Tariq Ali - A Sultan in Palermo

‘And he of her, but this Sultan is already dead as far as I’m concerned.’

‘With Philip out of favour and Rujari dead, will the treasury continue to pay you?’

‘The mother of my children lives on the estate in Noto, but I have another that I have not visited for many years. It came to me after my brother died without an heir. We could sell that to the Church or to a Baron. It is a large estate. Or I could leave it to you and Elinore. I have barely spent any money for the last ten years. This house and the retainers are paid for by the treasury and a few years ago the house was legally registered in my name for services to the state. Life will not be as luxurious as you are used to, but we will not starve.’

With that, he turned the conversation. ‘I had a strange dream in Siracusa.’

She feigned ignorance as he told the story of the ageless high priestess who had left behind unmistakable scents.

‘Surely you were mistaken. Your own body, as we know, leaves many a trace without the presence of anyone else.’

‘Mayya, deceitful woman, how long are you going to maintain your story?’

She looked at him in astonishment. ‘You found out?’

‘How could one not? The drug was effective, but it did not obliterate my memory.’

‘So what happened afterwards?’

‘Has Balkis not told you?’

‘Elinore did not give us a moment to ourselves, though I noticed a strange smile on my sister’s face.’

He told her the rest. With a resigned expression on her face, Mayya asked, ‘She really wants to live here, with us?’

‘She had no idea any more than you and me that this would happen so soon. We were discussing the situation after Rujari’s death and the inevitable changes in the palace.’

‘But she would be happy to leave the Amir and live as your second wife?’

‘Third.’

Mayya began to laugh. ‘You lived on your own for twenty years. Now you want both of us?’

‘I do.’

‘Let it be her choice, not yours. Her husband is a kind and considerate man and she is more attached to him than you realise. If you have succeeded in impregnating her, I do not think the Amir will ask any questions. He will be delighted and thank Allah and there will be rejoicings in Siracusa. Why deny him that small pleasure?’

‘I agree, it must be her choice. And she must think carefully.’

‘You can discuss it with her tonight after you have finished pleasuring each other.’

‘Mayya, I wanted to spend this night with you.’

‘Yes, yes. I know, but since you can’t, why remain alone when the high priestess awaits? I should leave you now. Elinore will be anxious.’

‘And should I tell Balkis I have told you everything or do you wish to inform her yourself?’

‘Of everything we have discussed today, that is the least important. It is a matter of no significance to me. Decide for yourself.’

‘You are angry, my nightingale, but why did you help Balkis to set the trap in the first place? I know she insisted that only my seed was good enough for her, but you could have refused.’

‘Complicity is better than deception. She was quite capable of doing all this without my help. And if she had succeeded, would either of you have told me?’

‘I hope I would have told you.’

‘Enjoy your night and sleep well.’

With these words Mayya left his room and returned to her daughter in the adjoining chamber. He remained seated, thinking of the turn his life had taken, how this latest phase had started and how it might end. But he did not stay alone for long. Tiptoeing out of his room, he made his way to the guest chamber.

They met just inside Balkis’s door, each so choked with passion that words eluded them. He lifted her off the ground and placed her gently on the large canopied bed where they undressed. Then he whispered, ‘Ishqan khumari, qum, atla. Tonight, all five obligations in one. Are you ready?’ She replied by putting her legs around his neck so that his beard covered her clean-shaven and scented mound. Whenever either of them wanted to talk, the other would take preventive action. Hours later he noticed the sky and realised that dawn was not far away.

Balkis, also awake, confessed her anxiety. ‘I thought it would be difficult for you today, even after Elinore claimed her mother for the night.’

‘I was undecided. I wanted to be with you because I know the Amir will take you away very soon. Yet I did not wish to hurt Mayya either. Elinore’s request, I thought, was a useful one.’

She laughed. ‘For whom? Every time I’m with you I can’t bear the thought of going back to Siracusa. I know my husband is kind and considerate and all the other words Mayya uses to describe him. It’s true I’m not unhappy, but neither am I satisfied.’

‘I had noticed.’

She slapped his behind.

‘Mayya told me tonight that if you became pregnant it would make your husband so happy that he would ask no questions.’

‘Did she add that if it was a boy he would inherit large estates in Siracusa? That is what Aziz wants. What do you want, Muhammad?’

‘Habibi, I want you.’

They made love for the fourth time that night. Then she repeated her question. ‘I don’t want loneliness in my life. Mayya and Elinore coming to live with me has solved that. But I will not be happy without you. Will you, could you be happy here?’

‘Muhammad, have you ever thought how you would feel if I asked to live with you and another man at the same time?’

‘Unthinkable. Why should I think about it? It is haram, not permitted by al-Quran.’

‘Nor is adultery which you’ve committed four times already tonight and will again if you can manage to rise for the fifth time before the sun does. And al-Quran states that men who fornicate with each other should be immediately killed. Has that stopped anyone? And those who mask themselves in piety are often the worst offenders. So answer my question.’

‘Balkis, Balkis. How can you ask that? The answer is no. I would not be able to tolerate you living with two men in the same house.’

‘But you tolerate my husband.’

‘He’s only half a man.’

‘That is unworthy of you.’

‘I apologise.’

He hid his face between her legs. The taste of her juices revived him and he managed to rise just before the sun, thus completing the five obligatory fornications of the jihad suggested by Abu Nuwas. She held him tight and the sun rose and they fell asleep in each other’s arms till a discreet knock on the door startled them both. A maidservant announced: ‘Breakfast is waiting on the terrace, Lady Balkis.’

None of them left the house that morning. Idrisi half-regretted that he had not attended the trial. At least he could have said farewell in public to his friend. He paced up and down the terrace and the rooms, looking on the streets to see if a crowd was assembling. Ibn Fityan left for a few hours and returned to inform them that the justiciaries had ordered the fires to be lit even before the trial had begun.

Idrisi could stay indoors no longer. He announced that he was going to the mosque to offer prayers for Philip. Ibn Fityan and four retainers asked to go with him. Two of them were armed.

The women watched from the balcony in silence as the men walked down the winding path to the main road. Elinore, sensing that her mother and aunt wished to be left alone, went to unpack the belongings that had just been delivered by men belonging to the palace administration. Mayya had insisted that the men stay for a meal, but they had declined. The oldest amongst them, a gaunt man of sixty, with tears in his eyes had replied, ‘I thank you for your offer, Lady Mayya, but our hearts are heavy today and we do not feel like eating. It’s a sad day for us. Amir Philip looked after us and protected our interests. If they can burn him, how long do you think we’ll survive?’