by Anne Herries
would soon see her father, for that at least she must be grateful.
If only she could stop this ache in her chest from threatening
If only she could stop this ache in her chest from threatening
to crush the life from her. She wished that she might run back to
the Sultan’s palace and beg for her husband’s release, but such
actions would merely cause more trouble. Perhaps when they
were back in Cyprus, she might persuade her uncle to make
inquires. She might even persuade him to let her return—if
Suleiman stil lived.
She nodded to the young boy who had stopped outside what
was clearly the most important cabin on board ship. Her uncle
must have given up his own accommodation for her sake, which
was kind of him.
She went inside, and then stopped as she saw someone
standing by the porthole, her heart catching as she saw the tal,
broad-shouldered man with his back towards her. He was
dressed in the simple, traditional style he liked to adopt when
private—yet it could not be!
‘Suleiman?’ she breathed, walking towards him as if she were
in a dream. ‘Is it realy you?’
He turned and smiled at her, opening his arms as she gave a
scream of surprise and delight and ran to him. His arms closed
about her, crushing her to him as their lips met in a hungry kiss
that made her feel like swooning.
‘I thought you were stil a prisoner,’ she cried, the tears
running down her cheeks. ‘I thought they were sending me away
from you—that I should never see you again.’
‘Would you have cared so much, my dove?’
‘You know I would! I should not want to live if I could not be
‘You know I would! I should not want to live if I could not be
your wife. I am your wife, Suleiman—and can never marry any
other man.’
‘If you do, I shal kil him!’ Suleiman said hoarsely. ‘Did you
realy think I would let you go, Eleanor? I would have fought my
way out of the palace if necessary rather than lose you. Better I
died than let you go away from me.’
‘But what are you doing here on my uncle’s ship?’ Eleanor
looked up at him uncertainly. ‘Did you not tel me that you could
never leave your father?’
‘I do so only on the Sultan’s orders,’ Suleiman replied, his
expression serious. ‘I have seen my father and he gave me his
blessing—but he knows the time has come for me to leave him. I
am to be our master’s ambassador, Eleanor. The Sultan wishes
for more trade with merchants like your uncle, and he also
wishes me to seek out a way of building peace between our
empire and its enemies—if one can be found that does not
require him to make concessions.’
‘Do you think that is possible?’ Eleanor asked doubtfuly.
‘Perhaps there is a chance—I cannot tel,’ Suleiman said. ‘As
you know, there is a wide divide between the Christian and
Muslim way of life. Much blood has been spiled, and much
hatred exists between our peoples—but the Sultan and I spoke
much on this subject privately, and we are agreed that the empire
wil suffer in time if nothing is done.’
Eleanor stared at him. ‘You spoke to the Sultan yourself—
directly to him and not the Grand Vizier?’
‘Yes.’ Suleiman laughed. ‘You, of course, were not permitted
‘Yes.’ Suleiman laughed. ‘You, of course, were not permitted
to address him yourself—but have you forgot, my love—you are
merely a woman and I am a man. The case is entirely different.’
‘You! You are a wicked tease,’ she replied, her eyes flashing
at him. ‘I should punish you for your arrogance, my lord. Do not
forget that we shal not be in your country for much longer!’
‘And yet I am your husband—and a woman is the property
of her husband wherever she may be in the world, Eleanor. I am
sorry, my love, but it is the way of men to be superior.’
‘You… Oh, I shal punish you,’ she cried and beat against
him with her fists until he caught her wrists. Then he drew her to
him once more to kiss her lips. She stopped fighting him and
clung to him, her body melting into his as the love flowed through
her. ‘I was so frightened when they arrested you,’ she said when
he released her lips at last. ‘I do not know what I should have
done if we had been parted, my lord.’
‘Nor I, my darling,’ he murmured and touched her cheek with
the tips of his fingers. ‘I could not bear it any more than you.
That is why I told the Sultan of my desire to serve him. It means
that we must travel the world in search of treasures, Eleanor—
and in doing trade perhaps we shal teach others that we Turks
are not al as savage as they think us.’
‘But what of your father? Shal you never see him again?’
‘From time to time I shal return, to take back the treasures I
have found—and to visit my home. My brother Bayezid wil do
his best to take my place, though I fear he would prefer to spend
his time in study—but he wil become my father’s heir in my
stead. It must be so or he would be exposed and vulnerable.
stead. It must be so or he would be exposed and vulnerable.
Besides, Bayezid is worthy to take my father’s place, more fitted
for the honour of being Caliph than I could ever be.’
‘Do you mind that, Suleiman?’ she asked, looking at him
anxiously.
‘No—for I have used my privileges wel, Eleanor. I am a
wealthy man through my own endeavours, which is why the
Sultan wanted me to become his ambassador. It was the clock I
gave him that convinced him I was the man he sought for this
task.’
