by Anne Herries
her hand. He was her dog, less than dirt to her because he was
not a proper man—but he was also useful. She held the power
of life and death over him, could expose him as a traitor to his
master if she chose—and so he reported everything that went on
to Fatima.
She would soon know what Suleiman intended for his new
woman—and she would make her own plans accordingly.
Chapter Four
Eleanor was roused by the sound of a disturbance. She had
been dreaming happily of a certain misty morning in England,
when she had ridden out with her father, and was startled by the
noise of screeching voices. Waking suddenly to the unfamiliar
surroundings, she had wondered where on earth she was. As
realisation dawned on her she was swamped with a feeling of
intense unhappiness; then, before she could gather her thoughts,
a very beautiful, dark-haired woman, dressed in a rich red tunic
and pants embroidered heavily with silver and pearls, rushed into
the bedroom.
‘How dare you tel your servant to keep me out?’ she
demanded in excelent French. ‘No one tels me I may not enter
anywhere within the harem!’
Eleanor stared at her as the mists of sleep began to clear, and
she remembered what Morna had told her the previous night.
This must obviously be Fatima, Suleiman Bakhar’s favourite
concubine—and she was clearly in a temper.
‘I believe you would not appreciate a visit from me without
some warning?’ Eleanor replied in the same language Fatima had
used. She lifted her head proudly and assumed the haughtiest
manner she could. ‘While you are always welcome in my
apartments, Fatima, politeness shows good breeding.’
Fatima’s mouth opened in surprise. No one addressed her in
such a manner! Had they dared, she would have ordered Abu to
flog them. For a moment she could not speak, then her dark
brown eyes narrowed to suspicious splits, and she was tempted
to order this woman beaten, but caution held her back. Suleiman
had only recently bought her, and he might notice if her skin were
accidentaly marked.
‘Who are you?’ she demanded imperiously. ‘And why are
you here?’
‘Because I was brought here much against my wil,’ Eleanor
said, remaining calm despite her instant dislike of the other
woman, ‘I have no wish to be in this place and would leave this
minute if I could. Believe me, I am no threat to you, Fatima—nor
would I wish to be. My only desire is to be returned to my
home. I am the daughter of an English baronet, and my family is
wealthy—they wil be searching for me even now.’
Fatima’s dark eyes narrowed in suspicion, her lovely face stil
reflecting sulen anger. ‘How do you know who I am?’
‘I have been told of Suleiman Bakhar’s beautiful favourite,’
Eleanor said. ‘Who else would you be?’
Fatima nodded. Put that way, it sounded like a compliment.
She knew that the other women were afraid of her—and that the
servant woman Morna was firmly on this upstart’s side. Before
long, the women of the harem would start to take sides,
especialy now that this Englishwoman had been given special
status. They would believe that Fatima had begun to lose
Suleiman’s favour, and once that happened they would not
Suleiman’s favour, and once that happened they would not
hesitate to folow a new leader. That could be dangerous for
Fatima, for she had enemies who would use any chance to strike
at her. Perhaps it would be wiser to get to know this woman
better.
‘Tel your servant not to bar my way in future—but do not
punish her. She wil be no use to you if she cannot work.’
Fatima’s expression changed subtly. ‘I do not like to be
thwarted, but if you truly mean that you do not wish to become
Suleiman’s favourite, we may be friends. You are more my equal
than any of the other women here. I am the daughter of a French
nobleman and an Arab dancing girl. Until my father was lost at
sea we lived in a beautiful vila in Algiers, then my mother was
cast out and she sold herself to a master so that we could live. I
was trained al my life to give pleasure to the man who would
one day own me…that is why Suleiman sends always for me. I
am the only one who realy knows how to please him. He wil
never put me aside for another.’
‘I am very glad to hear it,’ Eleanor said immediately. ‘I have
no wish to be bad friends with you, Fatima. Nor do I wish to be
sent for in the way you speak of. Indeed, if you could help me to
escape, I would leave the harem.’
‘That is impossible,’ Fatima said and frowned. ‘We can none
of us leave here unless Suleiman grants us freedom.’
‘Does that ever happen?’
‘Sometimes…’ Fatima gave her a long hard look. ‘The
Caliph would have freed Suleiman’s mother after she gave him a
son, but she preferred to stay here and became his favourite
son, but she preferred to stay here and became his favourite
wife. They say he stil mourns her.’
‘Tel me more about her, please?’
‘Why do you want to know?’ Fatima’s mood altered once
more. She would tel this woman nothing that might help her to
secure Suleiman’s favour. ‘I have no time to talk with you. I
came only to make sure you understood your place here…’
Eleanor watched as the other woman left the room abruptly.
