Bought for the Harem, page 21
‘Please ask my lady to come to me,’ Kasim told the body servant who had brought him clean clothes. ‘I wish to speak with her before I return to the lord Kahlid’s apartments. He is worse again and I may need to be with him for some hours.’
‘The lady Harriet has not returned from her trip to the bazaar, my lord,’ the servant told him.
Kasim frowned. ‘When did she leave the palace? Why was I not told? Did she go alone? How many guards went with her?’
‘I believe she went with the lady Katrina,’ the servant replied. ‘Does your highness wish me to ask—’ He was interrupted by the sound of voices and then the door opened and one of Kahlid’s eunuchs entered.
‘Yes—is Lord Kahlid worse?’ Kasim demanded. ‘What is it, Ninon?’
The eunuch looked scared. He fell to his knees before Kasim. ‘Forgive me for bearing such news, my lord—but the lady Katrina has just returned to the palace. One of the Janissaries has been injured and the lady Harriet has been stolen.’
Kasim felt the chill slide down his spine. ‘My lady has been abducted? How—tell me exactly what happened immediately. You will not be punished.’
‘The lady Katrina was buying a ring. The lady Harriet went to the leather merchant a few steps further on and entered the shop in search of red leather—and Rachid was struck from behind. He knows nothing more of what happened. The merchant swears he knew nothing until the men appeared, threatened him with a knife and then carried off your lady.’
‘Has the leather merchant been brought to the palace?’
‘Yes, my lord. He is in the cells. He took the lady into his shop and swears the abductors must have come through the back. It would seem true for nothing was seen at the front and it was some minutes before the discovery was made. The lady Katrina insisted that a search was carried out at once, but no trace of your lady was found.’
Kasim’s hands balled at his side. ‘I shall come at once. Tell the men that I want the village searched house to house, and a patrol must be sent to search every road leading to the hills and the capital. She must be found.’
‘The men are already out looking for her, my lord. As soon as Rachid was discovered, messengers were immediately sent to the Janissaries and they are searching the village now.’
‘I shall question the merchant myself,’ Kasim said. ‘I shall also want to speak with the lady Katrina. If Harriet has been taken in reprisal for Jamail …’
He left the rest unspoken as he strode away. A terrible feeling of loss and despair was crushing his chest, because he knew that if Harriet were a prisoner of the hill tribesmen he would never see her alive again.
Why had she gone to the bazaar with only a small escort? Surely she must have known that it was too dangerous after the last uprising? Was this just another instance of her rebellious spirit—or had she walked into a trap?
Harriet moaned as she opened her eyes. She was immediately conscious of feeling sick and she turned on her side and vomited on the floor. Her head was thumping and her mouth tasted vile. It was a moment or two before she realised that she was on a ship. The rocking motion she could feel must mean that the ship was moving. They were at sea!
Sitting up in alarm, she forced her eyes to focus through the drugged haze that still cloaked her vision and looked about her. The cabin was spacious, clearly the kind reserved for the captain or his officers. Her head was spinning, but she swung her legs over the side and stood up. Immediately, the floor came up to meet her and she gave a little moan and fell back against the bed.
As she struggled to regain her balance, the cabin door opened and someone entered.
‘Harriet! What are you doing?’ a man’s voice asked. ‘You should not try to stand. The fools drugged you and you have been unconscious for hours.’
‘Richard …?’ Harriet gave a cry of relief as she realised it was her brother. ‘What is happening? Why have I been brought here?’
‘We have been searching for you for months,’ Richard Sefton-Jones told her. ‘We knew where you were after Marguerite escaped, but it was impossible to discover which part of the palace you were being held captive in—and too difficult to attempt a rescue. We have been trying to negotiate your ransom with the Sultan, but thus far he has refused to see me.’
‘Richard …’ Harriet sat back against her pillows. ‘You must put back to Istanbul at once. Kasim will be so worried—and angry with me for being careless.’
