"I am grateful that you allowed me to see Bianca," Marco said as they exited the little palace and began the climb down the steep path to the sh.o.r.eline. "She has put my mind at ease, and forgiven me for past wrongs."
"I am glad, but you cannot come again," Amir told him. "It was not easy for Azura to leave all that was familiar to her, but she did it for my sake. I can but hope a woman will one day love you that much, Marco Pietro d"Angelo."
"It was difficult for me as well," Marco told his companion, refusing to be bullied even a little by this prince. "She is my sister, the closest to me in age of all our siblings. I should not upset her willingly. If it be your will, my lord, that we not see each other again, then I accept it. My sister has already told me most firmly the same thing," he concluded with a small smile.
Amir barked a sharp laugh. "Did she? Did she indeed? Ah, what a wonderful female creature she is." His handsome face relaxed now as the threat of Azura"s family began to fade away.
They reached the beach, where a little boat was waiting to take the young silk merchant back to the anch.o.r.ed vessel.
"The captain has been given orders to set sail immediately," the prince told his guest. "His destination is Istanbul. You will find a ship there to take you home." He held out his hand to Marco. "I greeted you in peace, brother of my wife. I now bid you farewell. Go in peace and with my friendship."
Marco took the prince"s hand and shook it. "Thank you, my lord," he told him. "I can see that you have treated my sister well. I cannot deny her love for you. I offer you my friendship, signore." Then he waded out to the small craft, and climbed into it. He turned with a smile and gave Amir a friendly wave. Then Marco Pietro d"Angelo faced the sea again.
The prince watched as the little boat was swiftly rowed out to the large ship. By the time the prince had climbed back up to the palace gardens his vessel was already under way, sailing from the small cove that served the Moonlight Serai and headed for the Bosphorus. He reentered his home and went directly to the harem. There he found Azura as he had expected he would, standing by a window watching too.
Hearing his entry, she turned, smiling. "He did not come for my family"s sake. He came for his own. I have relieved his poor burdened conscience," and she went on to explain her conversation that afternoon with her brother.
"Are you saddened to see him go knowing you are unlikely to meet again?" he asked her.
"No. My life is here with you," Azura told him, smiling to herself as she spoke. Men! Why was it that they always seemed to need rea.s.surance from those they loved or cared for? she wondered. Then she looked into his deep blue eyes and said, "I want a child, Amir. A child of our love for each other. Maysun and Shahdi would like me to have a child too, for the harem is lonely without the laughter of children."
"You know the dangers, beloved," he reminded her. "My uncle could at any time turn on me because of my father. Remember that he has three living sons of his own. If our child were a male, it could present a danger to us all, but to you in particular. Besides, there has been no sign of a child in all the time we have been together."
"Because Nadim mixes a potion each morning that Agata presents to me as a strengthening drink. I am not supposed to know it is to prevent conception. There is no harm in it, so I drink it down quite dutifully," Azura told him with a small laugh.
"I should have them both beaten!" Amir exclaimed, feigning anger.
She laughed again. "They protect us by their actions," she told him.
"A child," he said slowly. "I had not thought to have a child, especially when you did not seem to prove fertile. A daughter who favored her mother would be a joy. Still, it is a serious chance that you contemplate, beloved."
Amir knew his uncle well. Bayezit was a patient man, but he was also unafraid to act in his best interests, as his race to reach Istanbul when Sultan Mehmet died had proved. He had been at a farther distance than his brother, and yet he had gotten to the capital first, where he had promised the Janissaries what they wanted and paid the right bribes so that his brother had no chance at all of gaining the throne. Bayezit would not hesitate to have an infant slain if he felt the child was a future danger to his throne. And how would Azura feel having her newborn torn from her arms and smothered? Could he subject her to that?
Still, if they dared it, a child would bring their house such joy. And it could as easily be a daughter as a son. A daughter who one day could be used to the sultan"s best advantage in an important marriage alliance. An Ottoman princess would please his uncle. Of all Amir"s cousins, he suspected that the youngest of the sultan"s sons, Selim, would be the one to father a large family. Ahmed, despite Bayezit"s favor, preferred gambling, drinking forbidden wines, and pretty page boys. Korkut was a serious scholar interested only in his studies. But Selim was much like Bayezit himself. Selim would take the throne one day, outsmarting his brothers as his father had, and it would be Selim"s family that would prevail.