It was clear that Fatima stil did not trust her; she probably
imagined Eleanor was scheming to become Suleiman’s wife.
‘Forgive me,’ Morna said as she came in after the favourite
had left. ‘I could not stop her bursting in on you. I told her you
were sleeping, but she would not listen to me.’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Eleanor replied. ‘Do not risk her temper
again, Morna. Just ask her to wait one moment while you wake
me—but it was unusual for me to sleep so deeply. What time is
it? It feels as if half the day has gone.’
‘You were exhausted,’ Morna replied. ‘The refreshing drink
you enjoyed last night was a tisane I made to help you pass a
peaceful night. I knew that you needed rest or you might have
lain awake al night thinking and weeping.’
‘That was a kind thought,’ Eleanor said, ‘but do not give me
such a drink again unless I request it.’
Eleanor had been sitting up against a pile of silk cushions, but
now she put her feet to the floor, a feeling of hope and
determination surging through her. She had been at the edge of
despair when Fatima broke in on her so rudely, but for some
reason the other woman had aroused her fighting instincts. She
reason the other woman had aroused her fighting instincts. She
was not going to be put down by Fatima or anyone else! Nor
did she wish to be luled into a false sense of security by drugging
drinks designed to dul her senses. She did not wish to be here
and she would escape or win her freedom some other way if she
could, but until then she would set herself to making what she
could of her life.
‘Is it possible to have writing materials brought to me,
Morna?’
‘Perhaps…but you would not be alowed to send a letter to
anyone, my lady.’
‘It is not for writing a letter,’ Eleanor said. ‘I must have
something to occupy my mind or I shal go mad. I thought that
perhaps you would teach me the language and customs you have
learned. I could write the words down and practise them when I
am alone.’
‘I could bring you a slate and marker,’ Morna said. ‘We have
them in the kitchens for noting down what is needed from the
markets—but pen and paper would have to be authorised by the
eunuchs.’
‘And how do we ask them for things?’
‘Fatima is usualy the one to approach,’ Morna said. ‘But you
have been given rooms and a servant of your own…you might
be given other things if you ask.’
‘Bring the slate for the moment,’ Eleanor said. ‘We can begin
my lessons after I have bathed and eaten. What shal I wear?
Surely I do not need al the garments I was made to wear
Surely I do not need al the garments I was made to wear
yesterday?’
‘Karin brought clothes for you earlier,’ Morna said. ‘She is
the most important woman after Fatima…but much older. If
Suleiman’s mother stil lived, she would rule over his harem until
he took a chief wife, but Karin is one of the Caliph’s older
wives. She was visiting with relatives yesterday, but you wil
meet her later today. She wil explain many things to you, much
better than I could, my lady.’
‘Very wel.’ Eleanor smiled at her. ‘It was very fortunate for
me that you were here, Morna. At least I feel that I have one
friend in the palace—one person that I may trust.’
‘I am happy to be your servant, my lady.’
‘I would rather that we were friends,’ Eleanor said and
smiled. ‘We must try to help each other, Morna. If there is
something I can do for you—you must tel me.’
‘I am always hungry,’ the old woman replied. ‘Al I ask these
days is food to eat and somewhere to sleep. To serve you, my
lady, is much easier than the work I was put to in the kitchens.’
Eleanor nodded. ‘Then I shal see that you share my food—
and if ever I am able to leave here, I shal try to take you with
me.’
‘No, I do not wish to leave,’ Morna replied. ‘I have no life
other than here. I am content to remain in the Caliph’s household
until I die…there is nowhere for me to go now. I am too old. I
should be forced to beg on the streets for my food.’
Eleanor’s eyes stung with tears as she turned away. How sad
that this woman’s life had been wasted in such a terrible way.
that this woman’s life had been wasted in such a terrible way.
Morna’s hopelessness made Eleanor even more determined that
whatever was forced upon her, she would not let herself become
enslaved…
Suleiman spent the morning exercising with the Janissaries.
After he had bathed and received a brisk massage from one of
the eunuchs, he ate sparingly of dates and rice mixed with spiced
lamb, then drank several cups of the rich dark coffee he enjoyed.
The afternoon stretched emptily before him, and he felt the loss
of his old teacher keenly. There must be other clever men, with
whom he could share a pleasant afternoon, but Saidi Kasim had
understood him so wel, and they had been friends. There were
few within the palace that Suleiman could truly cal his friends—
he could not even be sure of the loyalty of his half-brothers
Bayezid and Hasan, for there was always rivalry between the
sons of important men.
