6-2. A helping hand.
"Sultan Suleiman instructed me not to give you his letter until we were alone," I reply to Mercan Aga's question. "I haven't been able to see you alone since my arrival."
"Don't try being clever with me, girl," snaps Mercan Aga. "You should have told me you had a message to deliver. What about this second scroll? Who are you to deliver it to?"
"Nobody," I reply. "I'm to open the scroll only if it is necessary."
Mercan Aga breaks the seal on the scroll addressed to him. He reads the contents twice before looking at me. Şeker Aga watches us both, obviously curious about the message from Sultan Suleiman.
"Are you aware of the contents of this letter?" asks Mercan Aga of Şeker Aga.
"No," replies Şeker Aga. "I had no idea Gülnihal was carrying any messages from the Palace."
"But I presume you are aware of the letter's contents," says Mercan Aga turning towards me.
"I am," I reply in as steady a voice as I can manage.
"I see," muses Mercan Aga. "I shall keep hold of both of these scrolls while I decide what to do."
"Sultan Suleiman's instructions are very clear," I reply. "The second scroll belongs to me. I would like it back."
"I shall keep it safe for you," replies Mecan Aga. "Don't start making demands, Gülnihal. You may have amused Sultan Suleiman once, but he has clearly tired of you. He isn't going to care what happens to you now."
I look at Mercan Aga with a mixture of anger and fear. I had assumed he would comply with the sultan's order without question. Clearly he is contemplating doing something else. Something which won't be to my benefit. Fortunately I have the sense to hold my tongue for the moment. I can't risk Şeker Aga discovering too much about the contents of the scrolls. If he finds out that the sultan has freed me from slavery, then the rest of the palace will soon know. That will arouse the curiosity of the Valide, among others, and could well lead to an investigation. The Valide may become suspicious of the sultan's motives for freeing me and she might arrange to have me watched. I can't keep my pregnancy a secret forever.
"Forgive me, Mercan Aga," I say humbly. "I forgot my place."
The tension between us eases when I allow Mercan Aga to believe he has won. I'm in a dangerous situation. Without knowing it, Mercan Aga may be partly right when he says Sultan Suleiman won't be following what happens to me. He has far more important matters requiring his attention. If Mercan Aga hides or destroys my letter of release, then I have no means of proving that I'm no longer a slave. I'll be trapped here. I doubt Mercan Aga will let me write a letter to Ibrahim to let him know what has happened. By the time Ibrahim comes to investigate my failure to provide the promised reports, my pregnancy may already have become common knowledge. Somehow I must get away from here.
While my first encounter with Mercan Aga hasn't gone well, it at least encourages him to send Şeker Aga on his way back to Constantinople. Whatever scheme Mercan Aga is dreaming up, he clearly doesn't want any witnesses he doesn't control. Şeker Aga packs his belongings and leaves first thing the next morning.
Mercan Aga calls me to his office shortly after Şeker Aga has departed. This time I'm more prepared for our encounter. Since yesterday I've checked my money and belongings are intact, and I've questioned Armin and Aybige about Mercan Aga. They confirm what I realised yesterday; Mercan Aga is a greedy opportunist who uses his position for his own benefit. I prepare myself for a difficult encounter.
"I presume you are a fully trained concubine?" asks Mercan Aga.
"Yes," I reply. "But I'm a free woman now."
"Do you know how much I can get if I sell you to one of my wealthy contacts?" continues Mercan Aga, ignoring my response.
"Money is of no value if you don't have your head on your shoulders," I reply.
"You have a bad tendency to speak out of turn. Don't you dare make threats against me ever again. You are a nobody. Sultan Suleiman will have forgotten you already."
"I am not threatening you," I reply. "I am merely reminding you of the penalty any official faces if they deliberately disobey an order from the sultan. You may be right that the sultan has forgotten about me, but is it a coincidence that Sultan Suleiman's Master of the Royal Bedchamber decided to pay you a visit so soon after I arrived?"
I've no idea why Ibrahim visited here just after I arrived, and I'm hoping Mercan Aga doesn't know either. I'm taking a huge risk. If Mercan Aga calls my bluff, then I'm doomed. He looks at me suspiciously as though trying to assess the extent of my bluff. Fortunately I'm right in thinking that Ibrahim didn't share the reason for his visit with Mercan Aga. Thanks to the observations made by Esme and Nilüfer back in the Imperial Harem, I know Ibrahim has a habit of being secretive. Mercan Aga now seems less sure of himself.
"I'm a loyal subject of Sultan Suleiman," says Mercan Aga defensively. "You would do well not to spread lies to the contrary. I suppose the sultan's instructions are clear enough. What assistance do you require of me and my staff?"
I can't believe Mercan Aga has given up so easily. Armin and Aybige lead me to believe I was dealing with a tyrant. Something about Mercan Aga's capitulation makes me remain cautious.
"Firstly I would like you to return the scroll you took from me," I reply. "As for anything else, I simply require food and lodgings for a few days until I can make travel arrangements."
