Page 2 (1/2)

Gradually she grew conscious of a new sound, the rustle of wind aently The arms which held her see forward, carrying her without apparent effort

He halted, and she was shifted slightly in his arm She heard aShe was carried through it and heard it sla down uncere soft Before she had time to think her hands were untied and the dark cloth whipped away

She lay, blinking, her eyes dazzled by the sudden flaure which loomed above her

He was so tall that she felt she looked a long, long way to see his face In his white robes, his head covered by a white headdress bound with a gold cord, he was like a towering column, only the face, half hidden by his head­dress, to betray his humanity Narrowed dark eyes sur­veyed her insolently He had a lean, olive-skinned face instilled with arrogance, cruelty and pride

'Who are you?' she asked, her voice husky with alarht me here?'

His hardsmile 'Who I a to your friend earlier I heard you say you would like to see more of Arab life; what did you say—the wild, free spaces of the desert?' His dark eyes taunted her 'So I brought you here to fulfil your dream'

Marie sat up, shivering with fear, her dark blue eyes very large in the oval of her white face 'You must be mad! How dare you kidnap me like this! As soon as it's realised that I've vanished the police will comb the city for ry…'

'Ah,' he said softly 'Your father How much do you think you would be worth to hiet you safely back?'

She stared at hiht me here so that you could demand a ransom fromhard 'How did you knoho I was? This must have been planned in advance…'

'How did I knoho you were? My dear Miss Brinton, your photograph has appeared

often enough in the English glossy azines Marie Brinton, heiress to the Brinton fortune, dining out with so to hounds, or skiing in the Alps… you are awoman'

Vainly she wished she had not gone out into the garden alone, giving thisfor… Her small chin lifted defiantly 'So you're just a cheap crook looking for a way to make easy money?'

'Not cheap, Miss Brinton,' he said ly The dark eyes flicked over her white silk dress, the naked glea shoulders and the proud swell of her breasts beneath the material, half revealed as they were by the low curve of the neckline 'Neither are you, are you, Miss Brinton? A very expensive young lady, I would guess For a man who likes soft, useless white-fleshed wo prize Perhaps I would, after all, get more for you from an oil sheik than from your father?'

She was frightened by the way his dark eyes e of panic, she tried to think of a way of distracting hi to demand from my father, any­way?' she asked huskily

He gave her an alance which told her that he had read her est?'