Free Enchantress by Constance O'Banyon Page B

this time.”
    Achmed was out of breath because he had been running. He drew air into his lungs and paused before his master’s door, saying to the guard: “Open the door. I must see Lord Simijin at once.”
    The guard stepped aside respectfully and immediately admitted the eunuch.
    “Lord Simijin,” Achmed blurted out, “I have just come from the market, where I spoke with Cridia, the head eunuch from the Grand Seraglio. He told me that they are making ready for a new woman of great importance.” He paused to take a deep breath. “He said that the woman is the daughter of your English Rose. It is the young mistress he was referring to, my lord.”
    Simijin, a man who was always calm in the face of adversity, now paled. “Did the man say just how this was to be accomplished?”
    “Yes, my lord. Since Cridia knows how fond I am of the little mistress, he warned me, at great risk to himself, that a troop from the Janissaries will come and take her away this very afternoon! He could tell me nothing more, but he warned that we should get her to safety with all dispatch.”
    Simijin nodded at the eunuch. “Thank you, Achmed. We shall make haste before it is too late.”
    Brittany had been unable to find her mother, but as she was dressing for dinner, Jillianna came rushing into the bedroom, her face pale, her eyes wide with fear.
    “Brittany, you must come with me at once; there is not a moment to lose!”
    “But, Mama, what—”
    Jillianna took her daughter’s hand and pulled her toward the door. “There is no time to talk. We must hurry to the harem before it is too late!”
    Brittany was mystified. Why was her mother so afraid? And why was she taking her to the harem when she hated it so much?
    As they moved quickly across the garden, they were joined by Simijin. Brittany could feel the tension between her mother and stepfather and she saw that her mother was trembling with fear. Something was terribly wrong.
    When they reached the pavilion, the door of the harem swung wide, and she was immediately surrounded by Simijin’s women. Gentle hands pulled her into a secluded room behind the bath.
    Before she could ask questions, she was stripped of her gown and then her thin chemise. Juanita and Asha began rubbing a dark walnut oil into her naked body.
    Brittany’s eyes sought her mother’s. “What is happening? What are they doing to me?”
    Jillianna took a deep breath, knowing it was time to tell Brittany the truth. “Do you recall the night the sultan came into our quarters?”
    “Yes, but—”
    “He came that night with the express purpose of seeing you. He is a devious and evil man, and he has decided he will stop at nothing to have you. That is why you must be disguised, and we must sneak you out of the city and away from Constantinople. Once the sultan finds out you are missing, he will have his Janissaries searching for you everywhere.”
    Brittany trembled in fear, cringing at the thought of that odious man touching her. “I will not go with him, Mama.”
    “No, you shall not. Simijin has a plan, and you must trust him.”
    By this time, Brittany’s whole body was covered with the oil that stained her skin dark. Now she understood the reason for Simijin’s conversation with the American sea captain. He had been bargaining with Captain Stoddard to take her to safety.
    “But where will I go, Mama?”
    “You are not to worry, my dearest. Simijin will see that you are safe.”
    Brittany stood trembling as her golden hair was covered with ebony dye, and her eyebrows were darkened with kohl. After this was done, she was dressed in a heavy black robe.
    “Mama, I am so frightened. Will you come with me, please?”
    Jillianna blinked back her tears. “No, my dearest, I cannot come with you, for I would endanger you. You are going to America, where you will be with your father’s people for a while. I do not know if your grandmother is still alive, but your father’s family will surely take you in