Princess: Stepping Out of the Shadows, стр. 21

Kareem smiled. ‘I wish to hear the whole story. I do not yet know every detail. I only know that our daughter performed a miracle while we were sleeping.’

I stood with my hand over my mouth, so happy I could barely restrain myself from dancing. I am sure such a thing would thoroughly shock my husband, as I have never considered taking up wiggling about on a dance floor, as our country is quite conservative on that matter. While women do dance at weddings where there are female guests only, we do not dance easily or routinely, as our Egyptian sisters are prone to do, so I kept my feet still.

As we sat at the small breakfast table, Maha carefully placed the drawstring bag in the middle of the table, where all our eyes could keep it in view.

I very contentedly sipped my tea, listening to Maha tell how she had found success.

Maha told us, ‘First of all, Mother, I will give you a bit more detail about Dunia and how it was I came home from the clinic earlier than I expected. Your doctor and his nurses were startled by Auntie Dunia’s injured lip.’ Maha let out a sad chuckle, expressing no sympathy for her aunt. ‘We waited by her side until she regained awareness after having anaesthesia. Much to Auntie Dunia’s despair, the doctor demanded that his patient remain overnight since the anaesthesia would not wear off for a few hours, but she might awaken in great discomfort. Auntie Sara was her usual calm self and requested a second cot for the room, where she said she would rest, while waiting for the morning sun, beside her sister.

‘Auntie Sara also insisted that I return home in case you were waiting for news of Dunia, and also so that I could sleep in my own bed. Therefore, I reluctantly left them.

‘When I entered the palace, the security team were all relaxing with coffee while sitting back with their feet on footrests. Their conduct led me to assume that the criminal had been apprehended. I was astonished when told otherwise – that twelve well-trained guards could not find one woman.

‘I questioned the team and although I was told that each unoccupied room in the palace had been searched and then locked off, and that every corner of the grounds had been investigated, I felt uneasy.’ Maha smiled at me. ‘That ninja girl, as you call her, was small and dressed all in black, including most of her face, so I presumed that she would find it easy to slip from place to place in the dark of night without being easily detected.’

Maha paused, having a sip of tea, then clearing her throat. ‘I knew then that I could not retire, for I would not rest.’ She shook her head. ‘How could I, Mother? The evening had been so perfect. And you were so pleased and happy with all that you had done to honour your precious mother. I could not bear the thought of seeing what I knew would be disappointment flash in your eyes if the jewels were not recovered.’

Kareem reached out to stroke his daughter’s hands.

I felt tears forming in my eyes, thanking God that I had such a daughter. Maha, for all her tough exterior, has a soft interior. The theme song of her life is to protect those she loves. I knew that my child had suffered a great rage that a stranger whom we did not know had entered my home and had attempted to abscond with precious jewels that belonged to our family. It was doubly offensive because the jewels were displayed in honour of her long-dead grandmother.

Having questioned the security men, Maha took matters into her own hands while all in the palace were sleeping. With enormous courage, she set out to find the thief. Our home is doubtless a fine palace, yet it is not nearly so large as most owned by my royal cousins. After excluding the rooms occupied for the night, there were only thirty-five rooms for my daughter to search.

‘Mother, first I set out to do exactly what had already been done. I searched every room, other than those inhabited by sleeping family or staff, for I knew that if the thief was in an occupied room, someone would spot her. So I was disappointed when my palace search was unsuccessful, for I knew that looking through the grounds would be much more complicated.’

I exhaled, eager to hear the rest of this adventure.

‘But I was determined, Mother. The thief would not go uncaught or unpunished. I knew that Uncle Ali and Medina had most likely forgotten their partner in crime, never once considering the girl’s plight, for both are so selfish. The thief had been abandoned! But I was concerned that once hysterical Medina calmed down and received treatment for her broken arms she would remember the jewels, and who had them. I feared they would return for the jewels, if not for Medina’s accomplice.

‘I then moved on to consider the grounds, and where someone might conceal themselves in darkness. Father,’ she smiled and said, looking at Kareem, ‘you have created gardens that are a green paradise, with so many bushes and trees that there are hundreds of corners in which one can take cover. A thief will feel at home in all that green camouflaging. Thinking about the height of the metal barriers surrounding the grounds, and the number of guards on the two gates, I assumed the thief would remain hidden, waiting until the morning hours when there would be much activity with the comings and goings of visitors and staff and other palace workers. I felt confident that was when she was intending to slip away with the valuables.’

I groaned, reflecting on how close we came to losing Mother’s jewels, which is how I thought of the rubies