Suleiman’s thoughts turned towards the woman he had
brought to the palace the previous evening. She would have
spent the morning with Karin, being taught how to behave in the
harem, and what to expect of her new life. It was too soon to
send for her if he expected her to please him as the other women
did—and yet he wanted to speak with her.
Al at once, Suleiman realised that he did not want her to be
the same as the other women. He would send for her now and
talk to her himself, explain that he would like to know her better
before she became one of his concubines…no, perhaps his wife.
before she became one of his concubines…no, perhaps his wife.
Suleiman must marry soon and give his father the grandsons
the Caliph longed for, and Eleanor was the only woman he had
so far found that he deemed fit to be the mother of those sons.
She had spirit and inteligence, and she would surely accept her
fate if it were properly explained to her. He would tel her that
she was to be honoured above al the other women, and that he
would give her time to adjust to her new life. She had accused
him of being a barbarian, but he would show her that she was
wrong.
He was pleased with himself as he summoned the eunuch and
told him to send for Eleanor.
‘She is to be brought to me at once,’ he ordered. ‘There is to
be no ritual of the bath—no special pampering.’
The eunuch nodded and went away to execute his master’s
orders, which were most unusual. Indeed, no woman had ever
been sent for in such a manner. Suleiman always made his choice
early in the afternoon and the woman was prepared for him in
the time-honoured way—to send for her so abruptly must mean
that she was to be punished. Which would please Fatima, of
course.
A little smile touched Abu’s mouth. It would not suit him if
Fatima were to be displaced by this new woman. Fatima was a
bad-tempered, spoiled cat—but she suited Abu. She believed
she held the power, and he alowed her to dictate to him while
she kept his secrets. It was an arrangement that gave something
to them both—and placed both in equal danger. For if Suleiman
ever guessed what sometimes took place in the secret places of
ever guessed what sometimes took place in the secret places of
his father’s palace, both Fatima and Abu would be put to death.
So Abu would help Fatima to overcome the chalenge of this
new woman—and Suleiman had unwittingly helped them by
showing his displeasure in this way.
Eleanor was fascinated as she listened to Karin talk of life in
her country, teling her of simple family life and the way the
common folk lived, which was very different from the noble lords
in their rich palaces.
The older woman had come to her after she had bathed,
taking her into a secluded corner of the gardens so that they
could talk in private. Speaking in French, which was the foreign
language spoken most often in the harem, she had told Eleanor a
little of the history of the Turkish Sultans and their Sultanas, and found her an apt pupil.
‘I have been told that you speak three languages,’ she said in
her soft, musical voice. ‘And that you ma
y understand a little
Arabic.’
‘I can read it a little,’ Eleanor said. ‘But I do not understand
the language the other women speak…’
‘That is because they have so many different tongues and
dialects and they have found their own way to communicate. The
perfection of pure Arabic is only found in the written form, and
that is what you have learned—but here you wil soon begin to
understand what is being said to you.’
‘I have asked Morna to bring writing materials so that I can
‘I have asked Morna to bring writing materials so that I can
write down the words and learn them when I am alone.’
‘But you must not spend al your time alone,’ the older
woman told her. ‘You should learn to enjoy the pleasures
offered you in this place, Eleanor. There are many more than you
might imagine. Once you learn to relax you wil enjoy having
sweet oils massaged into your skin, and it is pleasant to bathe in
the pools—there are large pools both in the garden and inside
the palace. Also you may have music lessons and you may learn
to dance if you choose; it is good exercise and a skil that may be
helpful to you. The other women wil be friendly towards you
after I have spoken to them, and you may pass your time in
playing games or helping each other to braid your hair.’
‘But what of my mind?’ Eleanor replied. ‘I have been used to
study—is it possible for me to have books?’
Karin frowned. ‘I am not sure if this would be permitted. I
cannot grant you such a favour, Eleanor—you must wait until
you are sent for—’ She broke off as she saw the eunuch striding
purposefuly towards them. ‘Perhaps you wil not have to wait so
very long…’
She rose to her feet as the eunuch approached. ‘You wish to
speak with me, Abu?’
‘The woman is to come with me!’
‘Now?’ Karin was startled. This was unheard of! Suleiman
never sent such a message—unless he was very displeased. He
must be angry with Eleanor for some reason. ‘Where are you
taking her? Is she to be punished?’
taking her? Is she to be punished?’
‘That is for Suleiman Bakhar to decide—he has sent for her.’
Abu grasped Eleanor’s arm, puling her roughly to her feet.
She stared at him haughtily as she felt his fingers dig cruely into
