Caynan Reis laughed softly, and his eyes twinkled as he said, “Nay, Baba Hassan, my poor ladies have been most neglected of late, as I seem to be otherwise occupied with my beautiful wife. Send my own women, and let Hussein Aga believe I have honored him.”
“But why must Samara take my place by my husband’s side?” India demanded. “Would it not also do honor to our visitor from Istanbul that the dey’s wife ate with him?”
“If this were an ordinary evening, my lady,” Baba Hassan told her, “I should not have suggested Samara accompany our lord, but this is a dangerous situation. Outside of the palace, few know your face. It is better for you to be invisible to this man from Istanbul.”
“I agree,” the dey replied, “especially in light of the news my wife has given me this very afternoon.”
“My lord!” Baba Hassan’s face broke wide with his smile. “Is there to be a child? Ahhhh! This is what we have all prayed for, my lord dey!” He turned to India. “May Allah rain blessings upon you, my lady India! May I tell Azura?”
India laughed happily. “I am not entirely certain, never having had a child, but as the eldest of my mother’s children, I believe I recognize the signs. Yes, Baba Hassan, you may tell Azura, and the ladies as well, for it will give them some hope of entertaining my husband again. It might also take the sting from my choosing only three of the seven this evening to entertain the janissaries. If it were I doing the deciding, however, Baba Hassan, I should give this agent of the janissaries two ladies to amuse himself with, for he will surely suspect if only one is sent that she is a spy. Two, though, bespeaks the dey’s generosity. I do not believe a fool would have been dispatched upon such a delicate mission. Why not give him Nila as well as Sarai? He will be so overwhelmed with their voluptuous pulchritude, he will not have time to consider anything other than how to gain the most pleasure from those two beauties.”
“You plot like a valideh,” the chief eunuch said admiringly. “With my lord’s permission it shall be done, my lady India.”
“Do as my wife suggests,” the dey agreed. “Is she not clever, Baba Hassan? What sons I shall have of her!”
“It might just as easily be a daughter,” India replied. “My mother had me before my brother, Henry.”
“A daughter would please me, too, as long as she is as beautiful as her mother,” the dey declared gallantly, and, catching up India’s hand, he kissed it passionately. “However, I hope this first child will be a son, my precious, not just for me, but for El Sinut.”
“Mama has five sons,” India told him with the hint of a smile. Then she said, “You must be prepared for your evening, my lord. A bath, I think, for the day has been hot. If that vixen, Samara, attempts to seduce you, though, I shall have her bow-strung!”
Baba Hassan withdrew chuckling, and made his way to Azura’s apartments where he shared the happy news that India was with child.
“Praise Allah!” Azura said, clapping her hands together. Then she smiled at the chief eunuch. “We have been so fortunate, Baba Hassan, haven’t we? India is the perfect first wife for Caynan Reis.”
“Now, let me tell you the rest,” he replied, and went on to explain the decisions that had been made regarding the harem ladies.
“I will instruct Sarai and Nila myself,” Azura said when he had finished. “Mirmah will be told only to keep Aruj Agha content. I think she retains a weakness for him yet, despite the fact she has been in the dey’s household for several years. As for Samara, you must deal with her yourself. I lose my patience with her, Baba Hassan, and she will not be pleased that her evening is to end when the dey withdraws for the night.”
“I know how to handle her,” the chief eunuch replied with a smile. “As long as her dignity is not trampled, she will obey.”
The two janissaries arrived in the dey’s dining chamber to be greeted by Mirmah, Nila, Sarai, and Samara, richly appareled in fragrant silks, their faces quite visible beneath diaphanous veils. The dey appeared immediately thereafter, smiling and gracious. He beckoned Samara to his side on the cushions. Aruj Agha, recognizing Mirmah, who sweetly snuggled against him, realized that these two women were from the dey’s own harem, and was surprised.
“I considered that perhaps you would enjoy female company this night, Hussein Aga,” the dey said. “These women are from my own household,” he confirmed. “The flame-haired beauty on your right is called Sarai. She is extremely skilled in a variety of exotic arts. The golden-haired girl on your left is my own Nila. She is tireless, and will give you exquisite pleasure. My sweet Mirmah is Aruj Agha’s companion. He gave her to me several years ago, and I thought he might enjoy her company again.”
