“Why should she give him a fig?” she asked.
“She might have been sorry about the earrings and wanted to please him.”
She looked at me scornfully. Then her eyes went to the dog. He had crept into a corner and was being sick.
She was triumphant.
“She is wicked … wicked … she would have killed Samir.”
“We can’t be sure.”
“It’s proof enough. Look at the dog.”
“It might have been something else.”
“He was well enough before he took the fig.”
“Do you think she would go so far? What would happen to her if she were discovered?”
“Death for murder.”
“She would think of that.”
“Fatima never thinks ahead. She would think only of getting rid of Samir so that Feisal could be the Pasha’s favourite.”
“Nicole, do you seriously believe she would go to such lengths?”
The dog was now writhing on the ground. We stared at it in horror.
Suddenly its legs stiffened and it lay on its side.
“It could have been Samir,” whispered Nicole.
“If you hadn’t seen him with the fig … I will kill her for this.”
Aida came up.
“What’s the matter with the dog?” she said.
“He’s dead,” said Nicole.
“He ate a fig.”
“A what?”
“A fig.”
“How could he die of that? It’s Fatima’s dog.”
“Yes,” said Nicole.
“Go and tell her that her dog has died through eating a fig.”
I was really alarmed. I had been apt to feel somewhat contemptuous of their rivalries, but when they led to attempted murder, that was another matter.
It was not to be expected that that would be the end of the affair.
Nicole was not the sort to let such a thing pass.
Her remarks about the fig and the death of the dog would be enough to show Fatima that she suspected her. And she had been the one who had given the fig to Samir -the fig which afterwards had poisoned the dog.
There was open warfare between Nicole and Fatima. Everyone was talking about the death of Fatima’s little dog who had died after eating a fig.
Rani was worried. She hated trouble in the harem and liked to believe that she could keep everything in order.
Smouldering looks passed between Nicole and Fatima and we were all waiting for the trouble to start.
I begged Nicole to be careful. It would be best for her to tell Rani or the Chief Eunuch what she suspected; and they could deal with the matter.
She said: “J want to deal with Fatima. They might not believe she did what she did. They will say it was some other thing which caused the dog’s death. They wouldn’t want the Pasha to know that there had been attempted murder in the harem.”
I said fearfully: “He will be back soon. Surely he will hear something about it then?”
“No. He would not hear such a thing. Besides, they will try to make it all die down before he gets back. But I am not going to let it. She tried to prove my son a thief and when that failed she tried to poison him.”
“At neither time did she succeed.”
“No. Thank God. And it was due to you. You have been my good friend and when I can I will repay you. Yes, I will repay you for the good you have done me and her for the evil. But repayment there shall be.”
It could not go on.
Fatima approached Nicole in the gardens.
She said: “You are spreading evil tales about me.”
I had picked up enough of the language to understand a little now and then, so I could make out roughly what was being said.
“Nothing could be more evil than the truth,” cried Nicole.
“You tried to kill my son.”
“I did not.”
“You liar! You poisoned a fig and tried to kill him. Instead your dog died. It was proved.”
“I did not give the fig to him. The child is a liar as well as a thief.”
With that Nicole brought up her hand and dealt Fatima a stinging blow on the side of her face.
With a cry Fatima leaped upon her. I was terrified, for in her hand I saw a knife. Fatima had come prepared for battle.
Several women screamed.
“Fetch Rani,” someone said.
“Fetch the Eunuch. Call them.”
Fatima had plunged the knife into Nicole’s thigh and her trousers were drenched with blood. It seemed to be spurting all around.
Rani had come and was shrieking to them to stop. With her was the Chief Eunuch. He was a big strong man, and was soon dragging a kicking, screaming Fatima away from Nicole, who lay on the ground bleeding profusely.
Two other eunuchs who were tending the gardens appeared Rani ordered them to take Fatima away. The Chief Eunuch knelt beside Nicole. He said something to Rani.
Then he lifted Nicole tenderly in his arms and carried her into the building.
I was horrified. I had known that there would be trouble sooner or later between them, but I had not thought of fighting with knives.
There had of course only been one and that had given Fatima the advantage. Now I was worried about Nicole. I had grown fond of her.
She was the only one with whom I could communicate. She it was who had made life tolerable for me.
Then I thought of Samir. Poor child, what would become of him?
He was bewildered and came to me to be comforted.
“Where is my Maman?” he asked plaintively.
“She is ill.”
“When will she be better?”
“We must wait and see,” I told him one of the most unsatisfactory answers possible, as I remembered from my own childhood.
Fatima was under restraint. I wondered what would happen to her. The incident would not be lightly passed over, of that I was sure. To do so would be to undermine law and order in the harem and that was something neither Rani nor the Chief Eunuch would allow.
From what little I could understand, the women were discussing the poisoned fig and Fatima’s attack on Nicole;
Aida and her pretensions were no longer the main topic of conversation.
Rani was seething with anger because Fatima obviously had access to her closet where the drugs were kept. I wondered how often these had been used with discretion to remove some unwanted person from the harem. I imagined orders coming from the Pasha, through the Chief Eunuch, of course, that someone was to be quietly removed. It must have happened now and then. The secrets of the closet should be closely guarded and the fact that Fatima had succeeded in getting access to it must give cause for alarm.
The Chief Eunuch was in constant communication with Rani. I saw him frequently in the harem.
Nicole was kept in a room by herself. I was allowed to visit her, presumably because she asked that I should. They were very anxious that she should recover and were ready to do anything to help her to that end.
I was shocked at the sight of her. Her thigh was encased in bandages and she was very pale; there were dark bruises on her forehead.
“That snake would have finished me … if she could … and she nearly did,” she said.
“How is Samir?”
“He asks for you.”
A smile illuminated her face.
“I did not want him to see me … like this.”
“I think he would like to see you anyway.”
“Perhaps then …”
“I’ll tell him. He will be overjoyed.”
“You are looking after him for me?”
“As well as I can, but it is you he wants.”
“That wicked witch is shut away, I know. That is a great relief to me.”
“Yes. She is not with us any more.”
“Thank God for that. I could not lie here knowing she was there … and I powerless. How much does Samir know of the danger he was in?”