Bianca: The Silk Merchant's Daughters

by Bertrice Small

  Now, upon her order, he set out into the city to seek a man who was known by only the single name Sami. The name meant “all knowing.” It was said of Sami that whatever you wanted, desired, or needed, he knew where to find it, and for a price would obtain it for you. Besma wanted a troop of ruthless and murderous Tartars who would sweep down upon the Moonlight Serai, murdering its inhabitants and destroying the little palace. They would be well paid, half in advance, half upon the satisfactory completion of their task. They were free to carry off the women in the Moonlight Serai and take slaves, but the lord of the palace was to be slain without mercy.

  “For proof of his death my mistress would have the gold signet ring he always wears on his right hand,” Taweel told Sami. “And the finger upon which he wears it as well. The ring could be stolen, but the finger will be the actual evidence that the task has been completed to my mistress’s satisfaction.”

  The broker of all things possible considered the tall eunuch’s request, and then he said, “And am I apt to face a troop of Janissaries come to peel the skin from my bones if I find what it is you seek?” Sami demanded. “I know from whom you come, Taweel, and whom you serve. This is a dangerous business you propose.”

  “But you will do it,” Taweel said, smiling, and his large white teeth were fearsome in his black face. “The commission you collect will be a fat one, my greedy friend.”

  “It will be very costly,” Sami replied. “Very, very costly.”

  “She will pay,” Taweel responded. “Now find her the Tartars she wants, and send to me when you have them so I may personally come to give them their instructions.” The eunuch handed Sami a small bag of gold coins, which the purveyor of all things mentally weighed in his palm. “A small retainer for your services,” Taweel said, and then returned to the palace to report to his mistress the success of his mission.

  “He will be discreet?” Besma asked her servant.

  “His life and his livelihood both depend upon his discretion,” Taweel assured her. “But if you so desire, I can slit his throat once the mission had been accomplished, lady.”

  “It is to be considered,” Besma responded. “And we might recoup some of my gold too. But then I might need him again one day, so perhaps I will let him live.”

  Hadji Bey did not yet know of Besma’s intentions towards Prince Amir, for she had shared her thoughts only with her minion. The Agha had taken it upon himself to make a rare and secret visit outside of the palace, leaving quietly in the dark of night when even the most curious eyes and ears slept. He traveled in the company of only one man, Captain Mahmud, whom he knew the prince had come to trust. They traveled quickly.

  Their arrival at the Moonlight Serai was greeted with great surprise by Diya al Din, who practically fell over his own silk slippers when a slave came to tell him of the Agha Kislar’s presence in the house. “My lord Agha!” he greeted his guest, and he bowed respectfully to the great man.

  “I have come to speak privily with your master,” Hadji Bey said.

  Diya al Din hesitated a moment. He didn’t know whether he should run and fetch the prince immediately or settle his two guests in the salon first. Finally he decided on the latter. “Come,” he told them, leading them into the charming light-filled chamber with its view of the gardens beyond the windows. “Let me make you comfortable before I go to fetch my lord Amir.” He signaled slaves to come with fruit sherbets and sweet cakes and a bowl of pistachio nuts even as he settled them. The Agha Kislar looked weary to Diya al Din’s sharp eye. How quickly had they traveled?

  Satisfied that the guests were comfortable, Diya al Din ran for his master. He found him in his own small privy chamber planning the next year’s voyages of his three ships.

  “My lord, my lord! The sultan’s great Agha Kislar has just arrived to speak with you!” the eunuch burst out, unable to keep the excitement from his own voice.

  Amir jumped up. “Hadji Bey himself? Allah! What has happened? Where have you put him? Quickly! Quickly! Take me to him!” He swiftly followed Diya al Din to the salon where his guests waited. Seeing Captain Mahmud with the Agha, the prince’s eyes grew wary. “What has happened?” he asked them. “No, my lord Agha, do not get up. Stay seated and be comfortable.” He joined them. “Tell me my uncle is well.”

