Mohammed III was a big man with fair skin, deep brown eyes, and black hair, beard, and mustache. He could be kinder than most and crueler than any man alive. Upon his ascension four years earlier he had ordered the execution of his nineteen brothers, the oldest of whom was eleven, and he had drowned the seven of his father's concubines who had had the misfortune to be pregnant.
His sexual appetite was legendary. His beautiful Venetian mother, Safiye, had encouraged his every desire in an effort to remain in control of him.
The sultan had one admirable trait. He was loyal to those who were loyal to him, and treated the men who served him with great kindness and generosity. Noting the crestfallen expression on his vizier's face, he asked, 'What is it that stems your enthusiasm, Cica? A year ago you would have been eager for an assignment like this one.'
The vizier sighed. 'You will think me a fool, my padishah, but last year I took a second wife, and I am saddened at the thought of being away from her.'
The sultan's eyes glittered. 'I had heard that she is an exquisite creature. Is it true then?'
Cicalazade Pasha sighed again. 'She consumes me with her beauty!'
'Take her with you, then. There is nothing unusual about a woman on campaign with her master.'
'Thank you, my lord, but no,' said the vizier, genuine regret in his voice. 'If I took Incili with me, I should not attend to my lord's best interests.'
The sultan chuckled. 'I am grateful that you put our interests above your lust. But tell me, Cica, do you dare to leave Lateefa and your new wife together? They will undoubtedly tear each other and your house apart in your absence.'
'Nay, sire! 'Tis amazing, but they are like sisters. In fact, several months ago I was obliged to chastise Lateefa, and Incili flew at me like a vixen in an effort to defend her friend. I beat her for her insolence, of course.'
The sultan nodded sympathetically. 'You were wise, my friend. Women are good only for one thing. They must ever be taught who is master.' Then he clapped his vizier on the shoulder. 'Cheer up, my friend! You'll only be gone a few months, and think how eager your Incili will be for your return.'
The two men laughed companionably, and then the sultan said, 'If Lateefa and Incili are friends, Cica, why not have them both in the same bed with you? Taking two women at once is delicious.' He lowered his voice so that only Cicalazade would hear him. The vizier's eyes narrowed, then grew wide, and he replied, 'I will try that when I get home, my lord. It sounds most diverting.'
The sultan's eyes were dreamy. 'It is, my friend. It is very diverting.' Then he grew businesslike again. 'I will have Yakub Bey see to the readiness of your troops. He is to be your second-in-command. Take your wife Incili to your island for a few days, but be ready to leave a week from now. Allah go with you.'
Cicalazade Pasha rode back through the late morning to his palace. 'Have Incili transported to the Island of a Thousand Flowers within the next few hours,' he commanded Hammid. 'I want the island well stocked with fruits, nuts, coffee, sherbets, eggs, and sweets. One hot meal daily is to be delivered in the early evening. I will allow only two servants on the island to serve us. Send Incili's woman, Mara, and a young eunuch.'
Towards midafternoon Cat found herself being rowed down the Bosporus in the vizier's caique. Susan sat opposite her, wide-eyed, and a young eunuch sat in the front of the boat.
'Why,' asked Susan, 'are we being hurried to the island?'
'Because the vizier is being sent to quell a disturbance and will not be back for several months.' She lowered her voice and spoke in Scots English. 'Just a little while more, Susan, and I shall be free of him for the next few months.' She did not tell her serving woman that she had received a message from Esther Kira that very afternoon, shoved into her hand by a jewelry vendor visiting the vizier's harem.
The message had read, 'Make an excuse to stay on the island when it is time for the vizier to leave.'
She had later burned the paper in a brazier, amazed that the Kiras already knew the vizier's plans when she herself had only just learned of them.
