Page:The Slave Girl of Agra.djvu/292

 "Hush, hush! thou merciless woman, nor demean thy lord before strangers. People in the East still have some faith in their Emperor, though he seems to have lost all credit in his own palace! And who art thou, my fair Afghan maid? Methinks I have seen those pretty eyes before. And who is the fair stranger in a stranger's garb whom thou hidest from my view?"

"Much honoured am I, sire, that thou dost recognise thy humble servant, who has often been in this palace before," said the Afghan maid, salaaming gracefully to the Emperor. "My family owes much to thy royal bounty, and my brother, Sher Afghan, holds the rich Jaigir thou hast bestowed on him in Bengal. He sends his salutation to thy Majesty—he and his wife, Mihr-un-Nissa."

"Sher Afghan is a brave and worthy soldier," replied Akbar, "and no Jaigir that I can bestow is too rich for his merits. Providence has bestowed on him a richer gift—a beautiful and faithful wife."

"Providence was considerate," said the witty Afghan maid in a whisper, as if speaking to herself, "and removed her from Agra, as there was peril in her eyes."

"Hush! hush! thou impudent girl, one speaks not lightly of such things in the Bazaar. Methinks there is peril in thy wicked eyes too, and mischief may be caused in the palace unless I can find a handsome warrior and a distant Jaigir for thee. My troops can face the Persians in the West and the Afghans in the East, but who will protect the poor Emperor from pretty Persians and Afghans making an onslaught in the palace itself?"