the tradition of my grandfather, who knit the four great kingdoms into one, Saba over them all.
“So this shepherd king’s prayer is that Saba should bring gold to his son.”
“My queen, Saba’s wealth is legendary. It is a compliment to your kingdom that the former king wished his son to be held in so much esteem.”
“Come, Tamrin, let us speak frankly now.”
He stood back as I stepped down from the dais and moved toward a low sofa. I gestured Tamrin to the one adjacent, affording him the status of a councilor.
“Ten years on the throne. Eleven, perhaps, you say,” I began, as Shara set a plate of dates before us.
“Yes, my queen.”
“His wife is the daughter of the Pharaoh. But it is well known the Pharaoh is weak.”
“His first wife.”
“How many does he have?” I lifted my cup. My own father had kept several concubines himself.
“I’m not certain of the number. Perhaps two hundred at last count.”
With an effort, I did not sputter.
He smiled slightly. “It is true. The Pharaoh’s daughter brought him Gezer. The Ammonite bride, control of the King’s Highway from the Red Sea all the way to Damascus. There are many of these, including concubines from the twelve tribes of his nation, and wives from the vassal states of Moab, Edom, Aram, Hamath, Zobah, Canaan, the Hittites, and the Amalekites.”
“Is every account of this man so grossly exaggerated—from his lands to his wealth to his wives?” This time, when I looked at him, I almost stared. How had I not noticed until now that his eyes were a very dark blue?
The trader shook his head slightly. “I fear not. I have seen his capital and the construction of his temple, and his fortifications of the cities where his garrisons control the roads from the Euphrates to the Sinai and from the Red Sea to Palmyra. With control over the trade routes passing through Gezer, he is also the middleman in the trade of horses and chariots between Anatolia and Egypt.”
My eyes narrowed.
“They call him the Merchant Prince,” he continued. “He has a taste for every luxury, every exotic good and animal.”
“And women, apparently.”
“Apparently,” he said, with a slight smile.
“Why have I heard so little of him or his father, if he is so verypowerful and so very wealthy?” I had heard something of the brigand king David years ago, but that was all.
“Few caravans go so far north, often taking their goods only as far as the oasis at Dedan, where they are purchased by other traders. My father has made the full journey of months to Edom and Jerusalem several times, and I, twice, and I have seen these things for myself. Your father had dealings with this king—indeed, he sent the myrrh for the burial of the king’s beloved mother as she grew infirm. On my last trip, I learned she had gone to the shadow world.”
I considered the man before me again, carefully taking in the lapis of those eyes and the fine lines around them, the wide bow of his upper lip, the slender fingers of his calloused hands. I had been right to think that this was the kind of man who must proclaim Saba’s commercial might to the rest of the world. I noted the way he had not lounged fully, his feet on the floor yet, a man grounded, never quite fully unguarded.
Or a man who tolerated courtly life with seeming ease, but only for as long as he must.
“You left my banquet early,” I said.
He inclined his head. “I am a humble trader not at home with luxury. Forgive me.”
I plucked at an imaginary string on my sleeve. “What did my father receive in return for this queen’s burial incense? I assume the king’s mother was a queen, and not some shepherdess.”
“The king’s thanks and favorable terms.”
“The king’s . . . thanks.”
“Yes, and favorable trade terms. My queen,” Tamrin said, leaning toward me, “I will take north such tales of your kingdom, of your wealth and the loyalty of your people. Tell me what else you desire . . . and
“So this shepherd king’s prayer is that Saba should bring gold to his son.”
“My queen, Saba’s wealth is legendary. It is a compliment to your kingdom that the former king wished his son to be held in so much esteem.”
“Come, Tamrin, let us speak frankly now.”
He stood back as I stepped down from the dais and moved toward a low sofa. I gestured Tamrin to the one adjacent, affording him the status of a councilor.
“Ten years on the throne. Eleven, perhaps, you say,” I began, as Shara set a plate of dates before us.
“Yes, my queen.”
“His wife is the daughter of the Pharaoh. But it is well known the Pharaoh is weak.”
“His first wife.”
“How many does he have?” I lifted my cup. My own father had kept several concubines himself.
“I’m not certain of the number. Perhaps two hundred at last count.”
With an effort, I did not sputter.
He smiled slightly. “It is true. The Pharaoh’s daughter brought him Gezer. The Ammonite bride, control of the King’s Highway from the Red Sea all the way to Damascus. There are many of these, including concubines from the twelve tribes of his nation, and wives from the vassal states of Moab, Edom, Aram, Hamath, Zobah, Canaan, the Hittites, and the Amalekites.”
“Is every account of this man so grossly exaggerated—from his lands to his wealth to his wives?” This time, when I looked at him, I almost stared. How had I not noticed until now that his eyes were a very dark blue?
The trader shook his head slightly. “I fear not. I have seen his capital and the construction of his temple, and his fortifications of the cities where his garrisons control the roads from the Euphrates to the Sinai and from the Red Sea to Palmyra. With control over the trade routes passing through Gezer, he is also the middleman in the trade of horses and chariots between Anatolia and Egypt.”
My eyes narrowed.
“They call him the Merchant Prince,” he continued. “He has a taste for every luxury, every exotic good and animal.”
“And women, apparently.”
“Apparently,” he said, with a slight smile.
“Why have I heard so little of him or his father, if he is so verypowerful and so very wealthy?” I had heard something of the brigand king David years ago, but that was all.
“Few caravans go so far north, often taking their goods only as far as the oasis at Dedan, where they are purchased by other traders. My father has made the full journey of months to Edom and Jerusalem several times, and I, twice, and I have seen these things for myself. Your father had dealings with this king—indeed, he sent the myrrh for the burial of the king’s beloved mother as she grew infirm. On my last trip, I learned she had gone to the shadow world.”
I considered the man before me again, carefully taking in the lapis of those eyes and the fine lines around them, the wide bow of his upper lip, the slender fingers of his calloused hands. I had been right to think that this was the kind of man who must proclaim Saba’s commercial might to the rest of the world. I noted the way he had not lounged fully, his feet on the floor yet, a man grounded, never quite fully unguarded.
Or a man who tolerated courtly life with seeming ease, but only for as long as he must.
“You left my banquet early,” I said.
He inclined his head. “I am a humble trader not at home with luxury. Forgive me.”
I plucked at an imaginary string on my sleeve. “What did my father receive in return for this queen’s burial incense? I assume the king’s mother was a queen, and not some shepherdess.”
“The king’s thanks and favorable terms.”
“The king’s . . . thanks.”
“Yes, and favorable trade terms. My queen,” Tamrin said, leaning toward me, “I will take north such tales of your kingdom, of your wealth and the loyalty of your people. Tell me what else you desire . . . and
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