Swords of Arabia: Betrayal (42 page)

Nasir
made
a
great
show
of
looking
surprised.
So
much
so,
that
he
caught
the
attention
of
a
large
percentage
of
the
assembly,
which,
of
course,
had
been
his
intention.
Badr,
sensing
the
loss
of
part
of
his
audience
looked
around
in
irritation.
On
seeing
his
brother’s
ostentatious
look
of
astonishment,
he
paused,
obviously
puzzled.

Nasir
seized
the
opportunity
with
ruthless
speed.
“Brother,”
he
said,
with
deliberately
extravagant
puzzlement,
“I
thought
you
would
have
heard,
with
your
links
of
friendship
to
the
Sherif
himself”

Badr,
obviously
angered
at
having
his
speech
interrupted,
was
less
cautious
than
usual.
“What
do
you
mean?”
he
asked,
his
mind
more
on
the
points
he
wished
to
make
to
end,
once
and
for
all,
the
chance
of
any
British
alliance,
than
to
what
his
young
half-brother
had
to
say.

He
should
have
been
much
more
careful.

“Only,”
Nasir
said
coldly,
his
words,
such
was
their
force,
lashing
like
a
whip,
“that,
the
Sherif
has
revoked
his
treaties
with
the
Ottoman
–
and
declared
for
the
British.”

Chapter
Eighteen

The
blood
left
Badr’s
face
and
he
seemed
almost
to
reel,
such
was
the
shock
at
his
younger
brother’s
words.
Then,
he
rallied –
his
phenomenal
self-discipline
coming
swiftly
to
his
aid.
“You
lie.”
he
said
coldly.

“No
lie,
Brother,
no
lie,”
replied
Nasir,
his
cool
tones
masking
his
fierce
joy
at
confirming
that
Badr
hadn’t
heard
about
his
wily
friend’s
desertion
of
the
Turk.
“Feel
free
to
doubt
my
words
if
you
will,
but
I
would
advise
you
–
make
no
plans
which
involve
reliance
on
the
Sherif
.
Perhaps,”
he
continued,
“you’d
believe
the
words
of
your
messenger!”
With
that
he
snapped
his
fingers
and
the
great
doors
were
thrown
open
and
a
dusty,
exhausted
figure
stumbled
in.
Badr’s
eyes
flared
with
shock
as
he
recognised
one
of
the
many
spies
he
had
at
the
court of the
Sherif.
He
swung
round
in
fury,
now
fully
realising
that
he’d
been
played
with
like
a
mouse
in
the
clutches
of
a
cat.

***

There
was
little
left
to
say
after
that.
Everyone
in
the
room
knew
that
Badr
had
lost
too
much
ground.
No
formal
vote
was
needed.
When
Nasir
quietly
said,
“I
think
brother,
we
can
but
follow
the
Sherif’s
example,”
the
whole
room
sighed
with
agreement.
Despite
Badr
and
his
allies
rallying
and
trying
to
fend
off
their
approaching
defeat,
the
news
of
Husain
ibn
Ali’s
switch
of
loyalty,
and
Badr
not
being
aware
of
it,
was
enough
to
cause
the
room
to
tilt
towards
the
British
alliance –
and
towards
Nasir,
whose
ruthless and publis destruction
of
his
brother’s
case
had
won
him
many
new
friends
.
And
and
an
equal
number
of
enemies;
such
was
life
in
Arabia.

So,
without
the
need
for
further
discussion,
the
sense
of
the
room
was
taken.
Badr’s
defeat
was
then
final,
though
not
by
the
overwhelming
majority
that
Nasir
knew
was
necessary
to
finally
destroy
his
power.
He
knew
then
that
a
final
showdown
with
Badr
would
still
be
necessary
at
some
time
in
the
future,
but,
for
now,
he
was
content.
The
decision
was
finally
made.
It
was
by
a
frighteningly
narrow
margin,
but
it
was
made.
The
meeting
had
been
long,
bitter
and,
all
felt,
dangerously
divisive.
Every
man
present
knew
that
Badr
would
not
lightly
take
his
defeat.
Everyone
there
had
known
perfectly
well
that
beside
the
external
issue
of
which
alliance
to
join,
internal
choices
were
being
forced,
strength
being
tested.
Badr
had
come
out
second
best.
The
problem
was
that
it
wasn’t
by
the
crushing
margin
necessary
to
extinguish
his
hopes,
if
not
his
appetite.
That
appetite,
Nasir
knew,
with
absolute
conviction,
would
be
inflamed,
not
extinguished.
Badr
would,
knew
his
younger
brother
dispassionately,
be
like
some
powerful
animal,
wounded
but
still
dangerous.
He
will
need
watching,
he
thought
tiredly,
as
he
rose
with
Talal
to
leave
the
chamber.

It
was
as
he
turned,
gesturing
for
his
nephew
to
proceed
him,
that
the
first
shots
rang
out.