Palace of Desire

80

The street was empty and pitch black when he knocked on the door at about nine o'clock. It opened after a while, but the person inside remained hidden. Then a voice that made his heart tremble asked, "Who is it?"

He replied calmly, "Me."

Entering without being invited, he closed the door behind him and found himself face to face with her. She stood on the bottom step, holding out her hand with the lamp, and gave him a surprised look before muttering, "You!"

He stood there silently for a time, and his faint smile revealed his apprehension and anxiety. Encountering no objection or anger on her part, he felt courageous enough to ask, "Is this how you welcome an old friend?"

She turned away and started back up the stairs saying, "Come in."

He followed her quietly, concluding from her having opened the door herself that she was alone and that the position of the maid Jaljal, who had died two years before, remained vacant. He accompanied her to the vestibule, where she hung the lamp on a nail near the door. She went on alone into the reception room, where she lit the large lamp hanging from the ceiling. This served to confirm his hunch. She came back out, gestured to him to enter, and vanished.

Proceeding into the room, he took a seat on the middle sofa, where he had been accustomed to sit in the old days. Removing his fez, he placed it on the pillow that divided the seat in half. He stretched his leg out as he cast a questioning look at his surroundings. He remembered the place as though he had only left it a day or two before. There were the three sofas, the armchairs, the Persian carpet, the three tables inlaid with mother-of-pearl. … Things were much as they had been. Could he remember the last time he had sat there? His memories about the music room and the bedroom were clearer and firmer, but he could not forget the first meeting he had had with Zubayda in this room, in exactly this spot. He could recall everything that had transpired. Back then no one had been more sure of himself and relaxed than he was. When would she return? What impact had his visit made on her? How overbearing would her conceit be? Had she realized that he had come because of her and not her aum:?

"If you fail this time, you can kiss the whole affair goodbye."

He heard the muffled tread of slippers. Then Zanuba appeared at the door in a white dress decorated with red roses. She wore a spangled sash and was bareheaded, and her hair was arranged in two thick braids that hung down her back. He greeted her… erect, smiling, and optimistic because of the care she had taken to adorn herself. She acknowledged his presence with a smile and motioned for him to sit down. She took a place on the sofa halfway down the wall on his right, as she said with mild astonishment, "Welcome. What a surprise!"

Al-Sayyid Ahmad smiled and asked, "What kind of surprise, I wonder?"

Kaisitig her eyebrows enigmatically, with no hint as to whether she was in earnest or in jest, she replied, "Pleasant, of course."

"Since we've allowed our feet to carry ushere," he reflected, "we must put up with whatever style of flirtation she chooses, whether delicate or heavy-handed."

He sc rutinized her body and face calmly, as though to isolate in them the features that had tormented him and played havoc with his dignity.

They were both silent until she turned to look at him. Although she saic. nothing, the motion of her head suggested a polite inquiry, as if saying, "We're at your service."

Al-Sayyid Ahmad asked her slyly, "Will we have to wait long for the sultana? Hasn't she finished dressing yet?"

She gave him a strange look, narrowed her eyes, and then said, "The sultana's not at home."

Pretending to be amazed, he inquired, "Where do you suppose she is?"

Shaking her head and smiling mysteriously, she answered, "Your guess is as good as mine."

He thought about her reply a little and then said, "I would have supposed she kept you informed of her whereabouts."

She waved her hand modestly and said, "You think too highly of us". Then, laughing, she continued: "The time of military rule is over. If you want, you're in a much better position to keep abreast of her activities than I am."

"Me?"

"Why not? Aren't you an old friend of hers?"

Treating her to a deep, eloquent, smiling look, he said, "An old friend and a stranger are much the same. I wonder if your former friends keep up with you?"

She raised her right shoulder and made a face, proclaiming, "I have no friends, neither old nor new."

He started toying with one end of his mustache and responded, "Talk like that would only fool a person totally lacking in sense. A man with any wits about him could not imagine men seeing you and not rushing to become your friends."

"That's what gracious men like you might imagine, but that's all it is figments of your imagination. You provide the evidence that I'm right. Although you're an old friend of this house, were you ever moved to provide me with a share of that friendship?"

He frowned in confusion. After some hesitation he said, "At that time I was… I mean, there were circumstances…"

She snapped her fingers and said sarcastically, "Perhaps it was those same circumstances, alas, that have kept the others away from me too."