  “The sultan is healthy and well,” the Agha responded, impressed that the prince’s first concern had been for Bayezit. “I apologize for startling you, but I could not send a message ahead of my coming, for this trip has been made in the utmost secrecy from all but my master. You and your family are in grave danger, my lord prince. It is the sultan’s wish that you be relocated in secret from your home here to El Dinut, where its dey has agreed to welcome and shelter you.”

  “Why are we in danger, and why is that danger so great that we must leave in a clandestine manner?” Amir wanted to know.

  “There are those who have the sultan’s ear who do not trust in your goodwill, my lord. They would have your uncle dispose of you and your family in a more traditional manner,” Hadji Bey said quietly.

  A small wry smile touch Amir’s lips. “Kill me, in other words,” he said.

  The Agha Kislar nodded in the affirmative.

  “But I have done nothing to cause anyone to be suspicious of me,” Amir pointed out. “I have served my uncle with honor, and all I wish is to live peaceably.”

  “Your uncle knows that, my lord. The suspicions are not his, but others continue to carp on your near presence. You know that the sultan prefers settling these family matters in a pacific manner. The dey of El Dinut is an old friend of your grandfather’s. He is ready to welcome you and your family to his small kingdom. Captain Mahmud and a troop of his Janissaries will be stationed in El Dinut at the invitation of the dey. It is on the sea, and you will simply be another merchant to the citizens of El Dinut. To forgo any curiosity, you will not use your title. You will be known simply as Amir ibn Mehmet, a wealthy merchant who has settled himself in El Dinut.”

  “This is not a request, Hadji Bey, is it?” the prince said.

  “No, my lord, it is not,” the Agha Kislar replied with a sigh. Then he added, “There are many advantages to making this great change in your life. You are able to take your whole family with you, and all of your possessions, your slaves, your animals. But most important of all, you will be as far away as you were when you lived in Florence.”

  “In other words, once I am out of sight you will be able to divert those who are fearful and irritated by my near presence from causing my uncle any embarrassment by creating an unseemly carnage. Such an unfortunate event could be made public, thereby tarnishing his reputation as a just ruler,” Amir said shrewdly.

  The Agha nodded. “Indeed, my lord, indeed,” he said with a faint smile. “But, of course, your exodus must be quick and discreet. Your whereabouts must be kept secret from all but a few. Are your own ships available to transport you?”

  “It can be arranged,” Amir said. “I am only just now setting the voyage schedule for the year ahead. It is a long and difficult journey you are asking me to make with three women, and a child barely out of infancy.”

  “Would you rather see your women murdered, or carried off into slavery? And what of your daughter? She is an Ottoman princess even if she never knows it,” Hadji Bey said. “Does she not deserve to be raised by her mother in a safe place?”

  Amir felt a flash of anger, but he restrained himself from any outburst. It was not the fault of the Agha Kislar that they must leave the Moonlight Serai. Hadji Bey had not said it, but Amir knew without being told it was his uncle’s kadin Besma who was responsible for all of this trouble. It was the Agha’s duty to make certain the sultan’s household ran smoothly, and that his kadins brought Bayezit pleasure. Besma’s ambition for her only son was well known.

  Amir had never before cared one way or another for power other than
the power over his own life. Today, however, he wished he had the authority to make Besma disappear. The woman was a thorn in everyone’s slipper. Her madness and her ambition were beyond impossible. That she had the ability to wreak such havoc with his own life and the lives of his small family infuriated the prince. However, as he was not a man for murder himself, he knew he must accept his uncle’s will in this matter as the best solution.

  He held no animosity for his cousin Ahmed. Ahmed would never rule, no matter what his mother thought. She had ruined him in her efforts to bind him to her by indulging his vices instead of teaching him to control them. Ahmed preferred forbidden wines and sating his lustful nature to the possibility that he would one day rule his father’s and his grandfather’s expanding empire. He had no interest in governance, as the province he was charged with ruling showed by its disorder.

