Mutnofret’s Secret

Day 29 of month Hut-heru in Akhet, season of the inundation

No news of the Medjay’s investigation reached Ameny’s house. Nakhtmin admitted to himself it might have been smarter not to inform the pharaoh’s law enforcement. These men had shown little interest in solving the murder of a child from a poor family although Maat applied to everyone: young and old, rich and poor, noble and common. On the other hand, he and Ameny couldn’t let the chance to report these crimes pass. In the meantime, Nebet-Het’s body had been taken to the House of Death, and he wondered if Hori took care of her. He was still a little miffed by his friend’s insinuations he might be in love with Mutnofret. As if to prove him wrong, he went to see the young woman at her favorite place in the garden. She sat in the shade of the wall surrounding the estate.

He didn’t mean to sneak up on her, but she only noticed him when he’d almost reached her. Startled, she stared at him and hastily hid something in the folds of her skirt. Then, as if she’d never been doing anything else, she bent over her stitching work, with which she had been occupied for weeks now. Her flushed face belied her pretense though.

“A love letter?” Judging by her looks, his wild guess hit home. The realization hurt, then a horrific suspicion crept up on him. “Don’t tell me it’s from Shepses!”

The mix of guilt and anger on her face said it all.

“I don’t believe it! How can you be so unreasonable, so incredibly reckless? Didn’t your father explicitly…”

She flashed her teeth and released that familiar hissing noise. “My father…” She emphasized every word. “…forbade me explicitly—as you call it so fittingly—to meet Shepses. He never said anything about letters.”

“Cheeky!” He gnashed his teeth, bent forward and tried to grasp the message.

She reacted too fast and shoved it in the neckline of her dress. “Go ahead, dare to take it,” she threatened.

“What then? You’ll scream? I’d love to hear what your father has to say if he finds out what’s been going on.” With satisfaction, he watched her pale. “Hand it over, or I’ll go to him straight away.”

Reluctantly, she retrieved the papyrus from the cleft between her breasts and placed it in his proffered hand. He skimmed the lines and drew a sharp breath. Things had gone far between her and Shepses, too far. “How long have you been at it?”

“What’s it to you?”

“Right, none of my business if you flirt with someone who may have killed your sister and three other women. What’s it to me if you even plan to marry him! I really don’t understand you.” He couldn’t decide whether the glittery shine of her eyes came from anger or grief.

“And I don’t understand why you all think Shepses a villain. He isn’t so bad and he certainly didn’t murder my sister. If you knew what beautiful words he wrote to me…”

He rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe this. He sweet-talks and you fall for it? Your father will never agree to this match.”

“If all goes according to plan, father won’t have a choice. Very soon the vizier is going to fulfill his son’s wish—his ardent desire—and negotiate the bride-price and marriage contract with Father. Nebit does everything for his son.” She pushed out her lower lip.

“One might think you wish your father would show as much indulgence toward you. But that would be a sign of disinterest and low esteem for you. Do you think your father is so callous as to deliver you into the hands of such a family, just to gain a little more prestige. Sure, a proposal made by the vizier can’t be easily turned down. What an honor to marry into such a noble family. If Ameny hated you, he’d be more than happy to throw you to that murdering pack. However, he doesn’t hate you…”

Tears rolled down her flawless cheeks, and left a trail of the kohl lining her eyes. “ I hate you.”

“Because you know I’m right.” He sighed. “I guess it’s too late now. Shepses already announced his intentions openly?”

She nodded.

“You meant to enforce it and succeeded. I hope you’ll…” No, he couldn’t get himself to wish her well. “Just be careful. It’s a pit of vipers.”

All afternoon Nakhtmin wrestled with the problem of whether he should betray Mutnofret and tell her father what awaited him. He owed Ameny loyalty. At the same time his heart murmured insistently he shouldn’t antagonize Mutnofret even more. If she saw an enemy in him, she wouldn’t confide in him anymore. Her trust in him had never been more crucial. Had he paid more attention to her, he might have been able to prevent her taking things so far with Shepses. Could she actually be in love with the braggart? No, he didn’t want to believe that. She wasn’t so stupid. Then he remembered what a fool he had made of himself before—out of love.

