Adora (31 page)

“None of the girls is permitted to perform their duties without the protection of this implant, not until they have served their five years. At the end of that time the pessary is removed for the Spring Festival of Ishtar, and enough of the maidens become pregnant at that time to satisfy the worshippers of Ishtar as to her influence on fertility.

“I served ten years in the temple, beginning when I was seven. I learned the arts of putting another person into a trance, and of making and implanting these pessary devices.

“When I was seventeen a troop of Muslims rode into my remote village and destroyed our temple. The priest and high priestess were killed. The rest of us were carried off into slavery. I have used the skills taught me many times. I will use them for you, if you will agree to bear the sultan his sons.”‘

Theadora looked the eunuch over gravely. “You are indeed a powerful friend, Ali Yahya. But satisfy my curiosity in one thing. Why me? Why not some nubile, pretty, witless little thing?”

“It is your very intelligence that makes me choose you, Highness. You understand and quickly grasp situations. You will be loyal to the sultan—and to me. You are above the petty squabblings of the harem maidens and will be a stabilizing influence upon your lord. You will rear your children wisely to serve this empire well.

“A younger, stupid girl would inevitably turn out to be greedy for riches, greedy for power. She would try to play politics. We will have a certain amount of that as it is, Highness, but as long as you remain supreme in the sultan’s heart, the small influence of these girls will be like insect bites—occasionally irritating, but totally unimportant.”

She nodded. “Now,” she said worriedly, “I must consider best how to get back into Murad’s good graces.”

The eunuch’s eyes twinkled. “Why, you will weep, my princess, and you will fling yourself into his arms, sobbing your apology,” he said.

“Ali Yahya!” She was laughing. “He will never believe such softness from me. Rather, it will arouse his suspicions.”

“He will believe if you are clever, Highness. He is angry and beginning to lose patience with this battle between you. I will gently stoke the fires of his anger, telling him he did right this afternoon in asserting his mastery over you. Encouraging him to continue the lesson this evening.”

“And thus encouraged,” Adora took up the thread of the eunuch’s thought, “he will come roaring into my tent like an outraged bull. I will exhibit a momentary, small, defiant attitude before going to pieces.”

“Excellent, Highness! As I have said, you are quick to grasp the point.”

Again she laughed. “Go, then, old schemer, and rouse my lord and master to proper fury. But remember, to give me time to dress and anoint myself properly.”

“I will send two serving women immediately,” he said. Then he left her. The eunuch walked across the compound to find the sultan bathing in his tent.

“Ah, Ali Yahya,” said Murad, “there you are. Make arrangements for us to leave for Bursa by noon tomorrow. I will ride back this night.”

“I am sorry you choose to run, my lord, when victory is so near at hand. With your actions of this afternoon, I had thought you finally understood the situation and were prepared to handle Princess Theadora with firmness.”

“Understood what, Ali Yahya?” He turned to the slave. “Be careful with that hot water, fool! Do you wish to scald me?”

“I thought,” said the eunuch, “you realized that, to win the princess back, you must force her to admit your superiority. You have almost succeeded in taming her. I have just come from her, tent, where I left her in tears. She loves you! She hates you!” He chuckled broadly. “One more such lesson as this afternoon, and you will break her to your will, my lord.”

“Do you really think so, Ali Yahya? I will admit that I love her, but I can take no more of her constant defiance and wicked temper. I would have you stock me a harem of quiet, gentle girls. One spitfire in my house is more than enough!”

“That is true, my lord, but a meal without a little pepper is a bland one. Go to her again tonight. I know she will be contrite. If you do not weaken, she will admit her faults. If she does, then you must remain here several more days to reinforce your position with her. What a sweet victory, eh, my lord?” finished the eunuch, pleased with the look of longing he detected in the sultan’s dark eyes.

Murad rose up from his tub and slaves dried his big, well-muscled body. Finally Murad spoke.

“Very well,” he said. “You may delay giving the orders to return to Bursa. We will see just how obedient my lovely Adora is willing to become.” He stood, holding his arms out, allowing his slaves to clothe him in a black silk robe. It was embroidered with branches of golden mimosa and closed with delicately sewn-gold frogs. Soft black kid slippers lined in the tender fleece of unborn lamb were slipped on his feet. Then, without another word, Murad left the tent and strode across the camp toward Theadora’s tent.