"I do not know if I can put us in such jeopardy, beloved," Amir considered. "The sultan has been favorable towards me, but there are those who have his ear, who would just as soon see my father and me dead. My uncle"s three kadins are ambitious women, especially Ahmed"s mother, Besma. It is rumored she managed the death of Bayezit"s eldest son, the offspring of another kadin, to further her own son"s chances at the succession. How would you feel if after you gave birth your son was taken immediately from you to be killed?"
Azura gasped, horrified. "They would not do that!"
He said nothing, and his silence gave confirmation to his words.
"Would they?" she whispered.
"I cannot bear to see you unhappy, beloved," Amir told her. "If you want a child, I will give you one, but understand the risks involved if I do and you bear me a son."
"If we had a son, why would the sultan have to know?" Azura asked. "We do not live in Istanbul. How would he even learn that we had a family?"
Amir laughed. "If I did not inform him of a child"s arrival, it would appear treasonous on my part. You are thinking like a Florentine."
"I am a Florentine," she said.
"No," he told her. "You are my beloved, my wife, and everything that came before us is irrelevant. I will not share you with your history except where I am involved. I am a jealous man where my wife is concerned."
She kissed his mouth sweetly. "You must learn to share me, for I want a child, Amir. I will take the chance that your uncle will be merciful to us if I have a son, but I will have a daughter so we need not fret about it."
"You have shown no signs of a child yet," he said. "How can you be certain that you will have one now that you have decided you want one?"
"I have told you that I only need to stop drinking the strengthening drink that Nadim mixes and Agata feeds me each morning. They think I do not know," Azura explained to him. "My mother drank a similar liquid when she did not wish to have more babies. It is possible to control these things."
She had mentioned this to him before, he now recalled, but he had been so concerned with other matters it had slipped entirely from his mind. Once again he didn"t know if he should be angry or not. He realized that his slaves were indeed attempting to safeguard him and his wives as well as their household. "Stop drinking the potion," he said to her. "I will speak with Nadim and with Ali Farid. We will take our chances and have a child, beloved." As he said it he wondered if he was being wise. Women were known to die in childbirth. He didn"t want to lose her, but he also wanted to make her happy. He caught her hand and kissed it before placing it over his heart for a moment. Then he released it with a smile.
"Now I will be content," Azura promised him. "And Maysun and Shahdi will be as well, for this child will belong to all of us, my love."
"Come to me tonight," he said, and she smiled into his eyes.
"As my lord commands," she purred, giving him a quick kiss.
He grinned mischievously at her and chuckled. "How amenable you are, beloved, when you gain your own way with me."
"All women are easy to live with when they are happy," she replied.
Agata no longer brought her the strengthening drink in the mornings, and they all began to watch her carefully. Still, despite the pa.s.sion shared between Amir and Azura, there was no quick sign of a child. Azura found herself disappointed, but Nadim and Agata comforted her, a.s.suring the third wife that the conception of a child was G.o.d"s will and not man"s. It had only been a little over a month since the decision had been made.
Then late one morning Captain Mahmud and a small troop of Janissaries arrived at the Moonlight Serai. They had orders requesting that Prince Amir return to Istanbul, for his uncle, the sultan, wished to speak with him.
Azura was suspicious. "What does he want? Why could he not simply send a message to you? Why must he see you?"
Maysun and Shahdi, being better-versed in the politics of the Ottoman Empire, were even more concerned, although they kept their fears to themselves. They did not wish to distress Azura when she was attempting to breed. But what if Amir was being summoned only to be met by the sultan"s gardeners, his executioners? What if Prince Jem"s behavior had finally brought his brother"s patience to the breaking point, and his only son was to suffer the punishment of death for it?
"He is the sultan, and he has requested my presence," Amir said. "I must go."
"A request is written on a parchment and delivered by a single messenger. This is a demand with a troop of Janissaries sent to fetch you," Azura replied.
"Nonetheless, I must go," Amir said quietly, and kissing each of his wives in turn, he left them, going with Captain Mahmud and his troop of Janissary hors.e.m.e.n. The truth was, he had no idea why his uncle would send for him unless it had something to do with his rebellious father. To his relief he was taken to Sultan Bayezit immediately upon his arrival. Entering the august presence, he bowed low with each step he took forward.
Bayezit watched his nephew come towards him making the proper obeisance as he came. He smiled faintly to himself. Amir was a careful man, he thought. "Come, Nephew, and sit by my side so we may talk," he invited the prince.
