The Sultan's Spy

Chapter 5: Settling

Eliska studied her new domain with a critical eye. The house was large enough to have separate men's and women's quarters on the second floor, the latter having the better views as it faced the small back garden. The women's quarters had four divans, the men's holding an equal number, with all the associated bedding.

She'd already taken the time to store her clothing in one of the chests and one set of drawers. The floor was wood, the walls tiled in faded green partially hidden by the embroidered cloth hangings. Eliska was glad the place had come furnished. It was one less thing she had to worry about and explain.

With one last glance around, she headed out of the room and back into the main family hall that all the other rooms on the second floor connected to. It wasn't a big one, actually rather full with the cushions and built in couches that lined the sides, but for just her, the place was rather large. It was necessary for her cover as Varina, but it still felt a little lonely walking around an empty house. Especially one she'd be in for a while.

Eliska went back downstairs, walking towards the front of the house and not towards the kitchen or storerooms. The public room was probably one of the nicest rooms in the house, the tiles here still vibrant in the colours of fire, the thick cushions of the wooden couches that sat under the windows in similar shades.

The floor creaked slightly under her feet, the worn wood clean at least. Eliska glanced briefly at the few packs of things she hadn't gotten around to putting away, most of it silly little things to help with her cover. She had at least gotten the kitchen organized. The house was smallish and nowhere near as nice as the palace, but it was head and shoulders above some of the places she'd stayed before. Eliska found herself rather fond of the house. It had character, which more than made up for its deficiencies.

With all the coming and going that had been her moving in, Eliska thought that her new neighbours should be out by now, keeping a watch for her. In this part of the city every neighbourhood was like a family, everyone knowing everyone and looking out for one another. If she really wanted to sell Varina, then she needed to work her way into that unit.

She stopped just in front of the door and took a deep breath, focusing on who Varina was. Only wife of a cotton merchant who traded within the city and outside of it, her husband had just had a big break, enabling them to move to this much nicer house and neighbourhood. To offset costs, she too worked, selling some of her embroidered cloth in the marketplaces when she had them.

Her clothing had been chosen with care, the basics the same as she wore in the palace with full trousers, undershirt, kaftan, and head veil. But here she only had the one kaftan and everything was made of cotton. Her undershirt was even something Eliska had embroidered herself, during a previous job.

She was Varina, and while her husband worked odd hours to ensure his success, she was here to represent both of them to their new neighbours. Eliska opened the door and stepped outside, blinking briefly in the bright sunshine of the day. The street the house was on was quiet, though the thrum of the city would still be heard, distant as it made its way through the buildings and streets that lay between the house and the city's heart.

Eliska wasn't terribly surprised to see the four women standing in front of the one of the other houses on the street, their gazes flickering to her every so often. Fixing a smile on her face, she headed towards them, studying the group as she moved. They were all older than her, their faces lined, dark eyes on her as she got closer.

Their clothing was heavily embroidered, though the cloth itself wasn't quite as fine as what Eliska wore. That had been her one vanity, getting fine quality cotton so as to be comfortable in her deception. With a fake husband who was a cotton merchant it made sense and she hoped would go unremarked upon.

"Good morning," said the one in blue, her kaftan the most heavily embroidered.

Eliska bowed her head briefly before smiling at them. "Good morning. My name is Varina. My husband and I just moved in today and are so happy to have found such a lovely house and street."

"I'm Habiba," said the one in blue before nodding at the other three each in turn. "This is Shirin, Maysa, and Kamali. We live in the houses surrounding you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Eliska replied, smiling even brighter. "I had hoped to be able to meet our neighbours and I'm glad you're all such kind, respectable women."

Habiba nodded, face like stone. "It is our duty and honour to welcome newcomers to our neighbourhood."

"I haven't seen your husband yet today," Maysa said, glancing up at Eliska through her eyelashes. "Is he unwell?"

She smiled wryly. "Alas, his work won't wait, not even on the day we're moving in. He works all hours, always looking for a better deal to stay afloat. He's a cotton merchant," she said in answer to the unspoken question on Maysa's face. "He is always so concerned about others getting ahead of him that I feel like I go days without seeing him properly. If the food I prepared didn't disappear without my eating it, I'd think he wasn't coming home at all. But I can hardly complain, not when he works so hard for both of us."

Shirin shook her head. "Some men are like that. They are more concerned with their work than their homes."

"Better than him not working enough," Kamali quipped.

That earned her a cold look from Habiba, who was beginning to remind Eliska of Zorana for obvious reasons. "I wouldn't know what that is like. He's been like this since we first married and hasn't changed."

"Men don't change," Shirin replied, one hand dropping to her hip. "They just like us to think they can."

Kamali smiled. "If you're free in the evenings, we head to the hamam around the corner from here most days. If you need soap, the shop next door has some of the most divinely scented soap you'll find outside of the palace."

"Not that any of us know anything of the palace," Habiba said.

Maysa chuckled, her cheeks flaring red. "No, if someone here knew-" She cut herself off and ducked her head under the look Habiba gave her.

Eliska smiled, making a mental note to find out what it was about the palace that had Habiba distancing herself and the others from it so quickly. "You're all too kind. I'd invite you in for coffee, but I'm afraid I can't find where our service set has gone. We packed things up, but everything seems to have gone astray in the move somehow."

Habiba nodded. "Then we'll let you get back to unpacking. It always takes much longer than you think."

"Thank you. It was so nice meeting you all."

The other women smiled, waving briefly as she turned and headed back towards her new home. Eliska could feel their eyes on her and wondered briefly how long it would take them to spread everything they knew about her around the neighbourhood. Plus whatever they made up about her.

She waited until her front door was closed behind her before she snorted. If they visited the hamam almost every evening, then it would be all over the surrounding neighbourhoods by morning. It was obvious to her that her new neighbours were gossips and she the newest fodder for them.

Eliska sighed. She hoped she could keep them on her good side. At the very least she could use them, if they were the type whose gossip was listened to. With that somewhat positive thought, she turned to finish going through her packs and then figure out what to make for lunch. She could already tell it was going to be a long day.