Of course! Hattie had forgotten that one ofhis titles, in those same books, was Royal Architect. “Aye,Senemut! Please do design it. I know it will be exquisite underyour direction. What else?”
“We must begin work at once,” Senemutexplained. “The walls of your new temple will be covered withreliefs illustrating your divine conception and birth.” His browfurrowed in thought. “We must show you visiting shrines of thegods, accompanied by your father Tuthmosis I, and scenes of yourcoronation before the gods and here on earth. We will illustrateyour father presenting you to the court, and formally nominatingyou as his co-regent and intended successor.”
“But…but he did not do that. Did he?” Hattieasked.
Senemut frowned at her. “You must never speakthus. If we are to succeed in having you crowned pharaoh, theremust be no doubt that you are the chosen one, both by your royalfather and by the gods. It is the only way you will be accepted.From this day forth, on every monument, each document, and in everypublic utterance, you will be referred to as ‘he’ or ‘HisMajesty’.”
“But, surely the people will know that it isnot true,” she protested. “They will know that my…my father did notname me his successor. And they can see I am a woman! Can I not beproclaimed pharaoh by virtue of my heritage, my intelligence, andmy ability to handle the responsibilities of ruler?”
“Nay. The people will not accept you thus.”Senemut touched her cheek briefly. “They will not know whether yourroyal father chose you as his successor or not. They are not privyto court affairs. And though you wear the outward guise of a woman,they must believe you have the spirit, the fierceness, of a man. Donot fear…they will believe.”
“What about the nobles and the priests?Surely they, at least, will know the truth.”
“The gods themselves have named youpharaoh. That is how it must be. In time, the nobles and priests, too, will come tobelieve it. They will forget that it was not ever thus. And youmust never say otherwise,” he warned. “They must be afraid todispute your word, and that of the gods.”
It’s a little like the massivepublicity campaigns launched by politicians in mytime, Hattiethought—except that here, the propaganda would comeafterher succession to the post, notbefore. “What else?”
“You will not like this. You must honor yourearthly father in every way possible, and you must ignore thememory of your husband. It is necessary for you to be identifiedwith your father in order to justify your claim to the throne,”Senemut said. “We will redesign your father’s tomb in the Valley ofthe Kings and build him a new mortuary chapel associated with yourown.”
Hattie winced. “I do not wish to ignore thememory of my…of Neferure’s father. It will hurt her to do so. Andif I act thus, young Tuthmosis will never forgive me.”
“Nevertheless, you must do so,” he saidharshly. “It is the only way. If we are to make you pharaoh, youmust be willing to make these sacrifices. Are you willing? If youare not, then we must cease this speculation now, and think ofanother way to protect the boy, though I know not what.” He paused,watching her face carefully.
Hattie was torn. She would pluck her ownheart out before she would hurt little Neferure. And she had nowish to alienate Tuthmosis even further; their relationship wasstrained enough as it was. Yet she had to assure his safety. Howironic that the best way to protect his life was to furtherestrange him from her.
She sighed and squared her shoulders. “I willdo what must be done, Senemut. Amun help me, I wish there wereanother way, but I fear there is not. I will not shrink from myduty.”
His sudden smile was like a burst of sunshinefrom behind a storm cloud. “You are brave, little one,” hemurmured. “You certainly have the heart of a pharaoh.”
Hattie’s heart leapt at his praise. “Thankyou, Senemut. But I could not accomplish it without you.”
“Your Majesty is gracious,” he said, bowingdeeply to her. He arose with a twinkle in his eyes. “Now, we mustchoose your throne name. What shall it be?”
“What is wrong with Hatshepsut?” shedemanded.
“Of course, that is your name,” he saidsoothingly. “But your throne name must link you with the gods. Itmust show that you are divine and are suited to rule over Egypt,vanquishing all who dare oppose you.”
Hattie whistled. “It will have to be quite aname to accomplish all that. Do you have any suggestions?”
“Let me think.” He paused for a moment. “Aye,I think I have it! We shall call you, ‘Powerful of Kas, flourishingof years, divine of diadems, Maatkare, Khenmet-Amun Hatshepsut’.What think you of it?” He grinned at her.
“I think it is quite a mouthful,” sheretorted. “How can anyone address me using that name? It will takethem an afternoon simply to say it.”
“It is merely your throne name, Hattie,”Senemut scolded her gently. “No one will call you that. They mayrefer to you as Maatkare, or they will use your own name.” Helifted an eyebrow. “And what shall I call you, Majesty?”
“Hattie, please,” she said at once. “I cannotbear it if you call me otherwise.”
“Hattie it shall be then,” he agreed. “Inprivate. In public, you shall be my pharaoh and my king, HisMajesty Maatkare, Ruler of the Two Lands!”
She gulped. If there was ever a time toawaken from this dream, to return to her own world and leave thepast behind, now was that time. If this nightmare didn’t end, ifshe couldn’t find a way to return to her own life immediately, thenshe feared there was no turning back. Soon, Hattie Williams, anobscure artist from twenty-first century Chicago, would be soleruler of all eighteenth dynasty Egypt.
CHAPTER 16
“Where are we going, Senemut?” Hattie askedfor the fifth time.
For the fifth time, Senemut merely raised hiseyebrows and said, “Have patience, little one.”
Hattie grinned. There was no doubt aboutit—the man guarded a secret better than the sands of the desert.Whatever he had planned was
