“It’s not what any child deserves.”
Sitamun squeezed my hand. “I thank Hathor for bringing you into Amenophis’s life, dear Nefertiti. Listen, why don’t you come back here this evening? I don’t know what he’s up to, but instead of you chasing after him all day, I’ll see to it that he’s here to join us for dinner. It will be a lovely time, just the three of us.” She winked and added, “To start. I’m deathly afraid that I’m not going to be feeling well and I’ll have to leave the two of you alone. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
“Poor thing, you can’t help it,” I replied as gravely as I could before the two of us burst into giggles.
I went back to my rooms and spent the day resting, dreaming, fussing over Ta-Miu, and enjoying the gift of peace. I took a little time to search my belongings for something that would be a fitting gift for the maidservant who’d done so much for me earlier in the day. I settled on a precious vial of rare perfume. If the girl didn’t want to use it herself, she’d be able to barter it for something equally valuable.
After I found her and rewarded her, I lingered in the women’s quarters to play with the children and to chat with their mothers. One of Pharaoh’s junior wives was a good harp player; another had a sistrum whose delicate metal disks made the most beautiful jingling sound when she rattled them. Still others were famous for their singing voices, and so I soon found myself dancing in line with six young women, a handful of excited toddlers, and someone’s pet dog. It was joyous, exhausting, and wonderful.
My heart was high as I made my way back to Sitamun’s apartments that evening, but my elation slipped away the instant I saw her face. “He’s not here,” she told me.
“That’s all right, we can still enjoy our dinner together,” I said. I didn’t want her to feel as though she’d let me down over something out of her control. “Did he mention if he could come tomorrow night instead? We could eat in my rooms. My maids will probably break half the dishes, but if you bring some of your servants to help them, it might not be too bad.”
“Nefertiti, he won’t be there. Unless something happens to intervene, you won’t be meeting Amenophis again. She’s seen to that.”
I didn’t need to ask who “she” was. My flesh went cold.
“He’s all right,” Sitamun went on quickly, seeing the look on my face. “She hasn’t done anything to hurt him. She’d never do something so unnatural. No matter how angry she gets or how much she prefers Thutmose, she always remembers that the rest of us are her children, too.”
“But she’s imprisoned him, hasn’t she?”
“Not even that. Not exactly. How could she justify such a thing? She knows that word of it would fly to Father’s ears. She’s too sharp-witted to risk doing anything that would anger him further. But she doesn’t need to shut Amenophis in a room in order to keep him away from you.”
“So that was what she meant when she wished me luck in finding him,” I muttered.
“What?”
“Nothing. Tell me, Sitamun, how is she doing this?”
“Today it was by sending him a message before dawn, telling him that there was hope she could repair the breach between Father and Thutmose. Father loves banquets, so she planned a magnificent one for tonight to soften his mood. She told Amenophis that she was terribly sorry for any hurt she’d caused him last night and wanted to make it up to him. That was why she was going to entrust all the arrangements for the banquet to him.”
“Perfect.” I had to admire Aunt Tiye’s cunning. “Amenophis couldn’t say no. It’s a chance to prove how much he wants to reestablish peace between his father and brother and show his mother that he does care about her. But, Sitamun, how did you come to learn all this?”
“My messenger returned from Amenophis’s apartments with the bare bones of the story. I was sure there had to be more to it, so I let all my servants know I’d be very generous to anyone who could bring me more information. My household butler is a very reliable, truthful man with excellent contacts among the other royal servants. He told me everything I’ve just told you, and more.” She gave me a sympathetic look. “Amenophis isn’t here tonight because he’s a guest at the feast he spent all day organizing. And he won’t be free tomorrow, or the next day, or the next, because our mother has suddenly discovered how highly she values her younger son and has already prepared an endless list of tasks that require his ‘help.’ ”
“She can’t keep him busy forever!”
“Don’t make a wager on that. She’s a resourceful woman. I hear that she was so pleased with the arrangements he made for tonight’s banquet that she couldn’t stop praising him. He was like parched ground, drinking up every drop of her new kindness and thirsting for more.”
I shook my head. “I don’t care how many tasks she gives him or how long she intends to play this game; I’ll play it longer. Aunt Tiye might think she’ll make us grow indifferent to one another if she keeps us apart, but I know Amenophis loves me. I trust his heart.”
“And he can trust yours,” Sitamun said. “Meanwhile, let me help the two of you. Don’t give up trying to see him, but find other ways to touch his life.” She smiled. “Weren’t you Henenu’s best student?”
“More likely that honor belongs to you, or even Nava,” I said. “Besides, I don’t have my scribe’s kit anymore.”
“That’s easily fixed. I’ll send you one before midday tomorrow; then you can write a letter to Amenophis.”