Hussein Aga was almost speechless. The two women sent to be his companions were a pair of the most luscious and sensual beauties as he had ever seen. Their romantic perfume assailed his nostrils. Lilies and roses. Unable to help himself, he ran a finger down Sarai’s bare arm. Her skin was like Bursa silk. She smiled seductively at him, showing strong white teeth. Nila, vying for his attention, smiled into his eyes, running a pointed little pink tongue over her full lips. The janissary agent felt suddenly light-headed, and his male member hardened beneath his robes. Were these women spies who would attempt to extract secrets from him? He realized he didn’t care, particularly when Sarai pressed a plump breast against his arm. “My lord dey,” he finally managed to speak. “You honor me far more than I deserve. I have never known such fine females as these two. They are incomparable!”
“My long friendship with Aruj Agha has always made me favorable toward the corps,” the dey said sincerely. “I shall anticipate your return from the other states, Hussein Aga. Enjoy my women. I fear I have ignored them since my recent marriage.”
“Indeed you have,” Samara said boldly, her red lips pouting. “Has he not, ladies? It is difficult for us to compete with the lady India. She is most beautiful, accomplished, and charming. Even we cannot dislike her. Still, now she is with child and we shall soon have our chance with our good lord again, eh?”
The other women giggled, and nodded eagerly.
“Your wife is to give you a son then?” Aruj Agha smiled warmly at his friend. “Allah has surely blessed you, Caynan.” Then he chuckled. “When I think of the first day she arrived in El Sinut! May I tell Hussein Aga the tale? It is a most amusing one.”
“Of course,” the dey replied, smiling himself with the memory of a fiery and defiant India. As Aruj Agha began to speak, the dey signaled to his servants to begin serving the meal.
There was a wonderful thick soup of lentils, which was accompanied with a hot seasoning of red pepper, salt and garlic; a couscous covered in a spicy sauce filled with vegetables and chunks of beef; a lamb that had been grilled on a spit, as well as three chickens stuffed with almonds, raisins, and rice. There were bowls of purple, black, and green olives in herbed oil, and cucumbers in vinegar. Flat bread, warm from the ovens, was offered the guests. There were bowls of yogurt with peeled green grapes, and a platter with a steamed bass, caught that very morning, lying amid a bed of fennel and carved lemons. Finally a dessert called khtayef, consisting of nuts, honey, and sugar in thin layers of pastry was served along with cups of mint tea. A large silver salver of fresh fruit, consisting of green and red grapes, sweet cut pink melons, peaches, apricots, pomegranates, figs, and sugared dates, was set upon the table so the dey’s guests might help themselves. There were bowls of shelled almonds and pistachio nuts.
When all but the fruit and nuts had been cleared away, the dey clapped his hands for the entertainment to begin. A snake charmer came with his reed baskets of reptiles. He was followed by a troupe of sensual female dancers, who writhed and twisted themselves in a variety of movements to the high sound of a flute and the deep thump of drums, as they removed veil after veil in a teasing and tantalizing fashion until they were quite naked. Finally a young blind girl was led in, and seated, accompanied by three other women who played upon a rebec, reed pipe, and small drum as the girl sang sweetl
y passionate love songs.
Caynan Reis watched the janissaries as his women began a subtle seduction of the pair. Sarai’s hand had already slipped between the folds of Hussein Aga’s robes, and from the look on the man’s face, she was as skillful as ever. After the girl had sung for a time, the dey raised his hand, saying, “I believe it is time for me to retire. I will personally see you off in the morning, Hussein Aga. Enjoy your night.” Then, arising, Caynan Reis left the dining chamber with Samara, whom he escorted back to the harem. “You did well,” he told the girl, kissing her softly upon the lips.
“I am a patient woman, my lord,” she told him, dark eyes twinkling.
“Do not let my wife hear you saying things like that,” he chuckled, and then brushed her lips a final time. “Sleep well, Samara.”
