“Oh, look!” Agata cried. “A flag has just been raised from the rooftop of the Serai, my lord. It is green and has a crescent moon upon it.”
“We are being welcomed,” Amir said with a smile. “Obviously my message was received by my head eunuch, Diya al Din. He manages my household as a majordomo would serve a noble house in Venice or Florence. The eunuch serving as guardian of my harem is called Ali Farid.”
“Have you other women in your harem besides your first two wives?” Agata inquired of the prince boldly. It was a query she knew her mistress wanted to ask but would not. Agata also understood that once they left this vessel her ability to ask such candid questions would be severely curtailed.
Amir looked amused by the question. “I have no need for a harem filled with quarreling women,” he told them both. “There are none I need or wish to impress. The only other females in my household are servingwomen. Perhaps your mistress has not told you, Agata, but my first two wives were taken at my lord grandfather, the sultan’s, request to honor the political allies from whose families these women came. Their positions are to be respected, but it is your mistress who has my whole heart.
“Now do not dare to question me again, woman. Though you are not a slave, you are a servant in my household and subject to the same rules and customs as all the others who serve me. Such boldness will disturb the eunuchs. Do you understand me?” He looked directly at her, his blue eyes grave.
“Yes, my lord prince,” Agata replied, bowing from the waist as her mistress had recently taught her was the polite action to go with any response to him, be it yes or no. “Forgive my boldness. It will not happen again.”
His mouth twitched but he managed not to laugh. This sort of adjustment was going to be very difficult for the outspoken Florentine woman, but Amir knew she would try hard for the sake of her mistress.
“If we have been welcomed, my dear lord, then are we free to go ashore?” Azura asked him, smiling. “I will admit I am eager to take a bath, for certainly I am rank after our many days at sea.”
“Get dressed and put on your pelisses,” he told them as he left them. “I will go now and make certain the boat is ready to take us ashore.”
Shortly after he had gone, the two women, cloaked and veiled, joined him upon the deck. They were settled into a boat, which was then lowered from the vessel into the choppy sea. Despite the sunlight dancing upon the water, Azura could comprehend how the Black Sea had gained its name. She had never before seen waters so dark and forbidding. She thought of the bright blue and blue-green waters of the Adriatic, the Mediterranean, and the Aegean seas through which they had traveled. Even the little sea of Marmara had a far friendlier look than these waters. Both women were relieved to have their transport rowed quickly to the rocky shore, where a party of people awaited their arrival.
“My lord prince, welcome home!” A tall, thin black man stepped forward, bowing.
“Thank you, Diya al Din,” Amir said. “The lady with me is my new wife, Azura, and her servant, who is called Agata. Know that Azura has my full love and trust, old friend. I have waited long to find and claim her.”
“I am happy to hear it, my lord prince,” Diya al Din said. Then he turned to Azura, and bowing, bade her welcome to the Moonlight Serai.
A litter had been brought down from the little palace, for the climb up was considered too strenuous for a woman. Both Azura and Agata were ensconced and carried up by the four bearers, who didn’t seem in the least winded. They went at a trot through a magnificent garden now giving way to autumn, then into the palace itself. When they finally set the litter back down, its curtains were drawn open by a light-skinned eunuch, who helped them out. They found themselves facing another tall, coal black man. This eunuch, however, was larger boned than the elegant Diya al Din.
“I am Ali Farid, master of the prince’s harem.” He introduced himself in a high-pitched voice. “I welcome the lady Azura to the Moonlight Serai. Be advised that you will answer to me in all that you do, and your servingwoman as well. I will not allow disobedience among the women for whom I am responsible. As my master’s third wife, you are the least among them. Now follow me, and I will take you to your quarters.”
Agata looked as if she were going to explode like a Chinese firework, but a warning look from her mistress aided her in keeping silent.
Ali Farid led them from the hallway where the litter had been set down and through a set of large double doors opening into a large tiled room empty of furniture.
“Here we allow the local women to come so they may display their goods for your inspection. You may purchase what pleases you,” he said, explaining the purpose of the chamber. “I will pay for your purchases.” Turning right, he led them through a smaller paneled door into a little anteroom, and then through another paneled door into a square salon. It was furnished with low tables, lamps, and a rainbow of multicolored pillows. At the salon’s far end was a wall of lead-paned windows. Beyond it, a wonderful garden looked out onto the sea.
“I have never before seen such a marvelous display of windows!” Azura said aloud. “It is beautiful, Ali Farid, as is this entire chamber.”
“Yes, it is,” he agreed, pleased by the compliment. It seemed as if the prince’s third wife was an amenable woman. “This corridor,” he said, pointing to his left, “leads to the harem baths. Perhaps the lady Azura and her servant would enjoy a bath shortly,” he said, sniffing delicately.
“Indeed, yes!” Azura told him, and she laughed. “Even I find the scent lingering about me rank after all those days at sea, Ali Farid.”
“If I have offended, I beg the lady Azura’s pardon,” the head harem eunuch said.
“Nay, I fear ’tis I who have offended,” Azura told him.
He nodded slightly and then pointed to an open arch leading to another corridor. “The bedchambers for the ladies of the house are there. There are three on one side of the hallway, and one on the other. Each of the three smaller chambers has a separate chamber for a servant.” He led them to the far end of the row, ushering the two women into the little suite. “Here are your rooms,” he told Azura. “I will send a eunuch to serve you, my lady, and he will escort you to the baths.” Then, with a little bow, he left them.
“Well!” Agata said. “I am not certain I like this Ali Farid.”
“He serves Amir well, and that is all that matters,” Azura said. “We have entered a different world. You knew it would not be as our old world was. Watch, listen, and learn. Did you see the other two wives as we came? It is almost as if this harem is deserted but for us. I didn’t even see other servants.”
“They are here, you can be assured, my lady, and have already peeped at you from wherever they have hidden themselves,” Agata replied. Then she walked into the bedchamber. “Madre di Dios!This chamber is hardly a fit place to entertain the prince, my lady. There is no real bed either.”
Azura followed her servingwoman and looked about her. The chamber was not large, but neither was it small. Its walls were half-whitewashed and half-tiled in beautiful turquoise blue tiles. The bed, a thick mattress that sat upon a low dais, would hardly fit two. There was a single painted chest for her possessions, of which she now had few; a small seating area of pillows; a low table of ebony; and several lamps, one hanging, the others set upon the table. “I must assume that this is all that I am expected to have,” Azura said. “The prince’s apartments will be larger. I suspect it will be where we have our private moments, Agata.”
“It is indeed sparse, my lady Azura, but like all new beginnings it requires a personal touch,” a voice said, and an elderly brown man stepped into the chamber. “I am Nadim, sent by the officious Ali Farid to serve you as your personal eunuch, my lady Azura. I am not important or influential, but then a third wife is not considered so either. I suspect, however, having seen you, that the peerless Ali Farid has erred in his judgment this time. It will take him a while to realize it, but by then I hope to be invaluable to you so he will not be able to dismiss me. I will serve you loyally, my lady Azura.”
She laughed, and even Agata, who had understood the eunuch’s words, smiled. She liked this man already, and knew he would indeed serve her well.
