Iris Johansen by The Desert Blooms (Html)

Author:The Desert Blooms (Html) [Blooms, The Desert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-07-07T20:44:03+00:00

Six

Raoul was waiting for him in the stableyard. It was the fourth time in the last two weeks that the servant had felt compelled to meet him as soon as Philip rode in from the irrigation project. There was a worried expression on Raoul's face. Philip felt a sudden tension grip him and forced himself to relax. Pandora. It had to be Pandora, but it was probably nothing more than one of her usual brouhahas.

He swung down from the saddle and threw the reins to the waiting groom. "Well?" he asked tersely. "What now?"

"It's Miss Madchen," Raoul said hesitantly.

"I guessed that." Philip's tone was caustic as he set off briskly for the house. "It's always Pandora. What precisely has she done now?"

"She has a baby."

Philip stopped in midstride. "Would you mind repeating that? Very slowly." "She came back from the bazaar this morning with an infant," Raoul said unhappily. "I'm afraid the house is in something of a turmoil."

"She bought a baby at the bazaar?"

"No, I think she found it." Raoul's wide forehead creased in a frown. "At least I believe that's what she said. Everything was very confusing at the time."

Philip shook his head. Only Pandora was able to bewilder his usually tranquil servant to this extent. "There's more, isn't there?"

Raoul nodded reluctantly. "She also brought some people with her. I gathered they have something to do with the baby."

"People?"

"A snake charmer, two street musicians, a water vendor, and a young woman who is doing a great deal of caterwauling." His expression was pained. "She has a most distressingly shrill voice."

"Oh, my Lord. Why the hell did you let them all in?"

Raoul shrugged helplessly. "Miss Madchen was quite determined."

"Miss Madchen is always determined. That doesn't mean you can't say no."

"I seem to have problems there. She's very difficult to refuse when she wants something."

Philip couldn't argue with that. In the two weeks Pandora had been back in Sedikhan she had managed to turn his normally serene household upside down. She had been in so many scrapes, both in the bazaar and in the village, that he had been tempted to confine her to his compound. Obviously he should have done just that before this occurrence. A baby, for heaven's sake!

"I'm sure it was all done for the best of reasons," Raoul offered tentatively. "Miss Madchen is a very warmhearted young lady."

"That's generous of you," Philip said dryly. "Particularly since there's every chance you'll have to baby-sit this infant as you did that tiger cub six years ago."

"Oh dear, I hope not. I know very little about babies." He brightened. "Miss Madchen appears to be very attached to him. Perhaps she may want to take care of the child herself."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Philip muttered. He took the front stairs two steps at a time. "Where is she?"

"In the front salon," Raoul said. "There wasn't room in her suite."

Philip heard the music as soon as he entered the foyer. If you could call it music. There was some kind of stringed instrument fighting for dominance over the boom of a drum.

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