Amir did as he was bid, kissing his uncle"s hand respectfully, his eyes darting quickly around the room for any sign of gardeners. There were none. "Thank you, my lord," he said. "I am happy to see you looking so well."
"Unlike your troublesome father, Nephew, you are loyal. Because of your faithfulness I am sending you to Rhodes with the payment for your father"s keep. I want you to speak with Jem personally. Try to convince him to cease his resistance to me, and make his peace. I would happily welcome him back to govern one of my provinces, whichever one he chooses. I will give you a province and its income too if you succeed."
"I will gladly go to Rhodes for love of you, Uncle, but I wish no part in the government, and my ships bring me enough income that I neither need nor want any government allowance. Give these honors to your sons. I am content."
The sultan stared at his nephew, then finally said, "You are unique among the males of our line, Amir, for you are, or you seem, content simply to be."
"I have seen what ambition does, my lord," Amir answered his uncle. "I have my own wealth, three wives, a home I love. I want for nothing. Perhaps I am simply lazy, for being sultan is a great deal of work."
"You have no children, then?" the sultan asked.
"None," the prince answered. "I should have told you if I did, my lord."
Bayezit nodded slowly. "Your fidelity is impressive, Amir ibn Jem," his uncle told him. "My father always said that you were trustworthy. Go to Rhodes for me. I will not hold you responsible if you cannot bring your father to reason, but you must try for my sake and for my brother"s sake."
"I will do my best for you, my lord uncle," Amir told him. "When do you propose I leave? And I a.s.sume I will have Janissaries with me to guard the gold?"
"You will leave in a month"s time, and ride overland down to the Mediterranean coast. From there you will embark for Rhodes. The gold will await you at your destination and be loaded aboard the vessel taking you to Rhodes. Captain Mahmud will meet you first at Bursa and go with you. There is no need for a troop of his Janissaries, for they would only attract attention. I would have you be discreet, Nephew," the sultan told Amir. "You can get yourself to Bursa?"
"I can," Amir said. "Would you like me to use one of my own ships to transport the gold, my lord? I should gladly give you the loan of one."
"I would! You are generous, Nephew," the sultan said.
"Nay, my lord, I am a practical man," Amir told him. "Load the gold in Bursa. Captain Mahmud and I will sail from there rather than riding overland. It will be safer."
"If you think that is best, Nephew," the sultan said to him, "then do it. I will see that the treasury sends the gold to Bursa."
"If you have no further need for me, then, my lord, I will return home to inform my wives that you have entrusted me with a mission. They need know nothing more, but I would not have them worry," Amir said.
His uncle nodded, and waved him away. The prince hurried from the sultan"s presence and three days later returned home to his overjoyed women, who had been genuinely frightened. They were full of questions as to why Bayezit had called upon Amir, and when they learned he was to go to Rhodes, his wives were none too pleased.
"You will be gone for several months," Maysun complained. "If you are charged by the sultan with trying to bring your father to reason, you must remain long enough with Prince Jem so that you can be said to have tried, but not so long that suspicions are cast upon you and it is suggested that you are plotting with your father. I do not like this. I do not like it at all. Why can the sultan not be satisfied that you are not your father, or your father"s man? This task your uncle sends you to do for him appears to be a trial of sorts. You are being tested once again, although you have done nothing to warrant it."
"And it is a fool"s errand," Shahdi chimed in. "Your father cannot be moved, and everyone in the world knows it. Someone who has influence with the sultan is playing a wicked game. Who is your enemy, my lord? Do you even know?"
"This is a woman"s trick," Azura said quietly, and they turned, surprised once again by her grasp of Ottoman politics. "Amir has done nothing that would, that could, that should arouse anyone"s suspicions as to his loyalty to the throne, to his uncle, the sultan. But a woman, ambitious for her son, would be distrustful of him.
"He is the Conqueror"s oldest male grandchild. His has a legitimate claim to the Ottoman throne one day. Yet he eschews politics, will not accept a position governing for the sultan, does not lend his sword to the continuing conquest of the empire. He lives quietly, ama.s.sing wealth, and without children who could be used against him. Why does he do this? What motives are behind this behavior? Does he hope one day to seize the throne when Bayezit"s three living sons are involved in a fight for it?
"A man like that is indeed to be looked upon with suspicion by certain folk. You must test him constantly. Force him to reveal his true motives," Azura said. "And when you have done so, then you must destroy him and wipe all evidence of him from the face of the earth, and from the minds of the people. In that way you protect your own interests, and those of your son. Who among the sultan"s kadins would have that kind of influence with him, and would do such a thing?"
