The door swings wide, allowing him into this cocoon of a space. “Your Majesty.” He bows toward me with a small smile.
Waving toward the servants, who are flummoxed by this disruption in the routine, I say, “You may leave.”
Only Nedjem hesitates, torn between my order and the directives of tradition. But my instructions win out, and she follows the others. Until Senenmut and I are very much alone.
We face each other, and our gaze meets. I notice how his deep brown eyes shimmer in the low flickering light of the torches, and I wonder if mine do the same. I am about to take a step toward him, when, breaking from his usual practice, he speaks first. “You were magnificent today.”
“Really?” I ask, needing to hear his praise again. Not because I’m unsure how the common folks or the aristocrats perceived me, but because I want to hear howheregards me. And not as a subject or an adviser.
“Really,” he answers, unwavering in his expression. Then the corners of his eyes crinkle as another small smile appears on his face. “Although, I thought we were going to let the people interpret the relief for themselves. You directly shared its meaning with them—something about Amun blessing theatefand theshendyt.”His words are scolding, but his tone is admiring.
“I couldn’t help myself,” I say with a matching smile. “I didn’t think my meaning was coming across.”
He laughs. “You did it beautifully, even though you deviated from our plan.”
“No one rioted at my pronouncement,” I venture.
“Not a single soul even raised an eyebrow at the thought that Amun ordered you to dress like a pharaoh,” he says, his smile bright and even.
I finally take that step closer to him. “Youare the magnificent one,” I whisper.
He looks away from me. He doesn’t speak, even as I draw nearer to him. Finally, when we are almost chest to chest, he says, “Hatshepsut, you are already the true pharaoh. I am simply helping your people realize the truth.”
I glance up into his dark eyes, placing my hand upon his muscled arm. “One by one, you are helping me strip away the barriers to assuming power. I feel freer and mightier than ever before. But it seemsthat one barrier remains, one I must remove by myself. And that’s the one standing between you and me.”
I do not wait for permission. I wrap my arms around him, and then standing on my bare toes, I lift my face toward his. For a long, charged moment, we stare into each other’s eyes, breathing hard. And then I kiss him.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
1473 BC
THEBES, EGYPT
The Nile shimmers before us. The verdant, palm-lined riverbank on which we sit affords us a breathtaking view of the countryside, dotted here and there with sandstone structures. As I lie back on the blanket and pillows and reach for a date, I glance over at my beautiful Neferure and my beloved Senenmut. We are alone here, save the guards standing at a distance. I allow myself to imagine that we are an ordinary family enjoying a simple afternoon meal.
“Look,” Neferure cries out at the sight of two ibises landing in the reeds on the riverbank. “Their feathers are beautiful.”
“Ibises are a good omen, Neferure,” Senenmut says, gently pushing aside a strand of hair that has blown in front of her eyes. He no longer refers to her as “princess,” just as he no longer refers to me as “queen,” “regent,” or even “pharaoh”—in private anyway. It would be strange if he did, as we have become a family of our own. In many ways, Senenmut is the only father Neferure has ever known.
I hear Neferure’s name being called in the distance, and I know my fleeting dream of a normal life must end. No longer today will it be just us three. Tutors and a vizier and advisers and servants and generals and family members and royal courtiers will inundate the remaining hours, and we must shift and change our roles to accommodate their perception of us. Even Neferure.
Her name grows louder, until Senimen materializes underneath our open-sided tent. “Apologies, Your Majesty,” he says with a low bow, “but it is time for the princess’s lessons.”
“Must I, Mother?” Neferure pleads. These occasions when it’s just us three are so rare, and I know that, like me, she doesn’t want this luncheon to end. Yet duty always prevails.
“You must, my love.”
With a groan, Neferure rouses herself from the comfort of our meal, pushes herself to standing, and follows Senimen back into the palace. Senenmut watches as she grows smaller in the distance, until she disappears out of sight. “Sometimes I wish we didn’t have to bring Senimen back on as Neferure’s tutor. I miss tutoring her myself,” he says quietly.
I wrap myself around him, and whisper, “I know you do. And she misses your sage lessons and your many kindnesses.”
“Senimen will not teach her the order of the night sky or its stories. How will she ever learn about the stars without me?” His voice contains such sadness that I tighten my arms around his chest. His passion for sky watching and sky mapping runs deep, and he longs to share it with Neferure.
“You will divulge the secrets of the stars to her after the evening meal, starting tonight. From the terrace in my private quarters,” I say, and this notion makes him smile a little.
But I want him to understand that he has helped me—and therefore Neferure—in ways far more meaningful than simple tutoring. Senenmut has become much more than my lover and, in all but name, father to Neferure. He has become my closest adviser in all things. Together, we have forged a reign of unprecedented stability and prosperity; organizing the forty-two provinces comprising Upper and Lower Egypt; expanding our trade route farther than ever before; naming a solid leader to help manage Kush; and installing a talented and loyal cadre of governors, judiciary, priests, and military leaders.
“Your brilliance is necessary for running Egypt, and we have accomplished much together that benefits the people, Senenmut,” I remind him when his expression turns melancholy. “And much to perpetuate the Thutmoside reign in our construction projects, which will benefit Neferure—who is Thutmoside herself and will marry Thutmose the Third when they come of age and hopefully bear the next pharaoh. Just think how paltry my own construction plan waswhen you started overseeing the building projects. I mean, I started with a simple remote tomb in a little-known small wadi and now you’ve planned the most stunning mortuary temple the world has ever seen.” Senenmut’s astonishing design for my temple is unlike any structure I’ve ever encountered. Carved into the cliffside across the river from Thebes, it will consist of three massive, colonnaded terraces with a sanctuary for Amun at its center. Its striking composition is nothing short of a masterpiece.
