“He will never betray his country,” Alex said firmly.
“Never is a very long time,” Murad remarked.
Alex did not hear him. “Murad, go and find out everything you can. I want to know where he is, what they are going to do with him, and if he is under guard, who guards him.”
Murad looked at her with dismay. “I am very unhappy about this.”
“I also want you to help me think of a way to meet him secretly.”
Alex paced her chamber restlessly. Where was Blackwell now? TheMajamust have docked close to an hour ago. At this exact moment, Blackwell might be somewhere inside the palace, so close to her—yet so very far away.
Yet Alex was perplexed. This was not the way it was supposed to happen. What did thePearl’snot being destroyed before being brought back to Tripoli signify? The text she had read had been very clear. ThePearlhad been ambushed in an inlet while putting up for water supplies. And she had been destroyed at sea before the corsairs could sail her back to Tripoli.
Suddenly Alex was excited. Were she and Blackwell already changing the course of history?
A knock sounded on her door, interrupting her thoughts. Alex hesitated, because Murad would not knock. She hoped it was not Jebal.
“Please come in.”
Zoe walked into the room.
Alex started. Zoe had never been inside her apartment before. The two women eyed each other, Alex openly surprised, Zoe smiling. Alex had never seen a more beautiful, sultry woman. Nor had she ever met a meaner, more spiteful and malicious one.
Jebal’s first wife was clad as she should be, in layers of silk and velvet, each robe, vest, and gilet heavily embroidered with gold and silver and precious gems. She wore numerous gold necklaces, bracelets, and bangles. She had a perfect oval face, hip-length black hair, which she refused to braid, and stunning features. Had she not been plump—and she was, unfortunately, not fat—she could have graced the cover of any major twentieth-century fashion magazine.
Zoe’s brown eyes widened just as Alex realized that she was still clad in bedouin clothes. Alex found her tongue. “Hello, Zoe. How nice of you to drop by.”
Zoe squinted. “You do speak strangely. I haven’t dropped anything. My. You dress even more strangely than you speak, Zohara. What are you doing, dressed up as a man?”
Panic rose up in Alex. One thought seized her,she knows.All of Murad’s warnings abruptly returned to her. He swore Zoe was out to get her. Alex believed it, too.
Zoe eyed her. “Do you want to be a man? Is that it? You certainly act like a man. I have never met a woman before as manly as you.”
The words were intended to hurt, but they did not. Alex wet her lips. “I hate being swathed in hundreds of robes and all those jackets and vests. I don’t know how you bear it. I much prefer this manner of dress. It is simple and convenient.”
Zoe laughed mockingly. “I wish Jebal could see you now. He would not find you so pretty then.”
Alex could not relax. “What do you want, Zoe?”
“I heard you are not feeling well. That you have been gripped by melancholia. I brought you some herbal medicine. It will make you much better, Alex.” Zoe smiled, far too nicely. The smile never reached her smoldering brown eyes.
Alex looked at the vial Zoe was holding out to her. “That is so very thoughtful,” she lied. She would give the vial to Murad immediately—to find out what Zoe really intended. Was the vial filled with poison? Murad claimed that within the harem rivals poisoned one another frequently. Alex found that very hard to believe.
Zoe handed her the vial, its liquid contents blue. “I do hope you recover from your melancholia soon,” she said, very sweetly. But she did not leave. She continued to smile.
Alex tapped her toe impatiently. “Is there something else?”
Zoe laughed. “Yes, there is. I wanted to invite you to a special celebration later tonight in ray apartments.”
“A celebration?”
“Yes. Isn’t it wonderful? That Rais Jovar has finally brought the American dog to his feet?” Zoe laughed, the sound a trill, but her dark eyes were sharp.
Alex could not smile. She could not even think of a response. But Zoe could not know how she felt about Blackwell, could she? Or had she overheard one of the many discussions she had had with Murad about the Dali Capitan? Or perhaps she knew that Murad had been making inquiries about Blackwell and thePearl?.Alex suddenly realized that she had to exercise far more caution than she so far had.
“You are speechless,” Zoe said.
Alex forced herself to think. “I am not speechless, I am surprised. Perhaps you are forgetting, Zoe, that I am an American?”
