Pefroi addressed Tiye. “Heket was found in the justified pharaoh’s room. She confessed she slit his throat. Kairy testified he witnessed her kill His Majesty. Heket was one of your conspirators.”
“True, Excellency.” Tiye shook her head, as if in disbelief. “Heket was for a short time my husband’s favorite concubine. Then he set her aside. His rejection drove her mad. She took advantage of our attempt to protect my husband to gain access to his room and kill him. She did it on her own. She saved Ramesses the trouble.”
Heket appeared shocked that Tiye had turned on her.
“The guard who wounded Neset, Mayernu, was supposed to wound the fourth Ramesses too?”
“Except, he was slain by one of Ramesses’ men. That one.” Tiye pointed to Kairy, standing behind Pharaoh.
He didn’t react.
“Convenient, don’t you think?” Tiye asked. “A dead man can’t be questioned about the reason for his actions.”
Tiye’s explanation was too convoluted for me to follow. It didn’t make any sense. Judges were whispering to each other. None of them seemed able to form a coherent question to ask Tiye.
She was in control of the hall now. She gestured towards the royals and me. “Neset, my son’s whore, was behind this plot.” Tiye’s strident voice carried to every corner.
So much for the peace she’d declared between us. She’d obviously been preparing to use me as a scapegoat in her plot from the very beginning.
“I’ve done nothing!” I cried, half–rising from my chair.
“She didn’t!” It was Pentawere. At least he had the grace to defend me from his mother’s lie, in spite of everything. He must still love me.
“My son is a blind love–sick fool, trying to save the life of his whore,” Tiye said contemptuously.
Pefroi looked at Mentemtowe, then the other judges. None seemed to know what to do. Murmuring throughout the hall grew in volume. Pefroi shrugged. “Bring Neset forward to be examined.”
Tiye smiled at me vindictively.
My heart fell. This couldn’t be happening. I glanced at Pharaoh. He stared back, helpless. He’d given full authority to the Great Kenbet to pursue justice in case a situation exactly like this arose. He could hardly intervene now on my behalf. But I’d done nothing and had nothing to hide. I didn’t fear examination. Unless Tiye had somehow corrupted more judges and it hadn’t been discovered. Were last night’s judges the only ones she’d tried to coerce, or only that night’s?
Two guards moved beside me. I rose. Each grabbed an arm.
I jerked them away. “That’s not necessary,” I said in a quiet, dignified voice.
They released me and I strode to the center of the hall before the judges, my head held high. I felt Pharaoh’s eyes upon me, and those of his family. Pentawere and Tiye moved a little to the side, but not before Tiye whispered “if my son must die, so must you.” Hatred glimmered in her eyes.
“You’ve heard the charges leveled at you by Tiye,” Pefroi said. “Are they true?”
“No, Excellency.”
“You weren’t involved in this plot in any way?”
“I knew nothing about it until I overheard Pentawere and Tiye and several others talking about it in the garden,” I insisted hotly. “Then I went to warn His Majesty. Up until then I thought Pentawere was trying to protect his father from his half–brother.”
“You believed Pharaoh was going to kill his father?”
“After getting to know Pharaoh, I didn’t. He didn’t seem in any hurry to take the throne. But I’d had a dream about Pharaoh, yes.”
“You saw Pharaoh kill his father in this dream?”
“No, Excellency.”
“Then what did you see?” Mentemtowe interjected impatiently.
The very line of questioning Tiye had wanted the corrupted judges to pursue. Were Pefroi and Mentemtowe corrupted too? Worse, how were the judges going to react to my dream? It was so damning. I wished the falcon god had never sent it to me. “In my dream I saw His Majesty being convicted of his father’s murder by this Great Kenbet.”
The instantaneous roar from the crowd was deafening. Ramesses looked like he wanted to kill me. So did all the royals. Tiye smiled knowingly at Pentawere. She clearly believed she’d just saved the two of them. I feared she was right.
“Based on your dream, you convinced Pentawere to kill his brother,” Mentemtowe charged after the crowd calmed somewhat.