Unused to the East, she could not know that gossip was important in keeping up with current events. At the same time the vizier had been with the sultan, Esther Kira had been with the sultan's mother. After the vizier had left the palace, the sultan had joined his mother and her elderly friend for coffee. He related with some amusement how loath was his good friend Cica to leave his new bride. They had all enjoyed a good laugh at the vizier's expense. Esther Kira had returned home to inform Francis Stewart-Hepburn that he would, in a few days' time, be reunited with his wife.
The plan was really quite simple. They would wait until the vizier and his army were several days' march from the city, and then Lord Bothwell and Conall would take the island, killing the slaves. It would be several days more before the vizier's household discovered the absence of Incili and Mara. By that time they would all be on the Aegean.
Of all this, Cat knew nothing. When they arrived on the island, Cat delighted in showing Susan the gardens. They were alone but for a white eunuch, Feisal, the caique having returned to the vizier's palace. Cat showed the two servants the two tiny cubicles where they were to remain once the master arrived. They were expected to be useful but as invisible as possible.
No sooner had the vizier arrived than he commanded Cat to remove her garments. She protested. 'I spend a fortune on clothes and jewels to please you, my lord Cica, and you rarely allow me to wear them.'
'Wear them for your friends. I love you as Allah fashioned you.'
Pouting, she obeyed him, slowly and teasingly removing each article of clothing as his eyes glittered hungrily. Susan then served them a hot supper. Cat noted that the meal was filled with foods and spices considered conducive to lovemaking. She shuddered imperceptibly, knowing that the next three days would be exhausting.
When the dishes had been cleared away, the vizier told Susan, 'You may sleep, Mara. But tell Feisal to remain on call in his chamber.'
'Yes, master,' replied Susan as she left the room.
Now he turned his gaze on Cat. 'Come here, Incili,' and she moved around the low table next to him. Drawing her across his lap, he sighed with contentment as his hands began caressing her.
'Look at me,' he commanded, and she raised her green eyes to meet his gray-blue ones. It was as she had feared. The pupils of his eyes were dilated, and tiny gold flames danced within them. He had obviously consumed a quantity of aphrodisiacs, and would be utterly insatiable. She trembled, and he laughed as if he knew her thoughts.
His deep voice was low and intimate. 'We do not have to hurry, my love. Indeed, we will not,' and his free hand slid between her legs to caress her. She felt her strength ebbing as the familiar languorous feelings began to wash over her. At first his touch was delicate, but it soon became an irritation. She tried to squirm away from him but he held her fast.
Cat began to experience a warmth where he touched her, and a moan escaped her. She could not believe it, but she was fast losing control of herself, sliding away into a rainbow world where exquisite sensation followed exquisite sensation until she was gasping with a passion she was unable to stop. It occurred to her vaguely that he had fed her the same aphrodisiacs he had taken.
Frightened, she cried out and tried to sit up, but he gently lifted her from his lap and placed her carefully on the colored cushions, her fair-skinned body in startling contrast against, the deep, rich colors of the velvets and satins. Looming over her, he looked like a colossus as he stripped his wide trousers off. Her heart beat wildly at the sight of his long, smooth, well-muscled legs. He knelt and, pushing her legs up, found with his mouth the place where his fingers had lately been. Soon satisfied that he had rendered her mindless, he drew her legs back down. Pulling himself up, he drove into her. She sobbed with relief.
He thrust cruelly back and forth, deliberately hurting her, yet the pain he inflicted was a part of the wildly sensual experience and she relished it. He caught a nipple in his teeth and bit down sharply on it. She screamed and tried to twist away, but then his hot tongue licked furiously at the injured nipple, soothing away the hurt.
She began to shiver violently and, unable to control it, she panicked. Desperately she sought to escape the man responsible for what was happening to her. But now, his passion mounting uncontrollably, he was unreachable. She fought him. She was being violently assaulted, buffeted by a stronger sexual force than she had ever known, and she simply couldn't handle it. Then suddenly it was over, and she was falling, falling away into the sweet peaceful darkness of unconsciousness.
A gentle stroking of her body was her first awareness of returning consciousness. Cat lay quietly with her eyes
