The Kadin - Bertrice Small [44]
“I am going hunting,” he told her. “This domestic uproar is no place for a man! It should be a month before the palace is habitable. I will return then.”
Without giving her a chance to reply, he mounted his horse and, shouting to his Tartars to follow him, rode off.
12
THE SLAVE sent to Hadji Bey returned with the message that the agha kislar himself would be arriving by the following morning to survey the situation. Cyra casually tossed him a small bag of coins. “Serve me well, and you will never lack,” she said softly. The slave flashed her a knowing smile.
When the agha arrived he was not alone. With him came a caravan bearing luxurious tents, food, and additional slaves. By sunset the prince’s household was comfortably settled, and the fragrance of lamb kebabs drifted through the encampment
When night fell, the residents of the small tent city settled down to sleep. Hadji Bey and Lady Refet remained talking alone in her tent
“I would have thought my dear Bajazet would have seen to the repair of my sister’s palace.”
“I see Besma’s fine hand in this business,” replied the eunuch, “but never mind. I have already spoken to the sultan of the few minor repairs necessary, and received his permission.”
“Minor repairs!”
“A small stretching of the truth, perhaps,” remarked her companion. “However, it is not imperative that our lord be informed of the extent of the repairs. He is also less likely to mention such unimportant matters to Besma She will do a great deal of speculating, and it will be very difficult for her to place spies within our ranks.”
“If she has not already done so.”
“Impossible! You know I personally kept the new slaves given the prince segregated from the rest of the palace people. The workmen arriving at dawn I selected myself. Nevertheless, we shall keep close watch. Nothing must be done to arouse the suspicion of that she-wolf. When the prince’s household is settled, I shall allow her to place a spy or two. There will be nothing to report, and in a year or so Besma will be lulled into a false sense of security. She has enough enemies in the Eski Serai to worry about without being overly concerned with a minor prince living several days’ journey from her precious Ahmed”
“Sometimes your sense of strategy amazes even me, old friend,” said Lady Refet
“I shall not rest until Lady Kiusem’s son succeeds Sultan Bajazet”
Refret gazed hard at the proud black man across from her. “Did you love my sister so much, Hadji Bey?”
“I loved her as only a man who is not a man can love. She was my mother, my sister, my friend When I came to the harem, a frightened little boy of nine, I had been torn from my family, cruelly castrated, and carried from my homeland. Most boys of my age died from castration. I was one of the fortunate ones, but at that time I did not know it Kiusem saw my fright though she was just a child herself. You remember how she took me under her wing. When she became the sultan’s ikbal, I became her head eunuch. When her son was born and the old agha died I was, thanks to her influence, given the post I owe everything to her, and I have always shared her dream of Selim’s succession. She saw, as I did, the degenerate, warped man that Besma has raised Ahmed to be. My lady is dead, but you, Refet and I live. We will make Kiusem’s dream become a reality.”
The campares burned low, the night waned, and slowly the new day lightened the eastern sky. The encampment came alive with activity. The workmen arrived from the city to begin their task of restoring the Moonlight Serai to its former elegance.
Cyra, with Firousi and Zuleika in attendance, explored the small palace checking for needed repairs, while the Greek girl, Iris, and the Indian maiden, Amara, jointly took over supervision of the household slaves and set them to various tasks. Sarina, well veiled, walked through what had once been the