And before the older man could grasp his purpose, much less intervene, that victim of a duteous heart had fled the room. After a space of thought the Pasha followed to Murjânah Khânum’s quarters, where he found the young man writhing on a bed of cushions, while his second mother wept with him and prayed.
“Listen, O Yûsuf, O my son!” began the father earnestly. “I have been thinking. Thou and thy bride shall have a house apart——”
But at his voice the young man, foaming at the mouth, sprang up from his couch with teeth and hands clenched in a final spasm, and, flinging up his hands, fell back insensible.
“Go, fetch the leech, the fit will pass, in sh´Allah. Be secret, lest tongues wag to our dishonour,” said Murjânah, and the Pasha went at once to the selamlik, returning with a black slave skilled in surgery. Yûsuf was bled. While assisting in the operation the Pasha asked Murjânah:
“What punishment is meet for her we wot of?”
“Forgiveness, for the love of Allah!” was the answer. “Upbraid her on religious grounds and then forgive her. We know her generous, impulsive nature. Thy sudden kindness will affect her more than blows. Poor soul, she must have suffered very deeply. My slaves inform me that she saw this Englishwoman as a kind of ghoul. Tomorrow, with her nature, she may wish to hug her. Remove the young folks for the present.”
“I had thought of that,” rejoined the Pasha. “By Allah, they shall have the garden-house towards Rôdah. To-morrow I will have the place prepared for them.”
When Yûsuf Bey came back to life he wept anew, but weakly, helplessly. In that condition he was carried to his own apartments by the surgeon, with the Pasha’s help, Murjânah going on before to warn the bride.
This sad procession happened to encounter a slave of Leylah Khânum’s who, hearing Yûsuf’s groans, ran off with screams and told her mistress he was dead. At once the whole harîm was filled with wailing. Fitnah Khânum, thunderstruck by the appalling news, defiled her face with dirt and tore her raiment. She rushed shrieking to the bridal chamber, as did every woman and child who by relationship could claim the right to enter. She knelt before the bride, who stood apart, bewildered, and besought her:
“Remove the spell, restore him, for the love of Allah. I sinned. I here confess it. Thou art much too strong for me. Thou, by thy magic, hast turned round the sword to pierce my bosom. I was impatient, I am justly punished. The wisest of mankind advised me I should wait three months. Thou seest how I love thee, how I kneel to thee and kiss thy feet. Accept my life’s devotion: only save him!”