4-4. Unwilling guests
I'm dressed and ready by the time Sümbul Aga returns with Hürrem. The three of us leave the harem under the puzzled stares of the other girls. In the months since our arrival, I've never known anything like this happen before.
"Where are we going, Sümbul Aga?" asks Hürrem, once we are out of earshot of the other girls.
"I wish that I knew," replies Sümbul Aga apologetically. "The Valide simply told me to have you and Gülnihal ready for a journey and to escort you to the west door."
The last time Hürrem and I went through the west door was when we were taken to the New Palace. As on that occasion, there's a small coach waiting for us by the door. A coachman and two guards stand nearby. Sümbul Aga tells us to board the coach, but he doesn't join us himself. Hürrem and I are the only passengers. The blinds on the coach windows are fastened shut so that we can't look out to see where we are going.
"Do you think Sultan Suleiman has returned early and that he's waiting for you at the New Palace?" I ask, hoping this is the reason for our journey at this late hour.
"I doubt we are being sent to meet the sultan," replies Hürrem. "Sümbul Aga instructed me to wear travelling clothes … not one of my silk dresses. I don't like what is happening."
I don't like it either. This has the feel of palace politics of the worst kind at play.
The coach sets off as soon as we are settled. Although we cannot see out of the windows, I can remember enough of our last journey to the New Palace to know that our route tonight is different. Hürrem must sense the same thing, but she says nothing.
Our journey is relatively short and we must still be within the city boundaries when we halt. The curtain over the doorway is suddenly pulled back and a woman I don't recognise stands facing us. From her clothing and behaviour, I assume she is a servant of some kind.
"Please follow me, Hürrem Hatun," says the woman. "I will escort you and your maid into the house."
"Not until you tell us where we are?" demands Hürrem, staying seated in the coach.
"This is the house of Hatice Sultan," replies the servant. "She is waiting to greet you. Please follow me."
Hürrem and I exchange glances. While Hatice Sultan is the Valide's dutiful daughter, I don't believe she would willingly involve herself in anything underhand. Hürrem stands up and allows the servant to help her from the coach. I follow close behind. We are escorted to a large room on the ground floor.
"Hatice Sultan," says Hürrem by way of a greeting to our host. We both give a short curtsey in acknowledgement of Hatice's status as a member of the Ottoman dynasty. Hatice silently acknowledges our greeting and indicates Hürrem should sit in one of the low couches. I'm not certain of my status here, so I stand behind Hürrem.
"Why have Gülnihal and I been brought here?" asks Hürrem, showing her usual impatience.
"For your safety, Hürrem," replies Hatice in a tone that suggests that she is no happier than we are at this arrangement.
"I wasn't aware that I was in danger inside the Imperial Palace," muses Hürrem. "Even during the recent troubles in the city, the palace guards and the agas seemed capable of defending the girls of the harem."
"You are not that naïve, Hürrem," says Hatice. "There are dangers within the harem from which no Janissary or aga can ensure your protection. My mother has persuaded Mahidevran to halt her vendetta against you, but there will soon be new girls arriving who will pose a threat to you. The cause of their hatred may be quite different from Mahidevran's jealousy, but they will be a danger to you nonetheless."
"What new girls are you talking about?" asks Hürrem.
"The Valide has received word that there are twenty three girls arriving soon," says Hatice. "They are war prizes from the captured territories. Some will have been given as gifts by their fathers to prove their new found loyalty to Sultan Suleiman. Others will be girls of noble birth who are being held for ransom. None will be coming willingly, and some may even be violent. If they were to learn that you are expecting my brother's child, they may decide to vent their anger on you and your unborn child."
"So I am to hide here like a timid rabbit," fumes Hürrem. "For how long?"
"I don't know," replies Hatice. "It will take time for the agas to identify and confine those girls who are dangerous. The Valide will tell you when she considers it safe for you to return. In the meantime you are my guest."
"What about my things?" asks Hürrem. "We left in such a hurry that I left most of my possessions behind."
"Gülnihal can retrieve your possessions tomorrow," says Hatice. "The Valide's orders do not specify that she is to remain here all the time. But Gülnihal, you will need to be careful who and what you tell the girls in the harem. You must keep Hürrem's location a secret. There may be Hungarian agents and spies in the city looking for an opportunity to take revenge for their king's defeat."
I doubt anything I say to the other girls will make a difference. I don't believe Mahidevran has given up her vendetta so easily. She will undoubtedly know where Hürrem has been sent and a carefully planted rumour that Hürrem is staying here will soon become common knowledge. Hatice Sultan's house is only safer than the Imperial Harem while our whereabouts remain a secret.
It is getting late and Hatice orders one of her maids to show us to our room. The room is at the rear of the house and is clearly one used for the servants of visiting dignitaries. Hatice is ensuring Hürrem isn't treated with any more respect than her current status requires. Nevertheless the room is comfortable enough.
