NINE

IT WAS LATE the next afternoon when the limousine pulled into the compound. The desert heat was oppressive, as it always was at that time of day, but Pandora was barely conscious of it. “Does Raoul know that I’m now an official thorn in his flesh?” She jumped out of the car before the driver could come around to open the door. “Do you think he’ll quit and leave in a huff? That would be terrible, wouldn’t it? You’d probably divorce me.” She went into Philip’s arms as Philip got out of the car. “Wasn’t it nice of Alex Ben Raschid and Sabrina to give us that lovely luncheon? I like them so much, don’t you?”

He chuckled as his arms went around her. “Pandora, you’re a bundle of energy. You’ve been running in high gear ever since we left for Marasef this morning.”

“I’m happy,” she said simply, her face glowing radiantly. “So happy, I feel as if the whole world is spinning like a beautiful pinwheel. My pinwheel.”

He was silent for a moment, his face buried in the hair at her temple. “It’s yours, if you want it,” he said gruffly. “If you want the whole damn world, I’ll find a way of getting it for you.” He drew back and smiled with rare gentleness. “What do you want, Pandora?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. Why should I want anything more?” She made a face. “Except, perhaps, Raoul’s blessing. Did you tell him we were going to be married today?”

Philip motioned for the driver to leave and took her elbow. “Yes,” he said as he propelled her up the steps. “And you’ll be astounded to know that he didn’t give notice immediately. He said he believed that he had become accustomed to the catastrophes that surround you, and he would, on no account, desert me in my time of need.” His eyes were twinkling. “I think he regards you as his greatest challenge.”

“He likes me,” Pandora said cheerfully. “He’ll get used to the hullabaloo in time.” She stopped on the top step, a sudden frown creasing her brow. “You’re not going to want me to change, are you? Are you going to expect dignity and serenity now that I’m the lady of the house?”

His brows lifted. “Dignity and serenity from you? Hardly. I’ll immediately have you committed if you develop either of those qualities. The best I can hope for are brief interludes in between the storms.”

Her expression was clouding. “Am I that bad? I don’t want to make life uncomfortable for you. Perhaps I could try to—”

He held up his hand. “Don’t try. Like Raoul, I’ve become accustomed to living in the middle of a tempest. I’d probably find serenity hellishly boring after the past weeks.” There was a teasing glint in his eye. “I demand even less of my wife than of my friends.” He waved his hand magnanimously. “If you wish to bring another cobra into my salon, feel free.”

“Well, now that you mention it, I’ve been wanting to talk to you about Beldar and Hanar. Don’t you think we could—”

The door swung open.

“Saved in the nick of time,” Philip said in an undertone as Raoul stepped aside to allow them to enter. “Though only temporarily, I’m sure.”

There was a warm smile on Raoul’s face. “May I offer my most sincere best wishes?” he asked as he closed the door behind them. “I’ve put a magnum of champagne on ice. I thought that would be in order.”

“Thank you, Raoul.” Pandora gave him a brilliant smile. “Champagne would be very fitting.” Her eyes were sparkling with mischief. “See, I do recognize proper decorum every now and then.”

“Recognizing is not performing,” Raoul said with a tiny smile. “But then, the wife of Sheikh El Kabbar will not have to obey rules. She can make her own. It is for you to decide what is fitting.” He bowed slightly. “Will you have dinner in your suite or in the dining room?”

“Neither.” Pandora turned eagerly to Philip. “Let’s ride up into the hills and have a picnic. I can’t stand being cooped up anymore. I haven’t been out of that room for two weeks, except to go to Marasef today.”

“Why not?” Philip smiled indulgently. He released her elbow and turned to Raoul. “A picnic supper then. Phone the stables and have our horses saddled in about thirty minutes.” He turned back to Pandora. “We are going to take time to change out of our bridal finery?”

“You look wonderful in white,” she said idly. The faultless tailoring of his white suit gave his lean, powerful body an elegant panache. “I hate for you to take it off.”

His dark eyes were limpid as he gazed at her. “I assure you, I’m looking forward to it exceedingly.”

There was a sound from Raoul that was halfway between a chuckle and a cough. He turned away. “I’ll make the arrangements at once,” he said with sedate dignity. He abruptly turned back with a frown. “I’m extremely sorry. It completely slipped my mind. Dr. Madchen is waiting in the first-aid room. He’s been there for over an hour.”

“Really?” She felt Philip stiffen beside her, and she smiled reassuringly. It was sweet of him to be so protective, but not even an encounter with her father could dampen her spirits today. “Did you tell him why we were in Marasef?”

“Yes, of course.” Raoul’s lips tightened. “I also told him it was a most inconvenient time for an examination, but he insisted. He’s going away to Munich on vacation tomorrow and wants to tidy up all the loose ends.”

A loose end. How like her father to describe her in those terms. For an instant Pandora felt a familiar twinge, but instantly dismissed it. “Well, we wouldn’t want to mess up his neat, tidy schedule,” she said with careful lightness. “I’ll see him, of course. Perhaps you’d better tell the grooms it will be an hour instead of thirty minutes.”

