The Sheikh

She left him abruptly, her heart racing. There was something a little unnerving about him, something that made her uneasy. There was an arrogance about him, and something she couldn’t quite place—a feeling that beneath the surface this man was not quite what he seemed. He certainly wasn’t at all like most of the men she knew.

At college she’d met serious-minded professors, the brothers, cousins or fathers of her friends and fellow students. They were all much alike, gentlemen and sons of gentlemen. Some had been nicer than others, of course, but they had all behaved properly, treating her with the respect due to a young woman of good family.

At times Chloe had almost wished they wouldn’t be quite so respectful, but she knew she wasn’t the kind of girl that drove men wild with passion. She wasn’t pert and pretty like Justine, and she didn’t realise that her quiet, thoughtful manner was in itself very attractive—or that she was rather lovely in her own way.

‘Oh, there you are, my dear,’ Charles Hicks greeted her with a smile as she went up to him. ‘We were just wondering where you had got to, weren’t we, Amelia?’

The professor and his secretary, who was of a similar age to himself, had seen many such send-offs on board ship, and had chosen to stay well back from the crowd flooding the rails. They were both dressed in sober tweed suits, which seemed quite unsuitable for the occasion to Chloe.

‘Oh, Chloe was saying goodbye to her friend,’ Amelia Ramsbottom said. ‘You can’t expect her to spend all her time with us, Charles. She’s young and this is her first time on board ship. She ought to enjoy herself while she can.’ Chloe was aware of a slight hostility in the professor’s secretary, and suspected she might be a little jealous of her. Amelia had been travelling with him for years and must wonder why he had invited a young woman to accompany them this time. Chloe had wondered herself at first, but she suspected it was merely kindness on the part of her father’s old friend. He was a successful man, and could afford to indulge his whims, and no doubt he had been aware that money was a little tight in the Randall household.

‘It is certainly all very exciting,’ Chloe said. ‘But I want to help Professor Hicks as much as I can.’

‘I shan’t need you all the time,’ he said. ‘You must enjoy the voyage, my dear. I may ask you to take some dictation for me. Amelia types all my work beautifully, but I go too fast for her when I dictate. Your shorthand should be a big help to me.’

‘I’m going to my cabin,’ Amelia announced. ‘If I were you, Chloe, I should do the same. You may find yourself feeling a little unwell once we get properly underway.’

Charles Hicks watched her go. She was a small, thin woman with greying hair and a prim manner. ‘I fear Amelia is not a good traveller on board, Chloe. She has been a loyal companion for many years, but I really believe she would prefer to stay in England. I think this may also be my last adventure.’

‘Oh, that would be a shame, sir.’

‘Please don’t call me sir—Charles. You must call me Charles.’ His faded blue eyes twinkled at her. He was still a good-looking man though into his senior years. ‘I am sixty-nine, Chloe. I think I shall be content to settle once I have completed this trip. I spent many years in Egypt, as you know, and I have been into the desert on numerous occasions—but I am still looking for a lost city…’ He laughed as she looked at him. ‘Something as wonderful as Petra that would make my name…but I dare say I shall never find it.’

Chloe smiled her understanding. She knew about Petra—in Greek it meant ‘city of rock’ and was an ancient city of Arabia, situated between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqabah, near the intersection of important caravan routes from Gaza to the Mediterranean. It had once been a flourishing city, but then it fell into decay and had been lost, rediscovered in the nineteenth century by a Swiss explorer.

‘I expect many people would like to discover something as wonderful as Petra,’ she said. ‘As you know, my own interest is in discovering beautiful poetry that has been ignored for a long time. Of course, I don’t read Arabic, though I can recognise certain words, but I have done some research and I have been fortunate enough to find some wonderful translations into French and English, which I am collecting together for a book I hope to publish one day.’

‘Yes, so your father told me. I find that interesting. You must show me your work another day, Chloe—but now I think we should follow Amelia’s lead and find our cabins.’

Chloe had been given an inside cabin, which was disappointing in a way, because it would have been pleasant to look out at the sea and the sky. However, she knew that they were more expensive, and she didn’t intend to spend much time in her cabin anyway.

She had wondered how long it would take her to find her sea legs, but soon discovered that she was unaffected by the slight swell of the sea. It might be different if they hit rough weather, but for the moment she was feeling fine and enjoying herself.

Amelia did not join them for dinner that evening, which Chloe thought a shame since there was a festive air as everyone was greeted by the captain when they entered the dining room. Chloe and the professor hadn’t been invited to the most important table that evening, but the other passengers at their own table seemed very friendly and she enjoyed being introduced and talking to all of them.

‘Is this your first voyage?’ a rather plump lady called Mrs Vermont asked. ‘I am a seasoned traveller, of course, but my niece Jane is with me for the first time. You two girls will be company for each other. Now, isn’t it lucky that you are both here?’

Jane Vermont seemed rather a silly girl to Chloe, but they were of a similar age so she smiled and agreed. It would be impossible to avoid the Vermonts and she would need someone to talk to. Most of the other passengers seemed to be much older, which was a little disappointing.

