"Very good."
Malta
"Checkmate." Elizabeth looked triumphantly at the crestfallen knight across from her. Beautiful, intelligent, and headstrong she baffled one suitor after another. Her father's only child, she was raised with all the advantages of a boy and all the graces of a girl. She was accomplished in the diplomatic languages of the Mediterranean -- Latin, French, Spanish, and Arabic as well as her native Italian. She learned the arts of conversation and excelled at chess and fencing. At 20 years old, she could have been married long ago, but such was the bond with her father that she had discouraged all suitors.
Currently her father was governor of Malta, which was under siege yet again from the Moors. The castle was full of handsome and lovesick knights for her amusement; but her father wanted her to leave. It was getting too dangerous. Moorish ships roamed the waters and their blockade was increasingly effective. Elizabeth was adamant that she would stay and share the fate of her father. Then came news that plague had appeared in the city. Her father insisted that she leave and he was writing to a distant cousin in Italy to take her in until the danger was past.
Reluctantly, she packed and prepared to leave on a fast courier preparing now to leave the harbor. Traveling with her would be her young maid Maria and a few other women being evacuated by their husbands and fathers.
The ship was small and propelled by large sails. In a good wind it would outpace anything afloat and they expected to reach Sicily within a day; but this was not to be. Scarcely had they left sight of the island when the wind died. Becalmed, they were easily overtaken by a Moorish galley. Elizabeth was shamed by the eagerness with which the sailors surrendered without putting up a fight. She seized several pistols and shot and some cutlasses and herded the women into the captain's cabin below the deck. She ordered them to barricade the door and then took shelter behind heavy furniture.
The pirates put the sailors in chains and ransacked the boat for valuables. When they discovered the locked door, they forced it open. The first man through was shot in the heart and they retreated. Moments later they charged again. Elizabeth shot a second one and thrust a third with a saber. The men retreated, carrying their wounded comrade and the women again barricaded the door.
The Moorish captain called upon them to surrender. "You have no hope of escape. I am taking this ship to Tripoli. Give yourselves up and save further bloodshed. Otherwise we will be forced to shoot you all."
At that threat the women panicked and pleaded with Elizabeth to let them surrender. Elizabeth called out, "What do you intend to do with us?"
"We will exchange you for ransom if anyone will pay your price. Otherwise you will be sold in the market. In either case you will be alive."
Elizabeth said to her companions, "I would rather die than be dishonored." The three wives begged her to change her mind. Maria was silent, willing to accept the fate of her mistress. She called out to the captain, "Let us negotiate terms."
"What do you propose?"
"Allow us to stay unmolested in this cabin with adequate food and water and we will surrender when you arrive in port. I only ask that my maid not be separated from me. If we are to be ransomed, we will be ransomed together. If we are to be sold, we will be sold together."
The captain was impressed by her spirit and amused by her impudence. To the dismay of the crew, he agreed to the terms. They had hoped to enjoy themselves with the women, but he pointed out that more of them might pay with their lives. "These women have shown more fight than the sailors. Let them have their way now. We will be in port by tomorrow evening if the wind permits."
Elizabeth stuck by the terms. When the ship docked, she surrendered her weapons and permitted herself and the other women to be led off in slave chains. The captain claimed her and Maria as his share of the spoils.
Taken by Elizabeth's exotic beauty, he first looked forward to adding her to his harem. After learning her identity, he had hope of a large ransom instead. Unfortunately, the captain was under suspicion of not contributing a proper share of previous prizes with the port governor and was arrested. In desperation, he sent Elizabeth and Maria to the Bey as a gift, hoping to be pardoned.
Elizabeth had been stripped of her wealth, but she and her maid were dressed in fine Moorish clothes with a jeweled face covering and thus brought in chains to the home of the Bey. A large black slave came to the door. As the captain explained the purpose of his visit, the slave said only that his master had no need of more slaves. The captain then removed Elizabeth's clothes to appeal to the man's lust. He was unmoved. "My master has no need of women. Sell them in the market."
The captain was near despair, but when Maria thought of their being auctioned again, she burst into tears. Out of pity, the slave agreed to accept them provisionally until he could consult with his master. He led Elizabeth and Maria into a richly furnished parlor and told them to wait. A servant girl brought them wine and fruit. She said nothing, but put down the dishes and left the room. Their wait turned to hours and the light faded.
Eventually the slave returned. "The Master has been busy and has retired. I will take you to the harem." They followed him to the second floor of the mansion. He opened an ornate door and ushered them in. Then he disappeared, shutting the door behind him. Elizabeth looked around. The room was comfortably furnished with lounges and cushions. To one side were some sleeping room and even a bathing area, but it was deserted.
