Silk and Secrets(50)

Say it, Juliet, admit it, if only to yourself. No matter what the dangers, it will be impossible to stand by and not try to prevent the death of the man you love.





Chapter 10





During the flash flood, Juliet had had to endure watching her husband risk his life. Ross's turn to stand helplessly by and see Juliet's life in jeopardy came a week later.

The caravan was a day's travel from Merv, the largest town between Sarakhs and Bokhara. They had settled for the night by a small well of scant, bitter water, and the travelers were pitching tents and building fires when a band of Turkomans galloped into the camp.

Everyone stopped what he was doing and stared as the riders went by. Compared to the merchants, the Turkomans were wolf-lean and dangerous.

Murad was making desert bread, which was a flour- and-water dough placed in a sand hole, then covered with more sand and hot coals for cooking. Sitting back on his heels, he said uneasily, "Surely bandits would not ride openly into our camp."

"No," Saleh agreed. "Probably they are in the service of Khiva or Bokhara and are here to tax the caravan. A form of robbery, perhaps, but a mild one."

Being the most innocuous-looking of the party, Saleh went to the center of the camp to learn what was happening. After a half-hour or so he returned and reported his findings. "The leader is called Khosrow Khan and he is a yuz-bashi, the 'commander of a hundred.' He is an officer of the Amir of Khiva and is here to levy a tax of one in forty." Squatting on his heels, Saleh accepted a cup of tea from Murad. "Each group must make a list of goods. The yuz-bashi will visit each fire to check the records and collect the tax."

Ross nodded, unsurprised. "I imagine that some of the merchants are disappointed. With fighting going on between the khanates, the caravan might have been lucky enough to avoid Khivan taxation altogether."

"Aye, there is some disappointment. There will be another tax collected in Charjui, when we enter the kingdom of Bokhara, and still another must be paid at the customhouse of the city itself. But paying the taxes protects the caravan from most of the plunderers." Saleh sipped the tea, his face becoming troubled. "Abdul Wahab told me this Khosrow Khan is known to hate ferengis. It will be best if you do not attract his attention, Khilburn."

"I'll be unobtrusive," Ross promised.

During the next hour Abdul Wahab escorted the yuz-bashi and his men around the camp. The travelers carried on with the usual camp routines, though all were aware of the movements of the Khivans. Juliet and Ross tended the camels while Murad made an onion gravy to go with the bread and Saleh wrote out an inventory of their goods.

Though the Turkomans were not opening baggage, their threatening appearance encouraged rigorous honesty. Palpable tension gripped the camp. No one wanted to anger the yuz-bashi for fear that he would forget that he was a Khivan official and revert to the behavior of his wild Turkoman cousins, who would take not one part in forty, but everything.

Juliet kept a watchful eye on her husband, who seemed unconcerned by the presence of the Turkomans. If there was a book of instruction on how to achieve British coolness, he must have written it. No, not British coolness—English. As a Scot, she was also British, and not cool at all.

When the bread was done, Murad dug the flat loaf from the cookhole and knocked chunks of sand from the crust, then called the others to dine. Served hot with the onion gravy, the bread was delicious, although not the easiest food to eat when veiled.

They were just finishing the meal when Juliet glanced up and saw that Habib, the hostile camel driver, was taking one of the Khivans aside for a private word. Visibly surprised, the Turkoman glanced in their direction, then hastened forward and spoke to his officer. Juliet frowned, but before she could warn the others of what she had seen, the yuz-bashi and his entourage turned and came directly to their campfire.

The yuz-bashi was a squat, powerfully built man with the slitted eyes common among Turkomans. After scanning the members of the party, he said brusquely, "Give me your list of goods."

Silently Saleh complied. As the yuz-bashi studied it, Juliet saw Habib standing a short distance away, a gloating expression on his face. A number of other travelers were also gathering, as if expecting some kind of drama, but most looked concerned rather than eager.

The yuz-bashi glanced at Juliet and, apart from showing mild interest in her tagelmoust, dismissed her as a poor servant of no interest. Sure that she would not be missed, she rose and drifted into the crowd, circling until she located Hussayn, the son of Muhammad Kasem.

In terse, heavily accented Persian she explained that she thought Habib was trying to make trouble for Khilburn, and perhaps Jalal and Hussayn should watch to see that no injustice was done. Eyes watchful, Hussayn followed Juliet, and they took a position a little behind Habib.