After that the French attacks had been resumed in full force and they had been greatly strengthened by the success of some ships from Alexandria in landing six heavy siege cannon near the foot of Mount Carmel. On the 25th two more towers had been brought down and most desperate fighting had followed. But the Mamelukes, Janissaries and British marines were holding, with desperate valour, the breaches that had been made in the crumbling walls.
Each day the sounds of the fighting grew nearer and, on May 1st, Djezzar's great fortress palace was attacked. Through the thunder of cannon and the rattle of musketry, the battle-cries and screams of the wounded could be clearly heard. The French broke into the palace garden, but were driven out by Djezzar's renowned Albanian guards. On the two succeeding days there was a lull, but on the 'th another tower was blown up by a mine and the French launched a most determined assault through this new breach they had made in the defences. There was fighting in the streets which went on for three days; but Sir Sidney Smith landed his sailors, armed with pikes and cutlasses. The British tars turned the tide of battle and, once again, the French were driven back.
On the 7th great news came in for the defenders. The other Army that had been formed for the relief of Acre was coming by sea from Rhodes and the Fleet carrying it had been sighted.
There was tremendous excitement in the city, and by afternoon the Turkish Fleet could be seen on the horizon. But it was watched with almost unbearable suspense, because a complete calm had fallen and the boats that had been sent out to tow it in could draw it towards the harbour at no more than a mile or so an hour.
At midnight on the 8th Zanthe came to Roger's room as usual; but instead of giving him her normal, loving greeting she flung herself, weeping, on his breast, her eyes distended by tears.
' What is it, my love? ' he cried, clutching her to him and turning her lovely tear-stained face up to his. ' What has happened! Have we been discovered? '
' No,' she sobbed, ' no, but Fate has dealt us a most terrible blow. An oared galley from the Turkish Fleet made harbour this evening. The Commander brought a despatch for Djezzar. It seems that he wrote to Constantinople, asking a reward for having defended Acre so valiantly. My cousin has sent a firman granting his request. It ... it was that he should have me for a wife. And he will brook no delay. I am to marry him tomorrow.'
A Bolt from the Blue
It was seven weeks since Roger had been captured, and for the greater part of that time he had been Zanthe's lover. The other inmates of the seraglio had become used to him and, since he had become her reader, accepted that she should no longer treat him harshly; so his days passed pleasantly. His period of convales-cense and the lazy life he had since led provided the best possible conditions for him to meet Zanthe's desire for him with a continued passion as great as her own. Also, since she found a thousand questions to ask him about France and other countries in which he had travelled and he never tired of hearing her talk of the strange life led in the great seraglio at Constantinople, the hours of the nights they spent together never seemed long enough.
Even had he been given a chance to escape, he would have thought twice before taking it. Any information with which he could have furnished Sir Sidney Smith would have been hopelessly out-of-date, so there was no duty that his conscience urged him to perform. As long as the fact that he had not been castrated remained undiscovered he was safe, and he was quite content to wait upon events.
Up till now Bonaparte had not suffered a single defeat in Italy, Egypt or Syria, so it seemed most unlikely that he would fail to take Acre. The reinforcements brought by the Turkish Fleet might enable the city to hold out longer; but the French had breached the walls in many places and, it was said, so widely in one part that an assault of fifty men abreast could pass through the gap. Id view of this Roger still believed that any day might see them victorious and the only anxiety he felt was about what might happen on the day of their victory.
If Djezzar's palace were stormed, Zanthe and he might become involved in some wild melee in which one or both of them might be killed or injured. It was certain, too, that the city would be given over to the sack and, if they were caught with the other women and the eunuchs, it might prove difficult for him, with his appearance as a eunuch, to protect Zanthe from the brutal and licentious soldiery. But his quickness of mind had always served him well at times of crisis. He was optimistic, therefore, about their surviving those few hours of danger and succeeding in convincing the attackers that he was a French officer who had been captured. Once they accepted him as Colonel Breuc, Zanthe would be safe from molestation and, as soon as the fury of the sack had died down, he intended to take her to Bonaparte's headquarters.
He would have greatly preferred to take her to Sir Sidney Smith; but his only means of protecting her during those dangerous hours would be by declaring himself a Frenchman and, once the city was in the hands of the French, it would be next to impossible to get her away to a British ship. It was owing to this assessment of the probable course events would take that, much as he loved her, he had decided against confiding to her the truth about himself. Since there seemed no escape from again taking up the role of one of Bonaparte's aides-de-camp it was better not to burden her with the knowledge that he would be a spy in the camp of his enemies, at least until he saw a good prospect of getting her safely away from the French Army. Where he would take her when he did get that chance he had not yet even considered. It must depend on unforeseeable circumstances which would arise in the future. In the meantime his mind had been almost entirely obsessed with her beauty and charm, and he was content to remain a prisoner for the sake of the hundred delights she so willingly afforded him.
But now the jealous gods had launched a thunderbolt which threatened to put a swift and permanent end to their happiness. Not only was his beautiful Zanthe to be torn from him; she was to be forced to give herself to, of all people, Djezzar Pasha, that monster whose name throughout the whole Middle East was synonymous with cruelty. The thought made Roger's heart contract. A sudden nausea rose in him. Nearly sick with rage and apprehension, he cried aghast:
' It cannot be true! The very idea fills me with horror. Are you quite certain that this is not a trick? '
' Dear love, I am certain,' she moaned. ' The Chief Eunuch of Djezzar's own seraglio brought . . . brought the firman from the Sultan for me to see, and . . . and with it many rich presents of silks and jewels.'
' Can you not flatly refuse to marry him? '
' How can I? Any female of the Imperial Family is the Sultan's, to dispose of, and it is unthinkable that I, the daughter of a Sultan should set an example of defiance. As soon as Selim learned what I had done he would be forced to make an example of me. He would send an order for me to be strangled by the bowstring.'
' To refuse would at least gain us time,' Roger argued. ' It would take weeks for the news to reach Constantinople and an order for your execution to be conveyed to Acre. Meanwhile-'