Somewhat later the serving girl who had fed them earlier entered and was surprised to see them. Elizabeth explained who they were and the girl ran to find a dinner for them. Maria point out that the doors were unlocked and in the absence of guards they might escape. Elizabeth asked, "Where would we go?" The serving girl returned with food and, In the privacy of the harem, they asked about the household.
"The Master is kind," she said proudly. "He raised me from a child and now he intends to find a husband for me. I am Saba. There is one other woman who lives here. She is married to the cook and often does not sleep here. No, the Master is not married. He lives a simple and celibate life. He is an important man and very busy. Adam is the name of the slave you saw. Besides him, there is a cook, a house manager, and two scribes who attend on the master for business. They are often gone on his business."
In the morning, Elizabeth and Maria were summoned before the Bey, Mustapha al-Ahmed. Still in their chains and wearing the clothes from yesterday, Elizabeth felt scarcely presentable. Mustapha was not terribly interested. She told him their story and he told a scribe to make note of who would pay the ransom. He told Adam to remove the chains and then dismissed the women.
Elizabeth found herself free to bathe and then on her own. The harem had little to amuse her. Because Mustapha had neither wives nor concubines, its door was unguarded. She explored the house.
In a room placed to catch the morning breeze she found a chessboard set up with a game in progress. She studied the positions, analyzed the likely strategies of the players to that point and saw the black was likely to lose in only a few moves. But perhaps there was a way . . .
As she studied it, Mustapha entered the room. "Who told you to come here?"
"No one, Master. I am intrigued by your chess game. Who was your opponent?"
"I had no one today, I was playing myself."
"And which of you was winning?"
"If you knew how to play, you would see that white has the advantage."
"Only if black does not understand white's strategy. But of course, your left hand cannot pretend not to know what the right hand is thinking, so you must be aware that black still has a chance."
"You think you know how to play?" he asked skeptically. "Then take black and show me how to escape the net that is closing in."
"Whose turn is it?"
"It is black's turn. I abandoned the game because it is hopeless for him."
Although her king was being menaced by white's queen, Elizabeth moved a knight on the far side of the board. This freed up a path to bring a rook into play. Mustapha ignored it and began to close the trap. Black's rook now slid into a position to threaten a knight. White again dismissed the threat and moved a rook to place black's king in check. The rook was in line with the black queen but it was guarded by the knight. However, the black rook was now positioned to threaten the white queen if the knight moved. The black queen took the rook, sacrificing herself; but the black rook now took the white queen, in the exchange coming out ahead by a rook. The white attack was in disarray.
"Very impressive." Mustapha said to Elizabeth. "I congratulate you. Who taught you to play?"
"My father did. He taught me not to enjoy defeat."
The game continued and Elizabeth won it narrowly. "We must play again," said Mustapha. I enjoy a game in the morning light after breakfast. I would be pleased if you would join me tomorrow."
With that, it was understood that Elizabeth would have the freedom of the house. Although Maria was assigned duties by the house manager, and was also expected to attend to Elizabeth, Elizabeth was treated as a guest -- a paying guest, she was unable to forget. She expected to hear any day of the ransom from her father.
A morning chess game became a pleasant distraction for both Elizabeth and Mustapha. More often than not, she won; but many games were played so closely they dragged through the morning. On those occasions Mustapha had his business brought to the game room and Elizabeth became acquainted with his dealings. One morning he was asked to pass judgment on a sea captain who had not been paying his taxes. The governor asked whether the man should be fined, jailed, or released. Elizabeth reminded him that she had been a gift from a captain in such a dilemma. It turned out to be the same captain.
Mustapha turned to her. "This is the man who enslaved you. What punishment would you recommend to him?"
"How much does he owe?"
"The governor says 200 ducats."
"And how much is my ransom?"
"I have asked for 500 ducats for you and your maid."
"When he captured me, we negotiated terms. He upheld his end of the bargain, kept his sailors from molesting the women, and did not separate me from my maid. Let me therefore plead on his behalf. If he owes 200 ducats, he has given up more than that to win your favor. That is, he would have been richer had he paid what he owed. Granted, the ransom comes slowly and perchance it may not arrive at all. But you have come out ahead, have you not? What reason is there to punish him?"
"You reason well and speak for mercy. For your sake and because he brought you to me, I will grant it to him." He turned to the scribe. "The captain has simply paid his taxes to the wrong person. Send the governor 200 ducats to absolve the debt and inform the captain that he should not find himself in this position again." After this episode, Mustapha discussed his business more freely in front of Elizabeth and occasionally invited her opinions.
