There was a short delay in launching our boat. The ferryman seemed to be having an unusual amount of trouble getting his craft under way. I decided that he was probably either very old and feeble or very young and inexperienced, though I’d have to wait for a better look at him before I could tell which.
And then we were on the river. We had no sail, only the big steering oar and the current to take us where we were bound, downstream to Dendera. I noticed that the ferryman wasn’t merely allowing the boat to ride the river north but was working hard to steer the boat to the western bank as well.
“What a good idea, crossing the river,” I murmured to Nava. “That side’s where the royal tombs lie. We’ll have far less chance of being seen if we sail along that bank instead of the eastern one.”
“Do you think the bad prince will chase us?” Nava asked with a yawn. She’d had a busy day and was growing sleepy.
“Are you afraid he will?” I asked.
“No,” she said, though she didn’t sound confident. “I’m brave, remember?” She looked over the side of our boat at the dark water. “But I don’t like the river. It’s got crocodiles and things, and it’s nighttime so we can’t see them if they sneak up on us. This boat is safe, yes? The crocodiles can’t knock it over?”
“If they try, I’ll take that big oar and knock some manners into their ugly heads,” I told her. “I’ll do the same to anybody Prince Thutmose sends after us, too.” And he will do that, I thought. Once he learns I’ve escaped, he’ll want revenge. He doesn’t know where we’re going, but he’s got countless soldiers, officials, and servants to put to the task. He might even send word to the farming villages up and down the river. It’s very good we’re being ferried over to the western bank, where there are tombs instead of towns.
“Now don’t worry about the crocodiles anymore tonight,” I told her. Once we have this big river between us and Prince Thutmose, we’ll only sail during daylight, when we can see the crocodiles before they see us. Isn’t that right, Ferryman?” Our lone rower only grunted, but it was enough to satisfy Nava.
“Good,” she said. She curled up in the bottom of the boat like a little mouse in its nest and went to sleep. She didn’t wake when our boat reached the western shore and bumped and rolled in the reedy shallows. The ferryman had some trouble with a tangled line and made a huge splash when he finally heaved the stone anchor over the side. Drenched, Nava slept through that as well.
“Poor thing,” I said, kneeling to pick her up. Once I had her in my arms, I realized how difficult it would be to get out of the boat and wade to the bank while carrying the sleeping child in my arms. I stood in the prow, holding her to my chest, unsure of what to do.
The ferryman leaped into the water and came to my aid. The folds of his cloak that had been draped over his head fell back as he held out his arms. He said, “Give her to me, Nefertiti.” By the half-moon’s light, I saw Amenophis looking up at me.
“Sweet Isis, what are you doing here?” I cried.
“Helping you,” he said mildly. “Please give me Nava so I can get to the shore. I think the fish are starting to nibble on my ankles.”
I handed him the sleeping child and waded ashore after them. “Answer my question,” I said.
He did, but not until he’d given Nava back to me. I sat on the sandy ground, the child cradled in my lap, hearing him out while he went back and forth from the boat, unloading supplies. “I already told you: I’m helping you reach Dendera so that you can get Father’s protection. If you want to go by land, you’ll have to transport food and water and sometimes Nava. If you go by boat, you’ll need an extra pair of arms for the oar, and in case you run into a difficult stretch of river, or a bad-tempered bull hippo, or one of Nava’s crocodiles.”
“Or a school of those ankle-eating fish?” I said, with a little smile.
“Oh yes, they can be deadly,” he joked back. “You need someone to watch your back when my brother sends his underlings after you, someone to hunt and fish for you when your food runs out along the way, someone who’s been to Dendera, knows the way there, and knows where to find Pharaoh once we reach the city.” He placed the last bundle from the boat between us. “You need me.”
“But I didn’t want you mixed up in this! I told Sitamun that specifically”—I knit my brow—“and apparently she ignored my wishes. So did you.”
Amenophis sat down beside me. “Sitamun didn’t say one word to me about the arrangements for your escape. Thutmose banned me from visiting you, so I was going to my sister’s rooms to see if she could give me any news. I overheard her speaking with Henenu about the plan, I waylaid him when he left, and I made him see the wisdom of letting me be your ferryman. So you see”—he showed me his wonderful smile—“it was fated. Don’t blame Sitamun for my being here, Nefertiti. Blame the gods.”
“Thutmose will kill you when he finds out about this.”
Amenophis’s smile vanished. “Thutmose tried to kill you.”
“So you know about that. Rumor again?”
“The palace was humming with talk of how a viper got into your room when nobody’s ever seen so much as a harmless little sand snake inside the walls.”
“You also must have heard that I managed to deal with the serpent on my own?” I challenged him.
He leaned closer and looked intently into my eyes. “Nefertiti, I knew long ago that you can take care of yourself. All I’m saying is, you don’t have to do it alone. If you really count me as your friend, then let me share this with you. Please.”
I could see that there would be no arguing with him. “Stubborn donkey,” I muttered.
In my lap, Nava stirred and woke up. “Donkey?” she said drowsily. “Where?”
“Nowhere, dear one, go back to sleep,” I said.
“I can’t. I don’t want to. I had a bad dream.” She put her arms around me. “There was a lion.”
“Shhh, it’s only a dream, it can’t hurt you. Look, sweetheart, our friend Amenophis is here now. You’re with us.” I touched his arm and smiled. “We’re not afraid of lions.”