"Besma," Amir said without hesitation. "She is Ahmed"s mother. She is believed to have seen to the murder of my uncle"s eldest son by another of his wives. Now it is her son who is the eldest. She is determined that he follow in his father"s footsteps."
"She is determined that her son rule," Shahdi said drily. "She would murder the sultan if she believed she could accomplish it and put her boy on the throne. I wouldn"t be in the least surprised if Azura wasn"t correct about the b.i.t.c.h."
"We must protect our husband from this plot," Maysun said.
"There is no plot that I can see," Amir said. "You are allowing your imaginations to run away with you. Sending me personally to deliver the first payment for my father"s upkeep to the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaliers in Rhodes is my uncle"s way of showing courtesy to these men. It is an elegant gesture and will not go unnoticed. Remember that the reputation of the Ottoman in the Christian world is that of a barbarian. My uncle would have us more than just feared. He wants the respect of others, and good manners will go a long way to helping erase the notion that we are savages. That I will also attempt to turn my father from his path of destruction will not be considered unusual for a loyal servant of Sultan Bayezit."
"I still think you are being tested," Maysun insisted, and Shahdi nodded in agreement but kept silent.
"When will you go, my lord? Tell us of your plans," Azura said, attempting to turn the others away from their concern. She was not certain that they were not correct, but she could see that Amir did not wish to believe it. He was an honest man of ethics, preferring to believe that those he dealt with were also. He was wrong, of course, and they would have to protect him. Azura had listened carefully at her father"s table when he discussed his business with her mother. Human nature was not always as straightforward as Amir himself was. But if there was a plot, there was little any of them could do except hope the prince"s honest behavior proved his detractor wrong.
He told them he would send for one of his own vessels and sail to Bursa. Once the gold was loaded aboard and Captain Mahmud joined them, they would depart for Rhodes. Krikor, his personal servant, would travel with him. The women spent the next few weeks preparing Amir"s wardrobe. He must look every inch the Ottoman prince he was to both honor the sultan and impress the Knights Hospitaliers, most of whom were n.o.bles from their own lands.
While treating Maysun and Shahdi as kindly as he always had, Amir wanted to spend as much time with Azura as he could. Her very presence in his life each day gave him a peace and strength he had never known. He had not loved any woman until her. The knowledge that they would be separated for many long weeks actually gave him physical pain. He would have taken her with him if he could have, but he realized the seriousness of this mission that he had been entrusted with by his uncle.
Arriving at a great Christian stronghold with a woman would have but given truth to all the evil thought of his world. Not that the Knights Hospitaliers did not have their own mistresses installed on the island to see to their needs and keep them company. He would put aside his own wants in favor of his uncle"s when he traveled to Rhodes for the sultan; but while he remained at the Moonlight Serai he would enjoy the company and the favor of his beautiful Florentine wife.
He loved it best when they lay together alone and naked. The chamber in which he slept was a simple room, square in shape, with a few simple pieces of furniture. The bed they shared was a thick mattress covered in black silk set upon a low raised platform of ebony. Seeing her creamy flesh upon the dark fabric and her long, soft black hair almost obscured upon the cloth kindled his desires. Had she been anyone other than who she was, the tenderness with which she loved him would have left him helpless. Instead it gave him a strength such as he had never known.
They kissed slowly at first, lips firm yet soft, enjoying the sensation of a gentle beginning that more often than not grew into fiery pa.s.sion as lips moved from mouths to pulses beneath the skin of a throat, to a wrist, to the shadowed valley between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s or above his beating heart. Hands caressed heated flesh, teasing at nipples, stroking a belly, fondling a b.u.t.tock. Her fingers cupped the cool pouch that contained the jewels of his s.e.x, cuddling them in her warm palm until he whimpered with his growing need.
Her mouth suckled upon his throbbing c.o.c.k as he had long ago taught her to do. Her tongue licked the great length of him until he thought he might burst with his need to possess her. His fingers explored between her nether lips, brushing against the moist flesh, finding and playing with the sensitive gem of her womanhood until she cried out with the pleasure he gave her. They had learned to prolong the culmination of their union because both Amir and Azura had quickly discovered that enough was never enough for either of them. Their pa.s.sion for each other seemed to grow greater with the pa.s.sing of time rather than fade with familiarity.
