House of Illusions (25 page)

“Why are you asking for our assent, Master?” I put in. “You and the General have already decided her fate.”

“And Kamen’s too,” Hunro added. “Like a good son he will burn to right a wrong done to his mother whether she is alive or dead. He must go.”

“I still think it is entirely unnecessary,” said Paibekamun, “and we run the risk of dredging up old memories at court if we fail.”

“If I fail again, you mean.” Paiis sat up and smoothed back his hair. “Old memories will certainly be dredged up at court if we do nothing, Paibekamun, therefore the matter is settled. I will undertake to find the two of them through my soldiers and you, Hui, can make discreet enquiries of your noble patients.” He nodded to me. “If Kamen should be stupid enough to return to his home, you will let me know at once. In spite of your affection for him, Kaha, you must see how dangerous it would be to allow sentiment to stand in our way. And we had better move fast.” He stood. “If Thu is here in Pi-Ramses, she has broken her exile and the local authorities in Aswat will send to the governor of the Aswat nome for instructions. We will not be the only ones hunting her. Harshira, fetch my litter.”

At that the rest of the gathering prepared to leave. Harshira went to order the litters and servants reappeared with cloaks. We all passed through the now dim hall and out onto the pillared entrance. I glanced up at the night sky, breathing deeply of the clean air. The moon had waned to a thin grey sliver and nothing but starlight illumined the wide courtyard which faded quickly into the tumbled darkness of the trees beyond the small gate.

Paiis was the first to leave, bidding us all a good night before stepping into his conveyance and giving a sharp order to his bearers. Paibekamun followed. Hunro took Hui’s upper arms and kissed him on the mouth. “You are our Master,” she whispered. “We honour you.” Harshira had to help her onto her litter, but soon she too was swallowed up and the crunch of her bearers’ feet died away. Hui passed the back of his hand across his lips.

“She is poison, that one,” he said. “Seventeen years ago she was all movement and energy, dancing through the harem, charming Pharaoh at his feasts with her enthusiasm and vibrancy. Befriending Thu was a game to her and she played it well, concealing her disdain, but when Thu failed to destroy Ramses, it was no longer necessary for Hunro to pretend. Her vitality has soured to spasmodic flickers. The optimism of her youth gave way to resentment. I wish she were the target and not Thu.” He gave me a weary smile, his face only half-visible in the uncertain light. “You and I knew Thu far better than the rest of them,” he said. “To them she is little more than a threat to be eliminated, but to us she is a memory of simpler days when we still had hopes.” The usual cynicism was absent from his voice. He sounded tired and sad.

“Then leave all as it is,” I said impulsively. “There was never a great advantage to you in getting rid of Pharaoh, Hui. Whoever sits on the Horus Throne, you are still the Seer, the healer. Your brother stood to reap the greatest benefits on behalf of the army and his own career. As for Ma’at, did the gods not speak when Thu failed? Kamen is a very estimable young man. He deserves to live!”

“Oh does he now?” The jaded tone had returned. It was tinged with humour. “And who sits frowning over the balance and tries to weigh the worth of one royal bastard against the unique value of a gifted Seer, not to mention a mighty General? You have not lost your idealism, Kaha. It used to be directed at the reprehensible state of Egypt. Now it has shrunk to a concern over the fate of one woman and her child. It is not a matter of Ma’at any more. Only survival, yours included.” I bowed.

“Then good night, Master,” I said. “And to you also, Harshira,” for the Steward still stood silently behind Hui. I walked away, suddenly so fatigued that the distance from the house through the shrouded garden to the Lake path seemed impossible to cover. I did not want to go. Part of me longed passionately to run back to Hui and beg to be returned to his employ but I recognized the urge for what it was—a desire for the womb in which I had been happy. That Kaha was gone, dissolved in the acid of the increasing self-knowledge that comes with maturity and brings with it a corresponding disillusionment. Hui’s entrance pylon towered over me as I passed under it, its size exaggerated in the thick darkness. A faint glow of starlight was reflected off the surface of the water beyond it. I turned right and followed the deserted ribbon of path towards Men’s house.

