Velvet stepped from the pool, and two bath attendants hurried up to pat her dry. She was lotioned and massaged, and with Adali chattering nonstop in her ear she returned to her own chamber to rest in the midday heat.
Toward sunset she and Akbar rode out from the city, and he told her then that they would soon be leaving for his capital of Lahore.
“But Pansy has not yet borne her child, my lord. I do not like to leave her alone as she has not even the advantage of speaking French as I do. She would be very frightened.”
“It is strange that a mistress and servant would be so close, my Rose. You seem to care for her as you would a sister.”
“Her mother has been in my mother’s service for over thirty years, and her father is one of my mother’s captains. She is a bit older than I am, but we were raised on the same estate.”
“Is she the only child of her parents?”
“No.” Velvet laughed. “She is one of ten. Each time her father came home from a voyage he got her mother with child until Daisy finally put a stop to it. Please do not make me leave Pansy my lord. She is a strong girl, and as soon as her child has come she will be able to travel.”
“If it pleases you,” he answered her, “then I shall wait for your Pansy, should her child not come before my planned departure.”
She smiled her thanks at him, and as the sun dipped lower with each moment they turned their horses back to the city, where Velvet left Akbar at the foot of the steps that led to her chamber’s terrace. She bathed once more as she did every day after her ride, and then Adali and her two handmaidens brought her a supper of baby lamb and rice with fruit. A small carafe of sweet and heady wine was placed by her elbow.
Velvet ate slowly, enjoying the well-prepared meal and wondering if Akbar would play chess with her again this evening. Would they play here in her chamber or would it be on the balcony above the great playing board? She had not quite finished her supper when Adali answered a knock at her door. Velvet heard him murmuring in his soft voice to someone outside that she could not see, and then the door was shut and the eunuch came to her side bearing a box in his hands.
“What is it, Adali?” she asked.
“It is a gift to you from Her Highness, Jodh Bai, my princess.” He couldn’t conceal his delight as he handed it to her.
Velvet accepted the beautiful sandalwood box, its edges bound with gold-filigreed corners. There was a matching filigreed lock, but it was only decorative. Lifting the lock, she raised the lid to reveal the contents. The interior of the box was lined in beaten gold and held a scarlet satin pillow upon which rested a book.
“She has sent you a Pillow Book!” exclaimed Adali.
Velvet lifted the volume from the box. It was beautifully bound in peacock blue silk, its edges of pure gold studded with tiny pearls and diamonds. “What is a Pillow Book?” she asked him, opening it to reveal the first ivory-vellum page with words written in gold upon it. “What does that say, Adali?”
“A Pillow Book, my princess, is a book of paintings revealing the postures of love. It is believed among our people that such books aid a bride in overcoming her natural fears. As for the writing upon this page it is a saying from our most famous book of love, theKama Sutra.It says: ‘Once the Wheel of Love has been set in motion, there is no absolute rule.’ ”
“And the lady Jodh Bai sent this to me?”
“Yes, my princess. It is very good luck to receive one. You are most fortunate to have gained the favor of Jodh Bai. She is the mother of the heir, and one day when our lord Akbar heeds Allah’s call and steps aside for his son, it will not hurt to be his mother’s friend. Particularly if you have children of your own then.”
Children of her own! She had barely begun to accustom herself to the fact that she was Akbar’s wife! Velvet turned to the next page of the book and stared at the picture. Upon a marble terrace, its balcony edged in colorful foliage, were two people on a piece of silk-upholstered furniture similar to the one on Velvet’s own terrace. Beside them on the floor was a tray with two decanters and two goblets. The beautifully dressed woman sat on the man’s lap, her back to him, her head back so that she might gaze lovingly up into his eyes, her arms about his neck. He, in turn, gazed down into her liquid eyes, his hands cupping her round breasts.
“Oh!” Velvet blushed and shut the book. She took a long sip of her wine and handed the volume to Adali. “Perhaps I shall look later,” she said.
“Yes, my princess,” he said quietly, taking the book from her and returning it to its box, which he placed upon a nearby table.
What on earth is the matter with me? Velvet wondered. I’m no virgin. I’m not totally inexperienced.
Still, she had never seen anyone making love before. Onemadelove. One did not view it. She was curious, however, about what the rest of the book contained. She would view it later when Rohana and Toramalli had gone to their quarters and Adali slept across her doorsill. She wanted to be alone before she opened Jodh Bai’s gift again.
The remnants of her meal were cleared away, and a basin was brought to her so that she might wash her face and hands and rinse her mouth with rosewater. A tray containing a decanter of wine and two goblets was placed by her bed, but Velvet didn’t notice. She was too busy setting up the chessboard that Akbar had given her. The board was fashioned from small squares of mother-of-pearl and red marble. The figures were carved from ivory and dark green jade. Carefully she placed each piece on its place, never noticing Adali as he directed her two maidservants by means of hand signals. A bowl of fruit with a knife was placed by the tray; the bed neatly remade, its coverlet smoothed, its pillows fluffed.
“Let Rohana brush your hair, my princess,” said Adali. “The lord Akbar will soon be here.”
Velvet sat upon a stool while the little maid carefully brushed her auburn curls until they shone with elusive golden lights. She was looking particularly beautiful this night, Adali thought. Her silken blouse was mauve pink, and her skirt, which was edged in silver, was a pale purple.
At the knock upon the door Toramalli hurried to allow Akbar entrance into the room. Rohana gave her mistress’s hair a final pat, and then the two girls hurried from the room followed by Adali.
“How lovely you look this evening,” Akbar complimented Velvet, and he held out to her a dainty golden chain that was sprinkled with small pink diamonds. “For you, my Rose.”
“Why do you always call me your Rose?” asked Velvet. “You know my name.”
“You remind me of the roses in my gardens at the palace in Lahore. Your skin is like the white roses that grow by the spraying fountains, your lips like the red roses that bloom along the pathway to my chamber, and your beautiful eyes are the green of their leaves. I have never known a woman like you. Still, you are correct. You should have a more suitable name. I will think on it.”