Ali Yahya cast his eyes skyward and muttered under his breath, “Whoever… Let my plans succeed!”

“He comes, mistress!” whispered the slavewoman excitedly, peering from between the tent flaps.

“Get you gone! All of you! Quickly! Quickly!” commanded Adora. The women fled as Murad entered.

Allah, but she was lovely. Quickly he caught himself before he showed any sign of weakness. She wore a loose robe of pale lilac silk, similar to his but much simpler. It closed with a row of little gold knots beginning at the valley of her breasts. He noted with satisfaction that her eyes were slightly red-rimmed.

He said nothing, and she stood defiantly looking at him for a moment. Then her lower lip trembled. She caught at it with her little white teeth, hastily wiping away two large tears that slid quickly down her pale cheeks.

“My lord,” her voice was a whisper. “Oh, my lord, I do not know how— I-I ask your—” Without warning she flung herself at him, and he found his arms automatically tightening about her. She wept softly against him, wetting his robe through to his chest.

He was delighted but dared not show it. He had expected fury at his treatment of her this afternoon, yet here she was, all soft and feminine, seeking to apologize to
him
. “Look at me, Adora.” Without hesitation she raised her face to him. Her lovely amethyst eyes were bright with tears, the black lashes matted. Unable to restrain himself, he bent to kiss the soft, inviting red mouth. To his surprise, her arms twined about his neck and her lips opened willingly—Allah!—eagerly, beneath his. She was kissing him back, and then she was murmuring, “Oh, Murad! I have been such a fool! Please, please forgive me!”

He was at a loss for words.

“It was my pride, my lord,” she said, drawing him down onto a pile of soft cushions, “surely you understand that, for yours is as great as mine, and I have a wicked temper. And both our fathers spoiled me terribly.” Kneeling, she drew off his slippers. Then she cuddled next to him.

“Your behavior has been
almost
unforgivable,” he said gruffly.

She raised herself up on one elbow and leaned forward just enough that he was treated to a generous view of her breasts. “But you will forgive this humble slave,” she begged prettily. When he looked sharply at her he saw her mouth trembling with suppressed mirth.

Relieved that her spirit wasn’t completely broken, he laughed and pulled her into his arms. “I do not believe you are
really
repentant at all,” he teased.

Her eyes grew serious. “But I do apologize, my lord. I do! I would not blame you if you sent me away.” She held her breath.

“Do you want to go?” he asked.

There was only the briefest pause. “No. Do not send me from you, Murad. Those years I lived as your father’s wife were a living hell for me. I maintained my sanity only by believing in the promise you once made to me in a moonlit garden: that one day I should be your wife. When you told me the other night that you would take no wife, but only keep a harem…” She paused, then said, “I am only a woman, my lord, and easily hurt. You know how hard it will be for me to accept your decision. My religion views an unmarried concubine as lower than a creature of the streets.”

“But
my
religion puts you above all women, Adora. I did not mean to hurt you, beloved. Understand me, my dove, I did not tell you I would not take a wife to sadden or shame you. For the last several generations the Ottomans have been forced to contract political marriages to aid them with their conquests. I do not believe we need do this any longer. We are at the very gates of Constantinople. When we conquer it, we will make it our own capital before moving out into Europe itself. The virgin daughters, sisters, nieces, and wards of those in our path will not be enough to bribe us—for we are stronger.

“Perhaps we Turks do treat our woman differently from the way the Greeks treat theirs, but we revere them for the one thing that only they can do. Only the female can accept and
nurture the seed of life within her body. Only the female can bear that life safely, give it nourishment and care. It is his woman who provides a man’s immortality by giving him sons.

“You have a fine son, Adora. Can you honestly tell me that you have made any greater accomplishment in your lifetime than to give Halil life?”

She was amazed at the depth of his thoughts. And then she realized how little she actually knew the man. They had never really talked as they were doing now. She wondered whether he was aware of the sweet victory this was for her. It mattered not! For now, it was enough for her.

She smiled up at him and said quietly, “I suppose Halil has been my greatest accomplishment, and my life would have been very empty without him.”

