Magic of the Nile Read online

  Edekh paused in the middle of throwing the counting sticks. “Really? I’ve never known you to be a boastful or egotistical man.”

  “Ema has a way of drawing a person out, getting them to talk about their fondest dreams, their hopes and plans. She’s not being false, she’s genuinely interested,” Sahure said, as if he expected his friend to venture some criticism.

  The sticks clattered on the table as Edekh tossed them. “Such a quality is to be admired in a woman, no?”

  “Yes, but I realize there’s so much I don’t know about her. I think she turns the conversation to the other person as a defense. Her version of a shield.”

  Moving another pawn, the scribe said, “You spent time alone with her today. Did you speak of all that lies between you?”

  Sahure rubbed the back of his neck, thinking over the hours. “There were moments her behavior was odd, almost as if we were strangers, or enemies. As if she couldn’t trust me. Then at other times, she was the Ema I fell in love with.” He laughed. “She wanted to ride in my chariot through Thebes, can you imagine?”

  “Highly improper.” But the grin on Edekh’s face softened the critical tone.

  “Yes, well, I taught her to drive a team while I was there.” The memory warmed him. “She’s damn good at it too.”

  “She hardly brought any baggage at all,” Edekh said, allowing his white pawn to capture a black one, sending it all the way back to the start of the board.

  “Why do you bother to play against yourself?” Sahure gestured at the board. “You always win.”

  “Precisely. Sit then and we’ll play a rapid game before we both must be off to the banquet.”

  “You’re on.” Sahure drew his chair over to the gaming table and sat. “But we haven’t much time, so first to get one pawn through the board takes the win.”

  “Agreed.” Edekh handed him the throw sticks. “What’s your next move in the other game you’re playing, the one with Lady Tyema?”

  Rubbing the smoothly painted sticks between his hands for a moment, Sahure frowned. “I don’t trust her scribe. I think he intercepted my letters and obviously never gave any courier the ones she wrote to me. There’d be no misunderstanding if I’d known she was with child, if she’d known I regretted my anger. Matters would stand differently between us today.”

  “The man does seem to think rather highly of himself.” Edekh sipped his wine. “Apparently he’s no idea of a mere temple scribe’s proper station in life. I got the distinct impression he hoped to dine with Lady Tyema in her quarters this evening.” Shaking his head, the scribe frowned. “I would’ve had to intervene. Totally improper. There would be too much gossip, reflecting poorly on your somewhat naïve priestess. And as she’s Pharaoh’s guest, even if I wasn’t much taken by her already, I couldn’t allow her to provide easy fodder for the nattering crows on the fringes of the Court.”

  “From my observations in Ta’sobeksef, the scribe has totally inappropriate ambitions for one of his station in life,” Sahure agreed. “Yet Ema keeps him in check. Still, I think he and I are going to have a conversation but not just yet. I don’t want her upset before the ceremonies have been completed.”

  “Somehow I doubt if this chat will be enjoyable for him.” Chin resting on his hand, Edekh pondered his next move. “Perhaps we need to find Lady Tyema a new scribe or two for her temple and provide, um, other opportunities for this ambitious fellow.”

  “We do think alike. Sometimes.” Sahure swept Edekh’s pawn off the board, advancing his own several more spaces. “The sticks favor me tonight.”

  “And what of the lady herself?” Unperturbed, the scribe threw the gleaming black-and-white counters, earning enough points to get his pawn “reborn” onto the space marked with the golden ankh, where each game piece entered the board. He handed the sticks to Sahure.

  Tapping one on the edge of the board while he thought, Sahure said, “I fear I must tread carefully there. I was too abrupt the first time, assumed too much, failed miserably—”

  Contemplating the arrangement of their pawns on the board, Edekh nodded. “You don’t like to lose.”

  Sahure drew back from the board, pawn suspended in his hand above the squares. “Do you think she’s merely a challenge to me?”

  “An observation only. You do have a pattern of laying siege to those ladies who affect indifference, until you’ve won. A point your self-proclaimed childhood sweetheart Lady Baufratet would have done well to consider in her endless pursuit of position as Mistress of your House.”

