Captive of the Harem. Anne Herries

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СКАЧАТЬ had been seized and put to the torture. I was warned that the same was planned for me. Had it been myself alone…but I had you and your brother to consider, Eleanor. Better a life in exile than a painful death. Fortunately, I have long traded with the merchants of Venice, and much of my fortune was safe in Italy. We have good friends here and in Venice—and Cyprus. But it is there that I believe we should settle. Sir John is brother to your mother and a good, kindly man. If anything should happen to me, he would take care of you and Richard.’

      ‘Pray, Father—do not speak of such things,’ Eleanor begged him. A chill wind had seemed to blow across her heart as he spoke and she was afraid, though she saw no reason for it. ‘You are safe from those who would see you burned.’

      She shuddered as she thought of the cruel deaths suffered by the Archbishop Cranmer and others—and all done in God’s name. She did not believe that the God she knew in her heart would demand such wickedness—for it was surely wicked to kill a man simply for worshipping in his own way. She thought that she quite liked the ideas of the Abbot, who had embraced both Christianity and Islam, though of course she would never dare to voice those opinions aloud. The question of religion had caused fierce fighting all over this region of the Mediterranean for centuries, Christian against Muslim, west against east—and, indeed, she could not condone the culture of the Eastern potentates!

      ‘Yes, we are all safe, child,’ Sir William said and smiled at her. ‘So you do not wish to marry Count Salvadore? You know that he means to ask you before we leave?’

      ‘Please do not allow it,’ Eleanor pleaded. ‘Tell him that you wish to settle in your own home before you consider the question of my marriage.’

      ‘Very well, Eleanor.’ He was not displeased by her decision, because there was no hurry for her to marry. Sir John had a son of twenty years. It was possible that the two might please each other. ‘We leave the day after tomorrow. Sir John has sent his own ship to carry us to our new home. It is a stout vessel and will have a precious cargo of rare treasures. Sir John trades much with the ruler of the Ottoman Empire and he has spent some months collecting pieces he thinks will tempt the Sultan.’

      ‘Surely my mother’s brother would not trade with such a man? From what you have told me, the Turks are barbaric! To keep others as slaves for their benefit is a terrible sin, Father.’

      ‘Yes, Eleanor. It is a terrible sin, but you must remember theirs is a different culture. These people are not all barbarians by any means, though the Corsairs that plague these waters most certainly are. I believe that amongst the ruling class there are extremely clever men—and they have wise teachers. The rich live in wonderful palaces; they are also advanced in many things…medicine, for instance.’

      ‘Because they have Arab slaves,’ Eleanor replied scornfully. ‘You told me that it was the Arabs who had wonderful knowledge and skills in such things—not the Turks!’

      ‘In the Ottoman Empire there are many races blended into a melting pot of talents and wisdom. These people have developed the Devisherme system, Eleanor. That means that slaves—and the children of slaves—who convert to the faith of Islam are accepted into their society and allowed to prosper from their various talents.’

      ‘Yet they remain slaves, subservient to the whim of their master!’

      ‘In theory, yes,’ Sir William admitted, his eyes alight with amusement. Such debates with his daughter were the bread of life to him. He was more tolerant than Eleanor, who could lose her temper when passionate about something—as she was now. ‘But I believe many of them rise to become powerful men—even Bey of a province.’

      ‘But they are still bound to their master!’

      ‘Every man, woman and child in the Empire is bound in some way to the Sultan,’ her father replied. ‘He could order the death of any subject who has displeased him—so the free men are no more at liberty to do as they please than the slaves.’ His eyes twinkled at her. ‘Are they so very different from us, Eleanor? We were forced to leave our home because of the whim of a Queen. I could have been seized, tortured and condemned for a crime I had not committed.’

      ‘Yes, I know, Father.’ She shuddered. ‘I am aware that your life was in danger and I thank God we escaped unharmed. But at least in England they do not shut women in a harem all their lives.’

      ‘No—but some Western women suffer as much as their Eastern sisters. Disobedient women have been sent to a nunnery against their will, Eleanor, which is perhaps an even more harsh life. I believe the Kadins are rather spoiled, pampered creatures.’ He chuckled deep in his throat. ‘If ever you find yourself in a harem, daughter, you must make yourself indispensable to your master—that is the way to an easy life.’

      ‘Never! I would rather die. I wonder that you can even say such a thing, Father.’

      ‘It was but a jest, my dear,’ Sir William said. ‘I pray that you never will find yourself in such a place. You are right. I should not have said anything of the kind. Please forgive me. Though I would rather you fought for your life, my child, always remember that whatever may be done to your body, your mind and soul remains your own. Be true to yourself and to God and nothing can harm you.’ He touched her head as if in blessing.

      Eleanor closed her eyes and whispered a prayer. She had felt that chill wind again, but her father’s words comforted her. If she kept her faith and her pride, she could face anything.

      Yet why should anything terrible happen? They had only a relatively short journey ahead of them, and were to travel on board a ship belonging to Sir William’s kinsman and friend. Surely they would arrive safely within a few days?

      They had been sailing for twenty-four hours when the storm suddenly hit the ship. It came from nowhere, a great, swirling wind that whipped what had seemed to be a calm blue sea into huge waves. The merchant vessel was tossed about like a child’s toy, lurching and rolling in the grip of the atrocious weather.

      ‘You and your children must stay below,’ the captain had warned Sir William. ‘If you come on deck, I cannot be responsible for your safety.’

      Eleanor had been forced to obey, though she would have preferred to be up on deck. It was terrifying to feel the ship shudder and buck, and she feared that they would all die.

      She felt ill and was sick constantly, managing only to whisper a prayer between bouts of vomiting. Surely they would all drown!

      It was a terrible end to their voyage of hope, and Eleanor touched the heavy silver cross and chain she wore around her neck, together with her father’s precious manuscript, which she was wearing beneath her gown for safe keeping.

      ‘Oh God, let us all live’ she prayed. In her terror she reached out to whoever was listening. ‘Whether you be Our Lord or Allah—let us live…’

      All night the storm raged around them, but suddenly just before dawn it died and the silence was even stranger than the wind that had preceded it. The ship was not moving at all. It seemed that the god of the sea had worn itself out in its fury and was resting.

      Their captain told Sir William that they were becalmed and could do nothing but drift until the wind returned.

      ‘How long before that happens?’ Sir William asked.

      ‘Perhaps hours…or days.’

      There was nothing anyone could do except wait for a benevolent wind. At least the ship had survived the wild night. СКАЧАТЬ