that you could be put to death for such wickedness?’
‘But not by you, my lord,’ she replied, her eyes meeting his
steadily. ‘I believe you have thought more on these matters than
most.’
‘I am one of the Faithful,’ Suleiman answered. ‘But it is
correct that I have considered other religions to discover what is
truth. I remain loyal to my father’s faith for it is the basis for my life and any other would make it impossible for me to live here. If
I believed in your god and accepted the teachings of your faith I
should have to leave—and that would break my father’s heart.
He is a good man, Eleanor, and I would rather die than bring
harm to him.’
‘Yes, of course. I knew it must be so.’
Suleiman frowned. ‘I think you see too much, my lady. Be
warned—a stil tongue makes a wise head. There are those who
would use what you say to destroy you.’
‘Yes, my lord. But I have been used to speaking my mind
with my father who, like you, was a man of vision, with the
understanding to question and not accept blindly al he was
taught. It is pleasant sometimes to open your heart and mind to
the one person who wil understand.’
the one person who wil understand.’
‘And you believe you can open your mind to me, Eleanor?’
His eyes danced with amusement. ‘What is this? It is not many
days since you thought me beyond any feeling or decency.’
‘My lord is pleased to mock me,’ she said and blushed. The
look in his eyes was making her heart race like the wind and she
found herself longing to be held in his arms, her lips parting as if in invitation of his kiss. ‘We have reached a new plane of
understanding.’
‘Have we, my lady?’ Suleiman smiled. ‘That is good…I
think. Now, are you prepared to cast my chart? Think you, you
can do it accurately?’
‘I can draw up your chart and explain what is the meaning of
the angles and alignments,’ Eleanor said. ‘But I am not sure that
it is always easy to interpret their precise meaning—but I wil
wilingly show you how it is done.’
‘Then we shal begin at once. I was born on the fifteenth of
August at the hour of midnight…’
‘Then you are a Leo,’ Eleanor said and smiled. ‘I might have
known it would be so—for the lion is king of the heavens, is he
not? He has the power of the sun and was born to be a leader of
men.’
Suleiman’s eyes gleamed as he caught the hint of mockery in
her voice. ‘I have been told this many times, my lady. Now tel
me, under which sign were you born?’
‘I was born under the sign of Sagittarius,’ Eleanor replied, ‘I
believe that is the sign of the archer or hunter.’
‘And does the hunter capture and kil the lion?’ Suleiman
‘And does the hunter capture and kil the lion?’ Suleiman
asked with a lift of his fine dark brows.
‘I am told that the two are perfect partners,’ Eleanor replied,
but would not meet the gleam in his eyes.
‘Indeed,’ Suleiman said. ‘I shal test your skil with the art of
astrology, my lady—but I warn you that I shal know if you seek
to flatter or deceive me. Give me only a true reading, for I value
honesty above al things.’
‘Then I shal not seek to deceive you, whether the readings
be good or bad, my lord.’
Suleiman frowned over the chart Eleanor had drawn for him.
His own skil in the art was sufficient for him to know that she
had been as accurate as most who caled themselves astrologers,
and that her reading was very similar to that of the last man he
had summoned to cast his horoscope.
She had not mentioned the flame that would burn him, or that
he had lessons to learn, but she had told him that the stars
seemed to forecast change for him.
‘This alignment of Jupiter with your star seems to indicate that
there wil be a struggle, my lord. I see…some danger for you in
the near future, but after this you wil gain something you have
long desired.’
‘I have been given a similar prediction before this,’ he replied.
‘I was inclined to doubt the astrologer’s words for many have
tried to lie to me in the hope of gaining favour. The trouble is, no one can explain exactly what the signs mean. A man may desire
one can explain exactly what the signs mean. A man may desire
many things…’
‘Indeed, that is true, but I do not think it is in the power of
any man to predict the future exactly, my lord—though I think
trends are often very accurate. I believe that your life may be
going to change in some fundamental way.’
‘Thank you,’ Suleiman said and smiled at her. ‘You have
done wel, Eleanor. You may return to your apartments now.’
‘Wil my lord send for me tomorrow?’
‘I shal send you more books,’ he replied. ‘But I am leaving
on a hunting trip with my father in the morning. When I return I
shal send for you and we shal discuss what you have learned.’
‘Yes, my lord.’ She turned to go, feeling a sense of loss
though she did not understand why. ‘Take care on your trip…’
‘Stay a moment.’ He caught her arm as she turned away,
swinging her round to face him. ‘You sounded as if you cared
what happened to me. Would it distress you if I did not return,
Eleanor?’
