Bedazzled (23 page)
The dey moved to get through the public audience as quickly as possible without slighting any of his supplicants. The crowds within the hall, however, understood, and some with but simple matters to be adjudicated requested of the chief eunuch that their cases be rescheduled another time so the dey might get on with his own personal business. The hall emptied quickly, for most in the crowds could scarcely wait to get outside into the town and spread the word of the dey’s marriage.
When the public audience was finally over, Baba Hassan stepped forward, bowing to his master, and said, “Shall I take the lady India to the women’s mosque, my lord, to be prepared for your marriage?”
Caynan Reis nodded, and then spoke quietly to India. “You will submit yourself to a special bath of purification, my precious. Then an iman will ask you several questions. Baba Hassan will translate what you cannot understand, and instruct you on how to answer.”
India remembered shreds of stories she had heard from her family, now pushing into her consciousness. “You want me to accept Islam,” she said to him.
He nodded. “If you are to be my wife, you must,” he told her. “It is customary for all captives to do so in your position.”
Words.
She would say words. What was in her heart was known only to God, India thought. Her great-grandmother had, in a similar position, accepted Islam. So had her stepfather’s great-grandmother.
My own grandfather, whom I never knew, but of whom Mama has always spoken, the great Akbar, believed all religions had value. I do not have to reject Christ,
India considered thoughtfully to herself. Then she looked into his eyes, smiling, and said, “I will do it, my lord, but in return I would have a favor from you.”
She would say words. What was in her heart was known only to God, India thought. Her great-grandmother had, in a similar position, accepted Islam. So had her stepfather’s great-grandmother.
My own grandfather, whom I never knew, but of whom Mama has always spoken, the great Akbar, believed all religions had value. I do not have to reject Christ,
India considered thoughtfully to herself. Then she looked into his eyes, smiling, and said, “I will do it, my lord, but in return I would have a favor from you.”
“Walk with me, my precious love,” he said, taking her by the arm, his look telling Baba Hassan to remain where he was. When they were a distance from any who might overhear, he asked her, “What would you have of me, India?”
“I have told you that my mother was the daughter of the great Mughal emperor, Akbar. When she was thirteen she was married to her first husband, a young prince. This prince was a follower of Islam, but while my mother had been raised to respect all faiths, she was, as I am, a baptized Christian. At her request she was also wed, in secret in her own Christian faith. Because he loved her, her prince was willing to acquiesce to her request. Will you do the same for me, my lord? Is there a Christian priest here in El Sinut who would marry us, and keep the secret so as not to endanger you?”
He thought for a long moment, and then said to her, “I am not certain who I can trust within the Christian community, which is very small, India. I promise you, however, that before our first child is born, I will wed you in your own faith. Will you accept my pledge on that, my precious love?”
“I will,” she replied, “for I have learned in the months that I have been your body slave that you are a man of honor.”
“Have you?”
He was touched by her words. He had not realized she was observing him so closely. Emboldened, he asked her, “Do you love me just a little, India? Or do you wed me because it is the expedient thing to do?”
He was touched by her words. He had not realized she was observing him so closely. Emboldened, he asked her, “Do you love me just a little, India? Or do you wed me because it is the expedient thing to do?”
“I believe I am beginning to love you, my lord. I know I do not hate you. I realize now that all I have been told since coming to El Sinut is the truth. I will not return to England, and even if I ever did, it would be difficult for me. So is it not prudent for me to accept my fate, and make a happy life for myself?” She smiled shyly at him.
“Yes,” he answered her, content for now with her candid answer. Then he led her back to Baba Hassan. “Do what must be done,” he told the chief eunuch. “I will go and see the iman.”
“We must leave the palace, and go to the women’s mosque,” Baba Hassan told India. He then gave orders to the slaves about them, and India shortly found herself in a litter once again, leaving the grounds of the palace for the first time since she had arrived in El Sinut five months back.
The women’s mosque was a beautiful building of pure white marble. Inside, it was colonnaded with pillars of red-and-white marble holding up horseshoe arches. Baba Hassan put her in the charge of an old woman who took her to the ritual bath already awaiting the bride. It was little different from the harem bath, but India found she was being treated with deep respect by the bath attendants.
