Pawn in Frankincense - Dorothy Dunnett [247]
‘The other is Tulip?’ Philippa ventured.
‘The other is a boy now in Constantinople, found and identified by the energetic Mr Blyth. He also answers to the name of Khaireddin, but whether it is Mr Crawford’s son or another substituted for him in earlier days, no one unhappily can now say. But there is no doubt that one of the two boys is Mr Crawford’s unfortunate by-blow; and one of them, as it happens, is mine.’
Philippa’s mouth dropped very slightly open. She shut it. ‘How awkward for you,’ she said thinly. ‘What does the other one look like?’
‘Let me think,’ said Gabriel. He pursed his lips. ‘Handsome; fair-haired; blue-eyed. No clue there, is there? Attractive. Bright for his age, one suspects, except that we don’t know his age, do we? One must be older than the other by several months, though not more than a year; but one has had a spoiled upbringing and the other a deprived one, so how does one measure growth? Luckily, I have no strongly patriarchal emotions. I do not intend Mr Crawford to have either child. For myself I do not care if I keep one or both or if neither survives. I shall do whatever gives me the greatest personal satisfaction.… It pleases you, I hope, to learn that you have been lavishing your feminine instincts perhaps on that dear child born to Joleta and myself?’
‘On the other hand,’ said Philippa, ‘if I were impertinent again, your son might receive six other lashes?’
‘On the other hand,’ said Gabriel gently, ‘it may not be my son, but the son of your mother’s friend Lymond. You cannot depend on it. You will never be able to depend on it.’
Philippa drew a long breath. It was the longest, most adult duel she had ever faced in the whole of her short life. She did not know what to believe or what not to believe: she only knew that strategy had worked, a bit, in her favour. She hadn’t been stripped. She had given nothing away. She had shown nothing, she thought, of the pain and horror he anticipated from her. She had not afforded him, in fact, the entertainment he had expected.… She must not become a challenge. But she might force him to tire of her. She said, ‘Do I become your slave immediately, Sir Graham, or wait until supper?’
Gabriel rose. ‘You will stay in the harem long enough, I hope, to mourn Mr Crawford. After that, I have the permission of the Sultana to take you then to my palace, together with whichever child I select. The other will remain in the harem as surety for your most tractable conduct. I shall make it my personal business,’ said Graham Reid Malett, ‘to keep you aware of the course of events. You may return to your rooms for the present.’
Philippa bowed. The Kislar Agha bowed. The eunuch who had brought her, moving past, opened and stood by the door. ‘Ah,’ said Gabriel.
Philippa straightened. ‘That reminds me,’ said the Vizier, stroking his nose. ‘You may take a message on your return to Kiaya Khátún for me. Inform her that Hepsibah the Jewess will not be coming today. She has been found in the At Meydan, dead and about to be plundered of a large sum of money. Perhaps the poor woman’s savings. She had no relatives and since the gold was given to me, I have presented it to the two charming children you see guarding the door. They will use it, I fear, only to slip deeper into delightful and improper vices; but what can one do? They are kind boys, as your Kuzúm will discover one day.… Goodbye, my dear Philippa.’
Dear Philippa bowed and got out. She was sick into a fountain on the way back, and again in the Golden Road. She thought viciously, through an evening of violent shivers, that at least her visit had cost them a new strip of carpet.
23
Constantinople: The House of Gaultier
Very soon after that, on a bright, mild winter’s morning when the birds, deceived, were singing