The Kadin - Bertrice Small [130]
“We have had no word since yesterday, but I would imagine that by tonight or tomorrow they will have joined their brothers in Paradise.”
“Then Karim must become ill tonight” She dug into her robe. ‘Take this,” she said, slipping Cyra a small package. “Put it in his food or water. It will not harm him, only give him a fever for twelve hours. In the morning use your position as bas-kadin to have the two princes removed from the Tile Court, and take your son there to nurse him.”
“Zuleika has been nursing the children.”
“Say she is too weary to go on and must have rest You are the authority in the harem. She will obey. Remember to have the Tile Court disinfected before you enter it. Do not be afraid of the plague. They say Jews do not contract it and this is true. Isaac ben Judah, the old doctor in our quarter, says it is because we follow the law and are clean. He says plague comes from filth. The only cases you have had here in the serai have been in the stables—hardly a sanitary place. The two princes contracted it at Scutari, and what soldier—be he Turk, Christian, or Jew—stays clean? In three days’ time you will call for a coffin and announce Prince Karim’s death. On the evening of the second day I shall visit you to bring medicines. Instead, I shall smuggle the body of a child who has died a natural death. I shall take Prince Karim out as I brought the other child in—hidden in my basket”
“He must be disguised, Esther.”
“Yes. That carrot top is the only one of its kind in Constantinople. His skin must be darkened, too.” Again she dug into her robe and brought forth two packages. “The blue will turn his hair jet-black, the red will rid him of his fair skin. Put them in your other pocket so as not to confuse them with the fever medicine.”
Cyra slid the colored packets out of sight as they turned back to the serai.
“You will need someone to help you, madam.”
“Marian and her young daughter, Ruth, will help me. Esther, the House of Kira must set up an account for Karim in Edinburgh. I will finance it secretly from here. He is to be known as Charles Leslie, and is to be taken to the Abbey School at Glenkirk, to be raised by the monks. I will send a message with him to the abbot, who was once our family’s confessor.”
“I promised I would help you, dear lady.”
“Ah, my friend! This is a very dangerous thing we do. If we are discovered, it will mean a terrible death for all of us. Are you sure you want to take this chance? Will your brother?”
“Yes, my lady,” said Esther Kira firmly. “When Joseph and I were orphaned and brought to Constantinople by our Kira cousins, we were simply poor relations for whom a duty was being performed. Your kindness and patronage have given us stature and wealth in our family. Joseph has now been given this important assignment, and I have been betrothed to the second son of the house. We would do anything for you.”
“God bless you for it, Esther. You will never lack as long as I live.”
The Jewess raised an eyebrow. “God, madam?”
Cyra laughed softly. “When I was thirteen, Esther, and came to the harem, I decided that Allah was simply the Turkish name for God. It saved me a great deal of unnecessary trouble.”
The little vendor chuckled. “Yes, my lady. I imagine it did.”
When Esther had gone, Cyra dismissed her maidens and returned to the gardens with Marian and Ruth. They sat by the little lake, and the bas-kadin told them of her plans. Although Ruth was only nine, Cyra knew that she could trust her, and as the bas-kadin unfolded her plans, Ruth listened, solemnly and silently.
Marian’s reaction was startling. “Thank God you’ve come to your senses and heeded the old agha’s warning.”
“Hadji Bey spoke with you?”
“A few days before he died, madam. I doubted he suspected you would solve the problem in this manner.”
Cyra chuckled. “He would be most shocked, indeed. Were Karim not so Scots in appearance, I should not dare to do this.”
“Have no fears, my lady. Ruth and I will help you and go with you into the Tile Court Give me the fever medicine. I