Jacqueline de Belleville Pt. 01

A few hours later we hear several loud voices from the courtyard outside. Something is going on. A'isha quickly stands up and signals that our meal and discussions are over for tonight.

"I think my brother has returned and has been informed of your arrival. I had better go to him at once before he and my uncle come to blows. I regret you must sleep in here tonight as your quarters are not ready yet. Please make yourself comfortable on the cushions. Mustafa will show you where there are blankets should you need them. You already know where the wash basins are located. You may use the pools if you wish, but do not go wandering around the corridors or leave this part of the harem. I'll see you in the morning and we'll have breakfast together. Goodnight."

A'isha leaves with Samed and we each make a bed out of cushions. Mustafa helps us prepare our sleeping space and repeats A'isha's instructions not to leave these rooms. Within an hour we are all fast asleep, although I and several others have forsaken the cushions for the floor. After sleeping on the Humphrey for over a fortnight I'm not used to the softness of the cushions.

I have always been an early riser and today is no different. I sit on the floor and look up at the sky through the high windows. It is still dark but dawn cannot be far away. The oil lamps around the room cast enough light for me to see. Everyone else is still asleep and I decide I may as well take a swim in the pools. I quietly go into the room with the pools and slip off my clothes. I float in the smallest pool near the small waterfall which keeps the pools flushed with clean water. I hear someone coming and see that Rebecca is up and about. Although all the women onboard the Humphrey were supposed to be at least eighteen years old, I seriously doubt that Rebecca is more than sixteen. But like many things, neither Dickey nor Wickliffe asked for confirmation of our age. When Rebecca comes across my discarded clothing she looks around and sees me.

"Isn't this dreamy after that horrible hold on the Humphrey", she bubbles. "And A'isha is so nice. I'm going to go exploring."

"No, wait, Rebecca," I cry. "A'isha said we were not to leave these rooms. You might get lost or caught, or both."

While I'm normally partial to a bit of exploring myself, I have taken heed of the warning both we were given last night. While we are in much better surroundings than we could possibly have imagined yesterday morning, we are far from being free to do as we like. Rebecca doesn't listen and sneaks through a door into the corridor before I can catch her. I don't stop to dress myself and I run to catch Rebecca and bring her back here. After a minute of frantic searching I find her in a small empty room off the corridor. Before I can say anything we hear footsteps coming along the corridor. We quickly duck behind some curtains hanging down the wall. The footsteps stop outside the door and we can hear someone enter the room. Fortunately whoever it is doesn't stop for long and soon leaves.

We wait a minute and quietly move towards the door. I listen carefully and there's no sound in the corridor. We gently open the door and quickly step into the corridor and break into a run for the pools. Unfortunately we bounce straight off a very fierce looking Samed.

Samed grabs Rebecca's and my hair in each hand and frog marches us back to the pools.

"You were told to stay in here. I will not have any disobedience in the harem, so you must be punished," he growls.

These are the first words he's spoken to us and both Rebecca and I are more than a little afraid. Rebecca is near to tears. The noise has woken several of the others who come to investigate. Catherine and Dorothy are about to run to our side but Samed commands them to stay where they are. Wisely they do as they're told. Samed pulls out a thin cane from under his robe and clearly intends to use it on us.

"The punishment for disobedience in the harem is six strokes of the cane. However, since you have still to complete your formal entry into the harem, your punishment will be reduced to only one stroke each."

Tears are now flowing down Rebecca's face but she bravely stands up straight to hear her punishment.

"Please don't punish Rebecca", I plead. "She's our youngest and doesn't fully understand our situation. She'll promise to behave in future."

Rebecca quickly takes the hint and nods several times. Samed looks at us both and thinks for a moment.

"Under the rules of the harem you may offer to take another's punishment. If you agree to take Rebecca's punishment for her, then she will not suffer this time."

I agree and he signals to Catherine and Dorothy to take Rebecca aside.

Having pronounced my sentence, Samed doesn't keep me waiting. He orders me to lie on my back with my feet together and raised in the air. Thwack ... thwack ... punishment delivered. Before he leaves, Samed orders the others to leave me to suffer alone. But that doesn't stop several of them from making silent gestures of support. I've endured much much worse and I reassure them that I'll be fine. That is, once the soles of my feet stop stinging like hell.

