Princess: Stepping Out of the Shadows, стр. 36

‘But, son, please do tell me about your holiday. I insist.’

For the next hour, I had joyful moments hearing about Little Sultana and Abdullah’s youngest child, his son, darling Feisal, and the fun events they enjoyed in England and France.

Little Sultana is small in stature, like her namesake, but has a huge personality and, despite her young age – she is almost twelve years old – is very busy working on projects to help the world. She is a natural activist and amazes us all with her mature attitude. Little Feisal will soon be five, a most precious child, full of sweetness and a joy for life, not unlike his father in so many ways. He is a big boy who promises to one day overtake his sister in size.

When my many questions about my grandchildren finally ceased, Abdullah stood, saying, ‘But now I must leave. Little Sultana is waiting for me to deliver her a pet kitten.’ He chuckled. ‘She entrapped her mother at a weak moment in France, and Zain finally agreed that our daughter could have another pet.’

‘A kitten? Will her little bunnies be in danger?’ I questioned, with genuine alarm.

The year before, our animal-loving youngest daughter Amani had given her niece two utterly adorable, sweet baby bunnies; they are of the Netherland Dwarf breed. They are very small and named Tess and Lucas. Little Sultana had insisted on researching the most popular names in the Netherlands to make the babies feel at home in their new surroundings. She also maintained that one was a boy and the other a girl, and that they were in a romantic relationship, although Amani assured Abdullah that both were female and the lack of babies had reassured us all.

Tess and Lucas had so delighted my granddaughter that I was sorry I had not presented her with the little animals myself. Those rabbits enjoyed complete freedom to romp around in Little Sultana’s private apartment. My granddaughter guarded their safety as carefully as a mother protects her babies.

Believing that rabbits and felines were natural enemies, I feared a cat attack that would harm the little creatures so loved by Little Sultana. Should that happen, I knew that we would have a very sad little girl on our hands.

Abdullah calmed me. ‘We called two well-known small animal veterinarians and were told that the best cat to befriend rabbits are the Persians, and that if a Persian kitten is brought into the rabbit family while very young, all should be well. While on holiday, we ordered a white Persian kitten from a respectable breeder in Europe and it arrived on our plane just today. Little Sultana overheard us discussing the cat delivery and now my daughter is too impatient. The last I spoke with Zain, I was told that our daughter was discussing the kitten with Tess and Lucas, and was stressing the importance of welcoming a kitty friend into our home. Little Sultana is confident the three will be perfect companions.’

Kareem shifted in his seat but said nothing, although I knew my husband’s thoughts as well as if they were my own. My husband is not a lover of animals, although he claims to be open to tolerating our grandchildren’s pets. He probably also felt that it was an extravagance to fly a kitten from Europe on a private jet, but he said nothing.

Prior to Abdullah’s departure, I reminded my son, ‘Abdullah, please bring your family and come to dinner tomorrow evening. I cannot wait any longer to see the children.’

‘Of course, Mother. We shall see you tomorrow evening, then?’

‘Yes, please.’

‘Little Sultana may not want to leave her new kitten.’

‘By all means, the kitten is invited to dinner as well.’

Kareem stiffened and his eyes flashed. But still, he said nothing.

Although when my children were young, many were the times I had grumbled about my daughter Amani’s obsession with animals, which often turned our palace into a den of total chaos, over the years I have adjusted to the new reality that many young people have an unusual affection for animals. Our grandchildren would be surprised to know that in our youth animals were rarely pets; they were kept for a specific purpose – such as camels for transport, or dogs for security. Now I feel no aversion to my grandchildren having and loving pets, and bringing those pets into my home – Saudi Arabian people and our habits have drastically changed over the course of one generation – but Kareem is less keen and still cringes in protest.

Yet I know he would never criticize anything about our grandchildren, all of whom he loved from the moment of their birth with his whole heart. Should Little Sultana bring in a herd of baby goats, or ten kittens, Kareem would surely suffer, but would not openly criticize or prevent them from entering our palace.

After Abdullah departed, Kareem approached the topic of Maha’s Syrian activities once more.

‘Sultana, let us discuss Maha’s latest project.’

‘Let’s not, husband. I am just now beginning to feel less upset and more normal.’

‘But, Sultana, I can tell you some specifics without the emotion. Then I will casually tell our daughter that you are aware of her successful rescues and that there is no need for further discussion with you, at least not any time soon.’

‘Well, I am not a child, Kareem. I can cope with anything Maha needs to share. And I want her to know that I support her work. That is important to me!’

Kareem made a clicking noise with his tongue. ‘When I first saw you today, you were pale and had a tremor in your hands. Now you are much improved, more settled. You know how I worry about you.’

I smiled. ‘Our son is like a tonic. He brings me happiness and makes any bad memories or thoughts fade away.’

Kareem would not cease in his sudden determination to protect me. He frowned. ‘I must spare you the