The Kadin - Bertrice Small [144]
The autumn rains came, lashing the island with their razor winds, turning the trenches into slimy bogs. It was cold, and the water seeped into everything, rotting and molding clothes and rusting equipment
For every man killed in battle, another died of fever in the trenches. Suleiman, fully committed now, would not retreat Shivering in his lean-to of tree boughs, he gave orders that the ancient ruins of Rhodes be restored to make decent winter quarters for the army. The siege would continue.
October. November. Then, in early December, the sultan, whose army had been slowly squeezing the Christian circle of defense smaller and smaller, sent word to the Knights of Hospitalers of Rhodes that his original terms of surrender still stood. If Philippe Villiers de l’Isle-Adam, grand master of the knights, would surrender the island to Suleiman, de l’Isle-Adam, his men, and the Christian inhabitants of Rhodes might remain in peace. They would be free to practice their religion, and the churches would not be turned into mosques. No slaves would be taken. Should they choose to leave, they and their possessions would be transported by the Turkish navy to safety in Crete.
De 1’Isle-Adam had less than a twelve-hour supply of powder left His force was cut down to one hundred and eighty knights. There was no other choice. He surrendered, and to his complete and unbelieving surprise, the Turkish sultan kept to the terms of the surrender. De lisle-Adam was grudging in his respect for Suleiman and secretly liked him. He knew that had the boot been on the other foot he would have slaughtered the Turks, and it disturbed him to think that those who fought beneath the banner of the good Lord Jesus could be less worthy than those who fought in the name of the Prophet.
The Knights Hospitalers of Rhodes, their wounds tenderly and skillfully treated by Arab doctors, were safely carried to Crete by Suleiman’s ships. The Christian inhabitants of Rhodes remained. With nothing to fear from Suleiman, they were loath to leave their homes and goods, and besides, they knew that life under the Ottoman government had more advantages than life under a variety of Christian kings.
With the surrender of Rhodes, the pretense of Christian unity passed, and the Ottoman Empire gained an important base upon the sea. In Western Europe, Charles V, Francis I, and Henry VIII cast a wary eye toward the East and wondered what was to come next.
36
WHILE SULEIMAN occupied himself with war, his mother occupied herself seeking clever and beautiful girls to attract him. Already she had several in mind that she hoped would appeal to her son, for she felt his having only one kadin was not a healthy situation. There were a lovely blond Venetian, a merry, petite Provencal, a lovely, voluptuous Syrian, and an exquisite Circassian. Surely one—or, hopefully, all—of these maidens would appeal to Suleiman when he returned.
At the same time, she offered her friendship to Gulbehar. She felt no malice toward the girl and indeed, liked her. She simply knew her son and realized that eventually he would need more than a pleasing body to delight him. Then, too, there was the question of the succession. Little Mustafa was Suleiman’s only child
When the pressure of running the vast harem weighed heavily on her, Cyra would call for her litter and go to visit Nilufer and her children. These now numbered three, all boys. On one such visit, she noticed a petite girl dressed in plain garments who sat quietly sewing amid a group of maidens. There was something about the girl that struck Cyra. Despite her obviously humble rank, she laughed easily and refused