Captive of the Harem

by Anne Herries

  from the palace kitchens died horribly last night. They say she

  was beaten and then strangled; there was no attempt to hide her

  body. I do not know why but this makes me afraid…for you.’

  ‘But why?’ Eleanor’s eyes opened wide with surprise. ‘You

  do not believe it was Abu…but, yes, you do!’

  Karin nodded. ‘I think it may have been anger or spite on his

  Karin nodded. ‘I think it may have been anger or spite on his

  part, because he was stripped of his powers to punish. I may be

  wrong about this, but please be careful, Eleanor. I would not

  have anything unpleasant happen to you.’

  ‘Yes, of course I shal take care. I thank you for your care of

  me, Karin.’

  ‘I like you,’ the older woman replied. ‘And you are in my

  charge. I would not have you disappear or die mysteriously, as

  others have. Now you must go. Our master seems impatient to

  see you.’

  Eleanor’s heart was beating very fast as she continued on into

  the grand chamber, which contained al the cabinets and scientific

  instruments. Suleiman was not there and she ventured into the

  next room. She saw him at once. He was standing by a trestle

  and board, on which were spread several manuscripts and

  seemed intent on what he was doing.

  ‘You sent for me, my lord?’

  Suleiman swung round at her words, a flame of pure silver

  shooting up in his dark eyes as he saw her. Eleanor’s heart

  caught and for a moment she could not breathe. How

  magnificent he was! He frightened her with his overpowering

  masculinity, yet she felt drawn to him against her wil. He must

  not look at her so! As if he were pleased to see her, had awaited

  her coming eagerly. She could not bear it—it terrified her and

  excited her too, making her feel as if she had been running very

  fast.

  ‘You brought the journal?’ His gaze narrowed as she held it

  ‘You brought the journal?’ His gaze narrowed as she held it

  out to him wordlessly, unable to speak. He opened the first page

  and then turned to the next, his brow furrowing. ‘You have

  translated into English and also given the original Latin

  transcription—why?’

  ‘I thought it might please you,’ Eleanor replied. ‘In English the

  meaning becomes clearer—the Latin script was somewhat

  ambiguous. I gave it a literal interpretation…’

  ‘Which makes it easier to understand how a chart should be

  drawn and understood…’ His mouth curved into a smile that set

  her pulses pounding. ‘Very clever…and exactly what I needed.

  How did you know that I wished to read my own horoscope?’

  ‘You had made such detailed notes,’ Eleanor replied. ‘I saw

  the instruments used to take readings of the stars in your hal…a

  rather fine astrolobe and others I was not sure of. And I knew

  you had spoken recently with an astrologer.’

  ‘Indeed? I suppose Karin told you that?’

  ‘Yes, my lord.’

  Suleiman nodded. ‘I am pleased with your hand, my lady. It

  is easy for me to read. I find these difficult to decipher.’ He

  waved his hand towards the scripts he had been studying. ‘It

  was always my chief pleasure of an afternoon, but of late…’ He

  shrugged and frowned. ‘My eyes ache from trying to make out

  this lettering.’

  ‘It is a medical treatise,’ Eleanor said. ‘Writ in Arabic. It tels

  of a bark that must be ground into a powder and mixed with

  wine. If used in the treatment of a bowel disorder it is promised

  most effective.’

  most effective.’

  ‘Then it is not the remedy I seek.’ He sighed as if he were

  weary after many hours of study. ‘I am looking for a treatment

  for a sweling of the body.’ He squinted at the next script. ‘I am

  sure it is here somewhere.’

  ‘Would you like me to look for you?’

  ‘If you wil. I am sure there is a certain powder that may save

  my friend from the evil of having a lump cut out of his side by the

  surgeon’s knife…’

  ‘I think this may be what you are seeking, my lord.’

  Eleanor had seen that the text he needed was just beneath the

  one he had been studying. She handed it to him and he held it out

  at arm’s length, then nodded.

  ‘Yes, the very one. I shal copy it and give it to the physician.’

  ‘May I do that, my lord? Here is paper and ink. It wil take

  but a moment.’

  ‘As you wish.’

  Eleanor sat on the stool and wrote the name of the bark used

  in the treatment of sweling and lumps, and the way in which it

  must be used, then handed it to Suleiman. He had been staring

  down at the various scripts and his difficulty was obvious.

  ‘Perhaps you should wear spectacles for reading, my lord?’

  ‘I have eyes like a hawk.’ He glared at her indignantly. ‘I can

  see smal objects from a distance. My eyes are perfectly sound.’

  ‘But you obviously cannot see to read properly. My father’s

  eyes were much the same. He thought it was because he studied

  so much, but when he bought some magnifying lenses he

  discovered that it was much easier for him.’

  discovered that it was much easier for him.’

  ‘I am aware of these things…in the Arab world we have

  known of their properties for a long time. In your country they

  are far behind us. Besides, I do not need them. It is merely that

  my eyes are tired after too much work.’