She watched him retreat down the dim corridor, a smile upon her lips. Soon the lady India would grow fat with her child, and the dey would seek the diversion of his harem. She would be favored once again. Baba Hassan had assured her it was bound to happen, and it would. Finally Samara turned away and entered the fountain court.
Caynan Reis had felt her stare as he walked down the long hallway to Baba Hassan’s quarters. He needed to speak with his chief eunuch now if his plan was to be put into action. He hurried into the eunuch’s apartments. “Baba Hassan,” he said without any preamble to his advisor, who was seated upon a divan enjoying his water pipe. “I have a plan that will keep El Sinut from treason, and, give me what I want.” He sat down in a chair of carved cedar with a leather seat.
“And what exactly is it that you want, my lord?” the eunuch asked his master, putting down his water pipe, his look attentive and curious.
“The janissaries’ plot will fail. They always fail. The Sublime Porte will seek revenge, and it will be more prudent for them to revenge themselves upon the Barbary States than upon those who are truly responsible.”
“That is truth, my lord dey,” Baba Hassan agreed.
“But what if El Sinut exposed the janissaries’ plot before they had an opportunity to enact it?” the dey inquired. “Would not the valideh be grateful? Would she not want to reward her loyal dey of El Sinut? Would she not give him this tiny kingdom in gratitude if he but asked her? Tribute would still be paid, and fealty given to the sultan, but El Sinut would be mine, and my family’s forever.”
Baba Hassan was silent for several long moments. His look was a thoughtful one. He was obviously considering his master’s words very carefully. At last he spoke. “It is dangerous, my lord. Very dangerous. Yet there is danger also in knowing of this plot, and not notifying Istanbul of its existence. While you should make a friend of the sultan and his mother, you will make deadly enemies of the janissaries. We know from the bath attendant, Refet, that Aruj Agha has been ordered to kill you should you betray the corps; and that he has said he would.”
“I believe he said it to pacify Hussein Aga,” the dey replied. “Our friendship is an old and valued one. Aruj Agha will not kill me.”
“My lord, one thing you have never really comprehended about your friend. Aruj Agha’s first loyalty is to the corps of janissaries. His grandfather was a janissary, and his uncle is one. He was taken from his family in Bosnia when he was a little boy, and raised in the prince’s school in Istanbul. Even at his mother’s knee, the lesson of loyalty to the corps was drummed into him. It is a lesson without end. His first ranking was as a gardener in the sultan’s palace. The gardeners there are the royal executioners. They are all young men eager to prove their worth, not so much to the sultan, but to the corps, and to their officers. To date, you two have never really been in conflict, but do not ask Aruj Agha to change loyalties, to take your part over that of the corps of janissaries. He will not do it even if he believes the hierarchy wrong. You must not ever trust him again if you decide to do this thing.”
“What choice do I have, Baba Hassan?” Caynan Reis asked his friend and advisor. “The other states will jump at the opportunity to be free from Istanbul and its tribute. If Hussein Aga returns to me, I must pledge my aid. If I do not, I will be counted their enemy, and they will seek to assassinate me. The Sublime Porte will be only too happy to use me as their scapegoat. El Sinut being small, they can afford to punish us, while the other states are large, and could prove troublesome. I am caught between two fires.
“On the other hand, if I expose the janissaries’ plot I have a better chance of remaining alive. I will ask that the sultan remove the janissaries from El Sinut once we are independent. I will form my own guard to protect me. El Sinut will belong to me, and to my sons and my sons’ sons. It is worth the risk. Tell me if there is another way, Baba Hassan, that I can keep us all safe.”
“There is no other way, my lord. It will be as Allah wills it,” the eunuch replied fatalistically.
Caynan Reis nodded wearily. “Now, my old friend, how do we approach the valideh in Istanbul? You will have a way, I am certain.”
“We will use two paths, my lord. Our chances will be better at reaching the sultan’s mother in time if we do. I have several pigeons, a gift to me from the Agha Kislar of the royal household. Most men in my position hold these birds. We will release three to make their way back to the capital with our message. I shall also send by ship the gift of two young boys to the sultan. They will be accompanied by my most trusted aide, Ali-Ali. He will carry a personal message to the Agha Kislar from me.”
