her first. Fate was with him. It was useless to try and struggle
against him any more. Her brain was a confused medley of thoughts that
she was too tired to unravel, strange, conflicting ideas chasing wildly
through her mind. She did not understand them, she did not try. The
effort of thinking made her head ache agonisingly. She was conscious of
a great unrest, a dull aching in her heart and a terrible depression
that was altogether apart from the fear she felt of the Sheik. She gave
up trying to think; she was concerned only with trying to keep her
balance.

She lifted her head for the first time and looked at the magnificent
sky. The sun had almost set, going down in a ball of molten fire, and
the heavens on either side were a riot of gold and crimson and palest
green, shading off into vivid blue that grew blacker and blacker as the
glory of the sunset died away. The scattered palm trees and the far-off
hills stood out in strong relief. It was a country of marvellous
beauty, and Diana's heart gave a sudden throb as she realised that she
was going back to it all. She was drooping wearily, unable to sit
upright any longer, and once or twice she jolted heavily against the
man who rode behind her. His nearness had ceased to revolt her; she
thought of it with a dull feeling of wonder. She had even a sense of
relief at the thought of the strength so close to her. Her eyes rested
on his hands, showing brown and muscular under the folds of his white
robes. She knew the power of the long, lean fingers that could, when he
liked, be gentle enough. Her eyes filled with sudden tears, but she
blinked them back before they fell. She wanted desperately to cry. A
wave of terrible loneliness went over her, a feeling of desolation, and
a strange, incomprehensible yearning for what she did not know. As the
sunset faded and it grew rapidly dusk a chill wind sprang up and she
shivered from time to time, drooping more and more with fatigue, at