  “Ema is different from any other woman I ever met. I wanted to spend my life with her, have eternity with her.” Sahure felt the rightness of the statement down to his bones. Ema was no bored Court lady playing games we both understood, no mere bed partner. No ambitious social climber like Baufratet. With distaste he remembered his original plans to marry the Theban lady in question or someone like her, to bolster his own efforts to rise in rank. Gods, what a fate I escaped. Marriage without love would have been dry as the desert sands, no matter what rank I eventually achieved. “I need to get her to let her guard down, talk to me, to explain. I need to find the real Ema hidden inside the exterior of the haughty priestess, find the woman who entranced me in Ibis province.”

  “She’ll be in Thebes for a few weeks, or so Pharaoh has said.”

  Staring in surprise, Sahure said, “I wonder why? After the crocodile has been installed in his new home, what reason could she possibly have to linger? It’s certainly not because she wants to see Thebes or experience the life at Court, trust me. Either would be totally out of character for her. And she knows no one here but me, I’m positive.”

  Edekh was silent, sipping his wine.

  “Oh all right, keep your secrets, like the Sphinx. Whatever causes Ema to tarry here is a good omen for me, since her delay gives me time to wage my campaign for her heart. And become acquainted with my son.” He threw the sticks so hard they rattled against the edge of the game board and one fell to the floor. Bending to retrieve it, Sahure laughed. “Ah, landed on the white side, by the gods, to give me my fourth point. This game goes my way, at least.”

  “I wish you success with the other as well,” Edekh said. “Your pursuit of the reluctant lady will be interesting to observe.”

  Chapter Five

  Breakfast was as bountiful as dinner had been, mounds of fruit and berries, freshly baked bread, honey. Tyema and her niece marveled at the variety as they picked morsels from the platters.

  “You could feed the whole village with this,” Renebti said. “And we never see fresh fruit out of season.”

  “I’ve heard there are special groves and gardens here at the palace, where the gardeners use secret incantations and appeals to Isis and Osiris to grow delicacies for Pharaoh’s table year round.” Tyema savored some pomegranate seeds.

  The two women exchanged startled glances as there was a knock at the door. “Enter,” Tyema called.

  Stately as always, linen robes pleated to perfection, carrying the gold-and-cobalt staff of office, topped with a golden cobra’s head, Edekh made his entrance. “I trust you slept well, my lady? And had an adequate breakfast?”

  “All the details are done to perfection here,” Tyema said truthfully.

  Smiling, Edekh acknowledged the compliment before he said, “Her Majesty the Queen is on her way to your apartment.”

  “The Great Royal Wife visits me?” She wiped her hands, noticing a small juice stain on her skirt. Dismayed, Tyema closed her eyes for a second. The queen of all Egypt and I’m dressed in my third best tunic and with no makeup or wig. What kind of impression will my disarray make? “Do I have time to change? To be properly ready for such an exalted guest?”

  Waving one hand, he attempted to reassure her. “It’s not a formal audience, merely a friendly visit. Ashayet comes alone, without all the ladies-in-waiting and servants.” He leaned closer. “I think she wants to see the baby.”

  And the next moment the queen herself
was entering the chamber, followed by fan bearers and guards. Tyema and Renebti knelt in respect but Ashayet waved them to rise. Seating herself in a golden chair brought by an attendant, the sides of which were graceful gazelles, their backs serving as the arms and their legs supporting the woven leather seat, the queen said, “Please, go on with your breakfast. You’ll need sustenance to deal with those crotchety old priests and city officials later this morning.”

  “May I offer you something to eat, Great One?” Tyema asked.

  Ashayet waved an elegant hand. “No, I’ve breakfasted, thank you, but I’d love to see the child, if he’s not asleep.”

  Tyema brought the baby to the queen, who took him in her arms with a smile. “I adore them at this age, so sweet.”

  A sense of sheer unreality swept over Tyema, seeing the queen of all Egypt cuddling her son. “He’s a good baby, eats well, sleeps through the night.” Honesty compelled her to add, “Mostly.”

  Cooing at Seknehure as he gurgled and gave her a toothless grin, Ashayet nodded, the golden beads in her elaborately braided black wig chiming. “Now then, what are you planning to wear today, for the meeting with my husband and the others?”

