A Kiss In the Desert Read online

  Her two Bedouin Ladies-in-Waiting were, she thought, over thirty and they were beginning to show their age as women invariably did in the East, but they must have been pretty once – perhaps when they had first arrived in the desert it was to join the Sheik’s harem.

  There was no one at dinner except the three of them and their host. The food was delicious and so was the first drink which was offered to Vanda.

  The men drank wine which was a considerable concession to them as Europeans.

  Fortunately Vanda had learned when they were on the yacht how the Bedouins ate and she was therefore not dismayed when she realised there were no knives, forks or spoons.

  The main dish was lamb.

  She knew, because the Earl had told her, that it was cooked in camel’s milk and burgoul, which is wheat boiled in butter or oil and dried in the sun. The wheat is then pressed for a year.

  Vanda did not find it difficult to shape the lamb into small pieces with the burgoul.

  She then put it gingerly into her mouth.

  She had to be careful because the Earl had warned her that the food was always very hot and it needed care not to burn her fingers let alone her mouth.

  Because she was hungry, Vanda thought food had never tasted better.

  She also enjoyed the freshly baked bread called jusri and there were several other dishes which were made of strange ingredients she had never tasted.

  To finish the meal there was henreyne, a delicious sweetmeat made of bread, butter and dates all blended together.

  Vanda guessed that they were being waited on by slaves and she was glad when one of them brought her a basin to wash her hands after she had finished eating.

  The Sheik talked very little whilst dinner was being served.

  Finally when they were brought coffee, he smiled at Vanda and said, “I hope Your Royal Highness is not too tired?”

  “I was a little tired when we arrived, but after such a delicious dinner I feel rested and ready to admire everything that Your Highness plans to show us.”

  “That is just what I hoped you would say,” the Sheik commented.

  He clapped his hands.

  A curtain was drawn back at the end of the room to the sound of Arab music. Four very pretty women appeared, elaborately dressed in jewels and gowns which shimmered with every movement they made.

  They performed a gyrating dance Vanda reckoned was called ‘belly dancing.’ Her father had described it to her as he had seen it in Egypt and a great number of other places in the East.

  She was fascinated, as she thought her two companions must be.

  The women undoubtedly danced extremely well and when they had finished they bowed deeply to their audience.

  “That was most interesting, Your Highness,” Vanda said appreciatively. “Thank you so much for showing us your beautiful Eastern dancing.”

  “I believed it would amuse Your Royal Highness,” the Sheik replied.

  Although it was not late, he obviously expected her to retire so she rose to her feet saying that she was tired and that she hoped she would be able to ride early in the morning.

  “I will arrange everything,” the Sheik promised.

  He bent over her hand, although he did not kiss it, but to Vanda’s surprise the Earl actually touched her skin with his lips.

  “You have been magnificent,” he whispered so that only she could hear.

  She smiled at him before she turned away.

  She walked with the two Bedouin women towards her bedroom. She thought as she did so that it had been a very fascinating and unusual evening.

  ‘It was wonderful of the Earl to ask me to come,’ she told herself.

  Then she wondered if, now she had left, the Sheik would introduce the Earl and Charles to some of his attractive harem.

  She did not know why, but she felt a little pang of resentment. It was just in case the Earl admired the women who had been dancing or others like them, more than her.

  When she had dined on the yacht wearing one of her new evening gowns, she sensed that he was admiring her.

  He had not said much, although Charles remarked on her gown saying,

  “You look tip-top in that dress.”

  On another night he had said,

  “I knew as soon as I saw that gown, you would look fantastic in it. It really is a winner.”

  Vanda had looked at the Earl hoping for his approval.

  After all, she thought, her gown had cost him a lot of money, but he had said the expense was unimportant beside the horses.

  Yet she wanted him to feel that his pounds had been well spent and she had been sure that he had looked at her with admiration.

  On most nights he had only lifted his glass and said,

  “To Your Royal Highness.”

  On another occasion he had remarked,

  “Vanda, you look Royal in every sense of the word.”

  She was not sure whether his comment was a compliment or not, but she hoped that he meant it.

  Now the Bedouin women who had helped her undress had left her alone, so she pulled back the curtains.

  The stars filled the sky and the moon seemed larger than any moon she had ever seen. It lit up the desert with its silver light and it was so lovely that Vanda just stood there for a long time.

  The scene was something she had never seen before and once they had left she would never see it again.

  Then instinctively she wished there was someone with her and they could gaze at the stars together.

  She understood that the stars meant something very precious to those who lived under them like the desert Arabs.

  The gypsies who came from the East always believed that each man possessed a star of his own in the sky.

  Vanda hoped that she owned one.

  But she thought it was unlikely in this part of the world where women were unimportant and so she could not expect to be privileged.

  She sent a prayer up to the sky that one day she would find love and that the man she loved would kiss her under the stars and make the beauty of them even more wonderful than they were at this moment.

