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‘No, I’m not,’ she argued, incredulity ringing in her voice.
‘That wasn’t a suggestion,’ Khalid assured her. ‘We’ve wasted enough time. Do you want my help or not?’
‘At the laundry?’ she said in confusion. ‘Of course, I want your help. But not if you’re blackmailing me—I’ll find some other way.’ She stared at him tensely. They had to get this straight.
Neither was prepared to back down, or give in. They were perfectly matched, she thought a little wistfully.
‘You have a decision to make,’ Khalid told her.
Think—think straight—make the right call.
She only had one shot at this. A lifetime of work had gone into the laundry, as well as all the precious lives Miss Francine strived so hard to put back on track. It wasn’t just jobs at stake here, but people’s futures and their happiness, and maybe even survival for some of her friends. She had to get this right. It wasn’t about her feelings for Khalid, or even for her own self-respect; it was a bigger decision than all of that.
‘Where are you going from here?’ she asked tensely.
‘To my London home,’ Khalid told her succinctly, his eyes stern, his mouth firm.
Well, that wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t as far away as Khalifa. ‘Can’t we talk here?’
With a sound of impatience, Sheikh Khalid—for she could think of him as nothing else now, and in this setting—raked his hair. ‘I can’t just book into the local motel.’
He had a point.
‘You wanted to discuss Miss Francine’s case,’ he reminded her. ‘And you convinced me this meeting can’t wait. I can’t wait,’ he added in a clipped tone. ‘I have a country to run, and business at the palace in London. Either you come with me now, or I return to the capital without you, in which case you can go through the usual channels to apply for the grant.’
Millie’s jaw dropped. ‘You are blackmailing me.’
‘I’m telling you how it is,’ Khalid stated without emotion, though there was fire burning behind his eyes.
So much for romantic reunions, Millie thought, feeling her spirits dip even as her determination to do something right strengthened. ‘I’ll have to change my clothes—’
‘No time,’ he rapped. ‘Everything will be waiting for you when we arrive. Go and say goodbye to your friends.’
Millie’s mind was in turmoil. This was crazy. She was still getting over the shock of seeing him. And coming to terms with how much she’d missed him, she silently admitted. Khalid’s stern expression held nothing but impatience, though his kiss had suggested he was pleased to see her, she accepted wryly. If she had a chance of saving Miss Francine’s business, she didn’t have a choice, and better she told him about the baby when they had some prospect of privacy in his London home. ‘Ten minutes,’ she said.
‘Five,’ he countered.
She fired a look into Khalid’s fierce dark eyes, to let him know she’d do this, but was no pushover. He held her stare locked in his, and in that split second she knew there would be trouble ahead. Putting down her tool bag, she headed into the next room to break the news that she was leaving to her employer and friends.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
NOTHING IN KHALID’S life was slow or ordinary, Millie accepted as she ducked down beneath the rotor blades before climbing into his helicopter. Having seen her harness was correctly fixed and her headphones in place, he took the pilot’s seat, and before she knew it they were soaring over London.
Green areas were at a premium in the centre of the city, but the Sheikh of Khalifa owned a very large swathe of green, with an impressive dwelling, a palace, really, set like a jewel in the middle of the most fabulous grounds. There was even a lake, she noticed, and as the aircraft swooped lower she could see the bustle of a big city beyond his perimeter walls. The haven inside those walls reminded her of an oasis in the middle of a glass and concrete city.
What else did she expect of the hawk of the desert? Millie wondered as Khalid hovered the aircraft over the helipad set in a courtyard the size of two football pitches, before landing it precisely in the centre of the cross.
His voice came through the speakers. ‘The building dates from Tudor times,’ he said as he closed down the engines.
At least he seemed to have relaxed. ‘I’m impressed,’ she said truthfully.
‘Wait until you see inside,’ he added as the engines fell silent.
Khalid was right about the inside of the building. It was the most spectacular interior she’d ever seen. It was a disappointment when he didn’t offer her a tour, and simply handed her over to the care of a smiling housekeeper.
She had thought they’d have some time together, Millie reflected as he jogged up the stairs. When was she going to tell him about the baby? Would she have to make an appointment to see him? This entrance hall was so grand, with its vaulted ceiling and acres of marble floor, that she felt like a very tiny cog in the huge engine of his life.
But the housekeeper was friendly as she escorted Millie to her suite of rooms. To her fabulous suite of rooms, Millie amended, trying not to overreact at each new revelation. While meticulous attention had been paid to ancient architectural detail, every gizmo and tech advancement was available to make life easy, though, of course, discreetly hidden away, she saw as the housekeeper opened a drawer in an antique chest to show her the controls for lighting and blinds, and heating and air con.
‘You should be comfortable,’ the housekeeper said with monumental understatement. ‘And if there’s anything more you need, please don’t hesitate to call on the house phone.’ Which was also cunningly concealed in a drawer in the nightstand.
Old English panelling gleamed with loving care, while Millie’s feet sank into soft rugs as she stared around. She had loved the rich, vibrant colours of the desert, but she loved these muted pastels just as much.
‘I hope you like your accommodation,’ the housekeeper said warmly as Millie stared up at the colourful frescoes and took in the intricate plasterwork, and walls covered with silk, rather than paper or paint.
‘I love it,’ Millie enthused. ‘These are the most beautiful rooms I’ve ever seen.’
‘There’s a view to the lake,’ the housekeeper revealed as she drew the floating voile drapes aside.
‘This is just exquisite,’ Millie breathed as she trailed her fingertips across the top of a mahogany dressing table. And a world away from what she was used to. It only made the gap between her and Khalid seem wider.
‘I ordered the scents—’ she?
??d been trailing her fingertips across, Millie realised now, drawing her hand back fast as the housekeeper mentioned them ‘—from our most famous store in London. I wasn’t sure of your taste, so I hope you like at least one of them?’
‘I like all of them, and thank you for your trouble.’ As gilded cages went, this surely had to be one of the most opulent and refined, though it was hard to see this as a cage or a trap. Khalid’s housekeeper couldn’t have been nicer. Any guest would feel welcome here.
‘Nothing is too much trouble for His Majesty’s guests, Ms Dillinger.’
And this was said so warmly it wasn’t easy to think Millie was just the most recent in a long line of His Majesty’s female guests. ‘I’m sure not,’ she agreed, returning the housekeeper’s smile.
The tour continued into the bathroom, and then into a fully fitted dressing room.
‘I have also taken the liberty of ordering a number of gowns for you to choose from for the ball tomorrow night.’
‘The ball?’ Millie queried. She gazed in incredulity at the glittering collection of fabulous gowns.
‘His Majesty has been invited as guest of honour to a ball at the palace tomorrow evening,’ the housekeeper explained. ‘He thought you might like to accompany him.’
Millie was speechless. At first, she thought, I’d be like a fish out of water. But then she remembered her friends at the laundry. They’d give their eye teeth to take a look around the palace, and she could tell them about it when she returned to King’s Dock.
‘I can’t thank you enough for all the trouble you’ve gone to,’ she told the housekeeper.
‘Don’t thank me, thank His Majesty—who sends his regrets, but he has business to attend to for the rest of the day and evening, and so he will meet you tomorrow evening at the ball.’
No chance to talk to him about the baby before then?
Arriving at the palace without an escort tomorrow night seemed an insignificant challenge compared to that.
‘Would you like me to send up some food?’ the housekeeper asked as she prepared to leave.
