Siege

There was a quiet knocking on the hidden door that led to the servants' walkway and down into the harem kitchen. Two knocks, and that was all. Anna rose and opened the door. Halil stepped through into the chamber. He was wrapped in women's clothing and his face was veiled, but Sitt Hatun recognized him immediately from his pale-grey eyes.

'Good evening, Sitt Hatun,' Halil said in his smooth, oily voice as he removed the veil. 'Thank you for agreeing to meet me. We have much to talk about.' He nodded towards Anna. 'I would prefer to speak in private.'

'I have no secrets from her,' Sitt Hatun said. 'Say what you have come to say, Halil, and be gone.'

'Straight to business: a trait I remember all too well from our last encounter,' Halil said. 'Very well then. I wish to discuss our son's future. You know that Mehmed is preparing to besiege Constantinople. Warfare is a dangerous business, and if the sultan were to die, then the succession would be disputed between Bayezid and our Selim. I am sure you realize that if Bayezid were to become sultan, then our precious child would be murdered.'

'But Gulbehar is out of favour, and you are the grand vizier,' Sitt Hatun said. 'Surely it would be Selim who takes the throne.'

'Yes, but I cannot be sure. We would be more secure if there were no disputed succession, if Bayezid were removed beforehand.'

'You mean murdered,' Sitt Hatun accused. 'He is only a boy.'

'But he is a dangerous boy. And after all, when Selim becomes sultan, Bayezid will be killed anyway as a matter of course. Why not act now? It would be an easy enough matter for you or your servants. I could provide you with certain poisons that would make it painless.'

Sitt Hatun thought of young Bayezid, his trusting golden eyes, and shook her head. 'No, I will not have any part in the child's death, and I want no more of your plotting, Halil.' She would deal with Bayezid in her own way. 'We had an agreement, and that agreement is over,' Sitt Hatun continued. 'I have done my part. I will have nothing more to do with this intrigue, or with you.' She turned her back to him. 'You may go now.'

'But think, Sitt Hatun,' Halil said, moving forward and placing his hand on her shoulder. He had no sooner touched her, however, than Anna stepped behind him and pulled his arm away while with her other hand she brought a knife to Halil's throat.

'My Lady asked you to leave,' Anna said. 'I suggest that you do so.'

'You would not dare,' Halil hissed. His free hand went to a dagger at his belt, but Anna pressed her knife more closely to his throat. Halil released the dagger. 'Unhand me,' he ordered.

'I would only be obeying the law,' Anna replied. 'You must know that the punishment is death for any man not of the royal family found in the harem. Unless, of course, that man is a eunuch.' She moved her knife down to Halil's groin. 'If you wish to stay, I can do you that service.'

'No, no, I will leave,' Halil said. Anna withdrew her knife and stepped away. Halil bowed stiffly to the sultana and moved to the secret door, where he paused and turned. 'Think well on what I have said, Sitt Hatun. You will see that it is for the best.' With that, he left.

Not two minutes later, there was another faint knocking – two knocks, a pause, and three more. Anna opened the secret door and Kacha stepped out, holding Bayezid. 'I am sorry to come so late, My Lady,' Kacha said. 'But I had to get away. Just look at what Gulbehar has done to her own child.' The boy had a fresh mark on his forearm – the angry red imprint of a hand – and he was sobbing quietly. 'I hate her!' Kacha said.

Sitt Hatun took Bayezid and held the boy close. 'There, there. All will be well,' she soothed and then turned to Kacha. 'Did you see anybody on your way here? Were you seen?'

'There was an old woman in the kitchen, but she did not see us.'

'Good,' Sitt Hatun said. 'I am glad you came, Kacha. You and Bayezid will always have friends here.' Sitt Hatun stroked Bayezid's head and thought of Halil's words: for Selim to become sultan, this boy must die. Several nights later, Halil, his face hidden in the folds of a hooded cloak, emerged from a small side door of the palace and slipped into a curtained litter. Four burly slaves lifted the litter and set off into the heart of the dark city. It was less than a month since Mehmed had taken the throne, and Halil was already chafing under the new sultan's reign. Mehmed was as headstrong as ever and as hard to control as Halil had feared. Halil had spent years helping Murad to craft a peace with the Christians, and already Mehmed was eager to wreck it. He ignored Halil's advice and insisted on giving him the most thankless of tasks. It was almost as degrading as the time many years ago when Murad had given him the loathsome job of rounding up Christian children for the devshirme, to provide soldiers for the janissaries. Only then Halil had been a mere kaziasker, a military judge in the new province of Salonika, and not the grand vizier.

Halil's litter was set down in an alley behind Ishak Pasha's grand Edirne residence. Halil had been surprised at how readily Ishak had agreed to this late night meeting, but then, Ishak had his reasons. After the battle of Kossova, Murad had appointed him second vizier of the empire. Now Mehmed had passed over Ishak without mention, not reconfirming his post as vizier or as head of the Anatolian cavalry. There were few more loyal to the empire than Ishak, but if his loyalty were to ever waver, now was surely the time.

One of Ishak's servants was waiting beside a small door, and Halil left the litter and followed him into the house. The servant led him up a flight of stairs and into a small room, bare but for a thick carpet, a few cushions and a low table on which was set a tea kettle and two small ceramic cups. Ishak stood there waiting, his hands clasped behind his back. He looked the same as ever – steel-grey hair and a handsome, weathered face. The servant left, closing the thick door behind him, and Ishak stepped forward and embraced Halil. 'Welcome, old friend.'

'Thank you for meeting me,' Halil said as they both sat down on the cushions.

'You said that it was important, and to speak truly, I am eager for any information that you can give me,' Ishak said. He poured two cups of steaming tea and handed one to Halil. 'What news do you bring from the palace? Has the sultan spoken of me?'

Halil shook his head, and Ishak's shoulders slumped. Clearly, Ishak had been hoping that Halil brought news of an appointment. 'I bring only bad news from the palace, I am afraid,' Halil said. He gestured to the room. 'May I speak freely here?'

'The walls of this room are thick. No one will overhear us.'

Halil nodded, but he lowered his voice nevertheless. 'It is of the sultan that I must speak,' he said. 'I fear that he may not be fit to rule. He speaks only of plots against him. He fears your power and plans to strip you of your rank and exile you to the provinces, where you will be of no threat to him. He is treating all of the able men in the empire likewise. I fear that my turn will come soon enough.'

'This is bad news indeed,' Ishak mused as he sipped at his tea. 'I had hoped that age would make Mehmed wiser.'

'Alas, he has not changed. He surrounds himself with fools and sycophants, just as he did during his first reign. He ignores me and openly scorns his father's ministers, preferring to listen to any who will flatter his vanity. I fear he will lead our great empire to ruin.'

'Do not be melodramatic, Halil. Mehmed is young still. In time he will gain wisdom.'

'In time? When? After we are long dead?' Halil set his tea down untasted and met Ishak's eyes. 'I am not willing to wait that long, Ishak. Are you?'

'What are you suggesting, Halil?'