Mercan Aga returns the scroll containing my letter of release. The seal on the outside has been broken open, and I briefly worry that Mercan Aga has tampered with the letter inside. But everything seems to be in order.
"I shall have Aybige move your things to one of the guest rooms," says Mercan Aga quietly. "We can't have a free woman sleeping with the slaves."
I'm about to say that the current sleeping arrangements are fine by me, but I decide to allow Mercan Aga to be the host he is employed to be. He summons Aybige. A short while later I'm sat in one of the guest rooms wondering what I should do next. Aybige is assigned to be my maid and she proves to be invaluable in helping me organise the next stage of my life. Put simply, I need to disappear. Not for good, as I can't survive for long without the promised stipend. I will write a letter to Ibrahim as soon as I'm settled somewhere. My immediate concern is that the Valide or one of the other sultanas has become suspicious about my transfer from the Imperial Harem. Any one of them could hire someone to follow me. My priority is to ensure anyone trailing me can't track me any further.
With Mercan Aga's help, I book passage to Athens on a small ship. The ship is due to stop at several ports on its journey south to Athens before crossing the Mediterranean Sea to North Africa. My plan is simple; I will disembark at one of the intermediate ports in Greece and head in whatever direction seems best. Of course, Mercan Aga doesn't know about this part of my plan and he believes that I'm heading for Athens. My trail will be cold before anyone following me will be able to catch up with the ship.
On the day of my departure, Mercan Aga arranges for a coach to take me and my belongings to the port. I say goodbye to Aybige and the others, and board the coach. Even Mercan Aga wishes me a safe journey. I begin to think that I have misjudged him, although I can't shake off the warning bell ringing in my mind.
The events of the next few hours make me certain that I'm right to trust my instinct. I become suspicious when the ship's captain advises me that the passenger cabin isn't quite ready and that I should wait in the ship's hold until the ship departs. I was lead to believe that there would be other passengers, but I'm the only one told to wait in the hold. The ship's crew are busy loading cargo from the dockside and pay no attention to me. The hold gradually fills with cargo and some of the crew start to prepare to set sail.
I can't say what made me do what I did. I've been wary of a trick, but there's nothing to confirm my fears are correct. On impulse I grab my belongings and walk off the ship while everyone is busy preparing the ship for sea. Several sailors see me, but none of them consider it their duty to stop me. I disappear into the crowd on the dockside. I head for a small bakery in one of the side streets. It gives me a chance to stop for something to eat while providing a good hiding place to see if anybody is following me. There are plenty of people moving up and down the street, but nobody is acting suspiciously. I briefly see two men running along the street as though they are looking for someone, but I can't tell whether I'm their quarry. They pass the bakery without stopping and don't return.
I stay in the bakery for as long as I dare. If I stay too long, then the baker will become suspicious … not long enough, and I could run into anybody chasing me. I leave and follow the wide street running parallel to the quayside. I figure that anybody looking for me will assume I will take the main road leading away from the docks. I'm still in some danger. A woman alone in this part of the town will attract attention of the wrong kind before long. I try to make it appear that I'm travelling with one or other of the tradespeople moving up and down the street. My ruse seems to work and I reach the end of the street without mishap. I must now turn left towards the waterfront, or right into the city. I'm not entirely sure of where I am, but I don't feel in any immediate danger. I stop for a few minutes to consider my options.
Was I jumping at shadows when I fled the ship? Were the two men I saw from the bakery looking for me? How can I possibly learn the answer to my questions without putting myself at risk? And if I don't know where I'm going, how do I know when I get there?
"A young woman alone is either running away from someone or running towards something," says a young man about my age standing in a nearby doorway.
"In my case … both," I reply, answering his question without thinking about the risk to my safety.
"Then allow me to help you," smiles the man. "My name is Hasan Çelebi."
Should I trust this man, or is it better to keep on running? His clothing and manner suggest he is ... or was ... a soldier. Perhaps he's just returned home from the war in Hungary. Running on blindly will get me nowhere, but I sense that my decision here and now will set the course of the rest of my life.
"What makes you think that I require help, Hasan Çelebi?" I ask.
"I have been trained to observe such things. Your cautious journey up the street, and the close attention you pay to those around you, suggest that my assessment of your situation is correct. Besides, I would be an unworthy man if I failed to help a young woman in difficulty," replies Hasan, citing a religious mantra.
Unfortunately, merely saying those words doesn't prove that Hasan Çelebi's motives are honest. My bag contains all my possessions, including the valuable gifts from Sultan Suleiman. Once I'm away from this busy street, he could easily rob me ... or worse.
"How do I know that I can trust you?" I ask.
"You have my word that you will come to no harm in my company," replies Hasan Çelebi, as though his statement is sufficient proof of his good intentions.
What finally makes me decide to accept Hasan Çelebi's offer of help is the arrival of the two men I saw from the bakery.