7-4 Lovers
Again I feel that I'm close to discovering something important, but what it is still eludes me. Nebi's preoccupation with Margit also confuses the issue. There is an obvious mutual attraction between Margit and Nebi, and the speed with which their relationship is developing is difficult to comprehend. Unless ...
"Is it possible that Nebi and Margit have met before they came here?" I ask Hasan.
"It would be a huge coincidence if they had," laughs Hasan. "But I suppose that it's possible. Why?"
"Because either Nebi and Margit were lovers before their arrival here, or their romance is a ruse."
"How do you arrive at that conclusion?"
"The way they look at each other suggests a longer relationship than one that could have developed the short time they've had here," I reply. "Unless they are pretending to love each other in order to distract any watchers."
"So what are you suggesting?"
"I'm suggesting that Nebi may be intending to rescue Margit. Possibly the countess as well."
I can tell that Hasan isn't entirely convinced by my argument, but he doesn't dismiss it out of hand. Even I must admit that not everything makes sense. In reality, it would be easy enough for Margit to evade the guards and escape. There isn't likely to be a big hue and cry if one of the hostages' maids were to suddenly disappear, although perhaps Margit doesn't know that. But getting away from the lodge is the least of the dangers a woman alone would face in escaping. She's more likely to end up in some slave trader's coffle than succeed in reaching her homeland. With Nebi's support, however, Margit's chances of reaching freedom are much better. Rescuing the countess would be a much harder proposition, since a full scale search would begin almost at once.
"Has Margit said anything about the escape attempt the countess made before they were sent here?" asks Hasan, clearly thinking about what I've said.
"No. Bekir asked the countess about it when he tried to interrogate her, but the countess denied that she made any attempt to escape. Margit hasn't said anything about it to me."
"It concerns me that we have so few details about their previous escape attempt," says Hasan. "The guards who delivered the countess and Margit here said next to nothing about what had occurred. I wish we had detained those guards until we had more information."
We wake the next morning to the news that Nebi and Margit have run off during the night, leaving the countess behind. Bekir is surprisingly uninterested at the news, and, as I suspected, he only orders a token pursuit. Kosta is even less interested, but begrudgingly dispatches two of his men to join Kemel in the search for the fugitives.
The countess is displeased that she no longer has her maid to attend to her needs, and she demands that Bekir provide a replacement. Without consulting either Hasan or I, he offers the countess my services until Margit is recaptured, or a replacement can be hired. Knowing Heyreddin Pasha's reluctance to spend money, I have a feeling that he'll have no intention of hiring a replacement.
Hasan is angry at Bekir's action, but there is nothing either of us can do if we want to remain here. I report to the countess later that morning to begin my duties. Memories of my time as Hürrem's maid in the Imperial Harem flood into my mind. Given the reputation the countess has earned since her arrival here, I mentally prepare for a difficult task ahead of me. Fortunately the countess isn't as helpless without her maid as she pretends, and my initial tasks are far less onerous than I expected. The countess orders me to leave Margit's room untouched, but not before I notice that Margit didn't take many of her possessions. As the day progresses I realise that my services aren't really needed, and my presence is only for show. Nevertheless I keep myself busy cleaning and tidying the suite of rooms, and running the occasional errand for the countess.
The countess isn't very talkative, and it is inappropriate for a maid to start a conversation. The silence doesn't bother me as Hürrem often went for hours without talking to her maids. Consequently it's early evening before I realise something which suddenly explains my previous unease about Margit. A quick search of the suite under the pretext of tidying and cleaning reinforces my suspicion. As soon as the countess dismisses me for the night, I go to find Hasan. He's sat in the kitchen with some of the other servants, eating an evening meal. I quickly join them. I've not had a full meal since breakfast, although I've managed to grab a few bits of food during the day. Another trick I learned during my time in the harem, where a maid's duties don't always allow time for a normal meal.
"Any news about Nebi and Margit?" I ask.
"No," replies Hasan. "The men sent looking for them haven't returned yet. There's plenty of speculation though, but we don't know anything for sure. Did you learn anything from the countess about Margit's escape?"
"She's not saying anything," I say, wanting to talk with Hasan alone before I reveal anything to the others.
The attitude of the other servants in the kitchen ranges from indifference to sympathy for the fugitives. To most of the servants, the escape is little more than two lovers running off together. Even Hasan seems more inclined to wish them good luck. Unfortunately my news is going to break him out of his relaxed attitude, but I decide to wait until we are alone.
Hasan can tell that I want to speak with him alone, but he allows me time to finish my meal before suggesting we retire to our room. The other servants make good-natured comments about my obvious eagerness to be alone with Hasan, even though they wrongly identify the reason. Their mistake at least means Hasan and I can leave the kitchen quickly without arousing suspicion.
"So what have you discovered that you are bursting to tell me?" asks Hasan once we are in our room.
