He was young enough to let his relief show. “I admit to some shock when he fell. Indeed, I had not remembered his condition until that moment.” He shrugged. “In fact, I recall very little about his falling spells save that he had them as a boy.”
“You were very young, and the event was a great secret. Even I am not absolutely certain of what happened, as Shah Jahan and my husband were at odds when it first happened. Jahangir told me later one of Shuja’s nurses tripped and fell with him from the balcony. He struck his head and very nearly died, but the young have great powers of recuperation. His seizures did not come as often while we had you both in our custody, and I thought they had ceased entirely by now. At least, I had not heard he still suffered them.”
“If it didn’t resolve on its own, they kept his condition a very close secret indeed. I had entirely forgotten about it.” Aurangzeb shook his head, perhaps thinking that if he had known of it, he might have tried to trigger the condition earlier.
“So, how shall we proceed?” Nur asked after a moment.
He waggled his head thoughtfully. “On which account do you speak?”
She smiled thinly. “On every account, Sultan Al’Azam. There are a great many birds need killing, and only so many stones to go about. Shall we see if there are a few that can be slain with but one stone?”
“I marry as soon as possible. Sher Shah Khan will provide his daughter.”
Her smile grew. “An excellent match!” The girl had been Nur’s first choice and main recommendation for weeks now. Aurangzeb had refused to approach her father out of concern Shuja would learn of it and punish them both.
He nodded, tugging gently at the thin beard trying, valiantly, to cover his chin. “I confess to some…trepidation.”
“Why? Tying that family to you also signals that Shuja’s most powerful supporter believes you are the one to back. When the others see him depart, everyone who thinks to remain with Shuja will have to question why they do not swear to you.”
Aurangzeb waved her down. “That is not my concern—or, rather, it is one I have already planned for. No, I—” He shook his head and looked at his hands, jaw working. “What if I do not like her? Or…she…dislikes me?”
Aurangzeb’s shy admission tested the experience and discipline of a lifetime spent in the courts of the perceptive and powerful. Crushing the desire to smile, she reached out a hand to gently touch his. “She is a great beauty, and will give you the sons you need to secure your throne, Sultan Al’Azam. The rest will come as God wills.”
Mention of God’s will soothed his troubled brow, as she knew it would.
He brightened and quickly changed subjects: discussing the day’s momentous events, with Aurangzeb revealing his plans to solidify support and deny Shuja the chance to regain his power. He even asked her to advise him on what he might have overlooked in his planning.
That part of her not engaged in that process reviewed what had just transpired: He so rarely shows his youth, it is easy to forget his inexperience. That inexperience is a point of exposure anyone with access can exploit. I must be certain to cover for it, even as I ensure I am in position to exploit it.
Carefully.
She noted, as she left him to his rest, that he had not mentioned how he planned to dispose of Shuja. Nur did not press the question, knowing Aurangzeb had a number of sensible reasons not to have his brother murdered.
First off, murdering one’s own brother was against Heaven’s law. Princes, especially among the Ottomans, vying for a throne were known to cast aside that law with regularity. Here, though, Aurangzeb’s reputation for piety was such he could not execute his brother without sacrificing many of the allies his pious image had brought to his cause.
Second: as long as he was entirely in Aurangzeb’s power, the threat Shuja posed was mitigated, especially as Aurangzeb was not likely to make the same mistakes as his elder brother.
Third, and most important: those who supported Shuja would be comforted by the fact that should Aurangzeb die in battle or some other incident, there was an heir who would be grateful to those who freed him from whatever prison Aurangzeb decided to put him in. Of course, once Aurangzeb fathered a son on his new wife, Shuja’s life would be counted in breaths, if not heartbeats.
Chapter 27
Agra
Red Fort, the harem
“You will explain yourself,” Dara hissed.
Jahanara flinched, caught completely by surprise. The sharp reprimand lacing his tone was entirely unexpected. She looked around, half thinking his tone indicated a slave must have made some egregious error and created some mess that she should have prevented. Seeing they were as alone as he ever was, she looked at her brother only to find him staring at her.
“Do not look for my wife to answer for you, sister.”
“What? I do not understand the source of this sudden attack, Dara,” she said, fatigue making her wilt in the face of his obvious anger. She had no idea what might have precipitated such anger in him. She’d been late joining the imperial couple because she’d been seeing to one of the endless details of government that had fallen on her since Dara’s ascension.
“You have been lying to me for months.” The scar of his head injury, normally just visible as a finger-width white line against his skin, was flushed a deep red.
“I—” she began, hoping she would be given a chance to explain her reasoning. The entire purpose of the conspiracy was to preserve his throne, after all.
“Nadira—”
He cut her off once more. “My wife has retired for the evening, and even