8

I MET NO ONE
as I made my way to my room. Removing my linen, I lay down, but though I was very tired, I could not rest. The evening was played over and over in my head, the words with their weight of emotional inflections, the glances, my own tumultuous feelings. The overwhelming sense of the encounter was one of resignation. All these years the story of our plot had been left without a strong conclusion. Now it was time to pick up the pen and write a swift and definite ending, tidy away the threads left hanging. But the threads were two people and the final hieroglyphs would be written in blood. Well, what did you expect when you sent that message to Hui? I asked myself as I stared up into the dimness of the ceiling. Did you think that he would ignore everything? You were not very surprised to learn that they were already moving, that Paiis had already tried to kill Thu and Kamen or that Hui knew who Kamen was. And you were correct in hoping that nothing will be required of you. Only a small act of betrayal. Only a few quick characters scrawled on papyrus if Kamen comes home. Betrayal? The word echoed in my mind. Who are you, Kaha? What do you owe, and to whom?

I turned on my side and closed my eyes against a wave of sickness I knew did not come from the rich food I had eaten or the quantity of wine I had drunk. All those years ago I had tried to sever myself from what I had done, but the cutting had been performed with a dirty knife and my ka had become infected. I did not know what to do.

Kamen still had not returned by the time I took my first meal out into the sparkling morning. I was not surprised. I ate and drank disinterestedly and was just draining the last of the goat’s milk from my cup when I saw Pa-Bast coming towards me over the grass. He had an unsealed scroll in his hand and his expression was grave. “Good morning, Kaha,” he said. “This is a message from the Fayum. The family is setting out to come home today. They will arrive tomorrow night unless they choose to put in at On, which I doubt.” He squatted beside me, tapping the scroll against his thigh. “I have sent no answer. None is needed. The servants are turning out the bedrooms. But there is the matter of Kamen.” His eyes met mine, veiled and troubled. “I have sent for the Commander of the city police and there will be a thorough search. Have we done all we could?”

The thought that flashed across my mind was that a search by the police would serve Paiis very well, provided he found and disposed of Thu and her son quickly. He would make sure that the police found the bodies floating in the Lake or knifed in an alley, and everyone would presume that they had been murdered by thieves. Men would want to know how Thu came to be in the city and in Kamen’s company. So would Thu’s family at Aswat.

Like the prick of a fishbone in my throat I remembered her father’s gift to her on her first Naming Day in Hui’s house. He had sent her a statue of Wepwawet he himself had carved, a thing of simple beauty, a modest demonstration of his love for her, and of course, of course! I took a deep breath. It stood now on the table beside Kamen’s couch. What a fool you are, Kaha, I berated myself. How is it that you did not recognize it for the portent it was? He loved her. Her brother, Pa-ari, loved her and wrote to her often. And you, cowardly scribe, what of the affection you felt for her? Lip service and nothing more, for you stood aside while she was arrested and sentenced to death, and you would have let her die with no more than a twinge of self-righteous regret. “Yes we have,” I answered Pa-Bast at last. “When Men returns I will tell him about the scroll. We cannot keep that a secret, Pa-Bast. I believe that its contents prompted Kamen’s flight. Call me when the Commander arrives.” He pulled himself to his feet and went away, but for a while I remained with my back against a tree, my hands pressed into the cool grass.

The empty dishes beside me had begun to attract flies. They circled hungrily then settled on the rim of the cup, their black bodies gleaming in the sun. Others alighted on the crumbs and fruit rind, scuttling greedily to feed, and watching them I knew what I must do. We had all fed off her. I had used her to fuel the pride I took in my knowledge of history and my ability to teach. Paiis had regarded her as sexual prey, enhancing his lust. To Hunro she had been a creature to despise, and in the hating Hunro had reassured herself of her own superiority. And Hui? Hui ate her up. Hui took everything from her. Hui moulded her, dominated her, made her an extension of himself. He chewed up her ka and spat it out re-formed. In so doing he had fallen in love, not with Thu the woman but with Thu the other Hui, Thu his twin.

