Naguib Mahfouz - Palace of Desire

The man bellowed with laughter until his face grew even redder. Then, announcing his surrender, he said, "God, forgive us."

"But you forgot to be wise yesterday when you saw me at Khan Ja'far. You followed me and even entered Ya'qub's store after I did."

"Were you aware of that too, you niece of Zubayda?"

"Yes, prince of lovers, although I never imagined you would enter the store while I was inside. Before I knew what was happening there you were sitting on the sofa, even more daring than a lustful jinni. When you pretended to be astonished to see me, I almost let you have it with my tongue, but the circumstances forced me to be polite."

Striking his hands together, he laughingly asked, "Didn't I say you're a puzzle?"

She went on speaking, intoxicated by victory and delight: "And one night what do I know but the sultana tells me, 'Get ready, we're going to Muhammad Iffat's houseboat.' So I proceed to get ready. But afterwards I hear her say, 'It's al-Sayyid Ahmad who suggested the party.' So I smell a rat and tell myself, 'Al-Sayyid Ahmad doesn't suggest something merely out of the goodness of his heart.' I understand the trick and stay home, pretending to have a headache."

"How unfortunate I am! I have fallen into the clutches of a merciless person. Is there anything else?"

"Not much more… just the invitation for this evening, an invitation solely for the sultana."

"You couldn't have done any better if you were an experienced fortune-teller."

"How sweet your words are! Ape the preachers, you sinner."

"May God forgive you!" He laughed out loud and with gentle delight observed, "You understood what was up this time as well, but you stayed in. You didn't leave the house or hide yourself…."

Before finishing his sentence he rose, went to her, and sat down beside her. He took the edge of her spangled sash and kissed it, saying, "My God, I testify that this beautiful creature is more delightful than the tunes of her lute. Her tongue's a whip, her love's an inferno, and her lover's a martyr. Tonight will have an importance for all of history."

She pushed him away and remarked, "Don't try to take me in with your chatter. Away! Go back to your place."

"From now on nothing will ever separate us."

She abruptly jerked her sash out of his hand and rose to step aside. Standing an arm's length away, she gazed at him curiously and silently, as though to reconsider some important matters. Then she said, "Why don't you ask what made me refrain from going to the houseboat the day Muhammad Iffat invited us, at your suggestion?"

"In order to stoke the flames of passion."

She gave three short laughs in succession and then was silent for a long time. Finally she said, "Not a bad idea, but a bit passe. Isn't that so, prince of sinners? The truth will remain a secret until I decide to reveal it in my own good time."

"I'll offer my life in exchange for it."

For the first time she smiled with genuine pleasure. Following her ironic glances, there was now a tender look in her eyes, like the calm after a storm. Her appearance proclaimed that a new strategy was being unveiled along with a new idea. Drawing a step closer to him, she gracefully stretched her hand out to his mustache, which she began to twist carefully. In a tone he had not heard her use before she said, "If you offer your life in exchange for this, what will be left for me?"

He felt the kind of deep repose he had not experienced since that unsuccessful night in the houseboat. It was as though he was winning a woman for the first time. He removed her hands from his mustache and held them between his large palms. Affectionately and gratefully he said, "I'm more delirious than words can say, mistress of all creation. May you be mine forever and ever. Death to anyone who refuses you anything you hope or ask for. Complete your benefactions to me and prepare our party. Tonight is unlike any other one. It deserves to be celebrated until dawn."

Stroking the palms of his hands with her fingers, she said, "Tonight really is unlike any other, but you'll have to be satisfied with just a little."

"A little! Is there to be a rebuff after all this tenderness? I can't wait patiently for you any longer."

He began to caress her hands. He unfolded her palms and admired the rose color of the henna with which they were decorated. She unexpectedly asked him in a laughing voice, "Do you read palms, old man?"

He smiled and said jokingly, "I'm renowned for my predictions. Would you like me to read your palm for you?"

She nodded in agreement, and he began to ponder her right hand, pretending to think deeply. With great interest he remarked, "I see a man who will be of great significance to you."

Laughing, she asked, "In a licit way, do you suppose?"

He mised his eyebrows as he continued to scrutinize her palm. Without even the slightest indication that he was not totally in earnest tie replied, "No, illicitly!"

"I take refuge with God! How old is he?"

Not raising his head but looking up at her, he said, "That's not clear, but judged by his abilities, I'd say he's in the prime of youth."

She said slyly, "I wonder if he's generous."

"Oh!" he reflected. "It wasn't your generosity that pled your case with them in the old days."

"Hisheart's unfamiliar with stinginess."

She thought a little and then asked, "Would he be happy for me to stay on as a flunky in this house?"

"The calf is down," he told himself. "Go fetch the knives."

"No. He'll make you a lady without a peer."

"I wonder where I'll be living, under his wing."

"Not even Zubayda," he warned himself, "made you do this. There'll be no end of talk about you."

"In a beautiful apartment."

"An apartment!"

He w as amazed by her tone of disapproval. Astonished, he asked her, "Wouldn't you like that?"

Pointing to her palm, she asked, "Don't you see flowing water there? Look carefully."

"Flowing water! Do you want to live in a bathhouse?"

"Don't you see the Nile? A houseboat or a sailboat?"

"Four or five pounds a month all in one blow, not to mention the other expenses. Oh," he reflected, "it doesn't pay to fall in love with lowlife."

"Why choose such an isolated place?"

She came so close to him that their knees were touching and said, "a Your rank is not inferior to Muhammad Iffat's. And if you love me as much as you claim, then my luck should not be inferior to the sultana's. You would be able to pass your evenings there with your friends. That's my dream. Make it come true."

He put his arms around her waist and stood there, silently enjoying the softness and reassurance of her touch. Then he told her, "Whatever you want is yours, light of my life."

To thank him she placed her hands on his cheeks. Then she said, "Don't think you're going to give and get nothing in return. Always remember that it's for your sake that I'm leaving this house where I've spent my whole life. I won't be able to return. And remember that if I ask you to make me a lady, it's only because it's not appropriate for your mistress to be anything less than that."

His arms squeezed her waist toward him until her breast was pressed against his face. Then he said, "I understand perfectly, light of my eyes. You'll have everything you want and more. I want to see you the way you want to be. Now, prepare our celebration for us. I would like my life to begin with this night."

She grasped his arms. Smiling apologetically, she said gently, "When we're in our houseboat on the Nile."

He cautioned her, "Don't drive me crazy. Can you withstand my assault?"

She stepped back and said in a tone between entreaty and ultimatum, "Not in this house where I've worked as a servant. Wait till we're united in the new home, yours and mine. Then I'll be yours forever. Not before then…. I ask it for the sake of our new life together."