Harem Read Online Free PDF

bound as much by the laws of the Harem as any of the girls. It was she who governed this reclusive community of eunuchs and virgins, with the help of a Kapi Aga, the Chief White Eunuch, who was both Captain of the Guard and intermediary between the Valide and the Sultan himself.
    A girl first arriving at the Harem would be given a position in one of the many departments, with the Mistress of the Robes perhaps or the Chief Kitchen Maker. She might rise through the ranks to a position of some importance in the Harem administration through her own merits, but the only way she might attain real power was by becoming gözde - 'in the eye'; that is, if she caught the interest of the Sultan himself.
    If he actually invited her to his bed she became iqbal , and was given apartments and an allowance of her own. She might have one night with the Lord of Life or a hundred. But it all counted for nothing anyway unless she bore him a son and became one of his wives or kadins . There were only ever four wives and no more; after that, the abortionist was called in. These four wives remained just a breath from real power, for only one of them would one day become the mother of the next Osmanli Sultan.
    But Suleiman had broken with tradition. Even though he was now almost thirty years old he still had only one kadin , Gülbehar, and just one son. It was a tenuous thread for an exalted bloodline such as the Osmanlis, and Suleiman's mother fretted continually over this reticence on her son's part to ensure he had enough heirs.
    Hafise Sultan, the Valide, was an imposing woman, feared more than loved. She received the Kapi Aga in her audience chamber, an immense vault of gleaming onyx and veined marble.
    A yellow bolt of sunlight angled in from the glass cupola high above.
    She regarded the Kapi Aga from a high backed ebony chair upholstered with rich purple brocade. She looked entirely regal, except for her face, which had the soft lines and gentle grey eyes of a grandmother. It was the sort of face one was tempted to confide in. This made her very dangerous.
    'You wanted to see me, Kapi Aga?' she said.
    The Chief White Eunuch licked his lips. He felt as transparent as gossamer. He had practiced his speech long into the night but now every word of it deserted him and he felt overcome with a black panic. 'Crown of Veiled Hands …' he mumbled, addressing her by her formal title.
    'What's the matter? Are you unwell?'
    'A slight chill.'
    'A visit to the apothecary perhaps?'
    'I shall do as your Highness suggests.' Great God, just get this over with!
    'Something is troubling you?'
    Troubling him! He had spent most of the morning spurting his terror at both ends. It was a wonder he had not turned himself inside out. 'I have word of unrest among some of the girls.'
    The Valide frowned. 'What kind of unrest?'
    'Well, some of them, they are …'
    'The point, Kapi Aga.'
    'They are jealous.'
    'Harem girls are always jealous of something.'
    'This is not a passing envy. The discontent is growing. I think we should pay attention to it.'
    The Valide gazed at him steadily, and he had the uncomfortable sensation that she could see into him. 'Go on.'
'It is Gülbehar. She is well loved by everyone of course …'
    'Except me.'
    Well yes, except you, the Kapi Aga thought. But I was counting on that. 'But some of the girls feel it is not right nor just that the Lord of Life ignores the rest of them in this manner. Some are becoming almost … unmanageable.'
    'Well that is your job, and that of the Kislar Aghasi. To manage them.'
    'Of course, My Lady. But if only there was something I could tell them … to encourage them.'
    The Valide tapped a jewelled index finger on her cheek. 'What might prove sufficient encouragement, do you think?'
    'That perhaps the Lord of Life would have use for them one day very soon?'
    'Who is to say what he will or will not do?' The old lady's smile vanished. He had touched a nerve. If anyone was unhappy about Suleiman's exclusive