  And yet his ambitious mother could not see it. What Besma saw was Ahmed as the next sultan, and herself ruling through him. And to foster her ambition, Amir and his family must now flee to the tiny fiefdom of El Dinut. He must uproot himself and leave the home he loved to protect them all. Amir ibn Jem was not happy, but he also knew that he really had no choice.

  “How much time do we have?” he asked the Agha.

  “I would send your women away as quickly as possible,” Hadji Bey said. “While we were traveling to reach you, Captain Mahmud told me of a rumor that reached his ear just before we departed Istanbul.” He looked to the Janissary.

  “The corps has spies everywhere, as you know, my lord,” Captain Mahmud began. “Recently one of them, knowing my friendship with you, came to tell me that a man in the city who is known as a broker of all things—his name is Sami—has sent out a call for a troop of Tartars. Kadin Besma’s personal eunuch, Taweel, was seen coming from Sami’s place of business just before that request was circulated. I feel those Tartars are meant to attack the Moonlight Serai. You have no defenses for this palace, my lord. You are vulnerable to such an attack.”

  Amir could no longer control his irritation. “You are the most powerful man in the palace, Hadji Bey,” he said angrily. “Can you do nothing to stop this damned woman? My wife is only just now recovered from childbirth after almost eight months, and Atiya is not even a year old. Now I must expose them to the rigors of a long journey! Certainly my uncle knows how duplicitous this kadin is.”

  “She pleases him in his bed in a way no other woman does,” Hadji Bey said candidly. “He believes he needs her, and depends upon me to control her. Short of cutting out her tongue or slitting her throat . . .” The Agha shrugged. “Your uncle’s responsibilities are great, my lord prince. He must have what pleases him, and it is my duty to see that he does.” Then he reminded Amir, “And it is your duty to obey the sultan’s commands.”

  “I know, I know,” Amir responded. “I am grateful he has even considered making provision for me, and I will obey. Have I not always done my duty by the sultan, Hadji Bey? I am his most loyal servant.”

  “You have, my lord, you have,” the Agha replied. “And now that we have settled this matter, I would see your daughter so I may tell the sultan of her when I return.”

  “Krikor,” the prince called to his faithful slave, who stood quietly on one side of the salon. “Tell Ali Farid that I wish the lady Azura to bring our daughter here so the Agha Kislar may see her.”

  “At once, my lord!”

  Several minutes later Azura came into the chamber carrying her child. She was dressed in a lavender silk kaftan trimmed in gold and silver threads. A sheer pale pink silk covered her dark hair, and she was veiled. The baby was dressed in a soft pink robe. She was rosy cheeked, her bright blue eyes looking around her. The young mother bowed to her husband, and to Hadji Bey.

  “This is my third wife, Azura,” the prince said, “and our daughter, Atiya.”

  Hadji Bey reached out to loosen the veil covering Azura’s face. His fingers, she noted, were long and elegant. He looked at her admiringly with the distinct eye of a connoisseur, then refastened the veil. “Her eyes are extraordinary,” he said. “She is beautiful enough for your uncle’s harem.” Then he fingered one of Atiya’s loose raven curls. “The child is a mixture of you both,” he noted. “She has your stubborn chin, my lord, but her mother’s sweet mouth. I shall tell the sultan that Atiya is a true Ottoman princess.”

  “Return to the harem, beloved,” Amir murmured to Azura. “I will come later, and tell you everything that has happened this day.”

  With a polite nod of her head, Azura left the men. There had been a third man in the salon. He wore the uniform of the Janissaries. He had taken a quick look when Hadji Bey had unveiled her, but then as quickly averted his eyes politely. She wondered who he was, but Amir would tell her later. Maysun and Shahdi were waiting excitedly for her.

  “What does the great Hadji Bey want of our husband?” Maysun asked.

  “I don’t know,” Azura replied. “He said he would come later and tell us.”

  “They will remain the night,” Shahdi said. “It is much too late in the day now for them to return to Istanbul. Amir will entertain them.”

  “With what?” Maysun demanded to know. “We have no dancing girls.”

  “Food and drink, of course,” Shahdi responded. “They will talk, like all men do, and probably gamble together.”