Now on this night before his departure she lay beneath him gasping with delight as he pushed slowly into her tight sheath. "Oh yes, my love!" Azura cried, encouraging him onward. "Yes!" She wrapped herself about him tightly. He filled her, and she struggled to implant every bit of this memory deep in her consciousness for those months ahead when she would be without him.
"I want to go deeper," he growled softly in her ear. "Unlock your limbs and let me guide us, beloved."
She complied, and when she had, he gently pushed her legs as far back over her shoulders as he could, then drove himself into her eager body. Azura gasped as he began a fierce rhythm, moving himself deeper and harder with each ferocious thrust of his loins. She was quickly overwhelmed with her need, and cried out with pleasure, but he did not cease moving faster and faster and faster upon her. A second wave began to arise within her. He sensed it, and slowed himself to a stop, the better to prolong their pa.s.sion. Azura felt his l.u.s.t pulsing strongly and tightened her sheath about him.
"Witch!" he groaned as he once again began to pump himself within her.
They had never before attained quite the perfection they did this night. Azura screamed softly as his juices exploded, flooding her with his loving tribute. She didn"t know whether she was conscious or unconscious. She soared. She flew. He groaned and shuddered in her arms, burying his face in her perfumed hair as her legs fell to the mattress weakly and she wept with the joy that they had just shared. He kissed the tears from her cheeks.
Chapter 17.
When he had caught his breath once more, he wrapped her in his arms and slept. There were no words necessary between them now. She awoke several hours later and returned to her own bedchamber, but she did not sleep again, arising even before Agata, hurrying to the baths and then dressing herself quickly so she might be able to see him depart. When she returned to her chamber to dress, both Nadim and Agata were awaiting her with her garments. They had chosen one of her favorite colors. Peach.
On the portico of the little palace Prince Amir bade his three wives farewell. Maysun demanded that Krikor make certain his master was kept warm on the sea voyage. Shahdi advised him to be cautious dealing with his father and the Knights Hospitaliers. Azura, however, kissed him tenderly as she gazed into his eyes and said, "Come back to me safely, my dearest lord. Each day we are parted will be like a hundred years for me."
"Each night I am without you will seem like a thousand years," he murmured in return. "I love you, beloved. Remember that you have my heart in your keeping." He kissed her gently. Then he turned abruptly and, with Krikor at his heels, departed.
Standing together, the three women watched as the two men descended to the beach, where a small boat stood ready to take them out to the anch.o.r.ed vessel in their cove. They saw Amir reach the ship with Krikor and go aboard. They heard the drum of the slave master who kept time for the galley slaves start to beat, and saw the oars of the prince"s transport begin their rhythmic movement as it pulled away and out of the little harbor. Then, as if some silent signal had been given, Prince Amir"s three wives began to weep, but just as suddenly broke into laughter at their common behavior.
"What a fine trio we are." Maysun said with a chuckle. "If we were the sultan"s wives we would have to contend with his always being away conquering some place or other."
"That is why it is better to have a merchant for a husband, and not a sultan," Shahdi added.
"Some merchants travel all the time," Azura said. "I"m glad Amir does not, but I will miss him. He told me he will be gone for several months."
"We will survive," Maysun said in practical tones. "We did when he was living in Florence for those few years."
"Just where is this island of Rhodes?" Shahdi asked. Both she and Maysun had little formal education.
Azura, however, did have education, and she asked Ali Farid to find them a map so she might show her companions where their husband was now going.
The prince"s ship moved quickly from the Black Sea into the Bosphorus, then into the little Sea of Marmara, reaching Bursa in just a few days" time. Captain Mahmud was awaiting Prince Amir. The sultan"s treasury had delivered the forty-five thousand pieces of gold. It was counted out before Amir by a treasury official in a small dockside shed, and then the bags were loaded upon his vessel for transport to Rhodes.
They set sail immediately, pa.s.sing through the Dardanelles and into the Aegean Sea, keeping within sight of the coast at all times. They sailed past the islands of Lesbos, Khios, Samos, and Kos. Amir was surprised that his ship traveled without an escort, but Captain Mahmud said that it was thought an armed escort would have drawn unwanted attention to the ship. It was believed that a ship belonging to Prince Amir"s merchant fleet coming out of Istanbul would not attract much attention. After all, it was the ships returning from the east that carried the richest goods, not those headed east. Of course, a sharper eye might have noticed the ship riding low with its heavy cargo, but they were not troubled with pirates, for which Amir was grateful.
Shaped like the head of some ancient Spartan spear, the island came into their view at last. It was mountainous terrain, the heights covered in pine and cypress forests.