| |||||
|
II
When Renisenb got back to the house Kameni was sitting on the front
porch with a roll of papyrus. He was singing and she paused a minute and
listened to the words.
‘I will go to Memphis,’ sang Kameni, ‘I will go to Ptah, Lord of Truth. I will
say to Ptah, “Give me my sister tonight.” The stream is wine, Ptah is its reeds,
Sekhmet its lotus, Earit its bud, Nefertum its flower. I will say to Ptah, “Give
me my sister tonight. The dawn breaks through her beauty. Memphis is a dish
of love apples set before the fair face…”’
He looked up and smiled at Renisenb.
‘Do you like my song, Renisenb?’
‘What is it?’
‘It is a love song from Memphis.’
He kept his eyes on her, singing softly:
‘Her arms are full of branches of the persea, her hair is weighed down with
unguent. She is like a Princess of the Lord of the two Lands.’
The colour came up in Renisenb’s face. She passed on quickly into the
house and almost collided with Nofret.
‘Why are you in such a hurry, Renisenb?’
Nofret’s voice had a sharp edge to it. Renisenb looked at her in faint sur-
prise. Nofret was not smiling. Her face looked grim and tense and Renis-
enb noticed that her hands were clenched at her sides.
‘I am sorry, Nofret, I did not see you. It is dark in here when you come
from the light outside.’
‘Yes, it is dark here…’ Nofret paused a moment. ‘It would be pleasanter
outside–on the porch–with Kameni’s singing to listen to. He sings well,
does he not?’
‘Yes–yes, I am sure he does.’
‘Yet you did not stay to listen? Kameni will be disappointed.’
Renisenb’s cheeks felt hot again. Nofret’s cold, sneering glance made her
uncomfortable.
‘Do you not like love songs, Renisenb?’
‘Does it matter to you, Nofret, what I like and do not like?’
‘So little cats have claws.’
‘What do you mean?’
Nofret laughed. ‘You are not such a fool as you look, Renisenb. So you
find Kameni handsome? Well, that will please him no doubt.’
‘I think you are quite odious,’ said Renisenb passionately.
She ran past Nofret towards the back of the house. She heard the girl’s
mocking laugh. But through that laugh, sounding clearly in her memory,
was the echo of Kameni’s voice and the song that he had sung with his
eyes watching her face…
III
That night Renisenb had a dream.
She was with Khay, sailing with him in the Barque of the Dead in the
Underworld. Khay was standing in the bows of the boat–she could only
see the back of his head. Then, as they drew near to sunrise, Khay turned
his head, and Renisenb saw that it was not Khay but Kameni. And at the
same time the prow of the barque, the serpent’s head, began to writhe. It
was a live serpent, a cobra, and Renisenb thought: ‘It is the serpent that
comes out in the Tombs to eat the souls of the dead.’ She was paralysed with
fear. And then she saw the serpent’s face was the face of Nofret and she
woke up screaming: ‘Nofret–Nofret…’
She had not really screamed–it was all in the dream. She lay still, her
heart beating, telling herself that none of all this was real. And then she
thought suddenly: ‘That is what Sobek said when he was killing the snake
yesterday. He said: “Nofret”…’
|
|||||
上一篇：死亡终局12 下一篇：没有了 |
- 发表评论
-
- 最新评论 进入详细评论页>>