It is a little bit like marrying a king,
she thought, realizing that as wife of the dey, she was indeed very much like a queen.
It is a little bit like marrying a king,
she thought, realizing that as wife of the dey, she was indeed very much like a queen.
When they had finished bathing, massaging, and perfuming her, they brought her fresh garments: a cream-colored kaftan embroidered with silver and gold threads, and small pearls and diamante. Her dark curls were brushed with fragrant oil and dressed with pearls; a gossamer veil shot through with gold and silver was placed on her head, a matching veil drawn across her face. Soft kid slippers covered in beaten gold were slipped upon her narrow feet.
“You are now ready, my lady,” the mosque’s bath mistress said. Then she led India back out into a courtyard where Baba Hassan was awaiting.
“Come,” the chief eunuch said. “We must now see the iman who presides over the women’s mosque. I will translate for you.”
She was brought into the company of a white-bearded elderly man. While frail of form, his look was an intelligent and piercing one. Instinctively India bowed to him, and then stood silently, her eyes modestly lowered.
“The dey has chosen a beautiful woman, Baba Hassan,” the iman said. “Does she understand why she is here?”
“I do, my lord iman,” India said before the eunuch could speak for her. “I have come to accept Islam so my lord Caynan may wed me.”
Baba Hassan smiled silently at her carefully spoken Arabic.
The iman nodded. “Had you ever heard of Islam before coming to El Sinut, my daughter? Our faith is an old one, though not quite as ancient as Christianity, and certainly not anywhere near as old as Judaism.”
“I knew of Islam, my lord iman,” India answered him. “Do we not all worship the same God?”
“Indeed, my daughter, we do. Come, let us sit, and I will tell you of the five pillars of wisdom that are the strength of our faith.” They settled themselves upon a low divan, the chief eunuch standing behind them, and the iman continued. “To be a good member of Islam, you must observe our creed in which we demand belief in God, his angels, his books, his prophets, and the last day in which all men will be judged. Our prayer is a simple one.
There is no God but God, and Muhammed is Prophet of God.
Will you say the words for me, my lovely lady?”
There is no God but God, and Muhammed is Prophet of God.
Will you say the words for me, my lovely lady?”
“There is no God but God, and Muhammed is the Prophet of God,” India spoke clearly. It was such a simple declaration.
“Angels, I know you believe in, having been raised in a Christian country. Our prophets are your prophets. Our holy books are called the Quran. We also recognize the scriptures of Abraham, the Torah of Moses, the Psalms of David, and the Gospels of Jesus Christ, all as revealed by God. The second pillar of wisdom is prayer. We pray five times daily. Upon rising, in early afternoon, in late afternoon, at sunset, and finally at night before retiring. The third pillar is alms giving. Like Christians and Jews we believe in charity toward those less fortunate than ourselves. The fourth pillar requires us to fast in the ninth lunar month, which we call Ramadan. Between sunrise and sunset we refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and relations with our women. The fifth and final pillar of wisdom requires us to make a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in our lifetime, if we can. These are things upon which our faith is founded, my lady. Will you accept them?”
“I will,” India answered him without hesitation.
“Then, my daughter, having now accepted Islam, you are permitted to wed the dey,” the old man said to her. “Understand that while it is every man’s duty to wed and procreate, marriage in our world is not a religious rite. It is a contract between two people. The dey will settle a bride price upon you which is yours, and yours alone. You must be obedient to his will, and his will alone, my daughter. If at any time he wishes to divorce you, he will say, ‘I dismiss thee’ thrice. Your bride price would go with you in that event. We do not however, approve of divorce, and discourage men from it.”
“What if a woman wishes to divorce her husband, my lord iman?” India asked, curious.
“Such a thing is not permitted,” she was told. The iman arose slowly from his seat. “Baba Hassan, you will take the lady now to be wed. The chief iman of El Sinut is awaiting her arrival so he may witness this happy event.”
India bid the elderly cleric farewell, and followed after the chief eunuch. The women’s mosque was next to the main mosque in the city. They had but to cross a courtyard half shadowed with afternoon sun. He brought her into the building to a small room looking out upon a garden. Azura was awaiting them, along with the dey and the chief iman.