“You don’t have to see him,” Philip said quietly. “I’ll go and explain that it’s not a good time. He can see you when he comes back.”

She shook her head. “I’ll tell him I don’t have time for a complete examination. Maybe if I let him see how well I look, he’ll be happy with a token checkup.” She smiled. “It will be fine. The world’s my pinwheel today. Remember?” She started down the hall in the direction of the first-aid room. “I’ll meet you in the suite when I’ve finished.”

Karl Madchen was sitting at the desk in the first-aid room, a cup of tea in his hand, his gaze on the medical journal on the blotter before him. He looked up abstractedly as she came into the room. “Good afternoon, Pandora. Sit down on the examining table. I’ll be with you as soon as I finish this paragraph.”

The pinwheel slowed slightly in its giddy spinning, as if the wind had suddenly lessened.

She lifted her chin and moved decisively across the room. She hopped on the table, smoothing her cranberry brocade skirt against the sterile dark blue plastic. “Sure, take your time.” She swung her feet idly as she glanced around the room. It looked as sterile as the examining table on which she was sitting, and she felt a sudden chill.

Her father was rising from the chair and crossing the room. “That’s a very pretty dress,” he said, “but I’m afraid you’ll have to take it off. I want this examination to be fairly complete, since I’ll be away for over a month.” He took a stethoscope from the drawer of the cabinet beside the table. “My assistant informs me you’re fully recovered now.”

“I am. I feel wonderful,” she said brightly. “So there’s no need for a complete exam. I just came to show you how well I’m doing.” She paused deliberately. “And to receive your best wishes. I was married today.”

“Raoul told me. Congratulations. That was quite a coup. I would never have suspected that a person of your impulsive nature would have had the patience to plan a maneuver like this.”

Congratulations, not best wishes. The pinwheel design was visible now, the movement sluggish. “Maneuver?”

“Is the soreness completely gone?” He picked up her wrist, his gaze on his watch as he took her pulse. “No more bleeding?”

“No, not since the night of the fall.”

“Are you experiencing any lack of energy or nausea?”

“No nausea. I’ve been very sleepy lately.” She smiled. “I thought I’d ask you for some vitamins.”

“Yes, of course. I’ll leave a supply of multivitamins and iron tablets here in the cabinet. However, the drowsiness would have passed shortly even without them.”

“I would have thought I’d be completely over the shock by now.”

“Oh, you are. You’re fully recovered from the accident. The drowsiness is merely because of the child.”

“The child?” she repeated with numb lips.

He was reaching into a drawer and extracting a blood pressure gauge. “You may experience some morning sickness during the next month. It’s not uncommon during the second and third months of pregnancy. I’ll leave you pills for that as well.” He glanced up with a frown as he unrolled the bandage. “I do wish you would permit me to give you a thorough examination before I leave Sedikhan. Sheikh El Kabbar was most concerned about the safety of his child. I wouldn’t like him to think I’ve been derelict in my duty.”

The pinwheel shuddered to a stop. It didn’t matter. It was suddenly only a tawdry toy anyway.

“He was concerned?”

“Of course.” He was rolling up the long sleeve of her gown, not looking at her. “We both know how possessive the man is. Naturally he would be worried about his first child and heir. Why else would he rush you out of your sick bed to ensure the child’s legitimacy?”

Breathtaking agony. “No reason that I can think of.” Her voice was almost steady, she noticed. How odd, when the world was crumbling all about her.

He was winding the pressure gauge around her upper arm. “It was clever of you to play upon his possessiveness to get what you wanted. I was surprised to hear that the sheikh had decided to—”

“Shut up!” Her voice wasn’t steady any longer. It was shaking with an agony and a wild rage that seemed to fill the universe. “I don’t want to hear any more!” She jumped to the floor, fumbling with the gauge on her arm. “Go away. Go to Munich, or go to hell. I don’t care which.” She had at last gotten the bandage off and she threw it on the floor. “Just stay away from me!”

She was running toward the door, trying to escape the cold, sterile room. Not that there was any place to run. The rest of the world was cold and sterile too. Tears were blinding her, and she didn’t see Philip until she ran into him in the hall just outside the door. His arms closed around her, steadying her. “Whoa! You always go at everything full steam . . .” The smile faded as he looked down into her face. “Pandora?”

She tore herself away. “Damn you. Damn you to hell, Philip!” Her eyes were blazing in her white face. “I could kill you.” Then she was running down the hall away from him.

Philip’s hands clenched into fists at his sides. He muttered a vicious oath as he threw open the door to the first-aid room.

Madchen was kneeling to pick up a pressure gauge that lay on the floor, appearing as impassive as ever. “You told her,” Philip said with barely controlled ferocity. “You told her, dammit.”

“Not intentionally. Naturally I thought she’d know by now.” Madchen rose to his feet and straightened his spectacles. “It’s been over two weeks, and I thought surely you would have discussed the birth of the child. How else could she have persuaded you to marry her?”