‘Kasim … that is the damned fellow that bought you and Marguerite,’ her brother said and his expression hardened. ‘I wish that I could call him out. I would kill the devil for what he has done to you.’
‘Kasim did what he considered his duty,’ Harriet said. ‘You do not understand Richard. He loves me and I love him. We are to be married soon. We should have been married before this had the Caliph not been so ill.’
‘Married! According to Muslim law, I suppose? That is no marriage and not fitting for my sister.’ He looked at her oddly, a mixture of compassion, anger and shame in his eyes. ‘I do not know if we can keep this a secret, Harriet. Your chance of making a decent marriage would be finished if it were known that you were a prisoner of the harem.’
‘I have no wish to marry anyone but Kasim,’ she told him. ‘I never had, Richard. You must know what my life was like after Father died. I was doomed to a lonely old age. With Kasim my life has a purpose and meaning. I help care for the sick and I teach the children—and I love Kasim. He makes me happy.’
Richard was silent for a moment, then, ‘Your mind has been corrupted by their evil drugs and forced to accept their ways. I was warned that you might not thank me and might need to be abducted. In time you will realise what was done to you and thank me for what I have done.’
Harriet’s head was clearing. She put her feet to the floor and discovered that she could stand.
‘I do not wish to return to England with you,’ she said. ‘Please, Richard. Take me back to my husband. I am his in every way and I can never be happy without him.’
‘You are still suffering from the effects of your captivity,’ Richard replied. ‘Lady Sefton-Jones insists that you live with us. She says that we can cover up the scandal and that I must find you a kind husband who will care for you.’
‘No! I shall marry no one but Kasim.’ Harriet’s face was proud as she looked at him. ‘I may be carrying Kasim’s child.’
‘God forbid you have that heathen’s seed in you!’
‘He is not a heathen, even though he chooses to follow a different religion. He was born in England and is the son of Lord Hadley.’
‘Then he is a rogue and should know better than to enslave two English ladies of good birth.’
‘Had he not bought us, we should probably both be dead,’ Harriet said and then gasped as she saw the look in her brother’s eyes. ‘Perhaps you think death preferable to the shame of having lain with a man of another faith?’
‘I said nothing of the kind, Harriet. You are my sister and I care for you deeply. Why else would I come all this way to search for you?’
‘If you love me, Richard, let me go back to him. I beg you. I will beg you on my knees if you wish—please take me back to the man I love. I belong to him. I shall never know happiness without him.’
‘The village has been searched, the merchants questioned, but no one knows what has happened to her. Patrols are on all roads to the hills and to the capital.’ Rachid raised his head, looking into his Caliph’s eyes. ‘Take my life, my lord. It is forfeit, for I have betrayed you by allowing them to take her. I thought she was safe in the shop, for Ali bin Masood has served you many times in the past.’
‘Neither you or the merchant are to blame,’ Kasim said, but his eyes were dark with grief and suppressed anger. ‘Harriet should have known better than to leave the palace with no more than three men to guard her. She knew how dangerous things still were for I had told her.’
‘She is but a woman, my lord, and as such should be protected. I have failed in my duty. You would be within your rights to have me punished and the others too—though they guarded the lady Katrina.’
‘I have no wish to punish a loyal friend. You obeyed the lady Katrina and she was thoughtless. She should have known that her brother’s death might bring reprisals, though I believe her innocent of complicity—’ Kasim broke off as he heard voices and then one of the Janissaries entered. He genuflected and hesitated, waiting for permission to speak. ‘You have some news?’
‘We have learned that the men who took the lady Harriet were not of our people, my lord—they were English. It seems that they have been seeking an interview with the Sultan for more than two weeks, but his magnificence would not grant it. They were in touch with the men who helped the lady’s cousin escape. We have learned that they are a secret group working to free slaves when they can find and rescue them.’
‘Who told you this?’
