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.'I was just about to throw a few stones at the shutters‑'The guard's instinctive reproof was silenced by another, more aggressive, tone.'What in hell is going on here, Hassan? Have you no more sense than to argue with your woman outside my apartments?'Abby swung round a trifle fearfully, as her husband came striding across the terrace and down the shallow steps.He had obviously been preparing for bed, for he was wearing only a loose caftan, made of striped linen, and its open neckline exposed the bare column of his throat.Even in the shadowy light spilling from the open doorway behind him, his features looked gaunt and haggard, and his impatience with the servant was uncharacteristic of his usual courtesy.He had obviously mistaken Abby's robes for the robes of an Arab woman, but his expression changed as the breeze took the silken glory of her hair, and blew it in an aureole of silver about her head.With a frown replacing the anger he had previously exhibited, Rachid came to an abrupt halt.'Ah, my apologies, Hassan,' he said, as Abby took a few nervous steps towards him.'It seems I was mistaken.I did not expect my wife to visit me this evening.''I regret the intrusion, my lord.'All Hassan wanted to do was get away, and with an understanding nod, Rachid gave him his dismissal.Then, as Abby reached the steps beside him, he offered her his arm to mount them and escorted her silently inside the building.But once inside he released her immediately, indicating the salon to one side of the wide hallway, switching on lamps to illuminate her progress.When she had traversed half the room and come to a halt beside a low plinth on which resided a bowl of desert roses, he could contain himself no longer, and in low incisive tones he demanded to know why she had come.'I thought the arrangements were all agreed,' he said, dark brows arching his irritation at the intrusion.'You leave at ten in the morning.With luck, you should be home before dark.'Abby drew a deep breath.'I didn't come to see you about the arrangements, Rachid,' she averred quietly.'That —they don't concern me.''What then?' He was abrupt.'Be brief, can you? I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow.'Abby gasped.'You have a long day ahead of you! Do I not?''I am assured you did not come here to argue the length of each of our days,' Rachid replied heavily.'Perhaps I am not very tactful.Perhaps I do not feel very tactful.But I am tired.Of that there is no doubt.'Abby, still smarting from the effects of his insensitivity, was in no mood to be tactful either.'Why is that, Rachid?' she demanded maliciously.'I was told you weren't sleeping.I never thought to ask why!'Rachid's face darkened ominously.'What are you suggesting now? That I am spending my strength with another woman?'Abby sniffed.'I didn't say that‑''You implied it.' Rachid's face was grim.'Perhaps you think I have another woman here, at this moment? Perhaps you think that is why I am eager to get back to bed.'Abby faltered.'And—and have you?'The word Rachid used was not a polite one, and his fingers as they curled about her wrist showed little mercy for the tender delicacy of her skin.Without ceremony he dragged her after him, out of the room and up the stairs, and practically pushed her into the lamplit austerity of his bedroom.The bed was empty.It had not even been touched, and the stark simplicity of the room reflected the ascetic taste of its occupant.Only Rachid's belongings adorned the mirrored dressing table, and only his clothes lay where he had dropped them, on the jewel-coloured rug beside the bed.'Are you satisfied now?' he demanded, in a harsh voice, raking back his hair with unsteady fingers.'I am sorry if I hurt you, but you do not bring out the best in me, and there are times when even I cannot control my actions.''I know that.' Abby was feeling terrible now, not least because she guessed that Rachid thought this was why she had come—to check up on him.When it wasn't true!'So.' He spread his hand.'Now that you have satisfied yourself that I am not conducting an affair under your very nose, perhaps you will return to your apartments [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]