But the other girl drew back impatiently. “I know where to go, Elif. Don’t waste time.”
Elif shrugged. “All right, you lead.” As she sped off she half turned her head: “Better get packing, auntie!”
Talfa blinked. She had seen the carriages drawn up in the courtyard, and the women stuffing the sultan’s treasures into little bags. It was all they had, whatever they could carry off.
But they could have been allowed to leave the harem in peace, with dignity.
It was a serious blunder for which Ibou, the chief black eunuch, should be made to pay.
The lady Talfa gripped the door frame as another burst of wild laughter rang down the corridor, followed by an anguished scream.
5
Elif and Melda reached the stairs at the end of the corridor and scampered up them, giggling and breathless.
At the top they had a corridor to themselves. They chose a door and burst into a room that overlooked the Bosphorus.
A woman was shoveling the contents of a small table into a bag.
They all stared at one another. Then the woman screamed and Melda sprang at the woman and slapped her on the cheek.
“Stop that! Stop it! What are you doing with that bag?”
The woman tightened her grip on the bag. “This is mine! Get out!”
Melda made a grab for the bag. The woman yanked it back and the table went over.
“Now look!”
Elif snatched at the woman’s scarf. Melda kept her eyes on the bag. “What’s in there? What are you stealing?”
They heard running footsteps in the corridor and one of their girls put her head around the door, then withdrew it again.
The woman with the bag seemed to have trouble breathing. Her eyes bulged and her face went red. Elif gave the scarf a last savage tug and Melda went for the bag. The woman staggered and let it go. “It’s mine,” she choked.