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CHAPTER ELEVEN
THEYWALKEDHANDin hand.
He pulled down some ornate carpets, which they lay on, then he covered them both in a rug. They lay on the ledge and looked up at the magnificent sky.
It had never, Ilyas thought, looked better than it did tonight. It was as if every star had been polished to sparkle just for her.
‘I’m glad you got to see it like this,’ he said.
‘So am I.’
She had been almost reluctant to join him. For the sake of her heart it would have been safer to go back to bed, but instead she stared up at the exquisite sky and was so glad she had been brave.
Yes, brave, Maggie thought, because there were so many sides to Ilyas, and she was caught between wanting to know him better and knowing they must soon part.
‘How often do you come here?’ Maggie asked.
‘Usually when there is no moon, or a new moon like this—it is easier that way to see stars.’
That hadn’t been what she had meant.
Maggie had wanted to know how often he visited thehammam, but she was glad he had misunderstood, for on reflection she didn’t want to know the answer.
Ilyas had not misunderstood.
He didn’t want to tell her the truth, that most of his nights were spent here, but neither did he want to lie to her.
Her hair was wet and it trailed across his head as Maggie lifted herself up a bit and looked back at where they had been.
‘Rubies?’ she asked. She had just now worked out the real secret of the red river.
He nodded.
‘So there was no prince who lost his head...?’
‘There was,’ Ilyas said, and knew that if he wasn’t careful, there could well be another one. He pulled her back to his arms. ‘His lover wanted a necklace made of rubies. Of course he arranged that, but she insisted that the stones come from the cave pool—more than that, she insisted he be the one to mine them. It is deep,’ he told Maggie.
She loved lying in his arms and hearing the tales told in his rich, deep voice.
‘He was warned of the risk and the danger, yet by then he cared nothing for what they said. His sole aim was to please her, and so he dived over and over, until he was exhausted and weak and, of course, he died.’
‘She sounds very demanding,’ Maggie said, making him smile.
‘Consequently, if the crown prince wishes to choose his own bride, he must make the same dive, or accept the choice of the palace elders and the king. Only a fool would risk his life for love.’
‘I guess.’ Maggie sighed. ‘Did Hazin dive for Petra?’
‘He is not crown prince.’
‘But did he?’
‘I don’t wish to discuss it.’
Maggie breathed out. So many subjects were closed. ‘Do you still think something went on between him and me?’ she asked.
‘I know that nothing went on,’ Ilyas said. ‘I believed you, or we would not have—’ He halted, because he had been about to saymade love. Instead, he told her what had happened that day. ‘Mahmoud is spinning in fear. I tried to speak with Hazin but he has gone to ground. Another threat was made at lunchtime...’
‘From Suzanne?’