  ‘Who could not feel love where there is so much beauty?’ she asked herself.

  She closed the curtains over the windows and went back to bed.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Vanda was having breakfast waited on by her two Bedouin Ladies-in-Waiting.

  She was not quite certain how the timetable for today would be organised so she asked one of them to find out.

  She had slept well and when she climbed out of bed, she put on one of the pretty nightgowns she had made herself.

  Her dressing gown had belonged to her mother. It was really more of a negligee, made of blue satin trimmed with rows of lace and it fastened at the neck with a little bow of velvet in the same colour with velvet bows all down the front.

  Vanda had not yet arranged her hair and it was falling in cascades over her shoulders.

  The Lady-in-Waiting reappeared accompanied by the Earl much to Vanda’s surprise.

  He made his Royal obeisance at the door which Vanda acknowledged seated on a sofa with a low table in front of her.

  “Good morning, my Lord,” she greeted him. “I was wondering about our programme for today.”

  The Earl was standing in front of her and after a moment she remembered she had to tell him to sit down.

  “Please be seated, my Lord, being so tall you are somewhat overpowering.”

  The Earl gave a laugh and replied,

  “Thank you, ma’am, it is most considerate of you.”

  He sat down on a sofa and said, “I have arranged with our host that we should go to inspect his horses as soon as you are ready. As they are a little way from here we will of course be riding.”

  Vanda gave a cry of delight.

  “Tomorrow,” he continued, “a spectacular party is being given for you. The Sheik has invited all the other tribes in the neighbourhood to see the parade of his horses, and of course their leade
rs will have the honour of being presented to Your Royal Highness.”

  The Earl’s eyes were twinkling.

  Vanda was aware that he was amused at the idea of her being so important. However she was determined to behave properly in front of her Bedouin Ladies-in-Waiting and she therefore answered,

  “Thank you, my Lord, for this information. I will dress immediately I have finished my breakfast and join you.”

  The Earl knew that he was now dismissed.

  Rising before he gave the Royal bow he added,

  “Your Royal Highness is most gracious.”

  He left the room and Vanda excitedly ran to her bedroom.

  She was not certain from what he had said whether tomorrow she would be wearing a riding habit or a dress. She therefore chose for today the habit she thought was less spectacular.

  It was however very smart, made in blue piqué which had just become popular in France and decorated with white braid. There was a little muslin blouse inset with lace to wear under it and beneath the full skirt there was a petticoat also trimmed with lace.

  Fortunately when she was choosing her hats Vanda had not forgotten those she would wear with her riding habits. It was, although she was unaware of it, a fashion which had been introduced by the ‘Pretty Horsebreakers.’

  Her chosen hat boasted a tall round crown surmounted with chiffon and the two ends floated out at the back.

  It was extremely becoming.

  When Vanda appeared to find the Sheik and the two gentlemen waiting for her, she knew they all looked at her admiringly.

  The Sheik bowed over her hand saying,

  “Your Royal Highness is as beautiful as the flowers in my garden and the birds flying in the sky. I kneel at your feet in admiration.”

  He spoke in a mixture of England and French.

  Vanda thought his praise was very touching so she thanked him profusely.

  Then her eyes lit up as three horses were brought to the front of the house.

  They were all exceptionally fine Arabs.

  The three men rode stallions while she was mounted on a very beautiful mare.

  They rode North-Eastwards and Vanda was informed that this part of the desert was called El Hammad.

  The sun was shining but it was not too hot and the horses were obviously longing for exercise.

  They rode for nearly half-an-hour at a tremendous pace and then Vanda saw ahead of her what looked like a high black rock. For a moment she could not think what it was.

  As they drew nearer she realised that it was a number of black tents all pitched close together on a piece of ground which appeared to be very fertile.

  As they drew nearer still she could see the horses waiting for them and there were to her delight well over a hundred.

  The Sheik’s tribesmen raised their arms in salute as she approached.

  Horses were moving about loose, apparently finding something to eat beneath their feet, whilst others were being ridden by the tribesmen. Each one seemed to Vanda finer and more spirited than the last.

  The horses were brought up for them to inspect.

  Both the Earl and Charles were finding it impossible to decide which ones they wanted most, as every horse they saw was so fine and perfect to look at.

  The tribesmen were only too willing to extol the virtues of their horses and for some time no one paid much attention to Vanda, who moved around patting one horse after another.

  She guessed the reason why her brother and the Earl were talking so intently to the Sheik. They were obviously trying to persuade him to part with the horses they particularly desired.

  Soon after noon the Sheik insisted on taking them into a large tent where luncheon was waiting for them and it was very different from the fare they had been offered the night before.

  They were served with what Vanda recognised as a favourite food of the Arabs called kemmáye which is a kind of truffle grown in the desert.

  Vanda exclaimed that she found it most delectable as the Sheik explained it closely resembled the true truffle which the French prized so highly.