  “A poor welcome for the sultan’s Agha Kislar,” Maysun said. “If only we had known he was coming. I wonder why he did not send ahead.”

  Azura handed Atiya off to Agata. “We can wonder all we want,” she said. “We will know nothing until Amir comes.”

  He came long after the sun had set that day, but the three women waited, for a visit from the sultan’s Agha Kislar was a rare—indeed, an almost unheard-of—event. He looked tired, and he looked worried. They settled him comfortably in the single cushioned chair that was meant only for him, and seated themselves around him on low stools. Amir looked at them and sighed deeply. “We must leave the Moonlight Serai almost immediately,” he began, and the three women gasped in shock.

  Amir held up his hand to stem the flow of their questions temporarily. Then he went on to tell them everything the Agha Kislar had told him. He told them what he believed with regard to the sultan’s kadin Besma. Then he concluded, “We have no choice. To remain at the Moonlight Serai invites danger at the least, death more likely. I will not give the lives of my family merely to quell the madness of one woman’s ambition for her son. We must go, but at least my uncle has provided a safe haven for us.”

  “But we have always lived here,” Maysun said.

  “From the time your grandfather gave us to you,” Shahdi added.

  “Where is El Dinut?” Azura wanted to know.

  Amir smiled. His first two wives could not see beyond today. Azura, praise Allah, had wisdom. “El Dinut is on the Mediterranean Sea. It is a long journey from the Moonlight Serai,” he replied. “We will have to travel by ship.”

  Azura nodded. “Will it take us as long as it took when you and I came from Venice?” she asked him.

  “A little longer, beloved. El Dinut is nearer the Italian states and France,” he explained. “I want the women to go first, within the next few days.”

  “Yes, Maysun and Shahdi must go first,” Azura agreed. “I want them to take Atiya with them.” She spoke as if the others were not even in the room. “I will remain to see that the household is packed up, and then come with you, my lord.”

  “You must go with the others,” he told her.

  “No,” Azura responded. “I will not leave until you leave. I did not give up my people to be without you, Amir.”

  “Besma’s Tartars could come, and I would be slain,” he said.

  “If that happens, if there is no hope, then I will die with you, my lord, but I will not leave you,” Azura replied quietly, adding, “Nor will I become slav
e to some Tartar.”

  He wanted to argue with her, but he saw the determination in her beautiful eyes. Those wonderful eyes that had first attracted him to her. She was brave enough to stand by his side, and while his every instinct was to force her to go, he would not. “Very well,” he said. “We will depart together, but the others must go ahead of us with Atiya.”

  “Will Agata come with us?” Maysun asked.

  “Yes,” Azura answered her. “The voyage will be long and dull. And it may be difficult at times. She will be of more use to you than your pretty little handmaidens, especially with Atiya. And when you reach El Dinut she will be of great value to you as you settle yourselves in this new place. I am certain the dey will host you until we are able to find ourselves a new home in which to live.”

  Shahdi began to cry. “I do not want to leave here,” she said. “We are happy here.”

  “We will be happy wherever we are because we will be together,” Maysun said, for she could be a practical woman. “We will begin packing up our possessions in the morning. If we must go, then the sooner, the better! I have no wish to find myself standing over some Tartar’s cooking fire or in his bed. Do you, Shahdi?”

  The second wife looked horrified at such a suggestion. While both women had been born into seminomadic cultures, ending up in an Ottoman prince’s household had been a marvelous fate for them. They had lived in luxury for enough time that they did not want to return to anything like their previous life. “No!” Shahdi said emphatically in reply to her fellow wife’s query. “No!” she repeated.

  Before the Agha Kislar departed the following morning, he promised Prince Amir, “I will do my best to stop kadin Besma from sending her Tartars, but do not depend upon it. She is a resourceful female. She will use poison, a single assassin, whatever means she can find to gain her objective until I may turn her attention in another direction. Do not delay, my lord prince, but know you go with your uncle’s blessings.”

  “Such knowledge is comforting under the circumstances,” Amir replied drily.