brooked no argument. “And when she’s done, she will go to the nurse’s tent for Meritaten.”
The guards stepped back. Akhenaten said nothing as I boiled water, steeping the herbs to make a tea. I brought it to my sister and she drank it completely. Akhenaten watched us from across the pavilion. “You don’t have to watch us,” Nefertiti snapped. “Go find Maya and look over the plans for the villa.”
Akhenaten passed me a look of deep hatred, then swept through the tent flap and was gone.
“You shouldn’t shout while I am here,” I told her. “He’ll think it’s me that makes you angry with him.”
“It’s his obsession with assassination that makes me angry. He suspects everyone.”
“Even your own sister?”
She heard the criticism in my voice and said defensively, “He is Pharaoh of Egypt. No one faces the danger that he does, for nobody’s visions are grander than his.”
I raised my brows. “Or more expensive.”
“What is expense? We’re building a city that will last through eternity. Longer than you or I ever will.”
“You are building a city of cheap material,” I replied. “A city as cheap as it is quick.”
“Is this Father talking?” she demanded. “Does he think this city is cheap?”
“Yes. And what if we’re invaded? Where will the gold come from to defend ourselves?”
She sat up. “I won’t hear of this. I am carrying Egypt’s future in my belly and you are going on as if it’s doomed to failure! You’re just jealous! You’re jealous that I have a beautiful little girl and a son on the way, and you are nearly sixteen and Father has not even decided who you shall marry!”
I stepped back, stung. “He hasn’t decided who I shall marry because of
We stared at one another.
“Am I dismissed?” I asked her.
“To go to Meritaten. Then you will have dinner with us,” she replied.
It wasn’t a question. It was a command.
“What are you looking for, my lady?”
“My cloak. I’m going out.”
“But it’s nearly nighttime. You can’t go out now,” Ipu cried. “It could be dangerous.”
“My sister has plenty of guards. I’ll take one of them.” I picked up my basket for collecting herbs and Ipu trailed after me. “Shall I come instead?”
“Only if you feel like a walk.” I didn’t look behind me to see whether she had come, but I could hear her footsteps. She caught up to me at the gates. “You can’t go into a man’s camp—”
“I’m the Sister of the King’s Chief Wife,” I retorted. “I can do what I want.”
“My lady,” Ipu’s voice was desperate. “My lady.” She put her hand out to stop me. “Please, let me go instead. Let me give him a message.”
Outside the walls, fires were being lit in the soldiers’ camp. One of those fires belonged to the general. I stopped and wondered what message I should give him. “Tell him…” I bit my lip and thought. “Tell him that I accept.”
“What do you
“Just tell him I accept and to come tonight.”
Ipu’s eyes grew wide as cups. “To your
“Yes. He can say he is coming to see Pharaoh.”
“But won’t they know?” Ipu glanced at a nearby soldier.
“Perhaps. But the guards at the gate are his men and they
Amun must have been watching over me that night, because the fanfare and music accompanying our regular meals was mercifully short. Nefertiti ignored me while everyone laughed, telling stories about Memphis and what Amarna would be like once it was finished. Nevertheless, I walked Nefertiti back to the Royal Pavilion, and as we stepped into the chill night she shivered. Four guards stood back and two held open the flap leading into the Royal Pavilion. I walked Nefertiti to her large bed hung with linen. “Come and rub my back,” she requested.
I took off my cloak and began with her shoulders. They were tense, even for a woman with child.
“I wish Father was here,” she complained. “He’d understand how difficult this all is. The building and planning. He understands me.”
“And I don’t?”
“You don’t know what it’s like to be queen.”
“So Father does?”
“Father rules this kingdom. Even without the crook or flail, he is Pharaoh of Egypt.”
“And I’m just a handmaiden to my sister,” I said sharply.
She tensed. “Why are you so bitter?”
“Because I’m sixteen years old and no one has planned
“The Sister of the King’s Chief Wife!”
“But who will I love?”
She sat up, taken aback.
I stared at her. “And what about a family?”
I closed my eyes and did as I was told. I wasn’t going to complain, not when it would only prolong my time in the Great Pavilion. I waited until Nefertiti fell asleep, then I washed my hands and crept outside into the cool Phamenoth night. In my own pavilion, Ipu was waiting. She stood up as soon as she saw me.
“Are you sure about this?” she whispered. “Do you still want him to come?”
I had never been more certain. “Yes.”
Ipu’s hands flew around her in excitement. “Then I should braid your hair, my lady.”
I sat down on my feathered cushion and couldn’t sit still. I had already told Ipu what the general had said. Now I told her that I wanted a quiet life. “A life away from any palace in a place where I can tend my herb garden and—”
There was the crunch of boots on gravel and we both turned. Ipu dropped my braids in her hands. “He’s here!”
I grabbed the mirror to check my appearance. “How do I look?”
Ipu searched my face. “Like a young woman ready to meet her lover,” she said with slight consternation. “If your father—”
“Shh,” I remonstrated. “Not now!” I dropped the mirror. “Open the tent.”
Ipu went to the door and the general’s voice came softly through hangings. “And you are sure that she sent for me?”
“Of course. She is waiting for you inside.”
Nakhtmin showed himself in. Then Ipu disappeared as I had instructed, and I held my breath. The general stood before me and bowed. “My lady.”
Suddenly, I was very nervous. “Nakhtmin.”
“You sent for me?”
“I have thought over your proposal,” I replied.
He raised his eyebrows. “And what has my lady decided?” he asked.
