BooksBarbecue
Back Harem
Chapters (49)
  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Acknowledgments
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. TOUCHSTONE READING GROUP GUIDE
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A hacking cough and a stream of tears replaced Gold Dust’s sweeping laughter. The hakim announced that the cough was due to the accumulation of powdered marrow in her lungs, but he did not know what had caused the flow of tears. Five times a day, she was ordered to drink an infusion of quince seeds to relieve the cough. In the evening, she endured cupping, where hot suction glasses extricated evil demons, which left purple marks on her skin.

At dawn, she woke to the pain of leeches, bleeding her of the tainted blood that was believed to cause her malady. She gazed at the leeches, gorged with her blood and many times their original size. “Soon they’ll drain me of my last drop.”

Rebekah realized the leeches were also draining her daughter’s will. She went to the Shah and pleaded with him to dispose of that hakim and invite another.

The second hakim, a short, round man with a tinted, curly beard, visited the harem every sundown. He fed Gold Dust a spoonful of the oil of taryak, made from petals and pods of poppy flowers, to stop her tears. He never left the taryak with the favorite. An extra dose could rid a patient of the misery of an unbearable life.

Since no male was allowed to touch the sultana, every day, through a tube, the hakim smelled her properly cloaked body so as to detect any putrid odor. But apart from the lingering fragrance of black roses the Shah left behind, there was no unusual smell on her. The hakim straightened his back and puffed up his cheeks. “It is clear the favorite is suffering from leprosy of the bones and a mysterious malady of the tear ducts. I’ll order an active sweating-out of the toxins.”

On a figurine, he demonstrated to the female slaves how to rub Gold Dust with floured apricot kernels to clear her pores and to facilitate the expunging of the plague, then sprinkle and rub flaxseed flour over her body and roll a number of goatskins around her to facilitate sweating.

Gold Dust’s body became so haggard she seemed to have lost even her soft bones.

Rebekah planted her hands on her waist and cried out, “It’s time to try a different remedy!”

“We must fumigate the harem against the evil eye,” the doctor advised.

Rebekah dismissed him on the spot.

The third hakim, a literate Jew, had long, thin legs, dangling arms, and wiry fingers that scribbled marginal notes in a book of apothecary. When he was informed that he could not touch Gold Dust’s wrist, he tied a string around it and held the end from where he counted her pulse. “Sluggish,” he concluded. “Phlegmatic. Evidence of a neglected digestive system.”