they will shoot at the car and we could both die.”
“This is the ambassador’s car. Property of the British government. It is completely bulletproof!”
“Including the tyres?” Sarah asked.
The driver shook his head.
“If they shoot the tyres, they’ll capture the pair of us. This way, at least you can escape and tell someone what’s happened. Now, Hussein, you must pretend that I am the ambassador’s wife, okay?”
“Lady Amanda Bolton,” Hussein said loudly from the driver’s seat, “I will tell your beloved husband, Sir Humphrey Bolton, of your dire predicament.” He then released the lock on the passenger door. Sarah opened it and stepped out.
“Lady Bolton, I’m glad you understand the situation and have agreed to come peacefully,” the sheikh said.
She looked into his large brown eyes. “If you dare to lay a finger on me, you will be answerable to the British government for your actions.”
“Of course.” The sheikh bowed low and then held out his hand to assist her with getting into his Jeep. She ignored his offer of help and hoisted herself up into the passenger seat. Through the dirty windscreen of the vehicle, she watched Hussein drive away in the ambassador’s car, the British flag fluttering regally at the front.
It took a few minutes for the sheikh’s men to organise themselves and climb into the back of the open Jeep, but once they were settled, the sheikh took off his gun and gave it to one of them. He then got into the driver’s seat and started the engine. Before he put it into gear, he turned and smiled at his passenger.
“Don’t worry, Lady Bolton. I will treat you as my honoured guest. Please see this as an excursion into a part of Yazan that few foreigners ever have the opportunity to visit.”
She hoped that as long as he thought that she was the ambassador’s wife, she would be safe. However, she wasn’t Lady Amanda Bolton; she was Dr. Sarah Greenwich from the Women’s Hospital in the capital. As they started out on the long drive through the desert to the wastelands of Sakara, she wondered what would happen to her when Sheikh Akbar found out.
Chapter 2
“Please, step this way.” The sheikh led her towards a large group of tents made of coarse black camel hair in the middle of a vast expanse of desert. Tethered next to the tents were a group of camels and several fine-looking horses. Sarah knew how to ride a horse, but even if she managed to get hold of one, or the keys to the Jeep, she had no idea where she was, or how to get back to the city.
They had been travelling for more than three hours through the desert and after the first thirty minutes, the sheikh had driven the Jeep off the road and headed out across an empty expanse of land. Initially, Sarah had tried hard to focus on possible landmarks so she could orientate herself and work out where she was. However, after the first hour, she became completely lost and knew that she would never be able to find her way back again on her own without a guide. As she stepped out of the Jeep, she knew that she was walking into what would be her new home for the foreseeable future, or at least until the embassy or the Women’s Hospital managed to negotiate her release.
As well as being scared, Sarah was also exhausted. Without air conditioning in the Jeep, hot dusty air had blown through the windows so that she was now covered in a fine layer of sand. She desperately wanted a shower, but there was no sign of even the most basic sanitary provisions in this Bedouin encampment. However, near the camels was a long bank of palm trees. Their leaves looked like clusters of needles stabbing the bright white sky around them. Sarah wondered whether there was some kind of well or pool of water behind them.
“As my honoured guest, you will stay here.” The sheikh gestured towards one of the larger tents. “Girl, come!” he called out.
A woman came rushing out of one of the tents. She was almost fully veiled,
“This is the ambassador’s car. Property of the British government. It is completely bulletproof!”
“Including the tyres?” Sarah asked.
The driver shook his head.
“If they shoot the tyres, they’ll capture the pair of us. This way, at least you can escape and tell someone what’s happened. Now, Hussein, you must pretend that I am the ambassador’s wife, okay?”
“Lady Amanda Bolton,” Hussein said loudly from the driver’s seat, “I will tell your beloved husband, Sir Humphrey Bolton, of your dire predicament.” He then released the lock on the passenger door. Sarah opened it and stepped out.
“Lady Bolton, I’m glad you understand the situation and have agreed to come peacefully,” the sheikh said.
She looked into his large brown eyes. “If you dare to lay a finger on me, you will be answerable to the British government for your actions.”
“Of course.” The sheikh bowed low and then held out his hand to assist her with getting into his Jeep. She ignored his offer of help and hoisted herself up into the passenger seat. Through the dirty windscreen of the vehicle, she watched Hussein drive away in the ambassador’s car, the British flag fluttering regally at the front.
It took a few minutes for the sheikh’s men to organise themselves and climb into the back of the open Jeep, but once they were settled, the sheikh took off his gun and gave it to one of them. He then got into the driver’s seat and started the engine. Before he put it into gear, he turned and smiled at his passenger.
“Don’t worry, Lady Bolton. I will treat you as my honoured guest. Please see this as an excursion into a part of Yazan that few foreigners ever have the opportunity to visit.”
She hoped that as long as he thought that she was the ambassador’s wife, she would be safe. However, she wasn’t Lady Amanda Bolton; she was Dr. Sarah Greenwich from the Women’s Hospital in the capital. As they started out on the long drive through the desert to the wastelands of Sakara, she wondered what would happen to her when Sheikh Akbar found out.
Chapter 2
“Please, step this way.” The sheikh led her towards a large group of tents made of coarse black camel hair in the middle of a vast expanse of desert. Tethered next to the tents were a group of camels and several fine-looking horses. Sarah knew how to ride a horse, but even if she managed to get hold of one, or the keys to the Jeep, she had no idea where she was, or how to get back to the city.
They had been travelling for more than three hours through the desert and after the first thirty minutes, the sheikh had driven the Jeep off the road and headed out across an empty expanse of land. Initially, Sarah had tried hard to focus on possible landmarks so she could orientate herself and work out where she was. However, after the first hour, she became completely lost and knew that she would never be able to find her way back again on her own without a guide. As she stepped out of the Jeep, she knew that she was walking into what would be her new home for the foreseeable future, or at least until the embassy or the Women’s Hospital managed to negotiate her release.
As well as being scared, Sarah was also exhausted. Without air conditioning in the Jeep, hot dusty air had blown through the windows so that she was now covered in a fine layer of sand. She desperately wanted a shower, but there was no sign of even the most basic sanitary provisions in this Bedouin encampment. However, near the camels was a long bank of palm trees. Their leaves looked like clusters of needles stabbing the bright white sky around them. Sarah wondered whether there was some kind of well or pool of water behind them.
“As my honoured guest, you will stay here.” The sheikh gestured towards one of the larger tents. “Girl, come!” he called out.
A woman came rushing out of one of the tents. She was almost fully veiled,
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