Audience Chamber, and his scribes will post the news at the door of every temple.”
Woserit instructed the boatsmen to carry my chests into the royal courtyard, and Merit passed the basket with Tefer to a young girl who promised to take him to the chamber that Woserit had given me. As we walked through the towering gates of Malkata, Merit whispered, “Stop fidgeting.” I was twisting the linen edges of my belt. “There’s nothing you can do now,” she added. “It’s in the hands of the gods.”
In the palace, there was a tense energy, as if the court knew what Ramesses was about to request, and how the viziers and High Priestess of Isis would respond. Courtiers darted furtive glances at me, and a young serving girl lowered her heavy linen basket to watch us pass. In the golden hall before the Audience Chamber, Woserit said firmly, “Stay here with Merit until the herald calls for you.”
We seated ourselves on an ebony bench whose legs had been carved into the heads of swans. “Are there petitioners inside?”
“No. They have been dismissed. Today is for my brother’s private business.”
“And Iset?” I asked quickly.
Woserit sniffed. “Without the petitioners, there’s no reason for her to be here. She’s probably hennaing her toenails in the baths.” She pulled open one of the heavy bronze doors, and as she entered, she left it wide open behind her. I glanced at Merit.
“This is why we arrived late,” she whispered.
So that Woserit could be the last in the chamber and leave the door open for us to listen. I looked up at the guards, but both of their faces were expressionless, and I wondered if they had been paid to cooperate. I leaned forward on the bench and looked in. The Audience Chamber was as wide and impressive as both Paser and Woserit had described it. A forest of columns held up the painted ceiling, and from the high windows you could see the crests of the western hills. Ramesses was seated between his parents. Below him, at a table for viziers and dignitaries, I recognized Henuttawy by the red of her cloak. Her back was to us, and only those who were sitting on the dais could look down the long aisle of the Audience Chamber and see that the door had been left open. But today no one would be interested in what was happening outside.
At first, there were too many voices from within to make out anything clearly. Then I heard Pharaoh’s golden crook strike the dais, and suddenly there was silence. The announcement was made that he and Queen Tuya would leave for Avaris in two days on the thirteenth of Choiak.
We listened as Pharaoh Seti told his court sculptor what sort of image should be carved on the Wall of Proclamation outside of Karnak to let visitors know his court had moved to Avaris. He wanted a painting of a fleet of ships, with him and the queen standing on a prow in their golden crowns. In the next scene, he imagined himself standing on the quay in Avaris. There was a moment of silence as the sculptor took notes, then I heard Paser’s voice addressing Pharaoh Seti. “There is something His Highness Ramesses would like to request.”
Courtiers shifted uncomfortably, and their gold bangles clinked loudly in the uneasy silence. The court knew what Ramesses was going to ask, and Henuttawy had made certain to be in the Audience Chamber for the announcement. Next to her I could see the leopard cloak of the High Priest. Although I couldn’t see his face, I could imagine Rahotep’s carnelian eye moving as he followed the proceedings, and how his lips were stretched into his grotesque hyena’s grin.
Ramesses stood from his throne. “Father,” he said formally, “in two days you will make the journey from the palace of Malkata to your father’s palace of Pi-Ramesses. But before you leave, I would like your permission to marry the princess Nefertari.”
Whispered murmurs rippled through the court, and I imagined Henuttawy’s beautiful face frozen like a funerary mask. I supposed that Ramesses glanced at her when he said, “I have made Iset a princess and wife to me. Although I love her, I love Nefertari as well.” He argued, “Princess Nefertari is well studied. She can speak eight languages and will be a valuable asset in this chamber. She is—”
“The niece of a Heretic King?” Henuttawy offered.
Ramesses replied with heat, “That was many years ago.”
“Not so many that