Chapter 24: Holiday Time

David was not in England when they were due to travel, but Air Kobekistani tickets had arrived, as had visas. They had been told that a car would collect them, but when the by now familiar Rolls-Royce drew up outside and Maktum loaded their cases into the boot, Diana began to wonder even more what, exactly, was in store for them. When the Rolls arrived at Heathrow it drove on to the airport with a minimum of formality through an insignificant gate beside the freight terminal and up to the side of Terminal Four.

Maktum turned to Diana and said, "Highness, would you wish to use the lounge facilities?"

"I don't understand. What are the alternatives?"

"You may use the VIP lounge here if you wish, Highness, or you can board the aircraft immediately."

"Oh, as little delay as possible, please. I hate airport lounges."

The driver said something into his radio in, she assumed, Arabic and then drove out on to the tarmac where the car was met by an airport police car which switched on its flashing lights and led them over to an Airbus 380 resplendent in Air Kobekistani colours and with a tricolour red, gold and green flag flying from a little flagpole on the pilot's window. As they drove, Diana reflected that using the car of a Head of State certainly got you the red carpet treatment. Maktum had also started to address her as "Highness" which he had not done before. At the aircraft, Susan led the way up the steps and Diana wondered, briefly, about things like customs and passport control but shrugged her shoulders. If she was wrong about David's interest being solely in helping Susan to become a top-class show jumping rider, and they were actually being smuggled out of the country and into white slavery, then a Rolls-Royce was as good a way to start the journey as any.

Inside the aircraft she found a pleasingly spacious entrance hall, not at all the narrow passage of commercial airliners. The doors to the rear part of the aircraft were closed and they were shown forwards into what would normally be the first class cabin. There she discovered that it was fitted with only four extremely luxurious seats and they were seated in two of them. Champagne was brought and the stewardess asked if they had everything they wanted.

"Thank you, but do you have any peanuts?" asked Susan, excited that her mother had not forbidden the champagne.

"Certainly, Highness."

They appeared seconds later as if by magic.

"May we depart now, Highness?" a senior member of the crew, with three broad rings on his sleeve, asked.

"What about the other passengers?"

"Highness, I was not told of other passengers. How many are to come?" he looked utterly devastated.

"Sorry," said Diana, "I had assumed that ... You mean there are no other passengers? This whole aircraft is just for us?"

"Highness, this is an aircraft of the Royal Flight of His Magnificence, the Emir Mahmoud Abdullah, may he live for ever. It does not carry any passengers but those personally invited by the Emir," the man sounded offended, "May we now depart?"