“What if he attempts to read your message?” the dey asked.
“The message will be in a code known only to the Agha Kislar, and those to whom he entrusts his messenger birds. It is a good system.”
“Why are you sending young boys instead of beautiful girls?” the dey wondered.
“The valideh has encouraged her son in his youth to enjoy the company of boys over girls. That way, no beautiful young creature will arise to challenge the valideh’s control over the sultan by either her erotic wiles or by giving the sultan a son of his own. In time, of course, that will change, but our way into favor is through pretty young boys right now, and not pretty young girls.”
“How will we know that the sultan has received our warning, Baba Hassan? And will he receive it in time?” Caynan Reis asked.
“We will not know until Ali-Ali returns, my lord. I regret that is the fact of it, but remember, it will take many weeks for Hussein Aga to complete his mission and return to El Sinut. Then he has a voyage to Istanbul. The pigeons I release in two days’ time know only to fly to their home in the Yeni Serai. That is how they are trained. They do not forget their way. That is why the Agha Kislar will return the birds to me when Ali-Ali rejoins us, and we will outflank the traitorous janissaries.”
“I understand, but why are you waiting two days to send the birds on their way, Baba Hassan? Should they not be sent at first light tomorrow?”
“Because, my lord, Hussein Aga is undoubtedly aware of the Agha Kislar’s pigeons. What if he saw one on the wing as he left the palace or the harbor? These pigeons are quite unique. They are white with black-and-white markings and very pink feet, not your ordinary garden-variety bird that one sees upon the roofs of the town, or cadging tidbits in the marketplace. They are recognizable to the knowledgeable, so we will wait until this agent of the janissaries has restarted his journey and is away from El Sinut. We must be extremely cautious in this matter.”
“Agreed,” the dey said, and then he arose. “Only Azura can know of our plan, Baba Hassan.”
“Your wife must know as well,” the chief eunuch advised. “She is a clever girl, and will be of use to you if she is aware of all that is going on in this situation.”
“But what of the child? Will she not endanger the child?”
“Not knowing is more dangerous, my lord. She is a passionate lady with a great imagination. If she worries, and frets from a position of ignorance, she is more apt to harm her baby. The true knowledge of what is happening will give her courage and strength. After all, my lord, you seek El Sinut for your son, b
ut the child is her son as well. You must not forget that. Women grow irritated, and justly so, when a man behaves as if his son is his alone, and only his doing. Particularly after a wife has carried her child within her own body for almost a year’s time.”
“How can you have such wisdom, Baba Hassan?” the dey inquired. “There have never been any children in this palace. At least not in my time, or our lord Sharif’s time.”
“In my youth,” the eunuch said, “I served upon the young ikbal of a former sultan in the harem of the Yeni Serai itself, my lord. Such a large place, and there were many children, including the daughter of my young mistress. Of course, that was the girl’s downfall, and her salvation, having a daughter. But the sultan was no longer interested in her once she was with child, and if the truth be known, she was a pretty but stupid creature. The female infant she birthed was just one of many little girls born to the sultan. My mistress became a troublemaker. She was finally sent with her child to the Eski Serai, the old palace. I was reassigned to accompany the lady Azura to El Sinut, as a gift from the sultan, to his most loyal dey, Sharif. That is how I can tell you about breeding women and their infants,” the chief eunuch finished with a deep chuckle. “I have learned much in my fifty years, my lord.”
“I must bow to your wisdom,” the dey said with a small smile.
Baba Hassan chuckled again. “I am at your service always, my lord dey.”
In the morning, Caynan Reis met with Hussein Aga before the agent of the janissaries departed the palace for his ship. “Was your evening a pleasant one, Hussein Aga?” the dey asked his guest pleasantly, noting the older man looked as if he had not slept a great deal.
“Never have I known such a night!” was the enthusiastic reply. “The dey of Algiers will surely not be able to equal your hospitality, nor the dey of Tunis. I shall look forward with much anticipation to my return visit. Both Sarai and Nila are houriis without parallel!” He bowed low to the dey.
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