‘What are you going to do after dinner?’ Jane asked her. ‘There’s masses of entertainment—a dance, the live show and they are running a film this evening. I would like to see it, but Aunt Vera doesn’t want to go.’

‘It depends,’ Chloe said cautiously. ‘What are they showing?’

‘I’m not sure—shall we ask the captain later?’

Chloe thought the captain would have more important things to occupy his time, and surely there were enough stewards to ask anyway. Jane was looking towards the top table, smiling and waving, obviously wanting to be noticed.

Chloe glanced that way herself and saw that one of the favoured guests was the man she had bumped into earlier. He was wearing a very elegant black dinner suit and a pristine white shirt with a black bow tie. As she looked at him, he seemed to become aware of her and lifted his glass to her in a salute.

‘Who is that perfectly divine man?’ Jane asked immediately. ‘He’s so handsome—just like Rudolph Valentino, dark and mysterious and sort of threatening.’ She gave an artificial shiver. ‘Do you know him?’

‘No—we met briefly on deck earlier, but we weren’t introduced,’ Chloe said and looked down. The smoked salmon she was eating had suddenly become very interesting and she kept her eyes firmly fixed on her plate. Her heart was behaving very stupidly, and she was afraid that her cheeks might be flushed.

‘Well, he seems very interested in you,’ Jane said and giggled. ‘I wish he would look at me like that…smouldering, that’s the word.’ She smiled at him, but to her discomfiture got nothing but a blank stare. ‘Did you know that there is a film crew on board? They are American, I hear.’

‘A film crew?’ Chloe looked at her, her attention caught. ‘I had no idea—are there any famous actors or actresses with them?’

‘No—I think they probably flew to wherever they’re going. The director is with the crew, though. I think he wants to take some shots on board for some reason. They say he’s looking for a star for his new picture.’ She preened her fluffy dark hair. ‘Do you think I look a bit like Mary Pickford, Chloe?’

Chloe didn’t think she looked at all like the famous star everyone called the ‘World’s Sweetheart’, but she was embarrassed to say so straight out.

‘Well, perhaps a little bit,’ she said. ‘Your hair is the same as hers was in her last film.’

She saw that Jane was pleased, and it was obvious that she had chosen to wear her hair that way in order to look as much like the star as possible.

She really was a bit silly, Chloe thought, and wished her cousin had been on the ship with them, but it was no use sighing over something she couldn’t have. She glanced briefly towards the table, and saw that he was lighting a cigarette for a woman sitting to his left. She was a very beautiful woman, expensively dressed and very sure of herself as she smiled into his eyes.

Chloe looked away again quickly. She wasn’t in that sort of league, and couldn’t compete with a woman like that—not that she wanted to, of course.

‘Do say you will come and watch the picture with me,’ Jane said as people began to make a move from their tables a little later. ‘I just asked one of the stewards and he said it was Valentino’s latest picture. I am longing to see it.’

‘I saw that before I came away,’ Chloe said, but then as Jane’s face fell. ‘Oh, well, I suppose I wouldn’t mind seeing it again.’

‘You two young things get off,’ Mrs Vermont said indulgently. ‘I’ll sit here and keep the professor company for a while.’

Chloe caught the look of dismay in his eyes before he managed to hide it and smiled inwardly.

‘Do you mind?’ she asked him. ‘Or is there some work you would like me to do for you this evening?’

He looked tempted, but shook his head. ‘I am not such an ogre as to make you work on your first evening, Chloe. No, my dear, you run along and enjoy yourself.’

Jane was full of the film as they left the small theatre afterwards. She went on and on about the star of the film being so handsome and exciting, until Chloe thought she would scream.

‘I really ought to go now,’ she said. ‘I must see if Miss Ramsbottom needs anything before I go to my own cabin.’

In her haste to escape her chattering companion, Chloe took the next turning, which she imagined to be the corridor leading to her own and Miss Ramsbottom’s cabins. However, when she got to the end and found that it led into yet another corridor leading in a different direction, she realised that she had come the wrong way.

As she turned to retrace her steps, she saw someone coming towards her and hesitated, wondering if there was some way to avoid another meeting. It would look foolish if she went back the way she knew led only to the staterooms, so she really had no choice but to stand her ground.

‘Ah, so we meet again,’ he said and looked amused. ‘I really think we should introduce ourselves, Miss…?’

Chloe hesitated, then took a deep breath. This was ridiculous!

‘Chloe Randall,’ she said and offered her hand. ‘I am travelling with Miss Amelia Ramsbottom and Professor Charles Hicks—and I seem to have taken a wrong turning.’

‘Very easy to do,’ he said, and took her hand, holding it for a moment before releasing it. ‘I am Armand…Philip Armand…and if you would care to tell me the number of the cabin you seek, I should be delighted to help you find your way, Miss Randall.’

Chloe was trying to make up her mind what nationality he was. His surname sounded a bit French, but she didn’t think he looked French—and he had hesitated for a moment, almost as if the name he had given her was not his own. But surely he wouldn’t lie—why should he?