‘Yes, my lord…’ She hung her head and would not look at
him for fear that he should gaze into her eyes and read too much.
‘And—and I shal miss our talks while you are away.’
‘Then perhaps I should take you with me?’
‘Take me with you?’ She stared up at him, startled by his
suggestion and her heart began to pound with excitement. ‘Do
you mean that, my lord?’
‘It would mean that you have to wear the veil and the
casacche you hate so much. You would also have to be carried
casacche you hate so much. You would also have to be carried
in a horse-drawn litter—my father would be outraged if I threw
you across my saddle, Eleanor. There must be no attempts at
escape, no wilfulness. If I took you with me on this outing, I
would expect you to behave with al the respect due to the
Caliph.’
‘Oh yes, yes,’ she breathed, her eyes lighting with excitement.
‘I promise to behave just as you would wish, my lord.’
‘Not as I would wish,’ he replied in the soft husky voice that
he had used when handling Scheherazade. ‘I would let you fly
high like my hawks, my lady, trusting you to return to my hand—
but my father expects certain behaviour of a woman. It is for his
sake that I ask your promise not to try to escape.’
‘I give you my word,’ Eleanor said, looking into his eyes. ‘I
shal not abuse your trust, my lord. I swear it on my father’s
honour.’
‘Then I accept your good faith,’ he said and reached out his
hand to trace the line of her cheek and then the smooth arch of
her throat. ‘I believe we begin to know one another, my lady. It
is good.’
‘Yes,’ she replied, her throat tight with emotion. She could
scarcely breathe and her senses swam as she felt the warmth
spread through her whole body. ‘It is good, my lord.’
Her heart was singing as she retraced her steps towards the
harem. For some reason she was feeling happy—happier than
she had ever felt in her life before. She could not believe that her feelings had changed so soon. Was she a fool to let herself like
Suleiman so much?
Suleiman so much?
Was his kindness to her merely a honeyed trap? She knew
that he was playing her, drawing her to him on a gossamer-fine
thread, and that eventualy she would be bound by it like a fly in
a spider’s web. What she did not know was how she would feel
then. Would she struggle against it and regret her lost freedom—
or would she fly back to the hand of the man who had tamed her
spirit like the peregrine?
Her thoughts were rudely interrupted by Fatima, who
grabbed her arm as soon as she entered the harem. It was clear
that Suleiman’s ex-favourite was in a temper, her dark eyes
flashing as she glared at Eleanor.
‘You lied to me,’ she cried viciously. ‘You swore that you did
not wish to become Suleiman’s wife—and yet you go to him
every day. He has not sent for me in over a week. It is because
of you—because you have turned him against me as you did
against Abu.’
‘I have said nothing against you,’ Eleanor said. ‘I do not
know why Suleiman has not…’
She broke off as Karin came up to them. The older woman
was looking thoughtful and a little anxious.
‘Suleiman has asked for you, Fatima,’ she said. ‘You are to
go to him at once.’
‘At once?’ Fatima looked surprised. ‘But I have not bathed
or perfumed myself. Surely you have got the message wrong?’
‘His order was that you should go at once,’ Karin replied. ‘I
should obey him if I were you, Fatima. He did not seem best
pleased.’
pleased.’
‘But he was in such a good mood when I left…’ Eleanor said
and then bit back the words as she saw the flash of anger in
Fatima’s eyes. ‘At least, he seemed to be…’
‘Word has come that Abu has escaped his guards,’ Karin
said as Fatima flounced away, clearly annoyed by the
preemptory order from her master. ‘Suleiman was very angry. It
is said that someone within the palace must have bribed them…’
‘But surely…the lord Suleiman’s guards are loyal to him, are
they not?’ Eleanor looked at her anxiously. ‘Could this mean
danger for our lord? He—he is to leave on a hunting trip with the
Caliph tomorrow and…and I am to go with him.’
‘Yes, I know. He had sent for me to tel me—that is how I
knew about Abu’s escape. I was there when the news came.’
‘It is very strange that he should be alowed to escape,’
Eleanor said. ‘Has the lord Suleiman enemies in the palace?’
‘There are always intrigues and petty jealousies in a place like
this,’ Karin told her. ‘Suleiman is his father’s favourite son—but
he is not his only son. Abu is his half-brother and there are
others.’
‘Abu was my lord’s brother?’
‘Yes—though because his mother was never a favourite of
the Caliph he’s been treated no better than any other slave, and I
believed he deeply resented this. There are others who have
been favoured more than Abu—but given lowly positions within
the Caliph’s household. Suleiman can do no wrong in his father’s
eyes, but if he should die the Caliph would have to appoint
eyes, but if he should die the Caliph would have to appoint
another son as his heir.’
