Chapter 18: A Letter From the Sultan

The Valide’s suite is more crowded than usual for her morning audience. Hatice, Mahidevran, Gülfem and Hürrem are all in attendance. Hürrem and the sultanas sit on cushions laid out in a semi-circle, with the Valide’s low couch positioned at the apex. Daye Hatun and Fahriye stand immediately behind the Valide. Sümbul Aga stands beside me on the periphery of the gathering, next to the other maids and servants accompanying the sultanas.

“I have received wonderful news from my lion,” begins the Valide. She often refers to Sultan Suleiman as ‘my lion’ when she is meeting with the sultanas. I suppose every mother has a pet name for her child.

“The Ottoman army has been victorious and the Hungarian king has sued for peace. The war is over. If all goes well, our men will be home before the first snows of winter.”

There is a buzz of excitement from the sultanas and I can see Hürrem is delighted. Sümbul Aga expresses his happiness at the news, but I and the rest of the maids and servants stay quiet. We are not considered to be part of this gathering, so must remain silent and invisible until our services are required.

“Hürrem!” continues the Valide. “The Padisha has sent a letter addressed to you. Daye. Be so good as to read it to us all.”

The Valide hands the letter to Daye Hatun. It’s a clear reminder of Hürrem’s lowly status at this gathering. The Valide must be annoyed that her son has written to one of his lower ranked slaves, while sending nothing to Hatice or Mahidevran. The Valide is not even going to allow Hürrem the courtesy of reading the sultan’s letter herself.

“Valide!” calls Hürrem before Daye Hatun can break the seal on the letter. “Sultan Suleiman Khan has sent his letter to me. He would not be pleased if you interfere with his private correspondence.”

The room goes silent. Hürrem’s words are a blatant challenge to the Valide’s authority. Hürrem may not be able to prevent the Valide having the letter read to everyone present, but she clearly intends to let the sultan know what has happened when he returns to the palace. None of us know what his likely reaction may be, but Hürrem shows sufficient confidence in her challenge to make the Valide rethink her order. The look of glee on the faces of Mahidevran and Gülsah suggests they believe Hürrem has overstepped the mark and that she will be severely punishment for her outburst ... possibly banishment to some remote region of the empire until her baby is born.

“Remember your position in this harem, Hürrem Hatun,” warns Daye Hatun while the flabbergasted Valide is struggling for a response. “The Valide merely wants to help you understand what Sultan Suleiman Khan has written. Your ability to read Turkish is still in need of improvement.”

Daye Hatun is obviously trying to avert a pending crisis by offering the Valide a means of modifying her order without a serious loss of face. Nobody in the room believes Daye Hatun is correct in what she says, but should the Valide accept this excuse then nobody will openly dispute the Valide’s statement. Should the Valide stand her ground and have the letter read to everyone here, then she faces the possible wrath of her son on his return. With Hürrem expecting Sultan Suleiman’s child, there is no way she can prevent the sultan and Hürrem from meeting.

“Yes, Daye,” says the Valide. “That is precisely what I was meaning. Perhaps Hürrem is right. She and I should read my lion’s words in private. No doubt Hürrem will wish to share the contents of the letter with everyone at a later time.”

It’s not a total surrender, but an offer of a compromise that Hürrem would do well to consider. Unfortunately I know from experience that Hürrem is headstrong and she is just as likely to refuse.

“Very well, my Valide,” says Hürrem. “Perhaps when this audience is over, you will read Sultan Suleiman’s letter to me in private.”

I’m pleased that Hürrem has shown some sense and not continued to challenge the Valide. Hürrem has gained a victory of sorts, but she risks alienating the most powerful person in the harem if she continues to openly defy the Valide’s orders. Hürrem would need someone to read the sultan’s letter to her in any case. Daye Hatun is right about Hürrem’s limited skills at reading Turkish, and my reading skills aren’t much better.

The audience concludes a short while later, and everyone departs except for Hürrem and me. The Valide allows Daye Hatun to depart and attend to her duties, leaving the Valide, Hürrem, Fahriye and me alone. The Valide invites Hürrem to sit next to her and she breaks the seal on the letter. She reads it aloud before handing it to Hürrem. It’s not a long letter and most of it is a love poem the sultan must have composed for Hürrem. There is one passage in the letter which tells Hürrem how pleased he is to hear about her pregnancy and that he wishes her well.

“How did my lion know about your pregnancy, Hürrem?” asks the Valide. “I was saving that news until he returned. I didn’t want him being distracted with thoughts of another child while he was in the middle of a war.”

“I sent a letter to Sultan Suleiman,” says Hürrem, seeing no point in denying her actions.

“You did what!” exclaims the Valide. “Who authorised you to do that?”

“There is no rule forbidding the writing of letters,” replies Hürrem. “I wanted to share my happiness with Sultan Suleiman.”

“Who wrote the letter for you?” asks the Valide.

“I wrote it myself,” replies Hürrem. “My Turkish may not be perfect, but I managed to write my thoughts onto paper.”

“And who delivered your letter?” persists the Valide.

“I believe it was included with one of your regular dispatches to the Padisha.”

“Without my knowledge!” says the Valide. “How did you manage to do that?”

“I wasn’t aware that was the case,” replies Hürrem. “I merely asked one of the agas to arrange for my letter to be delivered.”

Hürrem is being careful not to mention Nilüfer’s involvement. Nilüfer’s success at getting around the harem rules will surely be drawn the notice of Daye Hatun and the Valide before long. I must warn Nilüfer to be careful.