  “We have three different species here,” he informed her, “the red, the black and the white.”

  Kemmáye is boiled in milk until it forms a paste over which melted butter has been poured.

  Vanda had tasted hers rather tentatively at first, but found it was very pleasant to eat.

  The Earl pointed out that it was a ‘convenient’ food as it was available in the most remote spots in the desert.

  There were also small quails eggs and plenty of the fresh baked fisre with plenty of butter.

  When they had finished eating the Sheik proposed,

  “Now I suggest we all rest. It is very hot at this time of day and afterwards my men wish to give Your Royal Highness a demonstration of their riding.”

  There was nothing his English guests could do but agree.

  Vanda was taken into a small tent where there were two Bedouin women on hand to help her take off her riding habit.

  She then lay on an Eastern bed and the women left her alone. She had the idea however that one of them had sat down outside the door just in case she needed her.

  Although she had slept well the night before, to her surprise she fell fast asleep.

  When she woke it was because the two women had returned, waiting to help her back into her riding habit.

  When she walked out into the sun, she found Charles and the Earl with the Sheik.

  They sat down in what seemed to be a kind of Royal Box specially built for the occasion. It was raised from the ground with three comfortable seats inside.

  For a moment there appeared to be no horses within sight and then there was a shot far away in the distance followed by another.

  A few seconds later Vanda could see men galloping towards them at full speed. They were firing as they did so, yelling and hanging over their horses’ necks with their bridles in their teeth, waving long feathered lances in the air. They threw up their lances and then caught them again at full gallop.

  She remembered reading about the wild plunging charge of the Bedouin horsemen, but Vanda had never imagined it was quite so fantastic or so exhilarating to watch.

  Some of the riders were throwing themselves under their horses’ bellies and firing at full gallop.

  The yelling and shouting must, she thought, be some kind of war cry.

  She felt the Bedouins would ride right into them and there would be a dreadful collision, but at the last second they pulled their horses back onto their haunches.

  It was a brilliant display of horsemanship.

  In fact now it was over it seemed almost impossible that it had ever happened.

  The Earl and Charles were congratulating the Sheik.

  “Your men are wonderful,” they both said.

  Now they were standing by the panting horses and led by the Sheik, Vanda was taken from horse to horse.

  The Sheik introduced her and she was quite certain he made her sound very impressive. The riders bowed to her and she managed to say in Arabic to each one that he was a very good rider.

  When the tribesmen dispersed, the Sheik said they should go home.

  “The next time we come,” he said, “we will stay here. Perhaps in three or four day’s time.”

  Vanda looked quickly at the Earl,

  “I am afraid, Your Highness,” he said, “we will have left you by then.”

  “Oh, but that would be a mistake,” the Sheik protested. “I have many more animals to show you and horses from further towards the Euphrates are being brought here for your inspection.”

  “I still think, Your Highness, it will be impossible for us to stay longer than perhaps three more days. You will understand that I have many responsibilities in England and I cannot be away too long.”

  The Sheik did not protest further, but there was an expression on his face which made Vanda believe he was determined to keep them.

  When they returned to the house it was getting
late and nearly time for dinner.

  Vanda was now feeling a little tired and was glad to rest and she hoped that they would not stay up too late. They had certainly not been so last night, but she suspected that the Sheik had planned another entertainment for this evening.

  Heading towards her bedroom, she walked first into the sitting room where she had eaten breakfast and Charles followed her where they were alone.

  For the moment there was no sign of the two Bedouin Ladies-in-Waiting.

  “Favin and I,” Charles told her in a low voice, “have chosen at least twenty horses we would like to buy, but our host is being rather difficult about it. I wonder if there is any chance of you persuading him.”

  “I will do my best, but I certainly thought he had promised you that if you brought him a Royal Princess, he would allow you to buy a number of his horses.”

  “I think he intends to give us perhaps three or four as a present,” Charles replied. “But we want more than that.”

  “I do not blame you. They are the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen.”

  “I think the same, so do please see what you can do for us at dinner.”

  Vanda chose one of her prettiest gowns and decided to wear the best pieces of the jewellery the Earl had lent her.

  She had almost forgotten about the Earl’s jewel case. Her maid at Brackenshaw House had told her that she had put it into the suitcase which contained her hair brushes.

  She opened the jewel case and found that it contained the most spectacular and beautiful necklace she had ever seen.

  There was a huge diamond in the pendant which hung from the centre of the necklace and it was matched by the same design on a bracelet.

  She felt as she entered the room where they would dine that the Sheik should certainly be impressed, although the Earl and her brother might think she was slightly overdressed.

  She did in fact notice a twinkle in the Earl’s eye as she crossed the room.

  All three men bowed gracefully to her.

  They waited until she had seated herself on the same sofa as last night. She was next to the Sheik again and turning to him she said,

  “I cannot tell you, Your Highness, how much I have enjoyed today. It a day I shall always remember.”