Sphinx's Princess (27 page)

I wondered how he’d react if I’d asked for a chariot of my own, then and there. He’d probably gape so much that his eyes would pop out of his head. The thought made me smile, and he took it for a sign that I’d conceded the quarrel.

“You agree with me. Good.” The passion he’d shown during our argument was gone; the old, familiar coolness was back. “All will be well between us from now on. Where is Ta-Miu?”

I motioned for him to step into my rooms. As I’d imagined, Nava and Ta-Miu were under the bed. When I called to the child, she and the cat poked their heads out side by side, four green eyes peering up at me.

“There you are, my treasure!” Thutmose exclaimed, kneeling. He turned to me and added: “You won’t need to look after her again.”

“Oh, but I don’t mind,” I said anxiously. The memory of how close I’d come to hearing Nava speak taunted me. “She’s a lovely cat, so sweet, so well-behaved!”

Thutmose beamed. “She is; all the more reason to
guard her. I didn’t think things through. I forgot that there would be times when neither you nor I would be free to keep her out of the wrong hands. Tonight, for instance, both of us must attend a banquet honoring the ambassadors from Kush. If Mother’s agents wanted to seize Ta-Miu then, who’d stop them?”

“Nava could take care of Ta-Miu for both of us,” I said, indicating my little musician. “She loves her.”

“Nava—?” Thutmose glanced at the still-cowering child. “Oh yes,
very
formidable. I’m sure
she’d
be able to protect Ta-Miu against whole armies!” He snorted. “I’ve entrusted the task to one of my strongest slaves, a Nubian with hands that can crush baked bricks. He won’t fail me—he has a wife and children to think of.”

With that, Thutmose scooped Ta-Miu into his arms and stood up. The cat was still a little unnerved from the shouting match she’d just overheard at such close range. She squirmed, which only made him hold her more tightly. The cat made a low, warbling noise deep in her throat—half meow, half growl—and lashed out viciously with her hind legs. Thutmose uttered a sharp cry of pain and dropped her. She was back under my bed with Nava before the first drops of blood oozed from the gash she’d opened on his arm.

“This is
your
fault!” he bellowed, whirling to confront me. “My Ta-Miu has never hurt me before.
Never!
What did you do to her? How did you turn her against me?”

“I won’t listen to this nonsense,” I said, keeping as calm as I could. Nava didn’t need to witness any more uproars. “As if
I
could make a cat do anything it didn’t want to do?
As if
anyone
could do that? You’re not being rational, Thutmose.”

A dangerous look came into his eyes. “So that’s his plan.” And before I could ask him what he was talking about, he threw himself flat on his belly, wormed under my bed, emerged with a struggling Ta-Miu in his grasp, and stormed out, leaving me to cope with a silently weeping Nava.

I sat on the floor and held her in my lap, rocking her like a baby. I was trying to cheer her with silly songs and funny stories when I heard someone rapping on the wall just outside of my bedroom doorway. “May I come in?” It was Amenophis.

“Why are you here?” I asked sharply, still upset from all the nasty things Thutmose had said.

“It’s not forbidden,” he said, taken aback by my hard words. “The only reason I haven’t done it before is … is I was afraid.”

“Of what?”

“Gossip. You’ve been here long enough to know how it is in the women’s quarters. So much gossip, so much jealousy, and everyone looking for the chance to turn the most innocent act into a knife to use against her rival.”

“I wish I had a rival for Thutmose,” I muttered. “I’d let her have him and go home.” I sighed. “If you were afraid to come here before, what changed your mind?”

He smiled sadly and knelt beside Nava and me. “Wasn’t my brother just here?” A beam of sunlight from the high window fell across Amenophis’s face, revealing a large red
mark that was swiftly darkening into a purple bruise on his cheekbone.

“He hit you?” I was outraged. “I wish I’d kicked him harder when I had the chance.”

“You kicked Thutmose?” Amenophis stared at me, then let loose his wonderful laugh. “I wish I’d seen that. It would be worth suffering
twenty
blows.”

And yet, for all Amenophis’s brave words, that was the last time I saw him, apart from formal occasions. I missed him, and I made up a dozen excuses for his absence. When Sitamun, Nava, and I gathered for our lessons and were waiting for Henenu to arrive, I casually wondered aloud if there was some official business or princely duties keeping Amenophis more than ordinarily busy.

“Thutmose told Mother about the quarrel. She ordered Amenophis to keep his distance from you.”

“And what did he tell her?”

“Tell her? What
would
he tell her? He might defy her wishes on the sly, but I’ve never known him to stand up to her for anything.” Sitamun looked at me with compassion. “I’m sorry, Nefertiti. It looks like my brother fears Mother more than he loves you.”

I felt my face heat with a blush. “I know he doesn’t love me. That’s not the way it is between us. I only thought that our friendship was worth fighting for.”

“I’m sure he feels the same way,” Sitamun said. “He would fight for it against anyone else, but this … this is Mother.”

I bent my head over my pens and palette, pretending a
sudden interest in examining them. As I ran my fingertips over each part of my scribal kit, my heart was heavy.
Oh, Amenophis, my dear friend! I know you’re strong, even if your body looks weak, but why can’t your spirit be strong, too?
A tear splashed onto the stone palette and I wiped it away with my thumb.

As the season of the Inundation approached and the end of my first year at the court of Pharaoh Amenhotep drew to a close, I was called into Pharaoh’s private presence chamber for the first time. The summons came to me very early one morning. Nava and I were just finishing our breakfast beside the long pool when a gorgeously jeweled official came striding through the women’s quarters. He dropped to both knees before me and delivered his message in ringing tones while Kepi, my other maids, and a few curious women from other apartments nearby looked on.

By this time I had gone through enough ceremonial dinners and other events at court to be used to hearing myself acclaimed with such exaggerated praise that I no longer heard a word of it. I only paid attention when the messenger got to the point of his errand—namely, that I was to come at once.

“I am honored to obey Pharaoh’s word,” I said, rising
from my stool. The man stood up as well and was about to lead me away when Kepi intervened.

“My lady,
naturally
you will be wearing something suitably fine when you greet Pharaoh,” she said, blocking my way and trying to steer me back into my rooms. “I will see to it myself that this gentleman is offered refreshments while the girls bring you the appropriate dress and jewelry.”

The man’s hand fell heavily on Kepi’s plump shoulder. “There is no time for that. My lady Nefertiti is to come without delay.”

“But, my lord, we haven’t even had the chance to paint her eyes or comb her hair or—”

“Without delay,”
the man boomed, glaring at my maidservant. “These are the words of the living god, the Pharaoh Amenhotep, may he reign forever. You will be punished severely for having the audacity to defy them.”

“And
you
will be punished twice as severely if you say one word to bring harm to her,” I told him, doing my best to look like Aunt Tiye at her worst. I must have done a good job of it: The man quailed and spouted even more flattery, begging my forgiveness and assuring me that I was renowned for being as merciful as I was beautiful. He was still groveling as he led me away, but not loudly enough to blot out the sound of whispers rising from every corner of the women’s quarters as we passed.

I was thankful when he at last fell silent. His constant chatter was too intrusive to let me think, and I had much to think about before I faced the Pharaoh.
Why does he want to see me?
I wondered.
What could be so important that I have to come to him
without delay?
Sweet Isis, I’m afraid! It’s been weeks
since Thutmose raged at me about my spending time with Amenophis. If he were going to denounce me to his father, wouldn’t he have done it sooner?
A darker suspicion crossed my mind.
Unless he
wanted
me to think I was safe and then strike when I was off guard. Oh, that snake! Amenophis and I didn’t do anything wrong, but will Pharaoh see it that way, or will Thutmose poison his father’s judgment against us, or—

I paused in midstep and closed my eyes.
Enough
, I told myself.
If I start seeing evil schemes behind everything, I’ll turn into Aunt Tiye or Thutmose.

