Three Novels of Ancient Egypt

Custom dictated that he should wait a whole hour before he met the grandees of the kingdom, who had come from all over the country to attend the festival of the Nile, but he did not have the patience and he rushed like a swirling wind to the queen's chambers and flung open the door. Queen Nitocris was sitting with her handmaidens, a look of peace and contentment glowing in her clear eyes. When the maidens saw the king and beheld the anger blazing in his face they rose to their feet nervous and confused, bowed to him and the queen, and withdrew in great haste. The queen remained sitting for a moment, looking at him intently with her peaceful eyes. Then she rose gracefully to her feet, walked over to him and, standing on her tiptoes, kissed his shoulder, asking, ‘Are you angry also, my lord?”

He was in dire need of someone to talk to about the fire ignited in his blood, and was glad of her question.

“As you see, Nitocris,” he declared.

The queen realized immediately, knowing his ways so well, that her first duty was to soothe his anger whenever it raged. She smiled and said softly, “It is more becoming of a king to behave reasonably.”

He shrugged his broad shoulders dismissively, saying, “Are you asking me to behave reasonably, Queen?” he scoffed.

“Reasonableness is a false and insincere garment in — which the weak masquerade.”

The queen was clearly pained. “My lord,” she asked, “why are you uneasy about virtue?”

“Am I truly Pharaoh? And do I not enjoy youth and strength? How then should I desire and not obtain that which I desire? How can my eyes look at the lands of my kingdom, and a slave blocks my way and tells me, ‘That will never belong to you'?”

She put her hand on his arm and tried to lead him into the diwan, but he moved away and began to pace up and down the room muttering angrily to himself.

In a voice that betrayed deep sorrow, the queen said, “Do not picture things in this way. Always remember that the priests are your faithful subjects and that the temple lands were granted over to them by our forefathers. Now those lands have become the inalienable right of the clergy and you want to take them back, my lord. It is no wonder they are uneasy.”

“I want to build palaces and temples,” said the young king. “I want to enjoy a high and happy life. The fact that half of the land in the kingdom is in the hands of the priesthood will not stand in my way. Is it right that I should be tormented by my desires like the poor? To hell with this empty wisdom. Do you know what happened today? As I was passing, one of the crowd called out the name ofthat man Khnumhotep. Don't you see, Queen? They are openly threatening Pharaoh.”

The queen was astonished and her gentle face turned yellow as she mumbled a few words under her breath.

“What has come over you, My Queen?” said the king in a sardonic tone.

No doubt she felt irritation and dismay, and if it were not for the fact that the king was furious to the point of distraction she would not have tried to conceal her own anger, and so, controlling her turbulent feelings with a will of iron, she said calmly, “Leave this talk for later. You are about to meet the men of your kingdom with Khnumhotep at their head. You should receive them in the proper and official way.”

Pharaoh looked at her mysteriously, then with ominous composure said, “I know what I want and what I should do.”

At the appointed time, Pharaoh received the men of his kingdom in the Great Ceremonial Hall. He listened to the speeches of the clergy and the opinions of the governors. Many noticed that the king was not himself. As everyone was leaving, the king asked his prime minister to stay behind and talked with him in private for a good while. People were curious, but none dared to inquire. When the prime minister reappeared there were many who tried to read his face in the hope of discerning the slightest clue as to the subject of his audience, but his mien was as expressionless as rock.

The king ordered his two closest counselors, Sofkhatep the lord chamberlain and Tahu the commander of the guard, to go on ahead and wait for him at a spot by the lake in the royal gardens, the site of their evening conversations. He walked along the shaded green paths with a look of relaxation on his swarthy face, as if he had quelled the violent anger that had so recently spurred him to vengeance. He walked unhurriedly, breathing in the fragrant aroma the trees sent out to greet him, and his eyes wandered over the flowers and fruits until at length he reached the gorgeous lake. He found his two men waiting for him — Sofkhatep, with his tall thin body and graying hair, and Tahu, strong and muscular, reared on the backs of horses and chariots.