'You and your men are exhausted,' said the prince, falling into step beside Rognvald. 'Allow me to send a hot supper to you in your quarters. That way you can use the baths and eat at your leisure.'

'Well,' said Rognvald, glancing back at Cait, who appeared not to have heard, 'if it is no trouble.'

'Not in the least,' Hasan assured him. 'I myself often do this when I return from a day of hunting. Otherwise, I would fall asleep at the table, and that would never do. We will talk tomorrow.'

He sent them off with words of encouragement and, turning to Cait, said, 'I am afraid you must endure my company once again. Your knights have chosen to take their meal in their quarters tonight.

To be sure, it is for the best – they have been riding three days and are very tired.'

'Oh,' replied Cait, disappointment flitting across her features. 'I had hoped to hear more from Rognvald about their searches.'

'Tomorrow, my love,' promised the prince. 'We will all sit down together and tell what we have learned. And, who knows? Maybe tomorrow Ali Waqqar will join us and we can put an end to this trouble at last.'

Dinner that night was as sumptuous and enjoyable as any that had gone before. Prince Hasan was charming and attentive, winsome in his manner, and subtly insinuating in his flattery. This time, however, she was able to plead weariness and leave the table with most of the night still before her. Under Jubayar's stern and silent eye, she returned to her chamber feeling more than ever as if she were playing the hapless hare to the prince's falcon.

Mahdi and Pila'i were surprised to see her so early, and took the opportunity to brush her hair and braid it in preparation for bed, chattering away to her, blithely indifferent to the fact that Cait could not understand a word they said. So absorbed were they in their talk that neither one of them heard the gong ringing at the entrance to the Ladies' Court.

'Shh!' said Cait, putting her finger to her lips. 'Listen.'

The gong sounded again-a low ringing tone, not loud.

Cait stood and was moving towards the door, when it burst open and Lord Rognvald entered. The two serving maids began to cry out, but Cait silenced them with a sharp slap on the arm apiece. 'Hush,' she said. 'I will speak to my friend.'

She crossed to where Rognvald was waiting by the door. 'Rognvald, I was hoping to speak to you. How did you know where to find me?'

'Please, I have little time,' he said. 'Svein and Rodrigo will keep the guard Jubayar busy as long as they can, but he could return at any moment and I dare not let him find me here.'

'Yes, go on.'

'God knows it gives me no pleasure to say it.'

'Pray, speak. What is it?'

'The prince is lying about the offer of ransom. He never sent his men to the settlements.'

'But, just today I saw -'

'No.' Rognvald shook his head firmly. 'The offer was never made.'

'Are you certain?'

'I know enough Arabic to discuss ransom,' the knight replied. 'And no one in any of the villages knew anything about Hasan's offer.'

'And All Waqqar?'

'Him they knew about-that much was clear. But no one would talk to us. I think they are afraid.'

'What should we do?'

Rognvald regarded her intently, his eyes searching, probing. 'If you are with me in this -'

'I am.'

'Then we must confront Hasan and make him tell us the truth.'

'I agree,' Cait replied. 'And it must be soon.'

'Tomorrow morning-when we meet to break fast. We will take him by surprise.'

Cait nodded and, suddenly very grateful for the tall knight's stalwart devotion, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Rognvald smiled suddenly. 'Your change of heart is wondrous to behold. Truly, I did not think you would hear any word against the prince.'

She raised an eyebrow. 'Have I been so prickly of late?'

'Lady, a bramble thicket is more welcoming.'

Putting her hands on his chest, she pushed him towards the door. 'Go now, my lord. I fear you have outstayed your welcome.'

He opened the door a crack and looked both ways along the gallery before stepping out. The door closed silently, and he was gone.

Cait turned to her two gawking handmaidens and, through a series of what she hoped were sternly pointed gestures, warned them to secrecy. In an effort to maintain the pretence that nothing unusual had taken place, she commanded them to continue brushing her hair and making ready her bed. They fell to readily enough, and were soon whittering away again like birds.

When they finally blew out the candles and settled down for the night, Cait could not rest. Sleep eluded her; she kept thinking about the lies she had been told, and tried to discern what might be behind them. Daylight found her ill-rested and in a foul humour, but all the more eager to face Prince Hasan and demand an explanation of him.

She woke her sleepy servants and dressed hurriedly, leaving the women's quarters in the company of a grimly disapproving Jubayar. She was first to arrive at the room where they most often broke fast-a small, bright room with coloured tiles of blue, green, and yellow, and a large window overlooking a garden court below. There was no one about, so she settled down to wait, and presently an old servant appeared, bowed in greeting, and began making up the fire in the hearth.

After a time, more servants came to prepare the table, spreading bright cloths on which they placed baskets of bread and cold sliced meat. One servant began cooking oat porridge in a pot on the hearth, and others brought a large bowl of hot almond milk spiced with cinnamon. Cait accepted a cup of the warming drink, and waited while more servants came and went.

Where was Rognvald, she wondered? What could be keeping him?

She went to the door and looked out into the antechamber and the corridors beyond, but aside from Jubayar, slumped asleep in a corner, there was no sign of anyone about. She waited some more, and had just decided to go in search of the knights when she heard footsteps and voices in the anteroom. She jumped up from her place at the table and ran to the door to meet Prince Hasan and his advisor, Halhuli.

'Allah, the Ever Gracious, be good to you,' exclaimed Hasan. 'Darling Ketmia, how lovely you look this morning. I did not know you would be waiting or I should have come sooner.'

Cait greeted him pleasantly, and said, truthfully, 'I did not sleep well last night, so I rose early.' She looked beyond the two men. 'I was hoping to speak to Rognvald, too. I wanted to hear how he fared in his search.'

'But Ketmia, he is gone.'

A sudden anxiety overcame her. 'What do you mean? Where would he go?'

Raising a calming hand, the prince said, 'Peace, my darling. I am sorry. Had I known you wished so ardently to see him, I might have prevented him from leaving.'

She looked to Halhuli for confirmation; he merely shrugged, as if to say there was nothing to be done.

'But why would he go off without telling me?'

'Allah alone knows, my love. We will ask him when he returns. But, if I may speculate?'

'Please do,' said Cait, her tone growing brusque.

'It seemed to me that he was disheartened by his lack of success in finding Alethea. The man is very stubborn, as you know.' Hasan offered a sadly sympathetic smile and spread his hands. 'I believe he could not accept his failure. He and his knights roused the stablemen and ordered fresh horses to be saddled. They compelled the porters to open the gate, and rode out just before dawn.'

Cait looked at him blankly, a feeling of desperation rising up from the soles of her feet and into her belly. She knew the prince was lying, but she could not understand why, or know how to force him into an admission. 'He might have left some word for me,' she said darkly, as if her anger were directed at the thoughtless knight.