Free That God Won't Hunt by Susan Sizemore Page B

now that she was alone in her large new bedroom. How much more do I need to know? And what will I do about it when I have all the knowledge I need? This last question was more of a prayer to her wise goddess than a question to herself, but Ipuit knew she must be the one to act upon the insight Meresger granted her.
    She had changed from the carefully pleated court dress into a straight linen shift, the carefully applied makeup had been washed off, and her heavy wig now sat on a stand in the nearby dressing room. Her rooms surrounded a private courtyard that held a fragrant garden and a delightful blue-tiled fish pool planted with reeds and lotus. Her personal quarters opened onto a shaded verandah and a pleasant breeze wafted in to cool the room.
    Now that she had sent her women away, Ipuit stepped out to the verandah, took a seat on a bench by the wall, and combed out her shoulder-length hair while she thought over what she knew after less than a day back at the palace. She had heard rumors from people she’d talked to on the river journey from her quiet temple. Rumors that the young king was more frivolous now that he’d reached his majority than he had ever been while under the tutelage of his co-regent mother and uncle. She remembered Pepi as a dutiful boy. He loved to hunt, she’d been told. He hated being confined in the palace of Menfi. More than anything else he loved to be out for days on end, living for the exhilaration of the chase. This endless holiday had been going on for nearly a year.
    What she thought she knew from her observations was that the vizier Djau was encouraging Pharaoh’s immature behavior because he did not want to give up the power he wielded during Pepi’s childhood. The queen mother was trying to counter Djau’s influence by insisting Pepi take wives and other trapping of adulthood. Djau kept a priest of Seth by his side. The priests of Seth were adepts at dark magic. The queen mother—
    “Rrrrawfff, rawff, rrraff!”
    The loud barking not a foot away from her startled Ipuit out of her reverie and brought her to her feet. “By Lioness’s wrath!” she swore, then looked down and said, “Oh, it’s you.”
    The long-legged red sight hound dropped to its haunches in front of her, tilted its head, and looked at her with what she would have sworn was laughter in its large brown eyes. Nebshedd, she remembered it was called. He wore a gold collar inset with carnelian and lapis. “Quite the court beauty, aren’t you?” she asked. She stepped into the hot afternoon sunlight of the garden long enough to see if any human had come into her quarters with the dog, but decided after a few moments that Nebshedd had found his way to her on his own. She was rather pleased by the animal’s interest, actually. It was nice to have one friend she could trust utterly in the palace.
    When she turned and went back into her bedroom, the dog followed her inside. Nebshedd showed no respect for her person or property as a queen of the two lands as he immediately jumped onto her bed and made himself comfortable.
    Ipuit crossed her arms and looked at the beast with tolerant amusement. “Why aren’t you out hunting with the king? That’s right, I recall he said you preferred staying in the palace. Is that any way to earn your keep? Are you hiding from the master of the hounds, you lazy creature?” Nebshedd yawned in response to her questions. “Stay if you like,” she told him. “I have some work to do.”
    There were several small chests in a corner of the room that she had not allowed the servants to unpack. She went to them now. First she knelt and said the appropriate prayers before the inlaid chest that held a statue and ritual objects of her goddess. Then Ipuit reverently opened the chest and set up a small altar on a low table with the contents of the chest. After she had lit incense and two alabaster lamps, she picked up one of the other boxes and brought it back to the bed, where she took a seat