Molly brings me some breakfast, bravely defying Samed's order to leave me alone. Nevertheless I stay in the pool while the others eat. The warm water helps ease the pain. After breakfast A'isha starts the process of taking our names and bringing us formally into the harem. Each woman is selected in what at first I think is a random order but I soon realise that the colour of our hair determines the order. Fairest first. When called, she is taken into a side room where A'isha is waiting. After 10 minutes or so the next woman is called. Once taken into the room the woman doesn't return so we have no idea what happens in the room or afterwards. My hair is black as night, so I'm likely to be the last, which suits me fine since I'm not looking forward to trying to walk.

Around lunchtime a halt is called for a while. There are still a dozen of us left by the pools. A'isha doesn't return, but Samed brings in food for us. He walks over to me and gently lifts me from the pool, hands me a towel, and places me on a cushion by a table.

"I trust you have learned your lesson and I will never need to cane you again", he says in a surprisingly kind voice. I nod quickly and sincerely hope that that will be true.

It is mid afternoon and I'm the last one by the pools. I've put on my clothes for the first time since daybreak. I've tried walking around and I can now manage a slow walk unaided, although my feet still sting. At last I'm called through to the side room where I find A'isha sitting at a desk busy writing notes. Two older women are standing to one side and Mustafa is waiting by a curtained archway. That must be the exit through which the other women have left this room.

"We will make this as quick as possible and then you can join the rest of your friends," says A'isha. "I shall ask you a few questions and then Abal and Jamilah will give you a physical examination. After that I will explain the rules of this house and tell you what is to become of you. You may ask questions at any time if you wish. Firstly, your name and age?"

"Jacqueline Lachatte. I'm 27."

"Who are your parents and where do they live?"

"My parents are dead."

"Where is your home? Were you employed before you boarded the Humphrey?"

I was working as a secretary for a French police inspector in Paris until his unfortunate death." Not exactly true, but close enough.

"What skills do you have? If you were a secretary then I presume you can read and write."

"Yes, I can read and write. I can speak French, Spanish and English fluently. I've done some singing and dancing to earn a few coppers in the past."

"Anything else?"

"No, ma'am," I say in my best your-humble-servant tone of voice. While I'm sure her brother might be interested in some of my more intimate skills, I'm not going to volunteer that information.

"Let's try that again, Jackie de Belleville", she sighs.

She reaches over her desk and hands me a copy of the English Admiralty's notice of a reward for my hide. Those damn things must be everywhere. And all over a simple misunderstanding about the ownership of a ship. The reward notice describes my features right down to my distinctive pouncing cat tattoo, which is currently in plain view through the translucent top of my harem trousers. I thought I'd convinced Rear-Admiral Rodgers in the Admiralty to help me. I should have known better than accept the promises made by a man who was more interested in getting between my legs. But Roger Rodgers seemed more genuine than most, and he certainly knows how to give a girl a good rogering. Of course, I consider myself innocent of the charges of piracy, but so far nobody in authority has shown any inclination to listen to my side of the story.

"So you're going to sell me to those bastards and get your reward?" I snap.

A'isha finds my outburst amusing.

"For the measly sum they are offering? Oh no, my dear, the value your skills are worth far more than that."

I shrug in resignation and give A'isha a quick breakdown of my various talents and skills. She writes them all in her book.

"Now, Jackie, go over to Abal and Jamilah there and let them examine you for any signs of disease. I'm afraid they must also check whether or not you are a virgin, but they will do it as gently as possible."

The examination takes only a couple of minutes and the women confirm what I could have told them. Sailing the seas with a shipload of lusty Spaniards isn't conducive to a maiden hanging onto her virginity, although in keeping with my honorary male status, it was only my arse which they buggered. Don't be mistaken, I enjoyed the years I spent sailing on board the Zafiro. The crew looked after me and they were certainly a happy crew. Nor do I mind that Inspecteur Lebranleur and Rear-Admiral Rodgers took their fill of my other holes when the opportunity allowed.

"One final question," says A'isha. "Why did you volunteer to take Rebecca's punishment this morning?"

"Rebecca is young and I doubt if she's suffered a punishment stronger than a few harsh words in her life. I, on the other hand, have been caned, whipped, chained up and a lot more, so what's one more caning to me. Besides, there didn't seem to be much point in two of us suffering when Samed was happy that his justice was served by punishing only one of us."

"And you are no stranger to sex," observes A'isha. "Have you ever been raped?"

"Sex, yes. Rape, no," I reply. "Not that there haven't been men who have thought about it. But any man who has tried to ravish me without my consent has died in the attempt. And before you ask, I don't like killing people, but I will do so when necessary to protect myself and my friends."

"I see," says A'isha, although I doubt that she really understands. "Please sit down over there Jackie and listen carefully. If anything I say is unclear you may ask any question you like. Once you leave this room, however, you formally enter the harem under your new name, Zakiyah. Your status will be that of an odalisque in my brother's household. You will be bound by the rules I'm about to describe."

