both the reception hall and the smaller chamber could share the warmth of the fire. A number of cushions had been placed around a low table near the hearth, and the table laid for a simple meal.
'Please, sit, take your ease, my friends,' said the prince, dropping languidly on to a cushion. Serving maids appeared and began pouring cups of almond milk; they unwrapped stacks of flatbread spiced with anise still warm from the oven. There was dried fruit and nuts in little baskets, and a warm drink made with dried apples infused in hot water and sweetened with honey-which they served in small cups made of glass.
Cait took a bite of her bread, and set it aside. 'If you please, Prince Hasan, tell me your plan,' she said, unable to suppress her excitement any longer. 'I must hear it at once.'
'Then you shall, my dove, for it is swiftly told.' Tearing a bit of bread from the flat loaf, he dipped it into the sweetened almond milk and chewed thoughtfully for a moment, before saying, 'You see, it came to me that no one chases mice-it is an impossible business. What do we do instead?' He paused to allow his listeners to appreciate his subtlety. 'We set a trap.'
'Yes,' agreed Cait, waiting for the prince to expound his philosophy.
'You are saying,' mused an unimpressed Rognvald, 'that we set a trap for this bandit, Ali Waqqar. We would still have to find him first-would we not?'
Prince Hasan smiled as if at an unenlightened child. 'But we do not go out searching for mice. In fact, they find us, do they not? All we have to do is dangle the bait in the right place and, praise Allah, the rogue of a bandit will come to us. It will, I believe, save a great deal of time and effort.'
'If Ali Waqqar is as cunning as you suggest, he may not care to risk the trap.'
'Ah,' said the prince, raising a finger in triumph, 'if the bait is irresistible enough, even the most wily mouse will risk the trap.' He smiled expansively. 'I will simply make the bait so enticing that Ali Waqqar will have no choice. Then, when we have him where we want him, he will have no choice but to surrender Alethea.'
'That will work,' Cait said hopefully. 'Do you not think so, Rognvald?'
'Oh, indeed, my lady,' he answered stiffly. 'Ask any ratcatcher.' He sipped the warming apple drink, and regarded the splendidly pleased prince for a moment before saying, 'Tell us more about this trap of yours.'
'As you know, it is my belief that the bandits will try to sell Alethea in the slave markets of Al-Andalus-most likely in Balansiyya, or Mayurika. Forgive me, Ketmia, but a young woman of your race would bring a very great price in Tunis, Monastir, or Rabat. Naturally, the price would be even greater for a virgin. Prices in excess of thirty thousand dirhams are not unusual; and if the woman is truly beautiful, the price could easily climb to as much as fifty or sixty thousand dirhams.'
'I had no idea,' said Cait, a little awed by the exorbitant amount.
'Oh, yes,' Hasan assured her. 'And that is your sister's greatest protection. For the bandits are well aware of the value of a fair-faced virgin. Thus, we can be certain that your sister has not been harmed in any way. As the poet says, 'If evil is an oyster, hope is the pearl.' You see? Even a brute like Ali Waqqar will want to make the best price, so he will take good care of her, believe me.'
'I pray you are right, Prince Hasan,' said Rognvald. 'Even so, I cannot see how this helps us to find Alethea.'
'Ah! Impatience often begets impetuosity, my lord. I am coming to it in good time. As you yourselves have seen, for brigands like Ali Waqqar these mountains provide countless hiding places; a man might search for a hundred years and never find his quarry. But settlements are few, and all of them are within easy reach of this fortress.
'Now then,' he leaned forward, grinning with wily exuberance, 'Ali and his band of thieves must obtain supplies from one settlement or another. I propose to send word throughout the realm that Prince Hasan wants to buy a white slave. We will say that I have grown bored and lonely on my mountaintop and wish to divert myself with a female slave-a luxury for which I am happy to pay sixty thousand silver dirhams.'
Hasan gave a little laugh and lay back. 'Then we simply sit back and wait for Ali Waqqar to come to collect his fee. And when he appears…' he clapped his hands together smartly, 'snap! We have him.'
'It is indeed an ingenious plan,' Cait granted. 'However, there is one thing which I question.'
