this.
“Master, why do you not come outside?” I blurted without thought. “Ra is sinking towards the mouth of Nut, and soon the breeze will freshen.”
“Thu, you have no manners,” he muttered. “I told you not to question me. Nor may you give me advice unless, the gods forbid, I decide to ask you for it. I cannot go outside while Ra still rides across the sky. The merest touch of his rays upon my flesh causes me untold agony, as though he had bent down and put his mouth against my skin.” He saw the shame of my presumption on my face and smiled. “If I had been born a fellahin like you, my father would have slaughtered me or Ra himself would have taken my life. Sometimes, particularly when I am forced to travel in primitive conditions like this, I wish it had been so. The moon is more to my taste than mighty Ra, and I bear alliegance to Thoth, the god to whom he belongs. We will tie up tonight on the outskirts of his city, Khmun, and perhaps you would like to see the sacred burial place of all the ibis birds brought there to lie under his protection. However.” He pointed to the table. “Sit on the floor beside me and read me those scrolls. They are unimportant accounts from my Treasurer and letters from my friend in Nubia and I know their contents. Attempt the words you do not recognize.” I picked up the bundle and surveyed him.
“Master, may I say something?”
“I suppose so.”
“Let me bathe you. There is water in the bowl, and cloths, and I have much experience seeing to the comfort of women in labour. I could make you feel better.” His smile broadened and he laughed aloud.
“That is the first time I have been compared to a broody female,” he choked. “Sit, Thu, and do as you are told.”
So I sat and spelled out the scrolls, sometimes with ease but more often with a humiliating difficulty. Pa-ari’s lessons had not taken me as far as I, in my vanity, had believed. Hui corrected me brusquely but not unkindly, and as we worked the light in the room mellowed slowly to a friendly pink and the barge ceased to rock. At length I heard the ramp run out and we were interrupted.
“Permission to enter, Master. It is I, Kenna.”
“Come.”
The man who presented himself and bowed wore a simple white kilt with a border embroidered in yellow. A yellow ribbon cut across his forehead and trailed down his naked back. He was shod in straw sandals, wore a silver armband, and smelled gloriously of saffron oil. I presumed that the servants’ boat had also been moored, and surely this creature with the loftily aristocratic nose and haughty gaze was none other than Hui’s High Steward.
“Speak,” Hui ordered.
“The sun is even now almost below the horizon and the cooking fires have been lit. Will you be dressed and come to the river so that I may bathe you? An acolyte from the temple of Nun awaits your pleasure on the bank. The High Priest wishes you to dine with him tonight, if you so desire.”
So Kenna was nothing more than my Master’s body servant. Then in what clouds of luxury would the High Steward appear? I felt myself shrink into insignificance. Hui jerked his head at me. It was a dismissal.
“Find a secluded spot and bathe yourself,” he told me, “then go to the servants’ barge and they will feed you. Kenna, see that she has what she needs after you’re done with me. You can wander about Khmun for as long as you want, Thu, and after that you will be travelling on the servants’ barge. Kenna will resume his customary place here in my cabin.” The body servant shot me a look of sheer malice. I rose, placed the scrolls back on the table, bowed to Hui, and pushed past the supercilious Kenna. So I was to be relegated to the servants’ quarters. Well what did you expect? I asked myself furiously as I swung down the ramp. Instant recognition, my Libu Lady Thu? Respect and deference and indulgence? Wake up! If you want those things you will have to work for them. Very well, my
“Master, why do you not come outside?” I blurted without thought. “Ra is sinking towards the mouth of Nut, and soon the breeze will freshen.”
“Thu, you have no manners,” he muttered. “I told you not to question me. Nor may you give me advice unless, the gods forbid, I decide to ask you for it. I cannot go outside while Ra still rides across the sky. The merest touch of his rays upon my flesh causes me untold agony, as though he had bent down and put his mouth against my skin.” He saw the shame of my presumption on my face and smiled. “If I had been born a fellahin like you, my father would have slaughtered me or Ra himself would have taken my life. Sometimes, particularly when I am forced to travel in primitive conditions like this, I wish it had been so. The moon is more to my taste than mighty Ra, and I bear alliegance to Thoth, the god to whom he belongs. We will tie up tonight on the outskirts of his city, Khmun, and perhaps you would like to see the sacred burial place of all the ibis birds brought there to lie under his protection. However.” He pointed to the table. “Sit on the floor beside me and read me those scrolls. They are unimportant accounts from my Treasurer and letters from my friend in Nubia and I know their contents. Attempt the words you do not recognize.” I picked up the bundle and surveyed him.
“Master, may I say something?”
“I suppose so.”
“Let me bathe you. There is water in the bowl, and cloths, and I have much experience seeing to the comfort of women in labour. I could make you feel better.” His smile broadened and he laughed aloud.
“That is the first time I have been compared to a broody female,” he choked. “Sit, Thu, and do as you are told.”
So I sat and spelled out the scrolls, sometimes with ease but more often with a humiliating difficulty. Pa-ari’s lessons had not taken me as far as I, in my vanity, had believed. Hui corrected me brusquely but not unkindly, and as we worked the light in the room mellowed slowly to a friendly pink and the barge ceased to rock. At length I heard the ramp run out and we were interrupted.
“Permission to enter, Master. It is I, Kenna.”
“Come.”
The man who presented himself and bowed wore a simple white kilt with a border embroidered in yellow. A yellow ribbon cut across his forehead and trailed down his naked back. He was shod in straw sandals, wore a silver armband, and smelled gloriously of saffron oil. I presumed that the servants’ boat had also been moored, and surely this creature with the loftily aristocratic nose and haughty gaze was none other than Hui’s High Steward.
“Speak,” Hui ordered.
“The sun is even now almost below the horizon and the cooking fires have been lit. Will you be dressed and come to the river so that I may bathe you? An acolyte from the temple of Nun awaits your pleasure on the bank. The High Priest wishes you to dine with him tonight, if you so desire.”
So Kenna was nothing more than my Master’s body servant. Then in what clouds of luxury would the High Steward appear? I felt myself shrink into insignificance. Hui jerked his head at me. It was a dismissal.
“Find a secluded spot and bathe yourself,” he told me, “then go to the servants’ barge and they will feed you. Kenna, see that she has what she needs after you’re done with me. You can wander about Khmun for as long as you want, Thu, and after that you will be travelling on the servants’ barge. Kenna will resume his customary place here in my cabin.” The body servant shot me a look of sheer malice. I rose, placed the scrolls back on the table, bowed to Hui, and pushed past the supercilious Kenna. So I was to be relegated to the servants’ quarters. Well what did you expect? I asked myself furiously as I swung down the ramp. Instant recognition, my Libu Lady Thu? Respect and deference and indulgence? Wake up! If you want those things you will have to work for them. Very well, my
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