The Kadin - Bertrice Small [67]
“Hold!” shouted the prince over the uproar. The room quieted. “Lady Dipti, these are serious charges you make. The law states that there must be four witnesses to such a charge. If you cannot provide proof, I must sentence you to eighty lashes. Do you wish to withdraw your charge?”
Bosfor smirked smugly at the older woman. “She has no proof, and she has besmirched my good name. She must be punished, the gossiping old crone.”
“There is proof.”
“No!”
“Yes! Bosfor moved into our house four months ago when Razi Abu divorced Cervi, though he could not marry her until a month ago. In all that time she has had no show of blood.”
The prince smiled gently. “Sometimes, Lady Dipti, eager lovers consummate a marriage before the formalities. Could this not be the case with Bosfor and Razi Abu?”
Behind the dais Cervi squeezed Cyra’s hand. “Oh, Allah! Poor Razi Abu. When Dipti is angry, nothing can stop her tongue. She will tell all.”
Cyra glanced at the merchant, whose complexion had turned a sickly shade of green. Feeling a stab of pity, she whispered to Selim, “Clear the court, my lord, else the merchant will be shamed publicly. His crime is not that great”
Selim nodded and gave the order. Only Razi Abu and his family remained. Lady Cervi was brought back to the court
Dipti drew a deep breath. “Razi Abu can no longer wield his weapon, my lord prince, and has not been able to these past five years. A severe fever killed his potency. He is as useless as a eunuch. But that is not all. When Bosfor had been in our house but a few weeks, five of the women sought her out to reason with her. As we reached her chamber door, we heard a man’s voice and, peeking in, saw this shameless creature lying naked upon her couch with a man. We have watched her closely ever since, and twice more the same man has visited her in secret”
Selim turned to Razi Abu. “Is what she says true?”
Sadly the merchant nodded.
“You cast out a faithful wife to marry with this woman who cuckolds you beneath your own roof and is to bear another man’s child? Why?”
The merchant was close to tears. “I did not know it until after I had made her my wife. When I learned of her condition and said I would cast her out she threatened to make public my infirmity.”
“This does not excuse your cruelty to the lady Cervi, so I sentence you thusly. First you will return to her her bride price. Secondly, you will pay her ten times that amount in damages, and she will be allowed to return to your house to collect all her personal possessions and jewelry. Thirdly, you will sign over two-thirds of your business to your sons. And, lastly, I sentence you to one year in prison for so flagrantly breaking the law of the Koran. Had you been younger, I should have sent you to the galleys. You are a selfish and thoughtless man, Razi Abu. Perhaps a year in prison will give you the time yon need to meditate on these sins, and you will return home in a year’s time a kinder and more compassionate man.”
Razi Abu turned angrily to Bosfor.
“No!” she screamed “You cannot! My child will be born a bastard”
Slowly the merchant intoned, “I dismiss thee. I dismiss thee. I dismiss thee.”
“You are legally divorced, Bosfor,” said Selim. “Now hear your punishment according to the Koran. You have been proved an adulteress. You will be taken from this place to the public square in the village. There, stripped naked, you will be given one hundred lashes. However, I am a merciful man, and the fruit of your sin is innocent of any wrongdoing, so I will delay your sentence until the child is born. Until then you will be lodged in the village prison.”
“My lord, have pity! Such a beating will kill me! What will become of my child?”
“It will be placed with a childless couple.” He signaled the guards. “Take them away. The court is over for this week.”
Rising from the dais, Selim graciously acknowledged the thanks of Cervi and her family and then disappeared behind the carved screen. Giving Cyra a quick kiss, he took her by the hand and hurried her off to his quarters.
She stretched