‘It would not be Abu…for the Caliph would want grandsons
to carry on his line…’
‘No, it would not be Abu—but he could have been promised
his freedom and wealth if he brought about the death of the lord
Suleiman.’
Eleanor shivered as the fear trickled like ice down her spine.
‘I saw danger for him in the charts,’ she whispered. ‘And
tomorrow he leaves on a hunting trip. Many things may happen
at such a time.’
‘Yes, that is true,’ Karin said. ‘You must watch and listen,
Eleanor. Suleiman is a worthy successor to his father—but there
are others who are not…some who would not hesitate to have
al his concubines strangled if they took over his place in the
Caliph’s household.’
‘You do not mean it?’ Eleanor was horrified.
‘Yes, I do,’ Karin said. ‘It is often done when a man dies.
Sometimes the new master takes pity on the women and alows
them to return to their homes—but that is not always the case.’
Eleanor’s face went white as she saw the expression in the
older woman’s eyes. ‘That is a terrible custom. I cannot believe
anyone could be so cruel.’
‘You have been fortunate,’ Karin said. ‘You were bought by
a good master—had you been less fortunate you could have
been treated very differently. Your stubbornness would have
brought you a beating in many households.’
‘Yes, I see that…’ She looked at Karin with dark, anxious
‘Yes, I see that…’ She looked at Karin with dark, anxious
eyes. ‘It would be best not to speak of this to anyone else. I
‘I shal tel no one else what I have told you,’ Karin agreed.
‘But as Suleiman’s intended bride I thought that you should be
aware of what had happened. For if your lord is in danger, then
so too are you. I fear that Abu would reserve your punishment to
himself…’
Eleanor felt sick as she thought of the cruel eunuch who
believed her responsible for his downfal. She could not begin to
imagine her fate if he were to be in a position of power once
more.
Suleiman cursed himself for a fool. He ought to have kiled
Abu when he had the chance. It was what his father would have
done. Their overlord the Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent had put
his own sons to death for less than the crimes Abu had
committed. It had been a weak moment to spare him, and
Suleiman knew that he might rue the day he had alowed himself
to be swayed by the tie of blood.
He had felt guilt because he had been favoured so much while
Abu had been forced to give up so much—though he knew that,
presented with the same choice, he would have taken the galeys.
He would rather have died than become a eunuch. It was a
barbarous practice to maim a man in that way, to take his
manhood from him and strip him of a man’s natural pride—but it
was necessary to their way of life. A necessary evil to uphold the
was necessary to their way of life. A necessary evil to uphold the
system.
The eunuchs were thought to be more docile than true men,
and they could not defile the women in their charge. It was
common enough amongs
t the children of concubines, for without
some form of control there would be constant fighting amongst
the sons of important men. Suleiman’s own father had had a
favourite wife, whose son he had raised up above al others, but
there were other sons who had not been dealt with in this way—
and Suleiman was aware that some of them would be only too
wiling to take his place. Some would be wiling to kil both him
and his father to gain power for themselves.
It was because of this that Suleiman could not defy his
father’s wish to keep him close. The Caliph was stil a strong
man, but growing older—one day his other sons might try to
wrest power and wealth from him, but not while Suleiman had
the loyalty of the Janissaries. He knew that he was both feared
and respected, and while this was so the elite guard remained
faithful to their master.
Now it seemed that at least one or two of the men he had
counted as friends had turned against him—who had bribed
them and in what coin had they been paid?
Suleiman had heard whispers concerning Fatima. He had
been told that she had been in league with Abu in the matter of
the women who were spirited away from the harem in the night
—and of cruel punishments meted out at her command. There
were also other tales, which were even more damning, and made
him wonder just how far her betrayal had gone. Had she also
him wonder just how far her betrayal had gone. Had she also
been responsible for bribing the Janissaries?
He turned as she entered, throwing herself to her knees
before him in her customary way, waiting for him to raise her up.
She was smiling as he bid her rise, a confident smile on her lips
as if she believed he had sent for her to pleasure him. Did she not
yet realise that he no longer wanted her—or did she believe she
could continue to deceive him?
As he saw the secret satisfaction in her eyes, Suleiman
wondered what he had seen in her for so many months. She was
sly and vain, and he must control his sudden dislike of her or he
might judge her unfairly. Fatima was not liked by others in the
harem and these rumours might be malicious and untrue. He
would talk to her and discover what he could—but he would not
punish her yet. He must be sure of the truth before he did
anything for which he might afterwards be sorry…