  Startled, Tyema blinked. “Ma’am?”

  “A little bird whispered to me yesterday you might not have brought quite enough of a wardrobe, being unfamiliar with our extravagant ways in Thebes.” The queen turned her serene gaze on Edekh, who was unsuccessfully smothering his amusement.

  Tyema gestured to Renebti, who hastily took a blue tinted linen dress, beautifully pleated, from the largest basket, shook the fabric out and held the garment up for Ashayet’s perusal. Tyema walked over to take the dress from her niece, should the queen wish to examine it more closely. “I’m wearing this.”

  Ashayet clucked at the baby, playing with one of his chubby hands as he grabbed at her wig. “Beautiful seaming, but not quite up to the occasion, eh sweetling? Can’t have your mother appear at a disadvantage in front of the pompous old priest from Sobek’s Theban temple.”

  “Great One, forgive me, but I’m the same person here or in my village, wearing this dress or ceremonial finery.” Tyema kept her voice even with an effort. “My authority stems from my selection by Sobek himself, not from whether I wear linen or spun cotton.”

  Still smiling, the queen met her eyes. “My husband has discussed with me some of the other reasons you visit with us. I say to you, here in Thebes one’s appearance can be a tool, a weapon if you like. You need to move about in our Court freely, not attracting undue notice. You have to fit in, not look like—forgive me—a maid servant from a rural estate, wandering where she shouldn’t be found.” The queen’s smile was impossible to resist. “No criticism is meant, dear, but what serves perfectly well for daily wear in the provinces, even beautifully stitched as I observe the dress is, doesn’t stand scrutiny here.”

  “I see your point, ma’am.” Tyema hadn’t considered this added challenge of her assignment. “I wish I’d understood about the clothing before we came. But what am I to do now? My temple treasury has a surplus of deben, the Great One Sobek begrudges no expense where I’m concerned, but there’s no time to send for the funds and have new, more elegant clothes made.”

  “No need for worry.” Ashayet nodded at Edekh, who walked to the door. “I wouldn’t raise the issue if I couldn’t offer a solution.”

  When he opened the portal, a parade of servants marched in, arms full of dresses and cloaks. Another woman lugged in a basket of sandals. A fourth juggled several wig stands, with beautiful wigs in various lengths and styles. Bringing up the rear, carrying a large cosmetics box, was an elderly lady who was identified with much affection by Ashayet as her personal maid.

  “I wasn’t blessed with a daughter, so you must indulge me today and help me sort the most recent offerings from the suppliers to the queen,” Ashayet said to Tyema. The Royal Wife waved a casual hand at Renebti, lingering shyly by the stack of baskets and papyrus fiber boxes they’d brought from Ta’sobeksef. “Both of you. I understand this is your niece?”

  “I’m Renebti, ma’am. Tyema’s niece.” The girl bobbed an awkward curtsey, eyes wide at the honor of being addressed directly by the queen.

  “Welcome to our city and my home,” Ashayet answered.

  Edekh ushered the guards and retainers out of the room, even the fan bearers, closing the door behind him so Tyema could try on dresses in privacy, the queen approving or rejecting as they went. There were a few in the pile that the queen directed Renebti to model, assisted by the haughty maids just as Tyema had been while she removed her clothing. Tyema strongly suspected the kindly Royal Wife had ordered her maids to find suitable items for a young girl, judging by the simpler, more modest cut of the dresses and the less flamboyant trimmings. Renebti was in awe, rendered speechless by the entire proceeding. When Ashayet declared they were done, Tyema had several fine linen garments laid aside and her niece had acquired two as well.

  “I’m humbled by your generosity, your majesty,” Tyema said to Ashayet as the queen’s own maid helped Renebti arrange the intricate folds of the garment Tyema was now to wear to today’s meeting. Pure white linen, crisply pleated, with a dyed blue hem, offset by lotus flowers worked in golden thread, the garment made Tyema feel as if she were a queen. Twirling, she relished the feel of the fabric swishing around her ankles. Even the lingering tightness of her new sandals couldn’t detract from her satisfaction.

  The queen laughed. “You notice I offer no jewelry from my husband’s treasury. Sharing my gems would be generosity!”