‘The clock you gave him instead of me?’ Eleanor smiled up at
him. ‘I was sure he must be better pleased with such a gift than a
mere woman.’
Suleiman laughed huskily. ‘He told me that when he looked
upon your face he was convinced that my taste in al things
beautiful was not to be faulted. He said that a man who had the
wisdom to choose such a woman over a clock was the man he
desired as his representative in the capitals of the Western
world.’
Eleanor blushed. ‘I revealed my face so that the Vizier would
know I did not lie about the fact that I had studied the Qur’an
before I ever came to your country. Forgive me, my lord. I
know it was immodest of me.’
‘It was done for my sake,’ Suleiman said. ‘Besides, that
custom belongs in my father’s house—in your father’s house you
wil wear the clothes you were used to before your abduction.’
‘Must I?’ Eleanor sighed. ‘The clothes you gave me were so
‘Must I?’ Eleanor sighed. ‘The clothes you gave me were so
much more becoming—and so comfortable. May I not at least
wear them in private?’
Suleiman laughed down at her. ‘So—you have become a
convert to our way of life after al.’
‘Yes, my lord—though I am not sure what I believe in the
matter of religion.’
&n
bsp; ‘In that you are not alone,’ Suleiman said and sighed. ‘I
learned of your faith from my mother, Eleanor—and I have
studied the Bible. I do not know where the truth may lie.’
‘Perhaps there is only one God,’ Eleanor replied, wrinkling
her brow in thought. ‘He may be caled different names and
worshipped in different ways—but He remains the same.’
‘I think that perhaps to believe something of that sort is the
only way we can be at peace within ourselves,’ Suleiman said.
‘We must live good lives, Eleanor, you and I—and in that way
we may achieve the ideal that al the gods tel us is the true way.’
‘If only others could be as tolerant as you,’ Eleanor said and
sighed as she gazed up at him with love in her eyes. ‘I am so
lucky to have found you, my dearest husband. I do love you so
very much.’
‘And I love you,’ he replied. ‘Now you must change into the
clothes your uncle has provided, Eleanor. Once we are at sea,
he wil come for you. For we are to be married by the captain of
this ship.’
‘Married?’ Eleanor stared at him. ‘But I am already your
wife. Karin said the ceremony was complete.’
‘According to Muslim law that is so, but your family wil not
‘According to Muslim law that is so, but your family wil not
be happy until we are married in their eyes—and that means
under their law. Sir John explained to me that we could be
married at sea by the captain of his ship and need not enter a
Christian church—and I agreed that I would be happy to take
part in such a ceremony for your sake.’
‘You would do that for me?’ She stared at him in wonder,
her heart sweling with love for him.
‘It is no more than you have already done for me.’
Suleiman came towards her, drawing her to him once more to
kiss her on the lips tenderly. ‘Had we never been married
according to your law or mine, you would always have been my
love—my life. You came to me as a slave, Eleanor—but you
have become the queen of my heart. I know that I shal never
love another woman.’
‘And I shal never want more than your love,’ she said. ‘For
you are al that I want and need…’
Epilogue
Eleanor stood looking out to sea as they left the shores of
England far behind. She had thought never to return, but
Suleiman had visited the English court as the Grand Turk’s
ambassador and she had gone with him. Afterwards, they had
traveled to her old home in the west of England.
‘It is just as you described it to me,’ Suleiman had told her
one night as they lay together in the huge four-poster bed after
they had made love. ‘Richard says that he wil never return to
England—but I think that we may choose to visit your home
from time to time, my love.’
‘Wil my father sel the estate to you?’
Suleiman smiled down at her. Over the past three years he
and Sir Wiliam had become firm friends, spending time
examining many of the treasures Suleiman had discovered on his
travels. Their return to Cyprus was always eagerly awaited—and
it would be no different this time.
‘Your father asked Richard his opinion first, my love—and he
said that he had no objection.’
‘I stil cannot believe that you and my brother are friends.’
‘I think that happened after our first child was born,’
Suleiman replied. ‘How could Richard hate me when he adores
little Isabele?’
Eleanor smiled and leaned against his shoulder as the shores
of England faded into the distance. She had already given her
lord a daughter and a son, Kasim, both of whom Suleiman
spoiled dreadfuly—but she was with child again.
They would teach their children to have open minds, to
respect others and do what they could to unite the people of
their two lands and cultures. And one day their children would
live and flourish in the misty, beautiful countryside of her
childhood home…
ISBN: 978-1-4592-3698-1
CAPTIVE OF THE HAREM
First North American Publication 2004
Copyright © 2002 by Anne Herries
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Table of Contents
Epilogue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue
