Roksolana walked out of the hall in anger. She wasn't just angry at the Sultan and his obvious partiality, she was jealous as well. She was jealous of Lady Miriam. She was jealous of her being the Sultan's favorite. Roksolana couldn't help but think of how Lady Miriam would gloat at her when they were back to the harem. Even much more than that, she was worried about how the lady would treat her and the rest of the women of the harem.

If Roksolana didn't know any better, she might be thinking that she was a little bit afraid of Lady Miriam. And why not? Every time the woman...