So I'm not even allowed to keep my own name. Well, it won't be the first time I've switched names. I nod and pay attention to A'isha.

"Firstly, this building is the harem and it is the sleeping quarters for all the women living in Wadi Halaf, both slave and free. Most of the rules of the household are for your protection and well-being. They apply to everyone here, including me.

"You may now go anywhere within the harem and the private gardens in the atrium, dressed, or not, as you like. However you must never ever go into the courtyard and beyond without wearing the djellaba you'll be given shortly. For the time being, you must let Samed or Mustafa know if your duties require you to leave the harem, and how long you will be absent. You must return by the stated time or send word if you are likely to be delayed.

"You may enter the kitchens in the building opposite, but the soldiers' barracks at the rear are strictly out of bounds. You may only enter the central building, where my brother conducts business, in the company of Samed or Mustafa, and only if you are ordered to go there. Similarly, all women in this household may only go outside the main walls of Wadi Halaf with my brother's permission, and with an escort."

A'isha quickly tells me the rest of the household rules which cover routine matters such as cleanliness, work and meal times and a code of conduct within the harem. Any transgression will result in six strokes of the cane for minor infractions, and death for more serious crimes such as trying to escape.

To my surprise she details my legal rights as well. I hadn't for a moment imagined I had any rights, but it seems that Hassan is required to ensure that I am fed and clothed, and he must provide any medical attention I might need. A'isha also details the circumstances under which I may be granted my freedom, although none of those seem likely to happen anytime soon. I didn't think until afterwards A'isha hadn't told me how I will be able to complain to anyone who would care in the event of my rights being abused.

Finally A'isha gives me some paper and a pen and tells me that I may write a letter to whomever I wish saying that my freedom may be gained by paying a ransom in gold within six months from today. Failure to pay the ransom may result in me being sold to whomever will buy me. The intermediary who will conduct negotiations for the size of the ransom will be none other than that scumbag, Doctor Nathaniel Wickliffe.

It doesn't surprise me that Hassan has no need for the 32 young women his uncle acquired, but I'm relieved that he's decided to try and ransom us, rather than sell us in the slave markets straight away. If nothing else, it will keep us together for a while longer. I don't bother writing to anybody since none of my friends have access to the kind of money which would buy my freedom. The English Admiralty's reward is clearly not enough.

"Why can't I keep my own name? I don't like being given a slave name?"

"The name Zakiyah isn't being given to you because you are a slave," replies A'isha. "It's to protect your real identity from those outside of the harem. The English Admiralty's reward notice means people may be hunting for you in these parts. This harem is a good hiding place, but its security isn't foolproof."

"Hmm ... You have a point. What duties am I to perform?" I ask.

"That is for my brother to decide and you'll be told in the next few days."

I have no further questions for the moment and A'isha signals Mustafa to escort me to my quarters where Rebecca, Sally, Molly and I are apparently to share a dormitory with an insatiable concubine named Miri.

The door takes me into another part of the harem which is built around a square garden about twenty yards on each side. A verandah runs around the circumference of the garden. There are rooms opening out onto the verandah and I discover some of them are dormitories; each capable of housing up to eight women. Several of the dormitories have been hastily reopened to accommodate the 'Dickey Wickey girls', a name for our group of thirty two which seems to have appeared out of nowhere but is now in common use among us.

I take the opportunity to continue exploring. Inside each dormitory there are internal doors which link each dormitory to its neighbours, some via a small room containing basins and toilets in between each dormitory. There are other rooms opening off the verandah like the one I have just left.

Four short corridors at each corner of the verandah connect to the main harem corridor which wraps around the inside of the thick exterior walls of the harem. The baths and several other rooms, including the one in which we spent our first night at Wadi Halaf, connect to the main corridor at the northern end of the harem. Midway along the western leg of the main corridor is the main entrance to the harem. The only other exit to the harem is a small corridor leading to Hassan's bedchamber. Needless to say both doors are securely locked. Any attempt at escape will need to be well planned, especially as death is the penalty for failure.

This is to be my home and my prison for the indefinite future. I promise myself that I'll make the best of my situation. I feel strangely relaxed. For the first time in ages I don't need to be on constant alert for danger. Perhaps Wadi Halaf might not be such a bad place after all.

The next morning A'isha sets us all the task of writing a story about ourselves. It seems a strange request but I've no desire to feel Samed's cane on my feet, so I'm doing as I'm told.

[End of part 1]