  ‘Yes, my lord. My father said the same until he tried them.

  And in China they have used these glasses since the tenth

  century. It is an old wisdom and not something you need to feel

  ashamed of using to your advantage.’

  Suleiman gave her a hard stare, then, seeing the gentle smile

  on her mouth, he laughed. ‘You think me too vain to use such

  aids? Wel, I have been told before it would help me. Kasim

  advised the use of them, but I thought it a passing thing. It seems

  that I may have been wrong.’

  ‘My father was sent his glasses by a Venetian friend, but I

  dare say he would not have bought them for himself.’

  ‘Your father had a wise daughter.’ Suleiman nodded, his eyes

  intent on her face. ‘Are you pleased with the work I have sent

  you?’

  ‘Yes, my lord. It was my habit to study with my brother at

  home.’ She sighed as she thought about Richard, as she so often

  did in the privacy of her own rooms. ‘We were very close…’

  She held back a sob, then lifted her head. ‘We shal not speak of

  that—it was kind of you to send me the work, my lord.’

  His gaze narrowed as he looked at her. Was it his eyesight or

  was she even more lovely than he had thought her? ‘Karin tels

  me you have begun to make friends—is that true?’

  me you have begun to make friends—is that true?’

  ‘Yes, my lord. I have three friends in the harem. Anastasia,

  Elizabetta and Rosamunde.’

  ‘What do you talk about with your friends? Come, sit with

  me. I have ordered sherbet and sweetmeats for your pleasure.

/>   Drink and eat as we talk. I would know more of how the women

  spend their time.’

  Eleanor looked at him in surprise. Did he realy not know or

  was he merely testing her?

  ‘I can tel you only of those women I have begun to know,

  my lord. Anastasia plays the dombra, and I thought the music

  very strange for it is different from the music I play.’

  ‘What instruments do you play?’

  ‘At home I had a harp and the virginals that were my

  mother’s—but Anastasia has promised to teach me to play the

  dombra.’

  ‘And wil that please you?’

  ‘Oh, yes, my lord.’ Her face lit up with eagerness. ‘I could

  not bear to sit in idleness as some of the women do, but I am to

  learn to dance—and to sing in the manner of your own people…

  a kind of chanting, I understand. And then it is pleasant to hear

  about the other women’s homes and their lives before they came

  here…’

  ‘What of your land, Eleanor? Tel me of your home—

  describe it to me in detail and the countryside around it. Make

  me see it through your eyes.’

  ‘Wilingly, my lord.’ She smiled at him. ‘My father’s house is

  timber framed and the upper level protrudes out over the lower.

  timber framed and the upper level protrudes out over the lower.

  The wals are of a grey stone and paneled inside with English

  oak, the roof deeply sloping and thatched with straw. It is not a

  large house, though gracious and wel built—but to you it would

  seem very smal. Your father’s palace is so huge…’

  ‘Too large,’ Suleiman said and frowned. ‘It is impossible to

  know what goes on everywhere. But continue—tel me of the

  gardens and the landscape. What do you do when you are at

  home?’

  Eleanor began to describe her home in detail, leaving out

  nothing that she thought might interest him. She spoke of woods

  and meadows and the creatures that inhabited them, of misty

  mornings and the beauty of the English countryside, of the

  autumn when the leaves began to change colour. She told him

  also of the winter when the snows came, filing the roads and

  ditches, and sometimes cutting them off for days. She described

  her father’s colection of books, maps and manuscripts, and his

  other treasures that they had been forced to leave behind, her

  words eloquent and flowing like beautiful music.

  Suleiman listened entranced, the sound of her voice holding

  him spelbound, and wishing that her tale might never end, but

  when she reached the part where they had been forced to flee

  England, he interrupted.

  ‘You were unfortunate that your Queen has set her heart on

  Spain—those Catholic devils are without mercy.’ Suleiman

  frowned. ‘You caled me a savage—but my people are no

  worse than the murderers of the Inquisition. Our justice is often

  harsh, but we can also be generous. We are neither savages nor

  harsh, but we can also be generous. We are neither savages nor

  barbarians, even though our customs are strange to you.’

  ‘No, perhaps not.’ Eleanor blushed. ‘I was wrong to judge

  without knowing you, my lord. I thought you the same as the

  men who murdered my father and I hated you as I hate them.’

  ‘And now?’ His eyes seemed very bright and intent. ‘Do you

  stil hate me?’

  ‘No…I do not hate you.’ Eleanor took a deep breath. ‘I

  know that you are not like the men who raided our ship. But I

  stil ask that you wil ransom me to my family.’

  ‘No!’ Suleiman got to his feet and reached down to pul her

  up to stand before him. ‘You must learn to accept your fate,

  Eleanor. You can never leave here.’

  ‘Then I shal hate you!’ Her temper flared suddenly. ‘Why

  wil you not listen to me? Why can you not—?’

  Before she could say more, Suleiman reached for her and

  crushed her against him in a powerful embrace. His mouth sought

  hers in a hungry, ravaging kiss that seemed almost to burn her.

