The Sekhmet Bed (43 page)

“
All right, all right.” Tut held Ahmose’s eyes for one last moment, then he was dashing down to the ship with Hatshepsut. The girl’s sidelock whipped and bounced in the air as she leapt, two at a time, down the steps. When they reached the plank and scrambled aboard, Tut’s jackal-bark laugh came to Ahmose across the morning air.

Her hands were still held up, still caressing his face, though it watched her from the ship’s rail now. They waved at her, king and prince, the two halves of her heart – and slowly, she lowered her hands to her sides.

The ship cast off. Musicians onboard rattled their sistrums, plucked at their strings. The oars came out, shoved away from the mooring. The current caught the great ship and its oars tapped the surface of the water, gently, carrying Hatshepsut away, away. Ahmose waved.

When the rising sun set the Nile afire, she saw how the ship’s wake spread from its wooden flanks like a bird’s wings. Ripples, flowing outward forever. And at the center, Hatshepsut. All would be well. She
knew
.

Ahmose turned away from the river, and guided Mutnofret with an arm around her shoulders. They walked back to the palace together.

So said Amun, Lord of the Two Lands, before Ahmose, the King’s Wife: Hatshepsut, Joined with Amun, shall be the name of this my daughter, whom I have placed in thy body. Tell the people. She shall exercise an excellent kingship in this whole land. My soul is hers, my bounty is hers, my crown is hers, that she may rule the Two Lands, that she may lead all the living.

-Inscription from Djeser-Djeseru, mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, Fifth King of the Eighteenth Dynasty.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am grateful to many people who helped make this book possible.

My family, Cheryl Grant, Georgia Schlegel, and Georgia Grant. Lori Witt, who gave me so much feedback and encouragement early on. My first agent, Natalie Fischer, whose early input shaped this book for the better. The wonderful community at AbsoluteWrite.com, especially Paula Dooley, whose last-minute critique of my first three chapters saved my bacon. Tim Batson, who for some reason appears to be my biggest fan, and everybody at the Cooper’s Alehouse writers’ group, for all the good times and good critiques. Bridget and Dan Lombardo, for being so supportive during some hard times and during the good times, too. Stephanie Thornton, my fellow handmaid to the She-King and an inspiring writer of historical fiction. Judith Tarr and Stephanie Dray, two wonderful writers who agreed to read advance copies of this book. All my friends, human and otherwise, at the zoological institutions where I worked during the development and writing of this novel: Tracy Aviary, Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, and Woodland Park Zoo – your genuine enthusiasm (in the case of the humans) and your calming, beautiful presence (in the case of the animals) kept me focused and charged. Most especially, thanks to Paul Harnden for buying me cupcakes and playing Slug-Bug with me.

So many wonderful people have touched my life and shaped it, and made me the writer and the person I am; I regret that I cannot list all of you here.

Finally, I am indebted to Joyce Tyldesley, an exceptional historian and a very fine writer. In the creation of this novel I relied heavily on Ms. Tyldesley’s large body of work on ancient Egypt. All of her books are fascinating, accessible, and entertaining. Any deviation this book makes from known history is a result of my own wild artistic license, and not a reflection on the precision of my primary source of information. I eagerly direct any reader wishing to know the real story of ancient Egypt to Joyce Tyldesley’s works.

Lavender Ironside

Seattle, WA, 2011