In a quick, theatrical gesture he reared back against the sofa. Then he looked down his large nose at her, shaking his head as though asking God to rescue him. Finally he commented, "You're a puzzle. I hereby confess that I'm helpless before you."

She hid the smile his praise had inspired and pretended to be astonished as she said, "I absolutely do not understand what you mean. It's clear that we're mountains apart. The important thing is that you said you came to see my aunt. Is there any message I can give her when she returns?"

Al-Sayyid Ahmad laughed briefly. Then he replied, "Tell her, 'Ahmad Abd al-Jawad came to complain about me and didn't find you in.'"

"To complain about me? What have I done?"

"Tell her that I came to gripe about the harsh treatment you meted out to me. It's not becoming to a beautiful woman."

"What a perfect remark for a man who makes everything grist for his jokes and banter…."

He sat up straight and said earnestly, "God forbid that I should make you the subject of my jokes or banter. I'm serious about my complaint. I think you understand the allusion perfectly well, but are flirting the way beautiful women do. They have every right to flirt, but they also have a duty to show mercy."

She pursed her lips and said, "Amazing!"

"It's not amazing at all. Do you remember what happened yesterday in the shop of Ya'qub the goldsmith? Was this stiff reception all that a person merits who is as proud of your friendship as I am and who has known you for as long? I wish, for example, that you had appealed to me to assist you in your negotiations with the goldsmith. I would have liked for you to give me a chance to put my expertise to work for you or for you to go even one step further and leave the whole matter to me, as though the bracelet were mine or its owner my good friend…."

She smiled and raised her eyebrows in confusion. Then she said tersely, "Thanks."

He breathed in deeply, filling his wide chest. "A man like me is not satisfied with thanks," he said eagerly. "What good does it do a hungry man you turn away to tell him, 'May God provide'? A hunapy man wants something to eat, food that's tasty and appealing."

She folded her arms across her breast and pretended to be astonished. Mockingly she asked, "Are you hungry, my master, sir? We have mallow greens and rabbit that will melt in your mouth."

He laughed loudly and said, "Fine! It's a deal. Mallow greens and rabbit supplemented by a glass of whiskey… then we'll amuse ourselves with some lute music and dancing and stretch out together for an hour while we digest the food."

She waved her hand at him as though to tell him to back off. Then she said, "My God! If we don't speak up, he'll try to bring in his donkey too. Keep your distance."

He folded the fingers of his right hand into a fist, which looked like a tightly puckered mouth. He began to raise and lower it deliberately, as he said oratorically, "Girl, don't waste precious time in talk."

Shaking her head, she replied proudly and flirtatiously, "You should say rather, 'Don't waste valuable time with middle-aged men.'"

Al-Sayyid Ahmad rubbed his broad chest with the palm of his hand in a gesture of friendly challenge. She shook her shoulders laughingly and said, "Even if…"

" 'Even if? What a baby you are! I won't rest easy till I teach you what you need to learn. Fetch the mallow greens, rabbit, whiskey, lute, and the sash for your dance outfit. Come on. Let's go!"

Bending the index finger of her left hand, she placed it by her left eyebrow as she wiggled the other one. She inquired, "Aren't you afraid the sultana will take us by surprise?"

"Never fear. The sultana won't return tonight."

She gave him a sharp, suspicious look and asked, "How do you know?"

He realized that he had said more than he should have and for a time almost fell prey to confusion. He rescued himself by saying adroitly, "The sultana would not stay out this late except for an emergency requiring her to stay over till morning."

She gazed at his face for a long time without speaking. Then she shook her head in a clearly ironic way and said with complete assurance, "How cunning middle-aged men are! Everything about them grows weaker except their guile. Do you think I'm a fool? Certainly not, by your life! I know the whole story."

He began playing uneasily with one end of his mustache again. He asked her, "What do you know?"

"Everything!"

She paused a little to increase his discomfort. Finally she continued: "Do you remember the day you sat in the coffeehouse of al-Sayyid Ali and peeked through the window? At that time your eye stared so intensely at the wall of our house that you dug a hole in it. When I got in the wagon with the other members of the troupe I asked myself, 'Do you suppose he'll follow along behind us yelling like a kid?' But you were craftier and waited for a better opportunity."

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."