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But now at last they had reached the smaller, less formal mountain palace and she was left alone with him in the royal apartments.
‘Why have you brought me here?’ she demanded again when Nabil did not speak.
Nabil turned a dark, sidelong glance on her.
‘So that we can begin again.’
That caught her on the raw because she didn’t know how to take it.
‘Don’t you think that “begin” is actually the correct term? After all, nothing really started between us—did it? So why have you decided that we can begin something now? What about all your suspicions—your belief that I was involved in some sort of plot against you?’
‘I had you checked out.’
Nabil showed no hint of any feeling and his statement was so matter-of-fact it was almost totally blank.
‘So I presume I passed the test, then?’
‘If that is how you want to see it.’
‘What other way is there to see it? I didn’t know that there was to be an examination into how to be a queen, or that I’d have to wait until you decided that I was worthy of your attentions. After all you picked me. Didn’t you?’
‘I did.’ If it was a concession, it didn’t sound like one.
‘Oh, that’s good—because I thought that you had a check list that you handed out to your ministers.’
Something in his face attracted her attention, had her frowning as she looked deep into his eyes.
‘You did, didn’t you? Well that’s a pretty cold-blooded way of going about things.’
‘It was a rational way of going about things. After all, this is an arranged marriage—I understood that you knew what was expected of you. Would it help if I said that you passed every test with flying colours?’
‘Is that supposed to be a compliment?’
‘What do you think I was saying to you last night?’ Nabil countered. ‘Or were you too tired to take it in?’
Last night’s memories were hazy at best, the fog of exhaustion blurring them. But he had brought her food, had told her she had handled the ceremonials well. He had even shared the truth about his mother with her and so she had gone to bed feeling better than she had for days. But she had still gone to bed alone.
‘It wasn’t just you that I had to have investigated. I needed to know exactly what your father had planned.’
‘Oh, you needn’t have worried about that.’ Aziza refused to let that concession mean anything to her. ‘If he’d wanted to plan anything underhand, it wouldn’t have been me he’d have used. He’d never have expected that you’d choose me, for one, and he’d never believe I’d be capable of carrying it off. And, if you want to be sure that you can rely on him now, then the fact that you took his second daughter off his hands will probably ensure that.’
‘The spare...’ Nabil murmured, stunning her with the realisation that he really had been listening the night before. He was watching her, sharp, clear eyes, following every movement, every expression. It was as if he was waiting for something but she had no idea what.
‘I assume that you had my sister checked out too—but you didn’t choose her. So what made the difference?’
‘I would have thought that was obvious.’
‘Not to me.’
Nabil crooked a long finger, beckoning her. And this time his sensual mouth had softened into something close to a curve.
‘Come here and I’ll show you.’
She was almost trapped by his smile. But the memories of the wedding night were still too clear, too raw. She had no wish to fall into that trap again. To try to reach out and grasp some wonderful little thread of hope, only to have it snatched away from her, leaving her lost and empty as before. She’d been cleared by his investigators, so now she was expected to fall into his hands like a ripe little plum. The fact that she yearned to do exactly that only made her own inner turmoil so much worse.
‘I don’t want to,’ she tried now, determined not to give him the easy victory she knew he was expecting.
That curve grew, became a knowing smile.
‘And you, my lovely wife, are a liar. A very bad one.’
It was dangerously soft, almost gentle, but all the same it sent a shiver down her spine.
‘Will it help if I tell you how I feel? If I let you know the truth of what these past six days have done to me?’
He shouldn’t have reminded her of the six days since their wedding. Nabil might think he had her in his power by force of strength and control. If only he knew that she was there because of something much stronger, much more unbreakable.
