Siege

'Do I look dangerous?' Sitt Hatun asked softly. The young nurse shook her head. 'I am a mother, too,' Sitt Hatun told her. 'It pains me to see young Bayezid suffer.'

'My Lady says that if Selim becomes sultan, you will send men to kill Bayezid.'

'That is nonsense,' Sitt Hatun assured the girl. Bayezid would indeed probably be killed when Selim took the throne, but Sitt Hatun would have little to do with it. 'I swear to you that I will never harm the child. Not everyone in the harem is as heartless as Gulbehar.'

'She is a monster,' the girl spat with surprising vehemence. 'She hits Bayezid and treats her servants even worse. I can live with the beatings, but Bayezid is only a child.' A door slammed in Gulbehar's apartments, and the Russian girl froze. 'You must go,' she whispered. 'I must not be seen with you.'

'I understand,' Sitt Hatun told her. 'But first, tell me: what is your name, girl?'

'Kacha, My Lady.'

'I know how hard it must be for you, Kacha. If you ever have need of a friend, then my quarters are always open to you. Bayezid will be welcome, too. The boy should have a place where he feels safe from his mother.'

'But how, My Lady?' Kacha asked. 'Gulbehar would never allow it.'

'She need never know. There is a secret passage that connects your apartments to mine. Tell me, which room is Bayezid's?' Kacha pointed to a window above them. 'That is perfect,' Sitt Hatun said. 'Here is what you must do. Go to the wall of his room away from the window. The wall is decorated with animals carved from wood. Find the lion and press its head. A door will open.' Kacha nodded. 'Be sure to close the door behind you, so that you are not followed. The passage will be dark. Follow it until you come to a flight of stairs. They will take you down to the harem kitchen. Cross the kitchen and take the central passage on the far wall. It leads directly to my bedroom. Knock like this when you reach the end.' Sitt Hatun mimed two knocks, a pause, and then three knocks.

'I understand,' Kacha said. 'Thank you, My Lady.'

'It is nothing. You may be a slave here, but that does not mean that you should not be treated with kindness.' Sitt Hatun squeezed Kacha's shoulder, then rose and returned to Selim and Anna. A moment later, Gulbehar stormed into the garden.

'Kacha! What are you doing here?' she demanded. 'Bring Bayezid here at once!' Gulbehar gave Sitt Hatun a venomous look and then turned and strode away, followed by Kacha with Bayezid. Sitt Hatun gathered up Selim and also left.

She entered her apartments to find Halil's secretary, Davarnza, waiting for her. He produced a folded piece of paper and handed it to Sitt Hatun. It was a note from Halil. He was coming to the harem to meet with her, tonight. Sitt Hatun sat on her bed, watching the full moon reflect off the Maritza river as it flowed past the palace. She had sent her servants to their quarters hours earlier, keeping only Anna by her side. They sat waiting for Halil, and Sitt Hatun thought back to that other night when they had sat together in the dark, waiting for Isa to come and rescue them. She thought of Cicek's death and of her night with Halil. She shuddered as she remembered the cold touch of his hand.

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.