“No, Excellency. Immediately after I had my dream Pentawere and I decided we’d try to protect the justified pharaoh. Pentawere said he’d take steps to make sure his father was guarded better.”
“Why didn’t you tell Pharaoh?” Pefroi probed. His eyes narrowed. “I understand you spoke with him almost every morning.”
“I’d had a dream, Excellency. It wasn’t proof of a plot. Why would Pharaoh take stock in my dream? I didn’t want to accuse his son of something he hadn’t done either. Pentawere was going to take steps to protect him. I thought that was enough.”
“Pentawere and Tiye took your dream very seriously. Did you use magic on them to make them believe?” Mentemtowe queried.
“I don’t know how to do magic, Excellency.”
“Of course she used magic!” Tiye exclaimed. “Don’t you see the amulet at her throat? It’s what she used.”
At a nod from Pefroi a guard yanked an amulet with an image of Khonsu from around my neck, breaking its gold chain. He carried it to Pefroi. Pefroi turned it over and over in his hand, examined it gingerly, passed it to Mentemtowe.
“Did you spend a day with His Majesty at Ta Set Neferu?” Pefroi asked.
“Yes, Excellency.”
“You? A gardener? Did he seek you out or did you seek him out?”
“We encountered each other in the per’aa. His Majesty said he wanted to visit his brothers’ tombs. I said I knew where they were. He didn’t. I was merely his guide.”
“You and him alone?”
“No, Excellency. We were accompanied by butlers and bodyguards.”
“They were with you the whole time?”
“No, Excellency. All but Kairy departed when His Majesty and I went into his brother’s tomb to inspect it.”
“How long were you alone with His Majesty.”
“Just long enough to inspect the tomb’s walls, Excellency. When we came out a severe storm was approaching. We took shelter inside the tomb for perhaps an hour. Kairy waited with us.”
Pefroi looked knowingly at Mentemtowe, addressed me. “Did His Majesty seduce you while you two were alone in the tomb?”
Shocked exclamations from the spectators. Ramesses’ sat stoic, fuming. Duatentopet looked at me with blazing eyes.
“He did not!”
“Did you seduce His Majesty? Or Kairy? Or both at the same time?”
The humiliation was crushing. “No! I’m a gardener, as you said. Why would His Majesty take an interest in me?”
“Yet he apparently has,” Tiye said. “Neset has sat amidst his family every day of this trial. And Ramesses wasn’t the first brother she slept with. She slept with Pentawere so that he’d settle the strike of the workers in Ta Set Maat in their favor.”
More gasps.
“Pentawere…” I pled.
He could call out his mother’s lie with a word. He remained silent. He’d see me die to save his life.
“You have evidence of this affair?” Pefroi asked Tiye.
“Search Neset’s estate!” she cried. “You’ll find jewels and dresses and perfumes and other gifts from my son.” She looked me up and down. “Do you think a lowly gardener could afford a dress like she’s wearing? Pentawere can have any woman in the land – why would he settle for her? What more proof do you need that she used magic on him?”
I heard the mutterings of female spectators. They were no doubt agreeing with Tiye’s assessment of me.
“Did you sleep with Pentawere during the workers’ strike?” Mentemtowe asked.
I saw the knowing gl
ances on the faces of the judges and my face flamed. “I did not.”
“Did he give you jewels and other gifts, as Tiye has charged?”
“Yes. We were in love once.”
“Yet he does not come to your defense,” Mentemtowe noted.
“The effects of Neset’s magic have worn off,” Tiye said.
“Did you and His Majesty plot together to assassinate the justified pharaoh?” Pefroi pressed.
“No, Excellency. His Majesty was already co–ruler. Why would he want to overthrow his father?”
“Because he didn’t want to wait!” Tiye cried. “He didn’t want to risk my husband reigning as long as Ramesses the Great!”
Heads were nodding now. Tiye was making sense.
“Neset has testified she loved your son, Tiye,” said Mentemtowe. “Why would she try to frame him for this crime?”
“She wanted revenge, Excellency.”
“Revenge? You mentioned that before. For what?”
