The prince straightened. 'I am called away. Come, I will have Jubayar take you back to the women's quarters so that you can rest and ready yourself for this evening.'

The gong sounded again, and the prince led Caitriona back through a long corridor to one of the reception halls, and there commanded the eunuch to conduct her to the women's quarters. She looked for Rognvald, or one of the knights, as they walked back through the interconnecting maze of corridors and passages, but saw none of the other guests.

Mahdi and Pila'i were waiting when she returned. While she rested, they prepared a bath for her, and laid out clothes for the evening. Cait surrendered herself to their ministrations, and passed the rest of the day in a pleasant haze of pampered indulgence.

As evening came on, the serving maids dressed her, arranged her hair, and brought out a necklace of jewels for her to wear. And then, when she was ready, the gong sounded, and a few moments later Jubayar arrived to take her to her dinner with the prince. She followed her escort through the covered courtyard, and as they passed the alabaster fountain, she heard a rustling sound and turned in time to see Prince Hasan's sister, Danji, disappearing behind one of the leafy palms. Cait had just a glimpse and then she was gone, but received the distinct impression that the young woman had been trying to attract her attention.

She turned back to find Jubayar watching her, his wide, fleshy lips twisted in a sneer of suspicion and disgust.

Caitriona dined alone with Prince Hasan that night. He fed her duckling glazed with a compote of honeyed apricots, boiled rice with cardamom and pine kernels, and baked quail's eggs. He plied her with spiced wine and sweetmeats, and pledged his love for her-not once, but twice. And she had accepted his blandishments.

She returned to her bedchamber slightly dazed and giddy from the heady potion of wine and murmured endearments. With the help of Mahdi and Pila'i, she undressed and went to sleep contemplating the evening in all its glittering grandeur.

Arrayed like an Eastern princess in layer upon layer of costly silks and jewels, she had been escorted by Jubayar to her dinner with the prince. She arrived to find the Peacock Room completely bare of any furnishings whatsoever, and stood for a moment peering into the dim, empty interior, feeling vaguely disappointed; for she had allowed herself to imagine something of the opulence of the previous evening. Her first thought was that the prince had forgotten his promise. Then again, perhaps she had not understood him correctly. As she stood in the centre of the turquoise-tiled chamber, trying to think what could have happened, the prince arrived.

Dressed in flowing black robes edged with gold filigree, and wearing a turban of glistening Damascus cloth, he was the very embodiment of princely nobility. Slender and tall, his trim waist wrapped in a wide cloth belt into which had been bound a long curved dagger with a ruby handle and golden sheath, he swept across the room to her in bold, eager strides, and greeted her with a kiss on both hands.

Sensing her petulance, he smiled with wry amusement, clapped his hands and, in the manner of a sorcerer demonstrating a wonder, cried a word in Arabic which sounded like: 'Haydee!'

Doors at the far end of the empty chamber were flung open and a succession of white-turbaned servants appeared. First came four men carrying iron standards, one in each hand; on each standard a candletree burned with ten lit candles. Hard on the heels of these first came four more men, carrying a lengthy roll of scarlet-and-blue figured carpet, which they placed at one end of the room and proceeded to unroll to the other; before they had reached the end, four more serving men appeared bearing enormous satin cushions on their heads, and a smaller carpet roll under their arms. No sooner had the first servants finished, than the second rank unrolled their rug in the centre of the carpet, and placed the cushions on it.

Meanwhile, two more servants had entered carrying a low table between them, which they placed before the cushions. Scarcely had these departed when the first returned pushing gigantic pots of hammered brass containing miniature palm trees on wheeled platforms. Additional tables appeared, and more plants and live greenery in beaten brass containers, until the room began to take on the aspect of an Arabian garden. Then followed satin-covered chests and carved wooden boxes of various shapes and sizes; three flaming charcoal braziers and two cauldron-shaped copper incense burners; and a three-panel pierced screen made of rosewood, which was set up behind the bank of cushions; and an enormous brass gong.

Lastly, a canopy of blue silk was placed over the table and the candles arranged around it to bathe the diners in a golden glow of gently flickering light. Cait was captivated by the speed with which the transformation was effected, and by the wonderful result. In her excitement, she kissed the prince lightly on the cheek.

Five musicians appeared, arranged themselves and their instruments at a discreet distance from the canopy, and began to play. As the softly swaying melody filled the air, Hasan lifted his hand and declared, 'This is how a true Prince of the Orient lives. Wherever he goes – whether to dine, or sleep, or,' he paused, taking Cait's hand, 'to receive his honoured guests-the noble Arab has only to command, and his naked word is transmuted into magnificence and splendour.

'But come,' he said, leading her to the bank of cushions, 'let us sit and take our ease. I have arranged food and entertainment for your pleasure. Tonight, darling Ketmia, you will sample delicacies to make the angels envious.'

'Will Danji be joining us?' she asked. 'Or Rognvald?'

'No, not tonight.' He smiled, his black eyes glinting in the candlelight. 'Tonight, my love, we spend together, you and I.'

Cait felt a quiver of illicit excitement at the implications of his declaration, but suddenly the skin at the nape of her neck crawled. A sensation of dread descended over her, and she felt as if she had just seen a snake. At any other time, this reaction would have warned her. Now, however, it irritated her. Where, she demanded of herself, was the danger?

She told herself that Prince Hasan was an admirable and generous host, a thoughtful and trustworthy friend; he was elegant, wealthy, and refined. He had already demonstrated his loyalty to her in his vow to save her sister, and now he spoke his love. No man, until now, had ever called her beautiful; to be thought so thrilled her in a way she could not have imagined. Who else had ever said the things to her that Hasan had said? A woman might search all her life for such a man and never find him. And here he was beside her, bidding her to take her ease and join him in a night of pleasure and delight.

And yet, the prospect, for all its seductive charm, produced not the rapturous warmth of mutual regard, but a thin, icy tingle of danger. She saw Hasan's smile, and it was the corpse-like grin of death.

Why should this be? Why should his loving declaration raise such dread?

As she walked to the table and sank down on to the satin cushions, she determined to ignore the warning sensations and enjoy the evening to the full. Firmly, and with an air of defiant indulgence, she pushed all such unpleasantness from her and wilfully embraced the prince's invitation to luxuriate in the warmth of their new-kindled affection.

Folding her legs beneath her, she reclined on an elbow while the prince, taking up a leather-tipped mallet, struck the gong twice. Before the sound had faded, the door opened and serving maids appeared-two of them with trays, one bearing a jar and two gold chalices, and one a selection of silver bowls. While one of the serving maids placed the bowls on the table, the other poured the wine.