Free Dreamers by Angela Hunt

function in
    total disorganization, Tuya called the servants together, an-
    nounced that she had come from a nobleman’s house, and
    assigned her fellow slaves to various stations. She gave orders
    to the kitchen slaves every morning, saw to it that the bath-
    rooms, cattle yards and stables were cleaned out, and ordered
    that the waters of the pool be changed and stocked with fish.
    Anyone who did not obey would be brought before the master,
    who might choose to beat them or sell them…
    Angela Hunt
    67
    Used to the lazy life of fat cats, the slaves obeyed, but they
    grumbled as they worked.
    Tuya could not believe that Pharaoh’s captain lived in such
    a disorderly house. Despite his lionlike reputation, the slaves
    did not fear or respect him, for he did not respect his home or
    his lands. Discipline did not exist in the household, for as long
    as Potiphar had an edible meal and a bed to lie on, he made
    no demands. He held no parties, commemorated no feasts or
    festivals. The captain of the guard found his amusements
    elsewhere and spent most of his time in the palace.
    Tuya took her problems to Yosef, and discovered that
    although he had never lived in an Egyptian house, he had
    strong opinions as to how people should be handled. He had
    a gift for administration and his diplomatic suggestions about
    how to handle the recalcitrant slaves helped Tuya establish the
    changes she wanted to make.
    When Yosef was strong enough to move about, Tuya took
    him on a tour of the villa. Potiphar’s house resembled every
    other Theban nobleman’s except for two things: it contained
    the jail for Pharaoh’s prisoners, and it held little charm. Sur-
    rounded by a high, crumbling wall of mud-dried brick, the
    house stood in the center of an extensive plot of valuable
    riverfront land. A towered gateway led into the estate, and the
    prison warden’s lodge rose immediately at the visitor’s left
    hand. The prison, a collection of stone buildings, lay off to
    the east, far away from the main house. Tuya assured Yosef
    they would have no responsibility for the prison. Potiphar kept
    a slovenly house, but his guards ran a secure dungeon. Their
    lives depended on it.
    To the right of the entry, a small path lined with drooping
    trees led to the family temple. “When I first came here, the
    dilapidated look of this place revealed that our master is not
    a religious man,” Tuya whispered to Yosef. “No incense
    68
    Dreamers
    burned in the censers, no offerings had been spread, and the
    gods themselves were covered in dust. No wonder they have
    not blessed Potiphar’s household! I cleaned the statues and ap-
    pointed one of the slave children to bring food, water and
    incense each morning and night.”
    Yosef said nothing as she led him from the temple. The
    narrow dirt path in front of them pointed a curving finger
    toward the west, leading to a flight of steps and a pair of
    peeling columns. Beyond them was an inner courtyard and a
    doorway framed in stone. The lintel had been carved with
    Potiphar’s name and position, but the paint had weathered out
    of the fading letters. A vestibule stood at the end of the porch
    and led to the north loggia, a reception room that had been
    poorly furnished and barely decorated. The west loggia, used
    by most families as a sitting room in winter, stood totally un-
    furnished and smelled of dust, as did the guest rooms.
    The master’s bedroom was as primitive as a battlefield
    tent, and the bathroom offered neither a slab for bathing nor
    a basin for washing the hands. Throughout the house, sprained
    doors hung open and walls shed their coats of fading paint.
    The stables, servants’ quarters, kitchen and stockyard were
    located on the southern and eastern sides of the house so the
    prevailing wind would carry away the odors of dung fires,
    cooking food, horse sweat and the slaves’ sour beer, but the
    servants of Potiphar had allowed sewage, garbage and manure
    to accumulate for so long that