  For a moment she was close to surrendering to the need she

  sensed in him, then she pushed against him with the flat of her

  hands, turning her head to one side. For a few terrifying seconds

  he held her and she sensed that he was close to losing al control,

  then he released her so abruptly that she felt she would fal.

  Daring to glance at him, she saw that his nostrils were flaring and

  he was breathing hard as though he laboured beneath some

  extreme emotion. She thought that he might be very angry—for

  what else could cause him to look like that?

  ‘Why do you fight me?’ he demanded. ‘I have given you

  what you requested. What more can I give you? Do you want

  jewels? Silks…larger apartments?’

  ‘No! How can you think these things would buy me?’ she

  asked, her eyes bright with accusation. Her body felt as if it was

  on fire, and her limbs trembled with weakness. ‘I am a woman of

  honour. To give myself to a man who was not my husband…’

  She stopped as she saw the gleam in his eyes. ‘No! I do not ask

  for marriage, only that I might be free.’

  ‘You ask too much!’ His anger flared out of him now. ‘I tel

  you that you shal never go from here. You belong to me and I

  shal never give you up.’

  ‘Then you wil never take me wilingly.’

  ‘Then I shal force you to succumb.’ His eyes darkened, and

  she saw that his hands clenched at his sides as if he were

  struggling to control his temper. ‘Next time I send for you, be

  prepared to obey your master, Eleanor. Now go before I lose al

  control and have you punished for your wilfulness.’

  Eleanor gasped. His features might have been carved from

  granite. How foolish she was! As they talked, she had felt that he

  was inclined to be understanding of her feelings—but this was a

  different man. A more primitive, savage product of his culture

  and birthright—a man used to being obeyed.

  ‘Forgive me,’ she whispered, but he had turned back to his

  manuscripts and was ignoring her. She was not even sure he had

  heard her plea.

  What had she done? Eleanor regretted her hasty words. They

  What had she done? Eleanor regretted her hasty words. They

  had seemed to be reaching a far better understanding before she

  had so foolishly defied him. Why had she not spoken more softly

  to this man who held the power of life and death over so many?

  She was close to tears as she retraced her route towards the

  harem. Suleiman had been pleased with her when she read the

  ancient script for him. He had even accepted her advice about

  the matter of his eyesight—but she had rejected his embrace and

  now he was angry again.

  When she walked into the main hal of the harem, she heard

  the excited chatter and laughter going on and wondered what

  had happened to cause such a stir in her absence.

  ‘Oh, do come and look,’ Elizabetta caled to her. ‘See what

  our lord has sent us!’

  ‘What is it?’ she asked. ‘What has pleased you al so mu
ch?’

  ‘There is a parrot that talks,’ the other woman cried. ‘And a

  monkey on a chain—and a cage of pretty singing birds in the

  garden.’

  ‘Oh, let me see,’ Eleanor said, catching Elizabetta’s pleasure

  in the pets they had been given. ‘Does the monkey do tricks?’

  ‘He is such a naughty little felow,’ Anastasia said, coming up

  to them. ‘He keeps stealing things, but he is so sweet and

  pretty.’

  ‘He seems to be causing quite a stir.’

  Eleanor saw that most of the ladies were playing with the

  monkey, who was clearly going to be spoiled by them. Several

  monkey, who was clearly going to be spoiled by them. Several

  of them were talking to the parrot—which was swearing at the

  top of its voice. And in English!

  ‘Oh, dear,’ Eleanor said and laughed. ‘He is not a very polite

  parrot, is he?’

  ‘What is he saying?’ Anastasia asked. ‘No one understands

  him.’

  ‘Perhaps that is just as wel, for he is very rude. I think he

  was brought up in the stables. We must teach him better

  manners.’

  Eleanor glanced around the room. She thought that she had

  never seen the women so animated and happy. The new

  additions to the harem were very welcome, it seemed—and the

  thought to send them was a kind one.

  It had been Suleiman’s idea, of course. He must have given

  some considerable thought as to what might please and amuse

  the ladies. Eleanor wanted to thank him, but she doubted she

  would get much opportunity.

  He had told her she must be prepared to submit to him the

  next time he sent for her—but when would that be?

  ‘Are you pleased with your gifts?’

  Karin had come up behind her. Eleanor turned to her with a

  frown.

  ‘Surely the monkey and birds are for everyone to enjoy?’

  ‘I was not speaking of them. Have you not been to your own

  apartments?’

  ‘I have but now returned from Suleiman’s hals.’

  ‘You have been with him al this time?’ Karin looked

  ‘You have been with him al this time?’ Karin looked

  surprised. ‘Have you eaten?’

  ‘My lord provided sherbet and sweetmeats. I am not hungry,

  thank you.’

  ‘Go and look at your gifts.’ Karin smiled at her. ‘We were

  wrong to think that you had not pleased Suleiman. Such gifts as

  he has sent you are usualy reserved for a favourite wife.’