‘Don’t let us bother about that.’ Adopting her most consciously seductive smile, Georgia leaned her elbows on the table and took the glass to her mouth. ‘Mmm, delicious. I’m sure it would be much more interesting, even intriguing to know what you’re doing here.’

      ‘That—’ his eyes were intent on hers as he leaned forward, his manner relaxed and amused ‘—I contradict completely. But... I’m quite happy to tell you anything you want to know.’

      ‘Just what I said.’

      ‘Ah. Just that?’ His tone implied disappointment. ‘Then, by profession I’m a marine biologist, and by chance, when we were both at Cambridge, I got to know the present Sheikh of Raqat. He’s a very liberal, westernised ruler, in spite of your comments which suggest otherwise.’

      ‘Women drivers?’ she queried, eyes wide with assumed innocence.

      ‘Of course, he has to move slowly—religious attitudes are deeply ingrained. And I suggest—merely suggest—that many western men might have some sympathy—’

      ‘Don’t say it!’

      ‘All right.’ Now he was grinning. ‘Provided you don’t wave the feminist flag too wildly. It’s neither the time nor the place.’

      ‘It’s not exactly wild to want to drive yourself in your own car!’ With an effort she damped down her excitement, which was more than likely the effect of the alcohol on her brain... ‘But please carry on.’

      ‘Thank you.’ Grey eyes glittering with laughter seemed to add to her exhilaration; there was a challenging encouragement in them which she must ignore. ‘As I was saying, a liberal regime operates here, and has done since oil was discovered.

      ‘You probably know it is a fairly limited field so far; it won’t make the sheikhdom enormously rich, but it will make a difference to the people. You can see the benefits even now. But the Sheikh is desperately anxious that the wildlife, especially the marine life in the Red Sea, should not be harmed. So, he contacted me. I took a two-year break from teaching at Princeton to come out here and draw up a plan, give some guidance on a long-term strategy. As I told you, I’m three-quarters through the project now.’

      ‘Oh.’ Georgia hadn’t come close to identifying Nathan’s profession, hadn’t once thought of him as an academic. ‘It must be fascinating.’

      ‘And exciting,’ he added, and she noticed how his manner had changed from slightly laid back to animated. ‘I’ve done a lot of diving but I’ve never seen a reef with such a variety, such an exciting range of life as the one just to the south of the port. Not even the Australian reefs can compare, and it would be a global tragedy if that breathtaking world should be damaged.’ He paused. ‘Have you done any diving?’

      ‘A little.’ The words were out before she thought to monitor them. She had no wish to let him know that she had belonged to a college subaqua team—mainly due to the presence of the man she had been dating then. ‘But, it was a long time ago, and I’ve lost—’

      ‘You can’t lose the ability; it’s like riding a bike. Besides, it can’t be that long ago.’ By now the food had arrived, and she began to fork up the grainy couscous. ‘You’re not old enough.’

      ‘Quite old enough.’ Georgia had always mistrusted insincere compliments and it was time to change the subject. ‘Mmm, this is delicious.’

      ‘I’ve always liked it. Some of the food is not for the faint-hearted but you can graduate to that in due course. Now you can tell me your real reason for coming to Raqat. The bit about the desert and stars won’t wash.’

      What point was there in being coy? she thought. Besides, it might not hurt to talk about it. ‘The reason, which I’m sure you’ve guessed, is that I made a complete fool of myself over a man.’

      Nat’s hand came out, covered hers fleetingly, not giving her time to shrug him off, but it would have been mere pretence to deny the comfort that she found in his gesture. ‘That, Georgia, I find hard to believe. Unless he—’

      ‘True, nevertheless,’ she cut in before he could say more, then she applied herself to her food.

      ‘I think there must be much more to it, but I shan’t probe further.’

      ‘There isn’t a lot to say about it, simply that I realised in time what was happening and got out as quickly as I could, but...’ With her fork she traced some spirals on the couscous while she struggled with the painful memories.

      ‘But?’ he prompted, cutting through her musings, giving her the strength to shrug and smile. She even felt and enjoyed the movement of her silk tunic against her skin as she did so—such an...arousing experience...

      ‘It was just unfortunate that he happened to be my employer.’

      ‘I can see that might make life awkward’

      ‘It did.’ There was a certain defence in turning disaster into a joke. ‘I lost the job-and the man, which made it doubly annoying.’ She raised her glass and sipped. ‘And now that incident in the club this afternoon.’

      ‘You were simply unlucky.’ Both his expression and voice were contemplative. ‘I’m sure if Grev had been talking to any female, sixteen to sixty, his wife’s reactions would scarcely have varied.’

      ‘That, I promise you, doesn’t make the memory of it any more pleasant.’

      ‘Of course it doesn’t. But, just think, there are large numbers of unattached men here in the sheikhdom.’

      ‘Yes?’ It was difficult to see where the conversation was going.

      ‘Yes.’ He leaned forward, elbows on the table; he was frowning slightly—whether at her or at the glass he was holding she couldn’t decide. ‘And you, I hazard a guess, are sure to attract a good deal of attention. Of the Canning variety.’

      ‘So...?’ She was frowning, disconcerted more by the way his eyes were fixed unswervingly on hers now than by his words, which were casually spoken. ‘I think I can deal with anything like that.’

      ‘I believe you—especially after seeing how you dealt with Myra Canning! СКАЧАТЬ