The Sheikh. Anne Herries

was greeted by the captain when they entered the dining room. Chloe and the professor hadn’t been invited to the most important table that evening, but the other passengers at their own table seemed very friendly and she enjoyed being introduced and talking to all of them.

      ‘Is this your first voyage?’ a rather plump lady called Mrs Vermont asked. ‘I am a seasoned traveller, of course, but my niece Jane is with me for the first time. You two girls will be company for each other. Now, isn’t it lucky that you are both here?’

      Jane Vermont seemed rather a silly girl to Chloe, but they were of a similar age so she smiled and agreed. It would be impossible to avoid the Vermonts and she would need someone to talk to. Most of the other passengers seemed to be much older, which was a little disappointing.

      ‘What are you going to do after dinner?’ Jane asked her. ‘There’s masses of entertainment—a dance, the live show and they are running a film this evening. I would like to see it, but Aunt Vera doesn’t want to go.’

      ‘It depends,’ Chloe said cautiously. ‘What are they showing?’

      ‘I’m not sure—shall we ask the captain later?’

      Chloe thought the captain would have more important things to occupy his time, and surely there were enough stewards to ask anyway. Jane was looking towards the top table, smiling and waving, obviously wanting to be noticed.

      Chloe glanced that way herself and saw that one of the favoured guests was the man she had bumped into earlier. He was wearing a very elegant black dinner suit and a pristine white shirt with a black bow tie. As she looked at him, he seemed to become aware of her and lifted his glass to her in a salute.

      ‘Who is that perfectly divine man?’ Jane asked immediately. ‘He’s so handsome—just like Rudolph Valentino, dark and mysterious and sort of threatening.’ She gave an artificial shiver. ‘Do you know him?’

      ‘No—we met briefly on deck earlier, but we weren’t introduced,’ Chloe said and looked down. The smoked salmon she was eating had suddenly become very interesting and she kept her eyes firmly fixed on her plate. Her heart was behaving very stupidly, and she was afraid that her cheeks might be flushed.

      ‘Well, he seems very interested in you,’ Jane said and giggled. ‘I wish he would look at me like that…smouldering, that’s the word.’ She smiled at him, but to her discomfiture got nothing but a blank stare. ‘Did you know that there is a film crew on board? They are American, I hear.’

      ‘A film crew?’ Chloe looked at her, her attention caught. ‘I had no idea—are there any famous actors or actresses with them?’

      ‘No—I think they probably flew to wherever they’re going. The director is with the crew, though. I think he wants to take some shots on board for some reason. They say he’s looking for a star for his new picture.’ She preened her fluffy dark hair. ‘Do you think I look a bit like Mary Pickford, Chloe?’

      Chloe didn’t think she looked at all like the famous star everyone called the ‘World’s Sweetheart’, but she was embarrassed to say so straight out.

      ‘Well, perhaps a little bit,’ she said. ‘Your hair is the same as hers was in her last film.’

      She saw that Jane was pleased, and it was obvious that she had chosen to wear her hair that way in order to look as much like the star as possible.

      She really was a bit silly, Chloe thought, and wished her cousin had been on the ship with them, but it was no use sighing over something she couldn’t have. She glanced briefly towards the table, and saw that he was lighting a cigarette for a woman sitting to his left. She was a very beautiful woman, expensively dressed and very sure of herself as she smiled into his eyes.

      Chloe looked away again quickly. She wasn’t in that sort of league, and couldn’t compete with a woman like that—not that she wanted to, of course.

      ‘Do say you will come and watch the picture with me,’ Jane said as people began to make a move from their tables a little later. ‘I just asked one of the stewards and he said it was Valentino’s latest picture. I am longing to see it.’

      ‘I saw that before I came away,’ Chloe said, but then as Jane’s face fell. ‘Oh, well, I suppose I wouldn’t mind seeing it again.’

      ‘You two young things get off,’ Mrs Vermont said indulgently. ‘I’ll sit here and keep the professor company for a while.’

      Chloe caught the look of dismay in his eyes before he managed to hide it and smiled inwardly.

      ‘Do you mind?’ she asked him. ‘Or is there some work you would like me to do for you this evening?’

      He looked tempted, but shook his head. ‘I am not such an ogre as to make you work on your first evening, Chloe. No, my dear, you run along and enjoy yourself.’

      Jane was full of the film as they left the small theatre afterwards. She went on and on about the star of the film being so handsome and exciting, until Chloe thought she would scream.

      ‘I really ought to go now,’ she said. ‘I must see if Miss Ramsbottom needs anything before I go to my own cabin.’

      In her haste to escape her chattering companion, Chloe took the next turning, which she imagined to be the corridor leading to her own and Miss Ramsbottom’s cabins. However, when she got to the end and found that it led into yet another corridor leading in a different direction, she realised that she had come the wrong way.

      As she turned to retrace her steps, she saw someone coming towards her and hesitated, wondering if there was some way to avoid another meeting. It would look foolish if she went back the way she knew led only to the staterooms, so she really had no choice but to stand her ground.

      ‘Ah, so we meet again,’ he said and looked amused. ‘I really think we should introduce ourselves, Miss…?’

      Chloe hesitated, then took a deep breath. This was ridiculous!

      ‘Chloe Randall,’ she said and offered her hand. ‘I am travelling with Miss Amelia Ramsbottom and Professor Charles Hicks—and I seem to have taken a wrong turning.’

      ‘Very easy to do,’ he said, and took her hand, holding it for a moment before releasing it. ‘I am Armand…Philip Armand…and if you would care to tell me the number of the cabin you seek, I should be delighted to help you find your way, Miss Randall.’

      Chloe was trying to make up her mind what nationality he was. His surname sounded a bit French, but she didn’t think he looked French—and he had hesitated for a moment, almost as if the name he had given her was not his own. But surely he wouldn’t lie—why should he?

      ‘I—it is nice to meet you,’ Chloe replied formally and then felt silly. ‘My cabin is number fifty-two and Miss Ramsbottom’s is fifty-nine. I was going to call on her and see how she was feeling before I went to bed. She wasn’t well earlier.’

      ‘Bed so early?’ His brows rose, a curl of amusement on his lips. He was very much the sophisticated man of the world, and made Chloe aware of how young and naïve she must seem. She knew that her clothes were too young for her, and nowhere near as elegant as the other women on board were wearing. ‘You shouldn’t think of such a thing while on board ship, Miss Randall. A young girl like you should be dancing the night away with a handsome partner.’

      Chloe knew he was mocking her. She hadn’t seen any handsome young men on board—and the few older ones who fitted his description would be dancing with someone more interesting than little Chloe Randall.

      ‘I assure you that I have no intention of dancing with anyone, Mr Armand,’ she said. ‘It has been a long day and I am tired. If you could please direct me to my cabin, I shall not trouble you longer. Especially if there is someone waiting for you…’

      Now why had she said that? It sounded as if she were interested—and she wasn’t! Not in the least.

      ‘Unfortunately there is no