CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
Haseki nursed young Abdullah in the Valide Sultana’s courtyard. The other Odalisques and children had been transported to Edirne the week before as a plague swept through the twisting streets of Istanbul. Khadija had promised to care of Haseki’s children as well as her own at the palace on the Tunca. Haseki was thankful for their safety as she pressed her lips to Abdullah’s fevered forehead. The young Khan was covered in black splotches. His finger and toenails had loosened and wept puss. He refused to drink her milk and even used his little strength to push away the yogurt that he loved so much. Haseki wept as her babe coughed up a pungent, b****y bile.
Hafsa came down from her apartments and held a goblet of sherbet to Haseki’s lips.
“Thank you for staying with me