Still, if the vizier’s visit surprised Ameny, he might show his feelings. How could he explain his refusal to let his daughter marry the much-higher ranking vizier’s son? At long last, Nakhtmin decided to take the bull by the horns. He went to Mutnofret. “Listen, I have to tell your father about the letter—and all the others.”

“Of course, I should have known. Go blab your mouth; it’s one of your best skills.” She chewed her lower lip.

“I don’t want to do it. The gods know I’d love to keep this secret from him because it won’t be pleasant!” He paced the room. “He’ll find out soon enough and should be prepared for the vizier’s visit. And there’s something else…” Taking a deep breath didn’t make it easier to say the next words. “If you really want to follow through with this, insist on taking me along to their household as your personal physician when you move. Maybe that will help reconcile your father with the whole endeavor. But I’ll only do it if you’re going to be honest with me from now on. No more lies, no more secrets. This isn’t a game.”

Her almond-shaped eyes shot fiery looks. “Oh, you’ve come up with some nifty plan to provide for yourself. You’re simply afraid father will kick you out.”

Yes, Nakhtmin had taken his own future into consideration as well, to some extent. Once Mutnofret was married, there wouldn’t be any use for him in the house of the second prophet of Amun. He was ashamed of his selfishness. How could she look through him so easily? Upset, he replied harsher than intended. “You underestimate me. My concern for your health and well-being is real, and I respect your father far too much to hold back on him under false pretenses. Well, your choice of husband shows how little you understand of human nature.”

She paled with scorn. “You know very well why I’m doing this. It’s certainly not for my pleasure.”

“Really?” He lifted one eyebrow and cursed himself at the same time. Something about this girl kept riling him although he’d come to win back her trust. Instead, he felt the need to castigate her with words. He was older and should be able to control himself! “Mutnofret,” he tried again in a conciliatory tone.

“Go away. I don’t want to see you again.”

With drooping shoulders he slunk away. What a mess he’d made.

As soon as Ameny returned from the temple, Mutnofret sought out Nakhtmin and changed her tune to that of reason. “You’re right, we should tell father.”

Her quivering shoulders made him realize how hard it would be for her to confess to her parent. Most likely she only reacted with such vehemence to his words because she’d acted against Ameny’s express wish. He suppressed a snide comment. Surely she’d only come to him in hopes of support and backup during the storm of parental rage. He swallowed triumph and self-righteousness. No use bashing her because of it. Deep down he admired her courage. Would he have dared take such a risk? “Then let’s do it right after the meal.”

She nodded her approval. They both knew hunger would only make Ameny more irritable.

An hour later she timidly knocked on the door to her father’s study, where he always retreated to around this time to revisit his day’s work.

“Yes, what is it?” he called, words muffled by cedarwood.

She let Nakhtmin enter ahead of her, which made him feel like she was hiding behind his back. Ameny’s eyebrows hiked up in an unspoken question.

Since Mutnofret didn’t utter a word, he began, “Your daughter needs to tell you something.” Stepping aside, he nudged her to the front.

As was to be expected after such an opening, her father’s face furrowed. She hemmed and hawed. “You look tired. Maybe I should tell you tomorrow?”

When she turned toward the door, Nakhtmin held her back. “No, this can’t be postponed.”

“Young lady, you’ll account for your deeds now. What do you have to confess?”

She lowered her gaze. “I’ve exchanged messages with Shepses.” Her voice was so faint, even Nakhtmin, standing beside her, had trouble hearing what she said.

Ameny obviously had understood. His face turned a frightening crimson. “Tell me this isn’t so! You disregarded my orders? Speak up!” He jumped to his feet and rushed to her.