"The countess is a fake," I say.
"I thought we discussed this yesterday. The identity of the countess will have been verified before she left Hungary."
"And it probably was," I reply. "But I'm convinced that the woman in that suite isn't the countess. I think it's more likely that she's the countess's maid. Which means that Margit is the countess."
The importance of what I've just said hits Hasan like a rock. He quickly reviews what has happened since we all arrived here, and he realises my discovery can't simply be dismissed as the product of an overactive imagination. The countess and her maid were delivered to the lodge, but nobody checked who was who. In fact, it's possible that the two guards who escorted them here were part of the plot since the identity switch would have been difficult without help.
"That means the escape plan was already in progress before the countess arrived here," says Hasan, arriving at the same conclusion as me. "The earlier escape attempt ... if it happened at all ... could have been nothing more than a ruse to enable the countess and her maid to switch identities."
"So what happens now?" I ask. "I've no proof of what I've said, and Bekir isn't the sort of person who would act on my say so."
"Then Nur and I will have to do something. I'll try and persuade Bekir to make a better effort to find Margit ... Anna ... and Nebi. And I'll suggest that he has Nur interrogate the 'countess' about her 'maid's' disappearance. She might admit something to Nur which proves your theory. In the meantime you must carry on as though you suspect nothing. We don't know how many more people are involved in this plot, or how the 'countess' will react when she realises her deception is discovered. Ibrahim would never forgive me if anything happened to you or your child."
"Ibrahim? What makes you think Ibrahim would care about what happens to me?"
Hasan's assumption about Ibrahim has taken me by surprise. I hadn't realised Hasan was so concerned about the matter.
"Well, he's the father of your child, and he promised financial support if you write to him once a year. I assumed that means that he's interested in your well being. Many men in his situation would do nothing."
I wish I could tell Hasan that Ibrahim isn't my child's father, and that my letters will really be for Sultan Suleiman. Ibrahim is nothing more than a go-between. But it's too dangerous for Hasan to know that Sultan Suleiman is the father of my child, so I must continue to lie to Hasan.
"Ibrahim is a devout Moslem and he's simply following religious mantra. I'll not be the first slave girl he's made pregnant, nor am I likely to be the last. He may be a responsible father by offering me financial support, but that's as far as his interest goes. Please don't worry about Ibrahim's reaction should anything happen to me."
Hasan seems relieved at my denial of any continuing relationship between Ibrahim and I. Perhaps we should have discussed this subject earlier, and I silently rebuke myself for not making sure Hasan is comfortable with the fact that I'm carrying another man's child. He certainly knew I was pregnant when we were married, but we haven't discussed anything about what happens when my child is born. Until now, I hadn't realised Hasan knew about the offer of money in exchange for news about the child.
"Ibrahim means nothing to me, nor I to him," I say. "I never intended to accept his money now that you and I are married. If you agree, then my child will never know that you aren't his or her father."
"I would like that," replies Hasan. "But my work means I must have contact with Ibrahim from time to time. We can't just pretend Ibrahim doesn't exist. He's an important servant of the Ottoman dynasty, so we can't risk angering him."
"Then I shall write the letters about our child which he wants, but I will refuse his offer of money. That way we can keep him at a distance from our child. Anyway, you should be more concerned about Ibrahim's reaction once he learns that the countess has escaped."
"Yes. You are right about that. I shall talk to Bekir and Nur first thing in the morning."
Events unfold quickly the next morning. As I suspected, Bekir requires proof of my theory before taking further action. Fortunately he agrees to let Nur interrogate the 'countess' and Nur soon tricks the woman into a confession confirming my theory. The fake countess is Margit, who, as I thought, is the countess's loyal maid. Her family have served the countess's family for generations. Until now Margit has followed Anna wherever she went; firstly when she married the much older count, and more recently into captivity following the war. I'm not the only one to admire Margit's loyalty to her mistress, which has delayed any serious pursuit of Anna for over a day. Unfortunately Bekir is less forgiving, and he orders that Margit be imprisoned in the lodge's cellar. It's an unnecessary act which destroys any chance of Nur extracting further information from Margit.
Belatedly Bekir orders a full scale pursuit of Anna and Nebi. While Hasan may be concerned about Ibrahim's reaction to the news, Bekir knows that Heyreddin Pasha will hold him personally responsible should Anna evade recapture.
The pursuit is complicated by the possible romantic relationship between Nebi and Anna. If the relationship is genuine, then it means that returning to Hungary isn't necessarily going to be their goal. They may simply wish to disappear, which would be a much easier task. Watching the ports and the roads heading west isn't going to be enough to ensure their recapture, and will require more men than Bekir and Kosta have at their disposal. Bekir reluctantly prepares a message to Heyreddin Pasha informing him of the situation and requesting more men for the pursuit. He can't spare anybody to deliver the message, so it must wait until the next rider arrives from Constantinople.