  Edekh reentered the room when Tyema had finished dressing, bringing the fan bearers with him. Tyema was grateful. The chambers were growing stuffy as the sun rose higher in the sky outside. Trying on new clothes was undeniably pleasant but made a person warm in the Theban heat.

  The queen’s maid set to work applying Tyema’s makeup with skillful hands, the kohl and malachite tints drawn from a set of beautifully shaped, cobalt blue bottles, with stoppers of ivory carved in the shape of birds and flowers. Once that work was completed Renebti brought the ebony case, inlaid with ivory and turquoise, which bore the treasure of Sobek’s temple— the six emerald Tears he’d given Tyema so long ago. As Renebti raised the lid, kneeling in front of her aunt, the queen stood and came to admire the gems, bouncing the baby on her hip. The tear-shaped raw emeralds were set into a golden collar, surrounded by highly detailed renditions of crocodiles embossed in the gleaming metal. Bigger than a man’s thumb, the largest Tear sat in the center, with one only slightly smaller directly below it, offset on either side by the four remaining gems. As she lifted the collar from the box, the stones threw off green glints to sparkle on the wall and floor, the sun making the gems flash and gleam.

  “Magnificent,” Ashayet said, raising one hand to lightly touch the primary stone. “You’re blessed by your god.”

  Picking up the necklace to allow Renebti and the maid to fasten it around her neck, Tyema nodded. “He has a special relationship with my temple and our town.”

  Ashayet’s face grew somber. “I thank you for coming to Thebes, on your various missions,” she said.

  She must be so worried for her husband’s life. Tyema longed to hug the queen, who had such a troubled expression on her face, but the distance between their respective ranks in society was too vast. “It’s my honor, Great One.”

  “Well, I’ll leave you now.” Ashayet smoothed her wig with her free hand. “Good luck with the dyspeptic elderly First Priest. His nose is severely out of joint about all aspects of this ceremony, even as he exults in having the attention of the entire city and Pharaoh, for once. Edekh will conduct you to the meeting chamber and my husband will join you shortly.”

  Tyema bowed as the queen gave her son one more kiss on his chubby cheek, disentangling his determined fingers from her elaborate scarab-and-falcon earring. “He does have the features and the persistence of his father,” Ashayet said, laughing.

  Somewhat startled, Tye
ma took the baby from the queen, realizing a moment too late she should be more considerate of her new dress and allow Renebti to hold the baby rather than risk a mishap now. Hoping Seknehure wouldn’t pick that moment to burp his breakfast, she said, “We’ve yet to discuss matters, Sahure and I.”

  “You may trust my discretion.” The queen laid a finger on her painted lips for a second. “I’m intrigued to meet the mystery girl who captured his heart, where others vied for the honor and failed. Several of my ladies-in-waiting have their hopes pinned on becoming Mistress of his House. Sahure is known as a man on the rise in my husband’s favor.”

  Taking a deep breath, Tyema asked her most pressing question. “Then he—he’s not recently married?”

  “Let me put your mind at rest, he remains unwed.” The queen studied Tyema’s face for a moment, brow furrowed. “I trust he took my advice and the letters we forwarded to you on his behalf were more beguiling in tone than his original proposal?”

  Amazed how much the Royal Wife seemed to know about her relationship with Sahure, Tyema was at a loss for words. How much had Sahure said about her to the queen? Or to anyone else in Thebes?

  Apparently deciding no answer was to be forthcoming, Ashayet leaned closer. “You’ll find, my dear, most military men have no idea how to play games of true love, once their heart has been given. That his honeyed words and courtier’s airs failed him when he made his rash proposal for you to abandon your own world and trail along in his wake to Thebes is actually a good indication his heart was truly involved. The captain is a favorite of mine. I would see him happy, so I hope you’ll see fit to give him another chance while you’re in Thebes. But be aware there are others intent on the position he wants to give you.”

  Not waiting to see what Tyema might reply, the queen left, the fan bearers and maids in her wake.

  “Well.” Drawing a deep breath, Tyema addressed the Chief Scribe who had reentered the chamber once the queen had departed. “After all the kindness and advice from her majesty, I feel I’m ready for this meeting.”