"When you go to collect our things tomorrow, I want you to ask Nilüfer to find out what is really going on," says Hürrem when we are alone.
"Should I tell her where we are staying?" I ask.
"Yes. I don't think our presence here is going to be a secret for more than a few days," replies Hürrem. "Mahidevran will make sure our location is revealed."
Hatice arranges for two of her male servants to escort me to the Old Palace the next morning. They are not allowed to enter the harem, so I'm given ten minutes on my own to collect all of Hürrem's and my possessions. The harem is empty since everyone is at lessons or busy with other duties. I'm not going to be able to see Nilüfer on this trip, so I leave a short cryptic note with her belongings before I return to my two escorts.
Although Hatice said I was not confined to her house and garden, there is nowhere else I can go without an escort of two servants. I'm just as trapped as Hürrem. We make friends with the handful of servants and maids working at Hatice's house. Unfortunately they know little more than we do about what is happening. We haven't seen Hatice since the first night that we arrived. Efsun, Hatice's maid, believes she is staying at the Old Palace preparing for the return of Sultan Suleiman.
Efsun also tells us that Hatice isn't looking forward to her brother's return. Hatice is both a widow and a member of the Ottoman dynasty. Consequently Sultan Suleiman is required to select a new husband for Hatice now that her period of mourning for her former husband is over. Hatice will have only limited say in the choice of her husband.
"She is hoping that Sultan Suleiman will choose the Master of the Royal Bedchamber as her husband, but he is too lowly ranked to be a suitable husband for Hatice Sultan," says Efsun while we are busy cleaning the main sitting room.
"Ibrahim?!" asks Hürrem in surprise. "Hatice has fallen in love with Pargali Ibrahim?"
"Yes," replies Efsun. "But I don't know if her feelings are returned."
"If I know Ibrahim, he would profess undying love to a horse if it were to gain him greater power," muses Hürrem.
We continue our chores when a flashing light catches my eye. It's as though the sun is reflecting off something shiny. I look to where the light is coming from and see a figure in the bushes in the garden. I quietly move position to get a better look. The figure is wearing a cloak but I'm fairly certain I know who it is.
"I think it is time for you to take your daily walk in the garden, Hürrem," I say.
Thankfully Hürrem doesn't question my sudden statement. She simply follows me to the servants' door and we walk to where I saw the figure standing. The figure has moved and I hope I'm not making a fool of myself.
"So why are we suddenly needing to breathe fresh air?" asks Hürrem. "Not that I'm complaining."
"Nilüfer is here," I whisper.
"Where?" asks Hürrem.
"Here," comes Nilüfer's voice from the bushes.
"How did you get out of the palace and into this garden?" asks Hürrem.
"It is best that you don't know the answer to that question," replies Nilüfer showing enough of herself for us to see her, but remaining invisible to anybody watching from the house. "Don't draw anyone's attention in this direction. Go and sit on the bench over there and I'll move to the bushes behind the bench. I can't stay for long so I'll quickly tell you what I know."
We do as Nilüfer suggests. Anybody watching us will believe Hürrem and I are simply enjoying a fine autumn afternoon in the garden.
"Sultan Suleiman is expected to arrive tomorrow," reports Nilüfer. "The harem is being prepared for the arrival of new girls. Some of them are going to be housed in the favourites' rooms. The Valide has ordered Fidan to prepare herself to walk the golden path tomorrow night. Daye Hatun has prohibited any talk about your whereabouts, but most of the girls know that you are here. They have been told that you are having problems with your pregnancy and you have been sent away in order to recover."
"You have done well, Nilüfer," says Hürrem. "We must find a way to tell Suleiman that I am being held prisoner here."
"I'll do what I can," replies Nilüfer. "I must go now before I'm missed."
"Good luck," I whisper, but Nilüfer has already gone.
Hürrem and I sit in the garden for a while longer lost in our own thoughts.
"You realise that if Nilüfer can leave the Imperial Harem and enter this garden undetected, then someone who wishes you harm could do likewise," I say.
"That thought had occurred to me as well," replies Hürrem. "We shall demand that we be returned to the Imperial Harem."
While I agree with Hürrem's proposal, I'm well aware that our exile has been ordered by the Valide, so only the Valide or Sultan Suleiman can rescind it.
"How are you going to get an audience with the Valide?" I ask.
"I'm not. You are," replies Hürrem. "You are a hatun so you are entitled to request an audience with the Valide. Now go and find one of the male servants and tell him that you need an escort to the Old Palace."
I feel nervous about the task Hürrem has set me. However, Hürrem's words make me realise that I have a rank and position within the Imperial Harem in my own right. It is time for me to cease living in Hürrem's shadow and take responsibility for my own destiny.