The Kadin - Bertrice Small [39]
“Then you are pleased with my choices, my lord?”
“Yes, but I think my father was not I hope you have something equally lovely for him, lest he take my harem back. Firousi is magnificent and Zuleika exquisite. You must truly be blessed by the stars to have succeeded with this coup. What do you think of my choices?”
“The Greek and Indian girls are lovely. They are simple and placid and will be a comfort to you. However, I would rather you had chosen someone other than the Spanish girl She is quick-tempered and sharp-tongued. She may have a tendency toward troublemaking.”
“Alas, that is true,” said Lady Refet “She attempted to question my authority this evening.”
“We shall keep a close watch on her,” replied Hadji Bey. “Now, to the business at hand. You already know that your mother planned for you to succeed your father. Finding you perfect wives to help you and moving you closer to the capital were merely part of her plan.”
“Yes, I know the plan, Hadji Bey. But you know that the succession goes to the eldest living male in our family. Ahmed is my father’s heir.”
“Your father’s heir was your older brother.”
“Mustafa died at two of a chill.”
“He became violently ill after visiting Besma one afternoon. The sweets he returned with and offered your mother were suspect The child suffered horribly and by morning was dead. Your mother was ill for several days. However, when she recovered, she was quite prostrate with grief. I was newly agha then, but I suspected poison from the start I took the remaining candies and fed them to a dog. He died. When I told your mother, her grief became hatred toward Besma, who was now mother of the heir.”
“Why did my mother not expose Besma?”
“She did, but your father would not listen. After some months of solitude to recover from her agony, she appeared before your father again and, still being his favorite, was welcomed back. You were born of that reunion. Fortunately for Besma, your father now had two sons—one by his third kadin, Safiye—and the witch knew her Ahmed would be safe since your mother couldn’t discreetly dispose of two children. However, your mother had determined from before your conception that you would take Mustafa’s place.
“That is why you have been educated so carefully, and that is why, when she knew she was dying, your mother begged your return from Magnesia. You have been so carefully guarded all your life that even your father does not know you well. She wanted him to see and know you so that he might possibly alter the succession.
“She knew you must be more in the public eye so the people might get to know you, and the Janissaries might see the great difference between you and your brothers. You are a good man, an excellent soldier, and a devout Muslim. Add to this several sons, and you are the perfect candidate for sultan.
“When the time comes for Bajazet to join his ancestors in Paradise, you must act swiftly. Before the sultan’s last breath, your brothers, their mothers, and all loyal to them must die. You will then be sultan, and your mother and brother will be avenged!”
Silence engulfed the room as Hadji Bey finished speaking. Lady Refet anxiously watched her nephew for a reaction. Walking out on the balcony, Selim gazed over the slumbering city of Constantinople, its lights dimmed, its quiet broken only by the occasional barking of stray dogs baying at the full moon. Below him the waters of the Golden Horn flowed swiftly.
“They will all be strangled, placed in weighted sacks, and thrown into the straits,” he said grimly. “All except Besma. I will personally toss the bitch to the dogs.”
Hadji Bey smiled slowly. ‘It will take many years, my lord. Like the Prophet’s cat, yon must cultivate great patience. If our plans become known, you are a dead man.”
“I will not fail my mother, Hadji Bey—nor you, my old friend. I understand that many lives are involved.”
The hour is late,” said