'Only one?' muttered Rognvald sourly.
Ignoring him, Cait asked, 'How can we be certain Ali Waqqar is still in the region? He might be fleeing south even now. Would it not be wise to send men to search the southern trails? If what you say about the slave markets is true-and I do not doubt it-we might catch him along the way.'
'My thoughts exactly,5 agreed Rognvald. He tore off a bit of bread and popped it into his mouth. 'Assuming that it is Ali Waqqar, and assuming that he would be making for the coast, how do we know he is not hastening there even now?'
'My friends,' said Hasan, 'y°u do not know Ali Waqqar as I know him. He has long been a bane to me and to my people. We have suffered his thieving and plundering far too long. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to crush him like a worm beneath my heel.
'Perhaps, if I had been more vigilant in the past we might never have come to this difficult pass. But I have vowed before Almighty Allah, the Saviour of the Righteous, to bring a swift end to this brigand's predation, and restore your sister to her rightful place.'
Stretching his hand towards Cait, who grasped it with unseemly alacrity-so it seemed to Rognvald-the prince said, 'My beautiful Ketmia, I could not endure the thought of seeing you bereft. To reunite you and your loving sister-that has now become the pure flame of my ambition.'
Raising her hand to his lips, he kissed it. 'By the will of Allah, I shall not rest until I have brought about this reunion.'
Rognvald watched this immodest display through narrowed eyes; but Cait, much taken with the prince already, found her heart beating a little more quickly for his promises. Unable to stomach any more, Rognvald rose and, begging the prince's pardon, took his leave saying that he wished to see to his men. 'I want to be ready to ride out as soon as a break in the storm permits,' he said.
Rising, he acknowledged the prince with a bow, then turned and strode quickly from the room-almost colliding with Jubayar, who was lurking at the door. Cait watched the tall knight depart, before turning to Prince Hasan to apologize. 'I pray you forgive Lord Rognvald, my lord. He seems to have forgotten himself since coming here.'
'Ah, well, as the poet says, 'Warriors, like swords, grow dull with neglect.' All men of action feel inactivity an onerous burden. No doubt he will feel more at ease when he can return to the saddle.'
'You are too kind, my lord prince.'
'If I am, it is your good influence upon me.' He kissed her hand again. 'You inspire me to greater virtue, and I am happy to be so inspired.'
They spent the rest of the morning together; the prince showed Cait through various chambers, halls, courts, and quarters, each more sumptuous than the last with rare woods carved and inlaid in fantastically intricate patterns, and fine coloured marble. In some, the walls were smooth-plastered, and painted with rich, glowing colours; in others, the walls were decorated with ornate and costly tiles; some had windows fitted with triangles of coloured glass, and others with grills of carved wood or stone.
Some of the rooms were spacious and grand, while others were intimate as bedchambers; whether large or small, however, the rooms were immaculate in cleanliness and conception, revealing the full splendour of the intellect that had created them. Each room was named, and the names were wondrous, too: Zaffira, Caravanserai, Ivory Court, the Ladies' Tower, Red Sirocco, and one called Evening Narjis – where the deep- coloured tiles reminded Cait of a peacock's feathers, and so instantly it became the Peacock Room.
As they went on, Cait could not help but notice that the rooms, although exquisite to the tiniest detail, were uniformly devoid of furniture. After viewing one barren expanse after another, her curiosity grew unbearable. 'Truly, I have never seen such a wealth of magnificence. Yet, I cannot help wondering where all the furnishings have gone?'
Prince Hasan put his head back and laughed, the sound of his voice full and deep. 'Oh, Ketmia, you are a very marvel of practicality. Yes, the rooms are bare until the moment when I decide which shall be occupied and for what purpose. Then, the things I require are brought by my servants and arranged as need dictates.'
Cait thought this practice highly resourceful, and expressed such delight at the ingenuity of it that Prince Hasan said, 'Allow me to demonstrate. Now then, of all the rooms you have seen so far, which do you favour?'
Cait was ready with her reply. 'Oh, it must be the Peacock Room. The colours are exquisite.'
The prince appeared pleased with the choice. 'Splendid! I knew you would choose that one; it is one of my