“Persuaded me?” Philip drew a deep breath and tried to control the rage that was flowing through him. He wanted to murder the son of a bitch. “No, I hadn’t told her yet. I was going to do it in the next few days. But you blew it. You blew it to hell, didn’t you?”

“I’m extremely sorry. If I’d known, I assure you I wouldn’t have—”

“You don’t have the emotional capacity even for regret, Madchen,” Philip bit out. “Get the hell out of Sedikhan. Don’t take a month, take six months.” He turned on his heel. “By then I may be able to look at you without wanting to strangle you. It’s not likely, but there’s a possibility.”

The door slammed behind him.

Pandora didn’t look up from her packing as Philip came into the room. She had changed into jeans and a yellow tunic top, but her feet were still bare. The brocade dress was tossed into a silken heap on the bed beside the open suitcase. “You can stop packing,” Philip said. “You aren’t going anywhere.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not taking any of your expensive bribes,” she said jerkily. “I’m only taking what I came with. I’m sure you have no use for an orange wig.” She sat down on the bed and began to put on her white tennis shoes. “And it might come in handy for me.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” he repeated grimly. For the first time she noticed he had changed from his white suit into black riding pants and a black sweat shirt. The somber color accentuated his air of menace.

“The hell I’m not.” She tied the lace of the second shoe and stood up. “I’m going far and I’m going fast. If you don’t want me to use the plane or the car, I’ll walk.” She slammed the lid of the suitcase shut and fastened it. “Or hitchhike.”

“You’re upset. I know that. Will you please listen to me?” He came toward her. “I don’t know what your lovable father said to you, but I’m sure it was expressed in the worst possible terms. He has a talent that way.”

She whipped around to face him, flags of color suddenly flying in her pale cheeks. “He didn’t try to present it any way at all. He just told me the cold facts. I’m going to have a child. Too bad neither one of you thought to inform me.”

“There were reasons. If you’ll calm down, I’ll tell you what they were.”

“I know what they were. I thought that you might be feeling sorry for me, but it was more than that, wasn’t it?” Her eyes blazed up at him. “I was carrying your child. That made all the difference. You couldn’t let me leave once you knew that. It would have offended your every instinct.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said roughly.

“Don’t I?” She smiled bitterly. “I thought your about-face was a little too good to be true. I guess I wanted to believe it so desperately that I let you convince me. You were very plausible, Philip. I swallowed the big lie without even batting an eye.”

“I didn’t lie,” he said between his teeth. “I don’t lie, dammit. I just didn’t let you know the whole truth. I was going to tell you soon, but I was afraid you’d react like this.”

“So you decided to secure the fortress before you let me in on the secret. Didn’t it occur to you that I had a right to know about the child before I married you?”

“It occurred to me. I suppose I was just too scared to risk it.”

“You should have been afraid. I never would have married you.” Her hands clenched at her sides. “You had no right to fool me like that.”

“Perhaps not, but I took that right anyway.” His lips twisted. “I assume you think you’re going to run back to your rock group and file for divorce now?”

“With the speed of light. I’ll be free so fast it will make your head swim.”

“No!” he said with great precision. “There will be no divorce and no running away. You’re not leaving.”

“The devil I’m not. You’ll have to throw me into the dungeon to keep me here.”

“That won’t be necessary. The dungeon is very dirty and uncomfortable, as it hasn’t been used for a century or so. I think house arrest will do as well. I’ll even extend your privileges to the stables as long as you understand that you won’t be permitted to ride.”

She was staring at him incredulously. “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh yes, I’m very serious.” His smile was bittersweet. “You told me once I was a good deal like my father. Perhaps you were right. He imprisoned my mother for nine months before his child was born. Believe me, I’ll do the same if I have to.”

“You’re barbaric,” she whispered.

“But then, you’ve always known that.” His lips were a thin line. “You should have expected me to react like this. I’m not letting you leave here. When you calm down we’ll talk.”

“We have talked.”

“You’ve done all the talking. I haven’t even been permitted to defend myself.” He turned away. “When I leave this room I’m giving orders that you’re not to leave the premises. There will be guards posted throughout the house and in the courtyard. Your freedom won’t be circumscribed unless you try to leave the grounds.” He glanced over his shoulder, and for a moment his eyes were bright with pain. “When you’re ready to let me explain, send for me. I’ll try to give you the time you need, but I don’t know if I can.” His voice was suddenly harsh. “I’m hurting too, dammit.”

She watched the door close behind him with stunned disbelief. He meant it. She heard the muffled sound of his voice through the closed door. He must be telephoning his blasted orders for her restriction right now. Within fifteen minutes the entire place would be bristling with guards.

She felt fury surge through her. Well, she wouldn’t be here in fifteen minutes. She’d have to leave the suitcase. She ran to the bureau and grabbed up her passport and wallet and jammed them into the back pockets of her jeans. Then she was out on the balcony, climbing over the balustrade. It was only a six- or seven-foot drop to the courtyard below and, by lowering herself with her hands until she hung full length, she lessened the jump to only a few feet.

Then she was running across the courtyard in the direction of the stables.