Heart of the Desert by Carol Marinelli

things started to move rather quickly, otherwise I’m sure we would not have been left alone.’ And that small comment told her he had been warned about her, but he did not linger on the matter, just stood silently as a group of robed man swept past, all deep in urgent conversation.
    ‘Where’s Azizah?’
    ‘With the nanny. She is getting her ready.’ At first she assumed it was a slight slip in English, that the nanny was changing a nappy or getting her niece dressed, but Georgie soon realised there had been no miscommunication.
    ‘She will bring her to the car. You need to get your things together too. We should leave soon,’ he said, but Georgie just stood there.
    ‘Leave?’
    ‘We need to get to the hospital.’
    ‘Me?’
    ‘You’re family,’ Ibrahim said. ‘And the future kingis about to be born. Why wouldn’t you want to be there?’
    ‘Because I’ve never spoken to my sister’s sister-in-law before for starters!’
    Felicity had warned her to hold her tongue, to think before she spoke, and Georgie wondered if she’d gone too far, but his mouth moved into a smile she hadn’t been privy to in a very long time, a smile like no other because it told her that his question had been teasing, that he took no offence at her response. It was a smile that welcomed her to his world, that told her he understood how bizarre this all must seem. Then he must have remembered he was still sulking because his smile faded and his words were stern when they came.
    ‘I am looking forward to this about as much as you are. There is no choice.’
    Rina came down with little Azizah, who was wrapped in a delicate cream shawl ready to meet her new cousin, and the enormity of what lay ahead hit Georgie then.
    ‘I really don’t think anyone would notice if I didn’t attend.’
    ‘Oh, they’d notice.’ Ibrahim said. ‘You are to bring Azizah.’
    ‘I’m not ready …’ She gestured to her clothing. The loose white dress was crumpled from the oils, her hair heavy and greasy from her scalp massage, and she didn’t have a scrap of make-up on. Worse was the thought of being amongst the royals. Being a part of such a prestigious event had her head in a spin—but a maid slithered a veil over her and Georgie was grateful in that momentfor the robes, for the shield, for the anonymity it would afford her.
    Without it, she would never have made it through the day.
    As they all walked out to the waiting car and she saw the police motorbike escorts waiting for them, it was all too intense for Georgie. The silver limousine with blacked-out windows that had taken Felicity and herself to the day spa had been replaced by a black vehicle that was far more formal. There was even a flag at the front.
    ‘It’s like a royal parade,’ Georgie attempted as the door opened, and then she swallowed at Ibrahim’s response.
    ‘That’s exactly what it is.’
    One minute she was enjoying a spa day with her sister, the next she was to be a visible member of Zaraq’s most prominent family. One minute she was an occasional, albeit enthusiastic aunt. Now, though, when Rina handed her Azizah, she carried in her arms Zaraq’s newest princess.
    ‘Why aren’t the windows blacked out?’
    ‘We are on official duty!’ Ibrahim informed her. ‘The people of Zaraq want to see their royal family on a day like today.’
    Perhaps he mistook her panicked eyes. ‘We can go separately if you prefer,’ Ibrahim offered, but it wasn’t being with him that had Georgie nervous, it was the thought of doing this without her sister.
    ‘No,’ Georgie croaked. ‘Stay.’
    She was a complicated mix, Ibrahim thought as he climbed in beside her. So outwardly confident, so bold and assured, and yet … He looked over, but she stared ahead, her blue eyes unblinking, and he could hear her drawing in deep breaths. There was a fragility to her that his brother missed, that others missed, and he could not just abandon her on a day like today. As the car moved from