She returned to the cabin and waited. How dare he assume she didn’t care about anything else except her own life and that of her unborn child? She was determined to punish him. For a start, she would not speak to him for the rest of the journey. Before she could think of more severe punishments the men on the deck started cheering and, her dignity evaporating, she rushed to join them. Idrisi was laughing and waving like the others. Ahmad had set course for Siracusa. As the two ships passed each other, loud cries of ‘Allah Akbar’ rent the skies. Ahmad stood on the deck and raised a hand in farewell. Idrisi responded with the same gesture. Both men wondered whether they would see each other again.
‘Hoist the sails,’ shouted the Commander. ‘With this breeze we may reach Palermo within the hour.’
Balkis walked back to the cabin in as aloof a fashion as she could invent. Her lover followed her but each attempt he made to speak with her was rebuffed. She looked away from him. He sat down at the table with a manuscript he had removed from the palace library at Siracusa and pretended to be deeply engrossed. After a quarter of an hour had elapsed he decided to break the silence.
‘It is time for the afternoon prayer, but I am not in the mood. If you have no objection I will recite a verse for you.’
She did not reply. Idrisi rose from his chair, climbed on top of the rough wooden table that separated them and sat cross-legged on the table before her. She succeeded — just — in keeping a straight face. He then adopted a posture typical of a person preparing to read al-Quran.
‘Say O disbelievers, I do not worship what you
worship and you do not worship what I worship;
My mores are not those mores,
That’s not my school or style
Bacchic love, stand and rise!’
She could no longer restrain her laughter, at which point he slid neatly off the table and placed himself on the bench next to her. He kissed her hands and then drew back.
‘Where did the great scholar find this verse? Abu Nuwas?’
‘No. Ibn Quzman.’
‘I though you said we had to be careful on this journey.’
‘The men are all busy preparing the ship for arrival and you dispensed with caution when you paced the deck with me, then quarrelled and abandoned my side. All that implies familiarity.’
‘I am your sister-in-law.’
‘Nobody knows that apart from us.’
‘I hadn’t thought of that, I confess.’
He held her close and kissed her mouth. Her hand moved down his tunic.
‘You’ve pitched your tent early today Master Idrisi. I think the pole needs to be dismantled.’
‘Enough, enough, Balkis. Your hands are on fire. When we arrive, you will be taken to the palace, where your husband has been lodged. I will go to my home, bathe, dress and visit all of you later. Perhaps we can all eat together.’
‘With Rujari.’
‘If necessary.’
‘There are times when I cannot understand you at all. This man is about to despatch Amir Philip, burn him alive in public. Amir Philip, according to you, is the most intelligent and gifted political leader on the island. Perhaps you can’t save his life, but to sit at the table with his killer? Is that not taking your sense of duty a bit far?’
‘Listen to me, my dearest Balkis. One thing many of us had to learn, Philip included, was how to dissemble most effectively. If I refuse to eat with the Sultan he will know that I am angry and, given his state of mind, he could punish everyone associated with me. We must behave as normally as possible at a most difficult time. I hope Rujari does not invite me to the palace. In that case I suggest we break bread at my house.’
‘That would be a delight.’
‘And Balkis, remember what we discussed earlier. Not even a hint of what has transpired between us must reach your husband.’
‘And Mayya?’
‘Leave that to me.’
And then the sailor on lookout waved excitedly and the familiar cry was heard: ‘Al-madina hama-hallahu.’
Balkis recovered her composure, tightened the scarf that covered her head, veiled her face and the two of them went out on deck. As they were rowed to the shore he could see the unmistakable portly figure of the Amir of Siracusa in the distance. He gently nudged the Amir’s wife.
When they docked, the two men embraced.
‘Allah be praised, both of you have arrived safely, Ibn Muhammad,’ said the Amir. ‘The situation here is more tense than you could imagine. We need to speak urgently about many things. The Sultan’s health continues to deteriorate and the atmosphere in the palace reflects that of the city. Only the Barons and the monks appear happy these days. They say the Sultan asks each day when you will return.’
‘I will see him today.’
‘There’s not much time, Ibn Muhammad. The trial of Philip is due to start tomorrow afternoon.’
‘Sooner than I had thought.’
‘They want to make sure Rujari is still alive when Philip is burnt. A Baron from the mainland who is here as a judge confided to me that if Rujari died they feared a rebellion.’
Idrisi took his leave of them and joined Ibn Fityan who had been waiting for him. The two men rode home together.
‘In answer to the question you posed before I left I can say with confidence that the Amirs of Siracusa and Catania are with us.’
‘Friends in the palace had already given me the good news. The Sultan expects you for the evening meal.’
‘I feared as much.’
Ibn Fityan told him that the city was like a mountain of fire. It could explode at any time and the Barons had placed their own men at key points of the city for the duration of the trial.
‘Remember what Philip said at our mehfil in the mosque before I left: any premature uprising will be defeated. So every quarter of the city must be told that the trial of Philip is designed as a provocation to draw us out before we are ready and kill us.’
‘The qadi has already sent out this message, but people are angry. There could be trouble despite the qadi’s best efforts.’
‘Send out the word that the Trusted One has organised an army in Catania that will take back a number of monasteries and inflict public punishments on the Bishops. Tell people that we should wait for the news from Catania before anything rash is done here. Why did the Amir of Siracusa prolong his stay in the city?’
‘The Sultan asked him to attend the trial. He will ask you as well.’
‘He will get a rough answer.’
‘Master, there is a more delicate matter.’
‘Speak your mind.’
‘A report has reached friends in the palace about you and the Lady Mayya.’
‘What do the idle minds say on this occasion?’
‘They say that Elinore is your daughter and that you and her mother were married in Siracusa.’
‘How did the news reach here?’
‘The palace in Siracusa is filled with our friends. They hear everything.’
‘What if what they said was true?’
‘If the news reaches the Sultan he will react badly. He will compare his generosity to you with this betrayal.’
‘Silence, man. Philip’s trial starts tomorrow and I have neither the time nor the desire to discuss whether or not I succeeded in gaining the good graces of one lady or another.’
Three armed retainers accompanied him as he walked towards the palace. He could not recollect how often he had made this journey at all hours of the day and night. But this phase of his life was coming to an end. The steward who greeted him was an old and familiar face. He spoke in a voice weakened by old age. ‘Welcome once again, Ibn Muhammad al-Idrisi. You come at a sad time.’