Love and War in the Jewish Quarter by Love & War in the Jewish Quarter (retail) (epub)

Author:Love & War in the Jewish Quarter (retail) (epub)
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Post Hill Press
Published: 2022-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Tulip stands back to review the gold ribbons he wove into Velvet’s strands of hair.

“My husband will not approve of these in my hair.”

“Enjoy it for now, Khanom, and take them out when you’re with him.”

She takes another look at her image in the mirror and smiles. “I like them. I will leave them in.”

The mansion heaves with the muezzins’ faraway call to evening prayers. Tulip checks his image in the mirror, centers his ruby necklace, and applies rouge to his cheeks. “I must be on my way.”

“Don’t go, Tulip,” Velvet begs. “I can’t bear being alone with my thoughts.”

The recurring nightmare had her shivering under the covers last night—the Friday Night Woman lounged next to her in the same bed, her body cold as a corpse, a triumphant grin painted on a face as blank and white as bleached bone. Even now, running wild in her mind, are images of her husband and the woman entwined in acts of passion. “That poor girl in the fields. She is not my husband’s mistress, is she?”

“I don’t think so, Khanom. His Excellency can’t be attracted to such types.”

“Then who is she? Don’t shrug me off, Tulip. I don’t believe you!” Velvet cries out. “What kind of a friend are you? You know about everyone and everything here, know who comes and goes. How could you not have seen her even once in three years?”

“I have seen her. But she covers her face with veils. How could I tell who she is? Listen to me, Velvet Khanom, please. I beg you. When a problem doesn’t have a solution, better to accept and live with it, or it will destroy you. Enough that his Excellency cares for you, makes sure you are comfortable and well taken care of.”

She holds her head between her hands. “No, it isn’t enough, and you know it. I have no one, Tulip, no one.”

“Not so, Velvet Khanom. You have me, and you have your parents.”

“My parents? I’m here, they’re there. When have I seen them last? More than a year, two years maybe, I’ve stopped counting or I’ll go mad.” She recalls the day the Trans-Iranian railway fell into allied hands and her father, who was the chief engineer, lost his job. Bankruptcy followed when the monthly stipend they received from the governor general was inexplicably reduced, and, unable to pay their expenses, her parents returned home to the Southern port of Bushehr by the Persian Gulf. The war had elevated the importance of that port, and they expected to find respectable jobs, but that did not happen. They were forced to resort to scrubbing the underfoot filth of foreign sailors in American and British warships transporting heavy artillery to the Soviet Union.

Tulip wraps himself in his cape. “This specific problem, Velvet Khanom, has a solution. You have more power than you think. The fields were productive today, and His Excellency is in a good mood. Don’t wait for him to call you tonight. Go to him early.

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