She flinched but lifted her chin a notch. “No, father. You said I must not meet Shepses, and I didn’t.”

Ameny’s breathing became so labored and wheezy, Nakhtmin feared for his employer’s health. He added, “I only learned about this exchange today, my lord. Unfortunately, there’s more to it…”

“Shepses wants to marry me, and I agreed.” The words burst out of her as if she feared she might never be able to say them otherwise. She cast a glance filled with a mix of fear and scorn at Nakhtmin.

Now Ameny paled and swayed. Nakhtmin hurried to his side and supported him. Gently, he led the priest back to his chair and insisted he sit down. He poured water from the pitcher into a mug and handed it to Ameny, who emptied it in big gulps. He seemed unaware of what he was doing. Nakhtmin looked from father to daughter. He realized she wouldn’t get another word out and he couldn’t bear to hear more. However, the situation required thorough planning. No time to treat their feelings with care. “Soon, I’m afraid, Nebit will call on you to announce his son’s intentions.”

Ameny groaned and buried his face in his hands. “How can I deny his request without insulting the man to the core?”

“Well…” In Nakhtmin’s heart grew the seed of an idea. “What if you pretend to accept? Much time will pass until the marriage contract is crafted and Shepses has his own household. Nebit will insist on celebrating their engagement with a big feast to which Mutnofret’s family—all of us—will be invited. We can use this chance to look around the vizier’s house. Afterward Mutnofret will be able to visit Shepses anytime without raising suspicions.”

At this point Ameny released a dry laugh. “You want me to let the only daughter I have left go there on her own? You must be insane, Doctor.”

Of course, Nakhtmin had anticipated Ameny’s reaction and took no offense. “I was about to say she can take me along every time. People have become used to me accompanying her everywhere. This would allow me to make inconspicuous inquiries and to observe what’s going on. It can’t take much longer until our killer will slip up. As long as I’m watching over Mutnofret, he can’t get close to her. I doubt he’ll dare make an attempt at her life under his own roof.” A foolhardy scheme but the best they could do under the circumstances. Mutnofret had created facts, and they had to deal with them. “I’ll have to completely focus on never leaving her alone.” Now he turned to the young woman. “Mutnofret, will you promise not to take any risks like sneaking away, but always stay close to me? No more solitary adventures, or I can’t accept the responsibility.”

Ameny gave a grim nod. “I have no choice but to go along with this plan. I’m very angry with you, my child. I guess you don’t know what you got yourself into. And if we don’t succeed in identifying the murderer and proving his guilt, you won’t be able to take back your promise of marriage. Our family would lose face and all respect at court. Nebit is a powerful man. He could easily prevent me from ever ascending to first prophet of Amun. Have you considered this? No need to even talk about your prospects of ever marrying a worthy man.”

Mutnofret lowered her head. The whole time she had been unusually quiet. “Father…I…” She sniffed.

“How could you have been so foolish? You’ve put all of us, the whole family, in severe danger. Indeed, you need a husband with much reason in his heart, or else I see your life painted in the darkest colors. I can only hope all will work out as Nakhtmin described. And now you’ll swear to do as he asked.”

She seemed very subdued as she made the requested vow. For the first time, Nakhtmin didn’t doubt her sincerity.

“Now go to your chamber. I need to discuss a few things with Nakhtmin. Afterward I’ll have to relay the great news to your mother. At least she will be happy for you.”

Once Mutnofret had left the room, Ameny allowed himself a groan of agony. “She wouldn’t have told me if you hadn’t insisted, right?”

Feeling awkward, Nakhtmin pressed his lips together. He didn’t want to get Mutnofret in even more trouble.

“Doesn’t really matter anyway. At least I’m forewarned. It would have been pure torture to sit and talk with the vizier totally unprepared. I seriously doubt I could have concealed my feelings.”

“My lord, I promise to watch over her.”

Three days later, Nebit’s visit was announced.