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IV
Renisenb spent the afternoon playing with the children. As she took part
in their game, the vague ache in her heart lessened. It was not until just
before sunset that she stood upright, smoothing back her hair and the
pleats of her dress which had got crumpled and disarranged, and
wondered vaguely why neither Satipy nor Kait had been out as usual.
Kameni had long gone from the courtyard. Renisenb went slowly across
into the house. There was no one in the living- room and she passed
through to the back of the house and the women’s quarters. Esa was nod-
ding in the corner of her room and her little slave girl was marking piles
of linen sheets. They were baking batches of triangular loaves in the kit-
chen. There was no one else about.
A curious emptiness pressed on Renisenb’s spirits. Where was every-
one?
Hori had probably gone up to the Tomb. Yahmose might be with him or
out on the fields. Sobek and Ipy would be with the cattle or possibly seeing
to the cornbins. But where were Satipy and Kait, and where, yes, where
was Nofret?
The strong perfume of Nofret’s unguent filled her empty room. Renisenb
stood in the doorway staring at the little wood pillow, at a jewel box, at a
heap of bead bracelets and a ring set with a blue glazed scarab. Perfumes,
unguents, clothes, linens, sandals–all speaking of their owner, of Nofret
who lived in their midst and who was a stranger and an enemy.
Where, Renisenb wondered, could Nofret herself be?
She went slowly towards the back entrance of the house and met Henet
coming in.
‘Where is everybody, Henet? The house is empty except for my grand-
mother.’
‘How should I know, Renisenb? I have been working–helping with the
weaving, seeing to a thousand and one things. I have not time for going for
walks.’
That meant, thought Renisenb, that somebody had gone for a walk. Per-
haps Satipy had followed Yahmose up to the Tomb to harangue further?
But where was Kait? Unlike Kait to be away from her children for so long.
And again, a strange disturbing undercurrent, there ran the thought:
‘Where is Nofret?’
As though Henet had read the thought in her mind, she supplied the an-
swer.
‘As for Nofret, she went off a long time ago up to the Tomb. Oh well,
Hori is a match for her.’ Henet laughed spitefully. ‘Hori has brains too.’
She sidled a little closer to Renisenb. ‘I wish you knew, Renisenb, how un-
happy I’ve been over all this. She came to me, you know, that day–with the
mark of Kait’s fingers on her cheek and the blood streaming down. And
she got Kameni to write and me to say what I’d seen– and of course I
couldn’t say I hadn’t seen it! Oh, she’s a clever one. And I, thinking all the
time of your dear mother–’
Renisenb pushed past her and went out into the golden glow of the
evening sun. Deep shadows were on the cliffs–the whole world looked
fantastic at this hour of sunset.
Renisenb’s steps quickened as she took the way to the cliff path. She
would go up to the Tomb–find Hori. Yes, find Hori. It was what she had
done as a child when her toys had been broken–when she had been uncer-
tain or afraid. Hori was like the cliffs themselves, steadfast, immovable,
unchanging.
Renisenb thought confusedly: Everything will be all right when I get to
Hori…
Her steps quickened–she was almost running.
Then suddenly she saw Satipy coming towards her. Satipy, too, must
have been up to the Tomb.
What a very odd way Satipy was walking, swaying from side to side,
stumbling as though she could not see…
When Satipy saw Renisenb she stopped short, her hand went to her
breast. Renisenb, drawing close, was startled at the sight of Satipy’s face.
‘What’s the matter, Satipy, are you ill?’
Satipy’s voice in answer was a croak, her eyes were shifting from side to
side.
‘No, no, of course not.’
‘You look ill. You look frightened. What has happened?’
‘What should have happened? Nothing, of course.’
‘Where have you been?’
‘I went up to the Tomb–to find Yahmose. He was not there. No one was
there.’
Renisenb still stared. This was a new Satipy–a Satipy with all the spirit
and resolution drained out of her.
‘Come, Renisenb–come back to the house.’
Satipy put a slightly shaking hand on Renisenb’s arm, urging her back
the way she had come and at the touch Renisenb felt a sudden revolt.
‘No, I am going up to the Tomb.’
‘There is no one there, I tell you.’
‘I like to look over the River. To sit there.’
‘But the sun is setting–it is too late.’
Satipy’s fingers closed vice- like over Renisenb’s arm. Renisenb
wrenched herself loose.
‘Let me go, Satipy.’
‘No. Come back. Come back with me.’
But Renisenb had already broken loose, pushed past her, and was on
her way to the cliff.
There was something–instinct told her there was something…Her steps
quickened to a run…
Then she saw it–the dark bundle lying under the shadow of the cliff…
She hurried along until she stood close beside it.
There was no surprise in her at what she saw. It was as though already
she had expected it…
Nofret lay with her face upturned, her body broken and twisted. Her
eyes were open and sightless…
Renisenb bent and touched the cold stiff cheek then stood up again look-
ing down at her. She hardly heard Satipy come up behind her.
‘She must have fallen,’ Satipy was saying. ‘She has fallen. She was walk-
ing along the cliff path and she fell…’
Yes, Renisenb thought, that was what had happened. Nofret had fallen
from the path above, her body bouncing off the limestone rocks.
‘She may have seen a snake,’ said Satipy, ‘and been startled. There are
snakes asleep in the sun on that path sometimes.’
Snakes. Yes, snakes. Sobek and the snake. A snake, its back broken, lying
dead in the sun. Sobek, his eyes gleaming…
She thought: Sobek…Nofret…
Then sudden relief came to her as she heard Hori’s voice.
‘What has happened?’
She turned with relief. Hori and Yahmose had come up together. Satipy
was explaining eagerly that Nofret must have fallen from the path above.
Yahmose said, ‘She must have come up to find us, but Hori and I have
been out to look at the irrigation canals. We have been away at least an
hour. As we came back we saw you standing here.’
Renisenb said, and her voice surprised her, it sounded so different:
‘Where is Sobek?’
She felt rather than saw Hori’s immediate sharp turn of the head at the
question. Yahmose sounded merely puzzled as he said:
‘Sobek? I have not seen him all the afternoon. Not since he left us so an-
grily in the house.’
But Hori was looking at Renisenb. She raised her eyes and met his. She
saw him turn from their gaze and look down thoughtfully at Nofret’s body
and she knew with absolute certainty exactly what he was thinking.
He murmured questioningly:
‘Sobek?’
‘Oh no,’ Renisenb heard herself saying. ‘Oh no…Oh no…’
Satipy said again urgently: ‘She fell from the path. It is narrow just above
here–and dangerous…’
Sobek liked killing. ‘What I do, I shall enjoy doing…’
Sobek killing a snake…
Sobek meeting Nofret on that narrow path…
She heard herself murmuring brokenly:
‘We don’t know–we don’t know…’
And then, with intimate relief, with the sense of a burden taken away,
she heard Hori’s grave voice giving weight and value to Satipy’s assevera-
tion.
‘She must have fallen from the path…’
His eyes met Renisenb’s. She thought: ‘He and I know…We shall always
know…’
Aloud she heard her voice saying shakily:
‘She fell from the path…’
And like a final echo, Yahmose’s gentle voice chimed in.
‘She must have fallen from the path.’
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