“Pentawere executed Neset’s husband for robbing the tomb of Osiris–pharaoh Usermaatre–Setepenre, Ramesses the Great, My Lord.”
A buzzing rolled over the hall like a wave once again. I glanced at Ramesses and our eyes met. I saw the briefest flicker of fear in his. Only the two of us knew for sure that Tiye was lying. But Ramesses couldn’t refute Tiye. He had no evidence with which to challenge her spurious claims. Making everyone see the truth was completely in my hands. I feared very few people in this hall would believe me.
“Did Pentawere execute your husband?” Pefroi asked sharply.
“Yes, Excellency.” I paused. “But he deserved it.”
“Harsh words from a loving wife,” Tiye observed. “As she turned on her husband, just now, before you all, not fearing what his spirit might do to her, so has she turned on my son.”
I’d fallen deeper into Tiye’s trap and I knew it. So did Tiye. So did Pharaoh.
“There’s more, Excellencies,” Tiye interjected, addressing the judges and pressing her advantage. “Neset confessed that she and Ramesses disappeared into the hills for a full day. Henutenamon – charged in the death of my husband – was with them. So was Mayernu, a guard – now dead – the only witness to the events in Ramesses’ room on the night of the murder – except for Kairy, standing atop the dais, who slew Mayernu. We’ve heard Neset’s claim about what went on in Ramesses’ bedroom – a sudden knife attack, a wound, Ramesses rushing off to ‘save’ his father – isn’t it convenient that Mayernu is dead and cannot tell us what really happened that night?”
“Mayernu stabbed me!” I exclaimed, pulling aside one of the straps of my dress and pointing to the long white scar below my collarbone.
“A slight cut with a knife to draw blood and sell the tale,” Tiye scoffed. “And afterwards, recovery in a secluded room of the per’aa, where none could see how minor the wound really was. No doubt all the while celebrating the success of the plot along with His Majesty.”
“Summon the healers and magicians!” I demanded. “They’ll tell you I nearly died.”
Mentemtowe directed his attention to Tiye. “What would be the purpose of such deception? Be clear,” he demanded.
“If Ramesses himself appeared to be the target of an assassin, who’d suspect him of killing his father?” Tiye replied, her gaze sweeping the line of judges. “For all we know, the incident in Ramesses’ room occurred long after my husband had already been slain – perhaps by Neset herself. After all, she’s had free run of the per’aa for years as overseer of Pharaoh’s garden. Everyone knows my husband lusted after her. He gifted her an entire estate, after all! Who’d question or remember her presence in the corridors near his bedroom? I doubt it was the first time she’d been there.” Tiye paused, turned to face me. “Besides – she’d spent every night that week with my son in his room in the per’aa. The night of Pharaoh’s murder she never came, though he waited for her there, for hours. Where was she?”
That set everyone in the crowd to talking excitedly.
I could tell that many believed Tiye, including some in the royal family. Bad enough that Tiye was accusing me falsely. But to cast aspersions about her own husband – there seemed no limit to how low Tiye would stoop to save herself and Pentawere.
The judges waited until the crowd quieted again.
“Earlier you accused Heket of slaying Pharaoh,” Mentemtowe pointed out.
“Excellency, I was reporting what I was told. I wasn’t there. Maybe she did. Or maybe she’s as innocent as the rest of us. Maybe Ramesses set her up as a scapegoat too. After all, it was Ramesses’ guards who supposedly went to my husband’s room to rescue him. It was his friend Kairy who supposedly witnessed Heket slay my husband.”
Only a whitening of the knuckles of the hand holding the khepesh betrayed Kairy’s feelings.
“What, do you suppose, was to be Neset’s reward for this treachery and murder?” Pefroi asked.
“To become Ramesses’ Great Wife, of course,” Tiye said matter–of–factly, glancing at Duatentopet. “Maybe even God’s Wife of Amen.”
Duatentopet stared at Tiye in disgust. Ramesses sat stony–faced, eyes locked on Tiye’s face.
“Do you confess your crime?” Pefroi asked me, his eyes narrowed.
“I have no crime to confess,” I said earnestly. “You have to believe me.”
