Chapter 49: Babies

The final stages of my pregnancy start to get uncomfortable. My belly has now swollen so large that the midwife thinks that I might be carrying twins. Aysun is my almost constant companion, and I periodically have to insist that she allows me to do a few things unaided. I’ve suspended my dance practise for the moment, although I still do some of the exercises with Aysun before her dance lessons.

I must be the only person in the Edirne palace who isn’t surprised when news arrives that Sultan Suleiman has ordered that Serhan Pasha and Şah Sultan to be transferred to a palace in a remote part of Egypt. It’s a significant demotion for Serhan Pasha and I can only assume that it’s more than the harem stipends that have been embezzled. Most of Şah Sultan’s family are likely to leave Edirne as well. Kadir and Ramazan are already absent on military duty, and Ahmed is likely to follow them when he finishes his training. With Irem already married, only Leyla and Candan remain in the Edirne palace.

Now that I hold the rank of Begum, I’m one of the highest ranked women currently in the Edirne harem. Leyla Sultan continues her daily audience with Afife Kalfa and I, regarding the management of the harem. I’m not certain I want the responsibility, particularly at this stage of my pregnancy, but I’m not being given a choice. It’s through these meetings that I learn than Candan is to be sent to Constantinople until a suitable husband is found for her, while Leyla Sultan is to marry the new governor of Edirne as soon as he takes up his appointment.

My rank and my unofficial role in the management of the harem gives me greater freedom of movement around the palace. Aysun invariable comes with me, as does one of the agas when I decide to leave the protection of the harem. My tours around the palace aren’t made with any specific purpose in mind, other than to satisfy my curiosity and hunger for knowledge. I discover that there a schools and a hospital in the palace grounds, all financed by the dynasty for the benefit of Edirne’s citizens.

Time passes with no news of when the new Edirne governor will take up his appointment. Even his identity remains a secret. In the meantime a council of Edirne pashas run the province. Leyla Sultan is downcast and resigned to her fate. Like many young imperial sultanas and hanimsultans, she will almost certainly be married to a much older man. It’s not unheard of for a sultana to get through five or six husbands in her lifetime. Not all marriages end in the husband’s death. Divorce is a simple and acceptable practise if her husband proves disloyal or inept in serving the empire. Şah Sultan would have been within her rights to divorce Serhan Pasha, but Sultan Suleiman must have felt her equally at fault for the embezzlement that brought about their downfall. Married or divorced, Şah Sultan would have been banished from Edirne in punishment for her crimes. She is lucky that the dynasty rarely executes its blood relatives for such crimes, probably fearing that an internal feud might destroy the dynasty from within.

Finally we hear that the son of Asuman Sultan, one of Sultan Suleiman’s half-sisters, is to be the new governor. Ertaç Sultanzade has only just turned fifteen years old, which is a very young age to be governor of a province as important as Edirne. It’s unclear why Leyla Sultan is to marry Ertaç, since he is already a member of the dynasty, but those are Sultan Suleiman’s orders. The marriage takes place three days after Ertaç Sultanzade and his mother arrive in Edirne. As usual the wedding is confined to small private ceremony with no guests.

Asuman Sultan takes over responsibility for the Edirne harem from Leyla Sultan. The dynasty always regards the mother of a ruler to be higher in rank than a wife, so Asuman is the rightful matriarch of the Edirne harem. Asuman Sultan causes a stir among the kalfas and agas when she decides to occupy a suite on the first floor of the harem. For years the first floor has only been occupied for short periods when members of the dynasty are visiting Edirne. It’s a clear signal that Asuman Sultan intends to keep much closer watch over her charges than Şah Sultan ever did.

At first the changes introduced are subtle and seemingly trivial. But I’m experienced enough in harem life to realise that Asuman is working to a plan. The new doors in the underground passageways mean the previously loose boundaries of the harem are now strictly defined. When those doors begin to be locked with access controlled by the agas, the harem soon becomes more like the one in Constantinople. A prison. The steady stream of odalisques going to the kitchen for titbits comes to an abrupt end when the agas restrict access though the new doors. It also means that access to the family wing and other outlying areas of the harem are limited to certain times of the day. It’s a restriction which will force me to move into the family wing before I’m due to give birth. Babies don’t arrive according to some palace official’s schedule.

I continue to attend daily meetings with Leyla Sultan and Affife Kalfa, which Asuman Sultan now presides over. Asuman treats me with the proper respect my rank deserves, but she makes no effort to be friends. Our relationship is kept very formal and businesslike. Nevertheless, I learn from our meetings that Asuman dotes over her son, and she’ll do anything to see to his comfort and pleasure. When she discovers that Aysun is an accomplished dancer, she decides that she should perform for her son. A private entertainment is organised within a matter of days.

Needless to say Aysun includes her seven veil dance in her routine. The consequence of her performance is that she soon becomes a favourite of Ertaç. At first I fear that Leyla Sultan will be jealous, and seek some form of revenge against Aysun. I remember Mahidevran’s response when Hürrem started to replace her in Sultan Suleiman’s bed. But Leyla seems to be delighted that she’s been relieved of that role. She doesn’t say why, although I don’t think it’s because of any lack of ardour on Ertaç’s part. Aysun is soon seeking my advice on all sorts of sexual acts. She’s going to need to be trained as a full hatun very soon if this relationship is to continue.