had. His face went blanker than ever.
âWell, we must not keep our guest waiting to be taken home,â he said.
Taeela refused to have the subject changed.
âFirst, tell me I am right, Dudda.â
He said nothing for a while, then sighed.
âYes, you are right. I do not sacrifice my queen, though I lose the game.â
âWord of the Khan, Dudda?â she said, dead serious now, and offered him her hand, palm up. He hesitated briefly and took it between his.
âWord of the Khan, Taeela,â he said.
âIt is spoken, Khan,â she answered, still utterly solemn, then swung round laughing, triumphant, and it was a game again.
âNigel, you are witness. You will come again tomorrow?â
âIf you like. But Iâm afraid I canât do Saturday or Sunday. Weâre going up to the mountains for the weekend.â
âPooh! Nothing is to do in the mountains?â
âThere is for us. My father is nuts about fishing, and my mother and I will go bird-watching. She says theyâve found a really nice old hotel atâIâve forgotten the nameâit begins with an F. For- something.â
âForghal,â said the President. âI must take you there one day, my dear. The hotel is a true relic of the Czarist days ⦠I am afraid there may be problems about that, Nigel. I will call for the latest reports and telephone your father. Meanwhile I think the driver is waiting for you in the lobby. We will see you tomorrow.â
Nigel told his mother what the President had said as soon as he got back to the embassy.
âOh, I hope not,â she said, âbut itâs the sort of thing that happens here. Somebody gets drunk in a bar and says something stupid about the President and they close the whole area off and do a house-to-house search and so on.â
âAre there actually any terrorists? Bombings and stuff?â
âNot like that, not so far. I suppose these days there are fanatics about wanting to turn Dirzhan into a proper Islamic state, though everyone else thinks the Dirzhaki are hopeless heretics and donât even count. Youâll have to ask your fatherâheâll be up for lunch in a few minutes, though I doubt if heâs heard anything about Forghal yet. It canât be that urgent.â
She was wrong on both counts. He was half an hour late and came in with an odd expression on his face. He didnât say anything until heâd sat down.
âThe good news or the bad news?â
âThe President told Nigel there might be a problem about Forghal,â said Nigelâs mother, âso I suppose the bad news is that weâre not going there because the areaâs closed off.â
âRight, but I doubt if thatâs true. Roger called the hotel this morning to check our bookings were OK, and they didnât say anything.â
âThen why on earth â¦? Unless he doesnât want us to go to Forghal for some reason, I canât imagine what.â
âBecause he wants us to go somewhere else?â said Nigel. âAnd thatâs the good news?â
âYouâre spoiling my fun,â said his father. âCare to guess what?â
âI donât know. We were chatting away about going to Forghal, and he started telling Taeela what a nice old hotel it was, and then, all of a sudden he pretty well closed right down and sent me packing.â
âSo the good news is â¦â
âThat weâre still going somewhere we can fish and bird-watch ⦠Heâs taking us out to the thingummy gorge to look at the fish-owls so he can show the British Ambassador how much he cares about them?â
âI worry about you, Niggles. You really are too bright to live long. Yes, heâs invited us to his hunting lodge for the weekend. Thatâs something in itself. Itâs the old hunting lodge of the khans, not that far from the Vamar gorge, so weâll be flying up in a
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