“
Give me a son
!” he said fiercely. Her heart quickened at the passion in his gaze.

She could not tear her eyes from his. She felt strangely weak, held a half-willing captive of those dark eyes that burned with little red and gold flames deep within. His fingers slipped the row of little gold knots that held her robe together and she felt the big hands gently stroking the swell of her breasts. For the first time she did not resist him, and a delicious, languorous feeling began to creep over her. His hands were those of a warrior, large and square, the fingernails cut short. The skin of his palms and fingers were neither rough nor smooth, but rather a combination of both, and the touch of it on her silken flesh made her shiver. He caught a hard little nipple between his finger and thumb and rubbed, delighting in her gasp of pleasure.

To his surprise, she opened his robe and placed her warm palms against him. Her slim fingers began to tease the hair on his chest, twining amid the soft, tight curls, pulling gently. Her eyes were soft with a growing desire.

He stood up and let his robe drop to the floor, pulling her after him. He drew the lilac-colored silk from her. Standing for
a moment, they openly admired each other’s bodies. His hand reached out and gently caressed her. She returned the caress. Stepping forward, he gathered her up into his arms, her head nestled against his shoulder, and carried her slowly to their couch. Tenderly he placed her on the silken sheets, standing above her a moment. Then he eagerly joined her as she opened her arms to him.

His fingers removed the tortoise shell pins from her hair. Then he pulled the thick, lily-scented cloud down about the two of them. Only then did he seek her mouth, and she shivered for his kisses were sweet with remembrance, and spiced with expectation.

“You are perfection, my Adora,” he murmured softly. “And so there will never again be a misunderstanding between us, let me tell you plainly that I love you, my darling. The sultan of the Ottomans lays his heart at your slim, white feet, beloved, and humbly asks that you be the mother of his sons. I would fight with you no longer. Let me plant my seed deep within your fertile garden. Let me cherish you—and the new life that will grow within you.”

She was silent a moment. Then she asked, “And if I said ‘No’, my lord—what then?”

“I would send you from me, my dove, probably back to Constantinople. For I cannot remain near you and not want to make love to you.”

“You will not grow angry with me, as your father did, because I like to study and read?”

“No.”

“Then come, my beloved lord. The spring is almost upon us, and if we are to harvest a good crop before the year is out, we must begin.”

He was stunned by her frankness. Her laughter was mischievous. “Oh, Murad, you great fool! I love you! I admit to it, though I am not at all sure I should. I have always loved you. You were my first love, and now it seems you are to be
my last. My now and forever love. And so it was written in the stars before either of us even took root in our mothers’ wombs. So Ali Yahya assures me.”

His eager lips found her equally eager ones and soon his mouth was scorching hers, then moving down her body, tasting of breast and belly. When finally he entered her she was but half-conscious: never, never had she known such sweetness. She cried with joy in his possession of her, and again as he released his seed within her. And in that single blazing moment before pleasure claimed her completely, she knew she had conceived a son.

Chapter Seventeen

After two years, the city of Adrianople had fallen to the Turks. There had been virtually no help from Constantinople. The emperor, being a vassal of the sultan, had simply not dared to send his troops.

The wealthiest of Constantinople’s merchants had raised a troop of cavalry and two troops of foot soldiers. Having outfitted them and paid them a year’s wages in advance, they sent them off to protect their vast investments in the Thracian city’s factories and export houses. Once within the city, however, the mercenaries were trapped, along with the inhabitants. The latter were not delighted by having to feed several hundred additional mouths.

Adrianople was one of the last real jewels in Byzantium’s crown. One hundred and thirty-seven miles northwest of Constantinople, it was set on the banks of the Tunja River where it met with the Maritsa River. Located in the center of the Thracian coastal plain, it was surrounded by fertile, well-watered valleys and a surprisingly barren upland. It was said to be located on the site of the ancient city of Uskadame. Certainly something had been there when Hadrian rebuilt the city in the year 125 B.C. Two hundred fifty-three years later the Roman emperor, Valens, lost the city to the Goths. They later lost it to the Bulgars, who lost it to the Byzantines, who lost it to the Crusaders, who lost it back to Byzantium. Byzantium had now lost it forever to the Turks.