CHAPTER NINETY-NINE
Haseki reclined in the sunshine that filled the Courtyard of the Favorites, singing to herself, embroidering a length of turban cloth with golden thread. She was distracted only slightly when Mahidavran crossed the yard toward the hamam. The Mother of the Heir stopped at the colonnade, then turned to approach her, walking over to sit at her side. Haseki glanced at the beauty of the Odalisque, thankful that no words of spite had been shared between them for several months. Indeed, she had hardly seen her at all.
Mahidavran suddenly burst into tears and buried her face in her hands. “Please, please, Haseki. I can bear the t*****e no longer.”
Haseki let the embroidery rest on her belly.
“Please, my darling,” Mahidavran sobbed, “I know that you have been in our lord’s e