The iman, Abd Allah, was a portly man with a no-nonsense air about him. “Let us begin,” he said. “You have settled a bride price upon the girl, my lord, and it is sufficient enough? Good!” He looked at India. “You are willing to marry this man, my lady?”
“I am,” India replied softly.
“Excellent!” the iman answered with a smile. “Very well. I will witness you pledging to one another. You may begin, my lord dey.”
Caynan Reis took India’s hand in his. “Azura will whisper the words to you when it is your turn,” he reassured her. Then, with a smile, he spoke his promise to her. “I, Caynan, take you, India, as my lawfully married wife before God, and in front of this company, in accordance with the teachings of the Quran. I promise to do everything to make this marriage an act of obedience to God, to make it a relationship of love, mercy, peace, faithfulness, and cooperation. Let God be my witness, because God is the best of all witnesses. Amen.” His deep blue eyes looked directly into her golden ones as he spoke his vows.
India felt her cheeks grow pink. She was being married, and certainly in a manner she had never anticipated, or even expected. For a moment, tears welled up, and she wished her parents and her siblings were here with her. She was not unhappy with her decision, but she missed those she loved best. He squeezed her hand, and she focused upon his handsome face once more, smiling softly through her veil at him as she began to speak her own marriage vows to him.
“I, India, take you, Caynan, as my lawfully married husband before God, and in front of this company, in accordance with the teachings of the Quran. I promise to do everything to make this marriage an act of obedience to God, to make it a relationship of love, mercy, peace, faithfulness, and cooperation. Let God be my witness, because God is the best of all witnesses. Amen.”
“It is done then,” Abd Allah said with a broad smile. “May I offer you my felicitations, my lord dey. We are pleased to see you take a wife at long last. May the union be fruitful, and may your wife give you many fine sons.”
“I will endeavor to see that she does her duty,” the dey returned with a broad smile.
“Come,” said Azura, taking India by the arm. “We must return to the palace discreetly. The servants have been working all day to prepare your apartments. I think you will be pleased.” The two women entered their litter, Baba Hassan walking alongside of them. “And you must visit the haremlik before sunset.”
“Why?” India asked her. “I am not going to live there. Those women hated me before I married my lord. How will they feel now? I am content to let them remain in their part of the palace, and I will remain in my part of the palace.”
“The dey is not giving up his harem, India,” Azura said. “It would be very unrealistic of you to believe he will cleave only to you. His appetite for female flesh is a strong one, and he indulges it daily. There will be times when you are unclean, or with child. You cannot ask him to suppress his desires in those times. It would be unhealthy for his juices to be so pent up. You are now the head of his women, and you must make peace with those silly, foolish creatures for the sake of your husband. His house must be a place of quiet and calm. Now, of the seven, Samara is the most dangerous. Be firm, but fair with her. She will not like you, but it may prevent her from mischief. If it does not, I will have her sold off. Nila is the clever one. She will act to her own advantage, but do not trust her. Mirmah, I believe, can be trusted. She is a gentle creature, and good-natured to a fault. As for the others, they are harmless, though some are sharp-tongued. I have chosen little gifts for you to give them this evening. Each is different, but none more valuable than the other, and they will recognize that.”
India sighed deeply. “Very well,” she said. “I will follow your advice, my lady Azura. In these matters you know better than I.”
Azura laughed. “You are too young to isolate yourself, India. The harem women will be like sisters. Some you will love, others you will probably hate, but you will all manage to get on together.”
“You say that with such certainty,” India said.
“I have lived in the harem for over thirty years,” Azura replied. “You are so fortunate. My lord Sharif made no woman his wife. He feared his enemies too much. While I was his favorite, I had to share his affections with the other women in his harem. It was not always easy for me, but it made him happy that I kept the peace within his house. I never whined at my lord about the other women, which set me apart from them. They were foolish, and were forever pouring a litany of complaints into his ear. My sole efforts were directed toward his comfort, his pleasure. I asked for nothing, and in return received everything. Even though you are the dey’s wife now, India, you could benefit from my example,” she concluded.
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