was graven so deeply in stone that it could not be changed?
Chapter 7
India opened her eyes. She was surrounded by pale gold gauze draperies. Gingerly she turned her head. She was lying naked upon a scarlet silk mattress. Beside her was a low table, its top inlaid with blue-and-white mosaic. Atop the table was a crystal goblet half filled with a pale peach- colored liquid. She was so thirsty, but she could hardly move. India moaned softly and instantly a black face appeared in her view. She gasped, trying to cover herself.
'I am Baba Hassan, lady, chief eunuch of the dey's harem. You are thirsty.' It was a statement and not a question. The eunuch braced her shoulders in a half-seated position and held the cup to her lips. 'Drink it slowly, lady,' he advised, apparently impervious to her unclothed state.
The liquid was cool, and fruity, and slid easily down her parched throat. 'What is it?' she finally asked him when she had assuaged her thirst. The drink had been sweet, and she could feel the strength coming back into her limbs.
'It is a mixture of fruit juices,' he told her, and he lay her back upon the mattress.
'Where am I?' India asked him.
'You are in the harem of the dey, Caynan Reis, may Allah protect and preserve him.' Baba Hassan told her. 'I have been told you are to be treated gently despite your violent behavior of earlier today.' The eunuch's long face wore a disapproving look.
'I did not even wound him,' India said defensively.
'You should have not even attempted to do such a thing. It showed an appalling lack of manners,' Baba Hassan said sternly. 'You are a beautiful maiden, not some wild savage.'
'Is our young assassin awake then?' a bell-like voice inquired.
India turned her head, and saw the voice belonged to a very beautiful older woman with silver hair and almond-shaped turquoise-blue eyes. She had a lean body and an elegant carriage, and there was an amused smile upon her unlined face.
'I am Azura, the mistress of the dey's harem,' the woman said. 'How are you feeling now, my child?'
'Tired,' India replied. 'Weak. What is the matter with me?'
'A long sea voyage, the distress of being captured by Aruj Agha, fear,' Azura said quietly. 'And I suspect you are in a little bit of shock having been whipped by the dey. I do not imagine you were ever treated so harshly before, my child, were you?' The older woman's face was genuinely concerned.
'I am a nobleman's daughter, and related to our king. Of course I have never been beaten before,' India answered Azura indignantly, and feeling the tears pricking sharply behind her eyelids, she fought to prevent them from overflowing her eyes and displaying her weakness for all to see.
Azura reached out and squeezed India's hand. 'Let the tears come, my child. They will be a catharsis for you.'
'If I weep you will think me weak,' India said stonily.
'I understand,' Azura said calmly, 'but when you are alone later, cleanse your sorrow with your tears, my child. Now, are you hungry?'
India nodded.
'Baba Hassan will see you are fed, and then we will take you to the baths,' Azura told her. She arose. 'I will come back later when you have finished your meal, my child. We will talk.'
'Who is she?' India asked the eunuch when Azura had gone. 'Is she the dey's wife?'
'Caynan Reis has no wife,' Baba Hassan replied. 'The lady Azura was the favorite of the former dey. On his deathbed he asked Caynan Reis to protect her and let her live out her days here where she has lived most of her life. Of course he agreed. She keeps order among the women, who are apt to be difficult as all women are,' the eunuch concluded. He clapped his hands sharply, and a slave girl appeared with a tray. 'Here is your meal, lady,' Baba Hassan said.
India sat up slowly, and another slave girl appeared to prop pillows behind her back. Upright, the tray in her lap, India inspected the contents curiously. There was a bowl of yellow grain mixed with pieces of green scallions and bits of chicken, half a round of a flat bread, a small bunch of green grapes, and a thin slice of something pale gold in color. 'What is it?' she asked the eunuch.
'Saffroned rice with onion and chicken, the bread and grapes you recognize, and a slice of melon, a sweet fruit,' he answered her.
India began to eat using a small silver spoon and her fingers. There was neither a fork nor a knife upon the tray. The rice and chicken were nicely cooked and flavored, the bread still warm, and the melon was absolutely delicious, almost melting in her mouth. 'It is all very good,' she pronounced as she finished. She washed her hands in a silver ewer the slave girl held out, drying them on a small linen towel provided. The tray was removed.
'We will now go to the baths,' Baba Hassan announced.
'But I have no clothes!' India protested.
'You do not need clothing to bathe, and you are certainly in need of bathing,' was the tart reply. 'You have soft skin, and so are obviously used to washing, but I doubt you could have done so aboard your ship. Why are you so modest, lady? There are only women here.'
'You are not a woman,' India snapped at him.
'Neither am I a man,' he replied dryly, helping her to her feet. 'Come along now. The lady Azura will be waiting for us.' He pulled back the gauze draperies.
They were in a large room, India now saw. Here and there were other partitions formed by the sheer draperies. Beautiful young women lounged about on low, silk-covered furniture and upon satin-covered pillows. Warm air blew through the latticed windows. There were cages of songbirds hung in the windows. India still felt embarrassed to be so vulnerable among these women, but, remembering her cousin's warning, she grit her teeth and held her head high, ignoring the spiteful remarks spoken in French so she would be certain of understanding them as she passed through the harem.
'Her breasts are too small. Are we certain she is a girl?'
'Dark hair. Ho hum, how common,' an overblown blonde said.
'She is soooo hairy.'
'Her buttocks are nice enough.'
'But the dey is not
'Do you think she's a virgin?' asked another girl.
'She must be. Who would want such a creature?' was the answer.
'She does not look like she will hold much interest for our master once he has taken her maidenhead.'
'If he even bothers to before giving her away to some desert sheikeh he wants to believe he is honoring.'
There was more laughter among the women of the dey's harem, and India could feel her cheeks flaming. She needed desperately to retaliate so these pampered creatures would not think she was easy prey. She stopped, and, turning about, slowly said with devastating effect, 'I wonder which of you I will kill first.' Then she continued onward, following behind Baba Hassan with apparent meekness. Behind her
