Chapter 48: Under Suspicion

I’m not left wondering about my fate for long. Shortly after the welcoming ceremony is concluded, the Valide asks to see me in private. The upper level of the harem has been prepared for the Valide’s use, so I only have a short walk within the harem to her audience chamber. As usual two of her own maids are in attendance. I’ve met both of them before when I was in the harem in Constantinople. They have been her maids for years and can be relied on to keep whatever we discuss secret. Nevertheless, the Valide tells them to wait outside of the room.

“Is Şah Sultan treating you well?” asks the Valide. “Are you kept occupied?”

“Yes, Valide,” I reply. “I help with some translation work from time to time, and I teach Turkish to some of the new odalisques.”

“I’ve heard that you’ve become accomplished in several languages,” replies the Valide. “I could do with your services in Constantinople. And you have become an excellent dancer as well, I’m told.”

“I hadn’t realised that you took such interest in my activities, Valide” I reply.

“I always take an interest in a girl who carries my son’s child,” says the Valide.

I nearly fall backwards in shock. Does she really know, or is she just suspicious and fishing for a confession from me.

“My husband, Hasan Çelebi, is my child’s father,” I reply.

“Hmmm,” grunts the Valide. “Of course you deny the truth. Isn’t that the agreement you reached with my son. You are an exceptionally clever woman, Gülnihal. I won’t push you for a confession, but understand that I know the truth. You were pregnant with Sultan Suleiman’s child when you were granted your freedom.”

“The midwife examined me before I left Constantinople,” I reply. “She said that I was not pregnant.”

“Yes, I know,” replies the Valide. “But she lied. I would have extracted a confession from her had Ibrahim not secretly whisked her away in the night. That act alone confirms her guilt in the deception.”

“What do you expect me to say, Valide?” I ask. “If I deny your accusation, you will call me a liar. You place my child in danger by making such an accusation, regardless of whether it is true or not.”

“Perhaps you are right,” concedes the Valide. “I could order you to be taken to the harem in Constantinople, but the law will side with your husband when he comes to reclaim you. I would be obliged to release you and your child. Even the merest suspicion that your child is of my son’s blood would place your child in danger once you are outside of the harem’s protection.”

“So what do you intend to do, Valide?” I ask.

“I cannot ignore your situation entirely,” says the Valide. “My son was foolish in releasing a concubine who may have been carrying his child, but I’m sure his actions were well meant. I therefore propose the following, which you would be wise to accept. Firstly, you are right about the danger to your child, so I will not push you to admit that the child you carry was fathered by my son. Secondly, in recognition of your services to the dynasty, you are awarded the title of Begum. Thirdly, in the unfortunate event that you find yourself to be a widow, then you and your child will always find shelter in the Imperial Palace in Constantinople. Fourthly, should your child be a girl, then I shall make no further demands of you. The dynasty has enough sultanas and hanimsultans as it is. However, if your child is a boy, then you and I will ensure that he is educated and trained to the standard of a future sultan. The dynasty will make no recognition of your son unless Sultan Suleiman and all his other sons should die. In that tragic event, your son must step forward to claim the right to be the next Ottoman sultan.

I need a few moments to digest what the Valide has said. In reality, I knew that if my child was a boy, then Ibrahim, or some other palace official loyal to Sultan Suleiman, might want to use my son in the way the Valide described. There is little likelihood of my son becoming the next Ottoman sultan now that Hürrem has delivered a new şehzade. What is different about the Valide’s offer is that I’m to be given the title of Begum. It is an equivalent rank to hatun, but whereas hatun is a slave concubine’s rank, only recognised inside the harem, the title of begum is only awarded to a free woman of high regard or importance. The Valide is giving me a great honour by awarding me the title.

I accept the Valide’s proposal, and thank her for the honour she has bestowed on me. I’m careful not to indicate whether her suspicions about my child’s father are right or wrong. I’m reasonably certain that she has been fishing for the truth, and I embark on my own fishing exercise.

“Valide. I have received no word about my husband since I entered the Edirne harem. Is there any word about where Hasan has been sent, and how long he might be away?”

“I cannot discuss military matters with you, but it’s likely your husband is on the island of Rhodes. I’ve no idea when he may return.”

I quickly try to remember what I’ve been taught about Rhodes. I know that it’s an island close to the mainland. It became a Christian military outpost after the last of the crusades. Now it is garrisoned by thousands of Christian knights who have turned the island into a fortress. From their base on the island, the knights have frequently attacked shipping and raided Ottoman territory. When Constantinople was captured seventy years ago, there was a failed attempt to capture Rhodes at the same time. It seems that Sultan Suleiman is of a mind to try again.

“We must see that your stipend is suitably increased to reflect your status as a begum,” says the Valide. “Your current stipend is thirty aspers a day, isn’t it?”

“Err ... no, Valide,” I reply. “I don’t receive any stipend at all. I live off my owns means and the small fee Şah Sultan pays me for teaching Turkish.”