‘You could almost count the stars,’ he said lazily, noting the way her eyes automatically travelled up to the clear violet skies above them from which stars were appearing as obliging gold studs against deepest purple velvet.
‘Sometimes,’ he murmured, his voice purposefully seductively soft, ‘in the desert, if you listen hard enough, you can hear the movement of the sand. It is like a whisper.’
He knew the heat and the newness of the surroundings were massive points in his favour and before the discussion about his proposal began in earnest he wanted her to think beyond her obvious objections to see a much bigger picture. He really wanted her to agree of her own accord without feeling backed into a corner.
His sprawling staff were waiting for their arrival, primed to expect a companion and her young daughter. If they suspected anything, they were well versed in remaining silent and were all so utterly loyal to him that gossip would have been unheard of. At any rate, they would all discover, in due course, that he would be getting married to her, that she was the mother of his child and a woman with whom he had fallen in love but had been forced to leave until Fate decided to throw them together once again. A story of exceptional romance that would capture the hearts of his entire country, not just his staff. He wouldn’t allow a whiff of scandal to be attached to Georgie or Tilly, so for them he’d bear with the image of a man in love.
‘Wow.’
Darkness had shielded the splendour of the palace, but it was unmistakable the second they stepped foot through the door. White and marble dominated an entrance hall big enough to host a ball.
‘I’ll show you to your quarters,’ Abe murmured, dismissing the congregated staff with a near invisible gesture. ‘You look dead on your feet.’
Georgie nodded, too tired to pay much attention to her surroundings but awed by what she saw as he scooped Tilly from her and headed up one of two impressive staircases.
‘Where are our bags? I can’t believe you live here...’
‘I’m a prince. What did you expect?’ But there was amusement in his voice.
‘I didn’t really give it much thought.’
‘Your bags will be delivered to your suite.’
He pushed open a door and stepped aside and Georgie walked into an antechamber that led to a central living area off which were two bedrooms separated by a bathroom. All this she took in in a single sweeping glance.
‘My bedroom adjoins yours,’ he told her, ‘and there’s a connecting door. There will be two nannies available day and night. From tomorrow, they will be entirely at your service and would be offended should you choose not to avail yourself of their services.’
‘I’m not used to...all this...’ Georgie whispered, shorn of her fighting spirit for once. She looked at him anxiously as he channelled her towards the smaller of the bedrooms. Tilly was too sleepy to explore but Georgie could see an array of toys in a wicker basket and everything she might need for a toddler.
She was happy to sit and watch as he slid off his shoes and squatted down to his daughter’s level, interacting a little awkwardly, glancing to Georgie often for approval, but he wasn’t shying away from the attempt and he was trying hard to connect.
He would have given instructions about the bedroom, she thought, would have predicted that a young child might be wooed with toys and so he had imported them. The soft linen was also child friendly. He’d had just a couple of days but in that time he had obviously given a lot of thought to how a three-year-old toddler might be made to feel comfortable away from the only environment she had ever known.
He’d beenthoughtfuland Georgie sleepily welcomed that.
After fifteen minutes she could hardly keep her eyes open and Tilly had been popped into her pyjamas and climbed into her bed, clutching the stuffed rabbit she had brought with her, her eyes fluttering closed.
‘I’ll take you to your room,’ Abe said and before Georgie could object he had lifted her off her feet and was carrying her through to the second, much larger bedroom.
Georgie wound her hands round his neck and leant against him and closed her eyes. It was delicious being in his arms again, and almost a shame when he gently deposited her on the enormous four-poster bed with its lavish coverings.
She watched him as he went to close the heavy drapes and then he strolled towards the bed and perched on the side.
In semi darkness, with just the light outside filtering through the door, which he had left ajar, he was all shadows and angles and she shivered.
She sat up and drew her knees up and gazed at him.
‘We still need to talk,’ she whispered. ‘When you left, you said that—’
‘It’s late and I can see you’re very tired. Maybe we should talk about it tomorrow?’
‘I can’t get it out of my head. You asked me tomarryyou, Abe.’ She looked at him with feverish urgency, but he was right. She was exhausted and on uncertain footing and this was a conversation definitely best left for when she wasn’t dead on her feet. ‘You shouldn’t have left me to think about it.’ She stifled another yawn.
‘It was important that you had time to consider what I put in front of you, Georgie. Responding in the heat of the moment would not have been a good idea. If I could have stayed longer in London, we would have had the conversation there, but I had to return to Qaram, hence...’ He shrugged.
‘I suppose so.’
‘Don’t think about that right now.’ He lowered his eyes, his ridiculous lashes once again shielding his expression, but when he raised them to look at her, there was genuine sincerity in his gaze. ‘I cannot imagine what life must have been like for you, coping with a pregnancy on your own, and then a tiny baby on your own. Having to settle Tilly into a nursery so that you could join the workforce and earn a living to put a roof over both your heads and food on the table...’ He shook his head, clenched his fists and breathed in deeply. ‘It must have been so hard.’