“My lady Nefertiti?” My guide hovered near, alarmed that I’d stopped walking.

I opened my eyes and nodded. “I’m fine.”

I was brought to a great audience hall where Pharaoh’s throne stood empty under its canopy. The official guided me around the platform to a humble doorway curtained with woven reeds. Through this was Pharaoh’s private presence chamber. I’d heard of its existence from Sitamun when she described yet another foreign ambassador who’d come to ask for one of Pharaoh’s daughters as a bride for his king. Pharaoh always refused but had the kindness to do it in this chamber, to spare the envoy and his king public humiliation.

I didn’t have time to take in my surroundings before Pharaoh spoke to me from the gilded chair in the center of the room. “There you are, my dear Nefertiti. I’m always so happy to see your lovely face. Please”—a rasping cough echoed from the walls—“please come nearer, child. It’s been too long since I’ve enjoyed your company.”

I approached Pharaoh with reverence and bowed low,
my hands outstretched to honor the living god. “It’s my joy to be here,” I said, thankful that our family ties excused me from having to cover him with praise and blessings before actually
talking
to him. “How may I serve you?”

I heard him chuckle, then cough again. “First, by looking at me so that I
can
delight in your beauty.”

I did as he asked. A wedge of sunlight bathed the floor between us, but Pharaoh’s chair remained in shadow. My eyes had to adjust between the contrasting light and darkness in the room, but when they did, I saw that he and I were the only ones there.
What does it mean?
I thought, trying to stay calm.

“You can come closer than that, can’t you?” he said. “I should have ordered the slaves to bring some lamps, but I’m so tired of lamplight. Do you know, as long as you’ve been with us, I haven’t seen your face by daylight more than a handful of times? And I haven’t been able to speak more than a few words to you. That saddens me more than you can ever know. I’ve asked you to come see me because I’ve finally got the time to correct that.” He patted the arm of his chair. “Please.”

I crossed the room until I stood with my feet no more than a hand’s breadth from his. His smile was a wide, pale gleam in the semidarkness. “You do look like her,” he said.

I could guess who he meant. “My mother …”

“She was even lovelier than you, Nefertiti. I hope you don’t mind my saying that.”

I shook my head. “I’m glad to hear it.”

“Then you are an exceptional female. My dear Tiye flies into a tantrum if I say one word about another woman’s
beauty. Sometimes I think that she encouraged your parents to wed so that
I
couldn’t marry your mother.” He smiled. “The gods must have guided her plans, because if I had made your mother my bride, I wouldn’t be seeing
this
exquisite face before me now.” He stretched out one hand to cup my chin. His touch was oddly cold and damp. With my eyes now used to the shadows, I could see that his face was no longer full and gleaming with health but dull and haggard.

“My—my lord Pharaoh,” I began.

“Sweet girl, you’re a princess now, my kin even before you marry my son. You can call me Father. In fact, I insist on it.”

“Father …” It didn’t feel natural, speaking to a living god so familiarly, but I couldn’t disobey. “Father, are you—are you well?”

He laughed softly into his fist, though there might have been a fresh cough hidden in the laughter. “Your mother was also very smart; nothing escaped her. Tiye needn’t have worried about my marrying that one, no matter how beautiful she was.
One
wife who sees everything is plenty for any man. Tell me, Nefertiti, does your father’s second wife have hawk’s eyes, too?”

And so my question went unanswered as Pharaoh filled our time together with pleasant, meaningless conversation. My worries about his reasons for wanting to see me drifted away like mist, but a fresh ember of doubt settled in my belly and began to burn:
What is the matter with him?

At one point, he wanted us to share cakes and wine. He clapped to summon a servant, but his hands shook and
made such a weak sound that he looked ashamed. I couldn’t bear to see him so dejected, so I raised my voice and called out: “Isis have mercy, Father, how many times do you have to clap before those lazy servants wake up and do their jobs?” Two men charged into the room so fast that they nearly fell all over one another. Pharaoh gave me a grateful look; I’d rescued his pride.