‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, of all the people you could have called upon, why me?’
She shook her head, smiled sadly, then looked me straight in the eye. ‘I had heard a lot about you. You are a rather well-known young man. I read the classified papers on your accomplishments. I was intrigued by your new methods, which seemed clever and, in some strange way, beautiful. I knew there were men of the old order within the Medjay who did not like you. And as I read more, I felt that you would not care. That you might be afraid but you would not act out of fear. There was something in all this that I trusted. Why do we trust anyone?’
The question hovered between us, unanswerable. But I had something else I needed to say now.
‘Sometimes telling people that we trust them confers on them the responsibility to live up to that expectation.’
Her expression of amusement acknowledged the burden she was placing on me.
‘Yes. Of course. And will you?’
‘What choice do I have?’
She looked disappointed by my answer; her face suddenly lost its animation and its curiosity. It was as if I had dropped a level of play in a complex game of
‘You always have a choice,’ she countered. ‘But that is not what I am asking. You know that.’
Now it was my turn to tell a little story. I set everything out so that there could be no misunderstanding.
‘Akhenaten has threatened to execute my family, including my three girls, if I do not find you in time for the Festival. There have already been several attempts on my life. Mahu, the head of the Medjay, has told me he will have me tortured and garrotted, after he personally destroys my family, if I trouble him or this delightful and disastrous city of yours. I have been made to stand in the sun in the middle of the day. I have been led by a black cat through a crazy tunnel, and made to believe I had scared myself to death in order to test my loyalty to a woman whose disappearance has brought all this about. Is it surprising that the thought of catching the next boat up the river and going home is perhaps a little appealing? It has been a busy five days, and I have to say, my Lady, I still think there is something you’re not telling me.’
For a moment she looked amazed to be addressed in this way. And then she laughed, deeply and happily, and as she did so her face seemed to release itself from its tensions. I must admit, I had to work hard to keep the smile from my own face. Gradually her amusement subsided.
‘I have waited a long time for someone to talk to me like that,’ she said. ‘Now I know you are the man I believe you to be.’
I sensed now a welcome sparkle of candour between us.
‘Perhaps there are a few things I have not told you,’ she continued. ‘I will tell you everything I can.’ Her face hardened. Suddenly she was made of stone. ‘I have a plan. It requires your assistance. I can promise you only that I will return in time to save your family from the sentence of death.’
‘When?’ I asked.
‘By the time of the Festival.’
I nodded. Suddenly we were agreeing a deal. The politician in her was now paramount.
‘I need to know now whether you will accept. If not, of course, you are free to do as you wish-to go home to your family. But I will say this: if you do, the future will turn out only one way, and I promise you it will be a time of darkness. If you decide to stay, you can help me save us all, and take part in a great story. You will have something exceptional and true to write in that little journal of yours. What is your choice?’
I was taken aback by her sudden coldness. I tried to calculate the options in my head. I still had the best part of a week’s grace before Akhenaten’s sentence of death on my family could be confirmed, but Mahu could still move against me while I was missing. Perhaps I could get a message home to warn Tanefert; perhaps he would not make so open a move before he had proof of my failure. And what of Ay, whose name I had invoked so recklessly? It seemed clear to me that the only way truly to protect the lives of my family would be to see this through to the end. Otherwise we would always be walking in fear, every shadow seeming dangerous.
‘What do you want me to do?’ I asked.
She looked truly relieved, as if I could have answered differently.
‘I need you to protect me when I return,’ she said. ‘In order to do that I need you to find out who is plotting against my life.’
‘Can I ask you some questions?’
She sighed. ‘Always questions.’
‘Let’s start with Mahu.’
‘I do not think it wise to prejudice you with my own opinions about individuals.’
‘Tell me anyway.’
‘He is as loyal as his dog. He has served us well. I would trust him with my life.’
I couldn’t believe my ears. Surely she was wrong.
‘He tried to kill me. He loathes me. He wants me dead.’
‘That is because his pride, which is great, has been insulted by your presence. But that does not mean he does not want me found for the right reasons.’
‘I don’t trust him.’
She said nothing.
‘Who else?’ I asked. ‘Ramose? Parennefer?’
‘These are key players. They all have their motivations. Ramose is a wise counsellor. I have never seen him act out of meanness, revenge or personal ambition. This is rare. He seems like a castle-strong, harsh, defended. But he loves beauty and appearance. You have noticed how well he dresses? He was once Master of the Wardrobe.’ She smiled at my look of surprise.
‘And Parennefer?’
‘Parennefer likes order. He has a horror of messiness. His desire for precision goes very deep in his personality, and is very powerful.’
I tried my trump card. ‘And Ay?’
She could not dissimulate the fear that flitted across her face like a hunted animal. What had I touched upon? A name to conjure with. The name I had used against Mahu.
‘Can you tell me about him?’
‘He is the uncle of my husband.’
‘And?’
‘He will attend the Festival.’
She looked cornered.
‘Are you afraid of him?’
‘Your simple questions, again.’ She shook her head anxiously, then continued. ‘He will be arriving in the city shortly. Along with all the players in this drama, and with the heads of the army; and with them all the tribal chiefs from north and south, all the city dignitaries from across the lands, all those who pay tribute, whose children are retained in the royal nurseries, whose daughters are married into the Harem. In short, every man and woman of power and family will arrive in the city in the next few days. I have to act decisively against my enemies, and with my friends, in the certain knowledge of who they are, and what they plan against and for me.’
‘And when and how will you return?’
‘I will tell you when the time is nearer.’
This made me angry. How dare she keep me in the dark like this?
‘I have spent the last few days trying to track you in the words of the people in power,’ I said. ‘Now you wish me to return, openly, risking everything, and walk further into this nest of snakes? And you will not tell me what you plan?’
She did not flinch from my anger. ‘
‘They would torture me and my family anyway.’
She took this in. ‘I know. What else can I do? Trust me in this. I can give you guidance and information. I can offer you the assistance of one or two loyal supporters. And a promise that I will tell you everything, when I can.’
