Page 64 of Silver Angel

Chantelle whirled around to see him grinning from ear to ear. A gambit of emotions crossed her own features, guilt on seeing the evidence on his face and arms of the violence she was capable of, anger that Kadar could be given away so easily, suspicion as to the reason, and finally amusement, for his grin was so infectious, she couldn’t help but return it. But only for a moment, and only Kadar was treated to her brief smile.

Haji Agha got the brunt of her suspicion. “Is this true? Does he belong to me now?”

The older eunuch nodded hesitantly, taken aback by her feral tone. He was unused to such directness in a society that insisted on the exchange of pleasantries before any discussion, no matter how serious. And he certainly had never before been attacked when a concubine was informed of her improved status in the harem.

“You are not pleased?” Haji stated the obvious.

Chantelle waved her arm impatiently. “What has that to do with anything, when it’s never before mattered if I was pleased or not? I want to know why you’re giving Kadar to me.”

“It was Jamil’s wish,” he replied simply.

“His wish? Oh, of course,” Chantelle sneered. “How foolish of me to forget that your great master can do anything, even force you to give away your own slaves.”

“I was well compensated,” Haji tried to tell her.

She was quick to snap, “Good for you.”

Haji shook his head at this attitude. “If you don’t want Kadar—”

She cut him off. “You still haven’t told me why he’s been given to me.”

“Every favorite has her own personal eunuch. You must know that by now.” He said this with surprise.

Chantelle surprised him further. “I’m not a favorite, Haji.” She was too angry to address him with the respect he was due. “I know how things are done around here, and I know that no concubine can aspire to be a favorite until she has first—” Embarrassment nearly choked her. “Suffice it to say I don’t meet the criterion yet.”

“Then you haven’t—”

“No, I haven’t.”

“I thought surely this morning—” He stopped at the emphatic shake of her head. “This is amazing,” he added incredulously.

“Hardly,” Chantelle snorted. “You’ve been presumptuous, is all.”

“Not quite, Shahar.”

She didn’t like the obvious pleasure he found in contradicting her. “I’ve told you—”

“It doesn’t matter. You are here because Jamil ordered me to move you here. You are now his firstikbal, regardless that you have yet to share his bed. It is unusual, certainly, but we do not question the Dey’s wishes.”

“And if I don’t want to stay here? No, forget I asked. I’m sick of being told I don’t have a choice.” In the midst of her rancor, another thought occurred to her. “If Kadar belongs to me, then I can set him free, can’t I?” That HajiandKadar both shouted, “No!” simultaneously made her cringe. “Oh, for God’s sake, all right. Where did I get the ridiculous idea that I could do somethingIwanted to do?”

“Lalla, if you don’t want me, Haji Agha will find you another.”

She turned to Kadar and felt ashamed that her mood, which had nothing to do with him, had wounded him. “No, Kadar. If I must have my own eunuch, I’m glad it’s you, honestly I am, though I don’t see how you could be pleased about it.”

But he was. His renewed grin told her that. And Haji seemed pleased now, too, as he took his leave of them, no doubt thinking he had weathered this storm without too much damage.

Chantelle tried to hide her dissatisfaction when Adamma insisted on showing her everything, bubbling over with her own enthusiasm. But Chantelle simply wasn’t interested in her new apartment. She couldn’t help concluding that Jamil was too confident, that he had put her here because it was just a matter of time before she did in fact give in to him. Hadn’t he told her he had accepted the challenge? But the wretch fought dirty. He was letting the whole harem think her defloration was a fait accompli, for who would believe that he would elevate her status before he had actually bedded her?

“The only things you do not have that the wives have are an extra room or two and your own private garden,” Adamma was telling her happily. “Thisis the best apartment in the pink court. Mara herself had it.”

“And what happened to her?”

“She was moved back to the court of thegozdes. And what a fuss she made!” Adamma giggled. “But there is room here for only six favorites.”

“So she was the least favorite but had the best room,” Chantelle commented skeptically.

“Mara had enjoyed her position just recently, but because she served a purpose, she was given special treatment and got whatever she demanded.”