Mentemtowe glanced at Ramesses, no doubt hoping for some sign from Pharaoh to tell him what to do, but got none. He sighed loudly and turned to the guards. “We must have the truth. Obtain a confession.”
Excited murmurs swept through the hall. Everyone knew what was coming.
I began trembling. I remembered what had happened to my husband during his questioning by the Great Kenbet. I’d watched these very guards obtain confessions from the prisoners standing near me every day for the past week. “No! Please!” I cried. “I’ve done nothing wrong!” I looked towards Ramesses. He studiously avoided looking at me.
Tiye and Pentawere stepped back a bit and guards moved to my side. Bunakhtef approached carrying a long slender wooden rod. I began shaking uncontrollably. I knew he was going to take advantage of this opportunity to pay me back for rejecting him and scarring him that night along the river. He grasped both ends of the rod and bent it with his hands, testing its flexibility. He sneered at me.
Tears trickled down my cheeks as I waited for Mentemtowe to order the guards to force me face down onto the floor and proceed. And then I was suddenly struck with a horrible realization. I wasn’t actually the one on trial – Pharaoh was. Tiye had charged Ramesses with patricide. The judges couldn’t directly question him. They could only determine his guilt or innocence through me. Bunakhtef was going to beat me until I confessed. If I didn’t, he’d beat me until I lost consciousness. That would be the same as a confession. Pharaoh would be judged guilty and he’d be sentenced to death. Exactly as he had been in my dream.
Unless I changed my dream’s outcome. I suddenly knew why the falcon god had arranged my life so I’d meet these royals and become part of their lives and be present today. The falcon god had foreseen Pharaoh being wrongly convicted of killing his father. He’d sent me to prevent it. I suddenly remembered my ancestor Amenia’s dream – her sitting beside the man she loved in the delta, holding a baby. She’d thought her dream had been about her personal happiness. But many years later she’d figured out the falcon god had wanted her and her husband to expand Nekhen’s influence in the North by founding an estate in the delta. Clarity had come to me late, as it had to Amenia. But it had come. The falcon god was counting on me, at this very moment, to preserve the legitimate line of the third Ramesses, just like my Grandfather had during Ramesses’ wars, just like so many of my ancestors had preserved other kings and pharaohs’ lines over the centuries. Changing my dream’s outcome would cost me my life. But what did that matter? I was going to be executed anyway, one way or another. Better for a good reason than bad.
“I confess!” I cried.
Exclamations
from the crowd. Questioning looks from the royals. Pharaoh appeared to be astounded. So did Kairy. Judges leaned forward in their seats.
Bunakhtef was beside himself with rage, denied his revenge. He snapped his rod in two.
After a moment everyone in the hall fell silent. Eyes were locked on me.
“I was involved in the plot to kill the third and fourth Ramesses.” My voice was barely a whisper.
“What did she say?” Kara called. He was a judge and standard bearer.
“Give her some water,” Pefroi directed.
A guard handed me a cup. My hand was shaking so hard most of the water spilled at my feet as I tried to sip. “The plot was the idea of Pharaoh’s wife, Tiye.” My voice was stronger.
“She lies!” Tiye shouted. “It was Ramesses’ plan!”
“Be silent! We will hear Neset’s confession!” Pefroi ordered.
Tiye’s eyes flashed and she stared at me darkly. The royal family and the judges and the crowd waited expectantly. I knew my confession had to sound convincing, my lie had to be believed, to save Pharaoh.
“Tiye contrived to get me alone with His Majesty during the Beautiful Feast so I could show him his brothers’ tombs. Clearly, I couldn’t have arranged the meeting on my own. I am, as she said, a gardener.”
Ramesses sat back in his chair. He knew I was lying and had probably figured out why.
“Tiye ordered me to gain His Majesty’s trust. I did the only way I could. I cast a spell on him.”
Gasps.
“What was the spell?” Pefroi asked.
“One that guaranteed he’d never doubt me, that he’d do whatever I requested of him whenever I asked it.” I paused for effect. “I used the amulet you’ve taken from me to cast my spell.”
The Gardener and the Assassin Page 64