‘I did, my lord.’ Mellina entered the room and looked at him. ‘My brother Malik was executed for his part in the affair of the escaped harem slave, but I was the one who told him that the two English women were here in the first place. He was paid to help them escape, but only one went with him. Recently, I was asked to help with the lady Harriet’s escape, but she told me she was happy here and I refused to tell them anything. I do not know if others knew of the trip to the bazaar, but I did not send word, even though I helped Malik the first time.’ She raised her eyes to his. ‘My brother hated his life here. He gave the money he was paid to me so that I might one day purchase my freedom.’
Kasim’s hands clenched at his sides. He was tempted to strike her or send her to the cells for punishment, but he knew that it had taken great courage to confess her part in the earlier escape.
‘You are certain that these men were English?’ He looked at the Janissary captain who had brought the news.
‘Yes, my lord. We are making enquiries. There was a ship in the harbour. We shall send to see if it has sailed.’
‘It would have sailed at once if the wind were in the right quarter,’ Kasim said and frowned. ‘If this information is correct, it means that Harriet is being taken back to England.’
‘Your own ship is in harbour,’ Rachid said. ‘Will you go after her, my lord?’
‘How can I leave while Kahlid is so ill?’ Kasim felt a surge of frustration. ‘Who will guard Prince Yuri if I am gone some weeks?’
‘I will.’ Kasim was surprised as he heard the soft voice. Unnoticed amongst all the commotion, the young man had come into the presence chamber. Dressed in white and with a book of prayer in his hand, he was studious and gentle, so quiet that he was seldom noticed. ‘I have no wish to take your place, my lord—but I will be happy to hold the palace and the province for you until you return.’
‘Prince Abdulla …’ Kasim frowned as he looked at the young man he had hardly ever seen with his nose out of a book. ‘You are sixteen—younger even than Hassan. You have no experience of war or of controlling the men who would try to wrest the power from you while I was gone.’
‘Alone I might be vulnerable,’ the young man said, ‘but if I have the loyalty of your men I believe I should manage.’
‘I would guarantee the loyalty of the men,’ Rachid told him. ‘You will never know true happiness again unless you go after her, my lord.’
‘That is true,’ Kasim said. ‘She told me that her brother is known as Lord Sefton-Jones and that he likes to live in London—and that is where I must go to find her.’
‘You will return? I have your word?’ Kahlid looked up from his couch, where he lay close to death. ‘I know how much she means to you, my son—but I cannot go easily to my death unless I have your promise that even if she will not come, you will return.’
Kasim saw the plea in his eyes and could not refuse. ‘I gave you my promise when you spared her life. I do not lightly break my word, my lord—as you well know.’
‘I should never have held such a threat over your head. I should be well served if you decided the promise was invalid.’
‘Abdulla is honest and will do his best while I am gone,’ Kasim said, ‘but you have my word.’
‘Then may Allah guide and bless you.’ Kahlid held out his wasted hand. ‘You have my blessing to leave for I know that you could not rest unless you had her answer from her own lips.’
Kasim inclined his head, turned and left. He knew that he had little hope of catching the ship before it reached England—too much time had passed. He could only pray that Harriet was safe and that he would find her when he reached England.
Kasim left the palace soon after his interview with the lord Kahlid and rode swiftly towards the capital, where his ship was in harbour. The captain had been told to prepare to leave as soon Kasim arrived and he could only pray that the winds would be with them. If Harriet reached England, there was no telling what might happen to her. He knew that her family might consider that she had disgraced their name. She might be forced into marriage against her will or … under Muslim law some brothers would put to death a sister who had shamed them. Surely Harriet’s brother would not stoop to such measures?
His thoughts were confused and angry. Had Harriet been abducted, as Katrina believed—or had she gone with the rescue party willingly? She had given herself to him so sweetly the previous night, declaring her love, but had the temptation to return to England been too much?
