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Chapter 39
Amarna
1333 BC
“WHAT’S WRONG, MOTHER?” asked Tut.
The handsome little boy stood beside Nefertiti in a garden surrounded by fig trees and date palms and a rich green carpet of grass. His mother sat in the shade of a small palmetto. Her beautiful face was a tightly clenched mask. They both knew that she was unwell, and yet she pretended that nothing of the sort was true.
To be eight and faced with the prospect of losing his mother, so soon after losing his father, was something that no child could be prepared for.
But Tut was no ordinary child-he had royal blood-he was divine.
So he joined his mother on the small settee. He watched as she slowly leaned back and tried to relax, then flinched in pain as her skin came in contact with the hard chair.
“I’m dying, Tut, and I need to ask you to do something that you might think odd.”
“Don’t say that, Mother. You’re not dying.”
“I am. Either I am being poisoned-or there is a sickness inside my body that Aten does not wish to remove. I have ordered my servants to hasten their preparations of my burial chamber, because there may not be much time for me.”
Nefertiti closed her eyes as pain shot through her body. Tut placed his hand on top of hers, but did so gently, so as not to hurt her.
This small act of kindness and compassion made Nefertiti smile. “You will be a great pharaoh. I am sure of it.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
He paused, reluctant to say what was on his mind.
“What is it?” Nefertiti asked.
“Do you promise not to be angry?”
She let a moment pass as she weighed her answer. “I promise. Now ask your question. You must always speak your mind, Tut.”
“Did Aye do this to you? I see the way he looks at you. It’s hard to tell whether he loves you or hates you.”
“I think it’s a little of both. But no, I do not fear Aye-though you should. You are just a boy and need to be protected from powerful, unscrupulous men who might want to see you harmed.”
“Do you think he wants to be pharaoh?”
“Yes, Tut, I do. And he is not the only man with a dream of ruling Egypt.”
“But he is a commoner.”
“So are you, Tut. Remember, your natural mother was of common birth. You are only half royal. Your sister is the only child in this palace who is full-blooded royalty. This is why I have asked you to come see me.”
“What do you mean? What are you saying, Mother?”
“Ankhesenpaaten ca
“But Ankhesenpaaten is the only such person.”
“That’s right, Tut.” Nefertiti flinched once again from the pain. “Ankhe is the only one.”
“So you’re saying that…”
His voice trailed off in confusion, so Nefertiti finished the sentence for him.
“You must marry your sister.”
Chapter 40
Luxor
1909
HOWARD CARTER was once again in the world that he loved more than anything else. A little older perhaps, a few belt holes thi
As the sun rose over the glorious Nile, he gazed out across a site at a small army of workers, just as he had so many times before. True, he was digging in what many called the “unfashionable district” of the Theban necropolis, where, at best, he could hope to find the tombs of nobles and wealthy businessmen instead of pharaohs. But after years of living hand to mouth, Carter didn’t mind at all.
Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon in the Valley of the Kings. Theirs was one of history’s most successful partnerships.
It was good to have a job. So Carter lit a cigarette and gave the order for his men to start digging.
Lord Carnarvon stood at his side, dressed smartly in a suit and skimmer.
Their relationship would clearly be different than the ones Carter had enjoyed with Lord Amherst and even Theodore Davis. The old days of Carter being stubborn to make a point were over. He was a hired man now and would not be treated as a member of the family.
But he didn’t much care. He had plans in his head, plans to bring professionalism and accountability to Carnarvon’s ragtag style of digging. Wealthy patrons were hard to come by. With Carter’s expertise and Carnarvon’s money, there was a chance they might actually find something important.
And someday, if this all worked out, they would move into the Valley of the Kings and do some real digging, for real treasure.
Chapter 41
Amarna
1330 BC
THERE HAD BEEN no public ceremony and no special words from the high priests to mark the moment of their marriage union.
Ankhesenpaaten had simply moved her belongings to Tut’s side of the palace, where their father had once laid his head.
That had been three years ago. They had slept in separate rooms since then but had also become closer friends. Now, on the day they had put Nefertiti in her tomb, Tut would rule alone.
Ankhesenpaaten fumbled with her gauzy white gown as she and Tut prepared to share a bed for the first time. He wasn’t yet a teenager, like his sister and bride, who was a few years older, but Tut had begun to physically develop into a man, and this wasn’t lost on his wife.
It was time they produced an heir-or at least, given their ages, began practicing.
Tut untied the cumbersome, false pharaoh beard from around his head and laid it on a bedside table. Nefertiti had coached them both, in individual discussions, and Tut thought he had a good understanding of how it all worked. But he had never visited a harem, as the royal scribe Aye seemed to do each afternoon after lunch, and what was about to transpire was u
Ankhesenpaaten turned her back discreetly as she slipped her dress off her shoulders. Tut watched the fabric drop down past her narrow hips and land silently on the floor.
Ankhesenpaaten covered her budding breasts with one hand as she turned to pull back the bedcovers, then slid between the warm sheets. He could smell the perfumed oils she used on her body and hair.
“Now you, Pharaoh.”
Tut felt butterflies in his stomach and was u
“Did you ever feast as much as today?” he asked somewhat randomly, referring to the whirlwind of revelry surrounding Nefertiti’s funeral. All the priests of Aten had feted her. Aye had been there too, and Tut had noticed that the royal vizier drank quite heavily while huddling in the corner with Tut’s generals.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen that much food in my life,” Ankhesenpaaten agreed.
“I wish Mother could have been there.”
“Now you can make your claim to the throne. No one can deny you.”
“Yes,” Tut said softly, feeling for the first time the crushing weight of being the pharaoh of all of Egypt. It pressed down on him like a block of limestone.
“We are alone, Tut,” Ankhesenpaaten whispered, realizing a different sort of burden. “Just the two of us in this difficult and complicated world. Not a parent to guide us. Just us.”
“It’s scary when you say it like that.”
“Yes. But Tut, let’s promise that we will always look out for each other and protect each other from those who would do us harm.”
“I promise, Ankhesenpaaten. I will never let anyone harm you.”