More flies had come, lured by the debris. Crawling over each other they sucked up the flavours under their feet. With a sudden revulsion I picked up my napkin and began to swipe at them and they rose with an angry buzz but did not go away. I covered the dishes with the linen. Where would Kamen go? Where would he take his mother? He was a sociable young man with many acquaintances but none with whom he would trust such a momentous secret. Akhebset was his friend, but I did not think that Kamen would ask Akhebset to assume so great a responsibility. He could put her in the servants’ quarters at the military barracks, but that would be like pushing her head into Paiis’s rapacious mouth. He could have sent her to the Fayum and perhaps would have done so if the rest of his family had not been in residence there. That left Takhuru, his betrothed. His friend since childhood. Yes. He would take a chance with Takhuru. It would be not only the logical place for Thu, close to Kamen’s home, but also a test of Takhuru’s loyalty, although if Kamen had any doubts about that he surely would not trust Thu to Takhuru’s care.

I left the plates for a servant to clear away and re-entered the house. In the office there was a little business to attend to, and I had just finished with it when I heard voices in the entrance hall. I went out to find the Commander of the city police and Pa-Bast coming towards him over the freshly washed floor. I stood silent while the Steward explained why the police had been called. “This is not a matter for public examination,” Pa-Bast warned him. “The noble Men would not wish his son’s disappearance gossiped about in every beer house in Pi-Ramses.”

“Certainly not,” the man agreed. “I am most distressed at your news, Pa-Bast, and of course we will do everything we can to find Kamen. It must be some consolation to you that the young man is a soldier and well able to take care of himself. Let us hope that he has simply been drinking and fighting. I presume that he took none of his clothes or belongings with him?” Pa-Bast answered the man’s few but pertinent questions while I waited, and when he had gone the Steward sighed.

“None of this feels right somehow,” he said. “We are in the midst of a mystery, Kaha. Well, the life of this household must go on and if I am not to earn a reprimand from the Lady Shesira I had better get to the market and stock the kitchen before she arrives.”

“I want to talk to Takhuru this afternoon,” I told him. “I would be grateful if you would hire a scribe at the market to keep the tally of the goods. It will be an inconvenience for you, Pa-Bast, but this is important.” He shot me a keen glance.

“You know more about Kamen’s fate than you are disclosing, don’t you Kaha?” he said. “You have the welfare of this family at heart?” It was a question, not a statement. I nodded. “Then go,” he went on. “But Setau has already been to Nesiamun. Kamen is not there.”

“Perhaps not. Thank you, Pa-Bast.” He grunted and turned on his heel and I went to my room for my best sandals and a clean kilt. I was afraid, for the moment I crossed Nesiamun’s threshold I would be setting myself irrevocably against the man I still regarded as my true Master, but it was time to heal that inner infection. Slipping on the sandals and setting the wide golden armband of my status around my wrist, I left the house.

I was blind to the beauty of the day as I walked, weaving my way absently through the intermittent groups of people passing to and fro and talking lightly. Some greeted me, their voices jerking me briefly out of myself, and I replied as best I could, but I did not stop for fear that my feet, once halted, would turn me about and return me to my room. But at length they did slow, and Nesiamun’s porter came out to take my name and my business.

I waited. Presently a servant appeared to tell me that the Master of the house could not be disturbed. He was closeted with the General Paiis. But if I wanted, I could take some refreshment with the Master’s Steward. His scribe, of course, was in attendance on him and could not talk with me. As soon as the Master was free, he would receive me. I considered quickly. This was an unforeseen calamity. I could only hope that Paiis believed I was there on the conspirators’ behalf. “Actually I have been instructed by my Lord’s Steward to question the Lady Takhuru once more on the matter of Kamen’s disappearance, if she is willing,” I explained. “My Lord returns from the Fayum tomorrow and we are in great distress.” The man clucked his tongue sympathetically.