If she were harmed he would never cease to blame himself. He should have left orders that she was not to leave the palace without a sufficient guard. He had been concerned with the necessity to placate ministers who were jostling for position now that Kahlid had stepped down, worried about his friend and satisfied that Harriet seemed content to stay in the palace. Once again Kahlid had forced a promise from him, but Kasim had already considered himself bound. He did not know what he would do if Harriet refused to return with him … if he could find her.
For a few hours life had seemed sweet, but now the future loomed dark and lonely, filled with the burdens of state. He could do much good for the people of Kahlid’s province as Caliph, but without Harriet by his side it would be joyless and much harder to bear.
‘Harriet, my dearest sister,’ Lady Sefton-Jones said and held out her arms as Harriet and Lord Sefton-Jones walked into their London house one afternoon soon after their arrival in England. It had been an uneventful journey and they had made good time. ‘How well you look. I am so glad to see you here. I made Richard go himself to look for you and it seems that he has been fortunate.’
‘I am glad to see you, Lucy,’ Harriet said and kissed her. ‘I thank you for your concern for me, but I wish that Richard had asked me what I wished rather than abducting me. I have been begging him to let me return to my husband, but he refuses to listen.’
‘To your husband?’ Lady Sefton-Jones looked concerned. ‘Were you forced to marry one of those heathens? My poor Harriet! Do not look so sad. We shall find you a kind and loving husband and you will soon forget all that has happened—as poor Marguerite has with Captain Richardson.’
‘I look sad because I love Kasim,’ Harriet told her. ‘Why will no one listen to me? Marguerite was in love with Captain Richardson and that was why I took her place when she was to have married the prince. I was not forced to marry him, but what I did was considered an insult and I was lucky to escape severe punishment. Kasim saved my life at some cost to himself, and I love him. He was to have been my husband and is already in my heart. I know you mean well, Lucy, but I do not wish to find a husband. I met no one I wished to marry before I left England and I would prefer to live as a spinster than marry someone I do not love.’
‘You have been taught to accept your fate,’ Lucy said, looking at her sadly. ‘We were told that it might be so—but no one need know what happened, Harriet. We shall take you to court and introduce you to our friends and you will learn to be happy again.’
‘I should prefer to go home to the country,’ Harriet said. ‘As soon as I can manage it, I shall find a ship and return to Istanbul and my husband.’
‘Give yourself a little time,’ Lucy said. ‘Come and see my children, Catherine and William, and tell me that you would not miss all the pleasures of family life.’
‘I love you and my brother, also my nephew and niece,’ Harriet said. ‘Yet my life is with Kasim and nothing will change my mind.’
She saw the stubborn look in her sister-in-law’s face and realised that nothing would convince her that she was not doing what was best for Harriet. Neither she nor her husband understood that Harriet’s heart was breaking. All she could think about was Kasim. Would he be thinking of her, wondering if she were alive or dead? He would probably be thinking the hill tribesmen had taken her and imagining the worst.
‘I would rather not accompany you to the court,’ Harriet said one evening a week after her return. ‘Since you are determined, I shall come, but—if I do as you ask, will you then allow me to go home to the country?’
‘I was at court last week and her Majesty questioned me about you for half an hour. I wrote as Richard bid me to inform her that you had returned to England, and you have been bidden to court this evening. You cannot refuse, Harriet, for it would insult her Majesty. There is a grand reception and I think we should attend for many people will have heard of your return by now and they will wish to give you their good wishes.’
‘I am not sure that everyone will accept me, Lucy.’
‘Do not be foolish, my love. Everyone knows that you were sold and enslaved against your will. I think you will be admired for your bravery. That is why you should make your entrance at court as soon as possible. If the Queen accepts you, you will be courted and fêted by everyone.’
Harriet smiled at her sister-in-law’s enthusiasm. ‘What if she decides she cannot acknowledge me for fear that my shame might reflect on her?’
‘You are speaking of Queen Elizabeth,’ Lucy said with a laugh. ‘She will do exactly as she wishes.’
