Part 28 (1/2)
So it went on till Pharaoh rose and departed, the great gold earrings in his ears jingling as he walked, and the truo with er came and bade me wait upon Pharaoh, and withan officer to conduct ht me by the sleeve and whispered in my ear,
”My son, whatever chances to you, be brave and remember that the world holds more than women”
”Yes,” I answered, ”it holds death and God, or they hold it,” though what put the words into my mind I do not know, since I did not understand and had no tier led us to the door of Peroa's private chamber, the same in which I had seen him on my return from the East Here he bade me enter, and Bes to ithout I went in and found twovery silent The lorious robe and Double Crown, and the high priest of Isis clothed in white; the other was the lady Aht of her thus arrayed my heart stopped and I stood silent because I could not speak She too stood silent and I saw that beneath her thin veil her beautiful face was set and pale as that of an alabaster statue Indeed shewoman, but the Goddess Isis herself whose symbols she bore about her
”Shabaka,” said Pharaoh at length, ”the Royal Lady of Egypt, Amada, priestess of Isis, has soypt speak on to her servant and affianced husband,” I answered
”Count Shabaka, General of the aran in a cold clear voice like to that of one who repeats a lesson, ”learn that you are no ain to Isis the divine, am no more your affianced wife”
”I do not understand Will it please you to be more plain?” I said faintly
”I will be more plain, Count Shabaka, ether for the last time it is well that I should be plain Hear me When first you returned fros that happened to you there Then the dwarf your servant took up the tale He said that he gave ht be, but even when I prayed that he should be scourged, you did not deny that it was he who gave h Pharaoh yonder said that if you had spoken the name it would have been another matter”
”I had no tiers caone”
”Had you then no tiarden of the palace ere affianced? Oh! there was time in plenty but it did not please you to tell ifts at the price of the honour of the Lady of Egypt whose love you stole”
”You do not understand!” I exclaiive me, Shabaka, but I understand very well indeed, since froiven to Idernes that 'the name of Amada' slipped your lips by chance and thus ca”
”The tale that Idernes and his captain told was false, Lady, and for it Bes and I took their lives with our own hands”
”It had perhaps been better, Shabaka, if you had kept theht confess that it was false But doubtless you thought them safer dead, since dead le coasped and could not answer for entler voice,
”I do not wish to speak angrily to you, ht such great deeds for Egypt Moreover by the law I serve Ithe truth, since I could love none but you according to the flesh and therefore can never give e in the arms of the Goddess whom for your sake I had deserted She was pleased to receivemy treason On this very day for the second time I took the oaths which may no more be broken, and that I may dhere I shall never see you more, Pharaoh here has been pleased, at h priestess and prophetess of Isis and to appoint -place her teypt Now all is said and done, so farewell”
”All is not said and done,” I broke out in fury ”Pharaoh, I ask your leave to tell the full story of this business of the nas, and that in the presence of the dwarf Bes
Even a slave is allowed to set out his tale before judglanced at Aranted, General Shabaka”
So Bes was called into the cha looked about hiround
”Bes,” I said, ”you have heard nothing of what has passed” (Here I wasthrough the door which was not quite closed) ”It is needful, Bes, that you should repeat truly all that happened at the court of the King of kings before and after I was brought fro the tale very well, so well that all listened earnestly, without error moreover When he had finished I also told h and already weak from the torment of the boat, the name of A would at once make demand of her, and ould have perished a thousand ti should happen I added what I had learned afterwards from our escort, that this na who ypt Further, that he had let me escape from a death by horrible torments because of some dream that he had dreamed while he rested before the banquet, in which a God appeared and told hi to slay amatch and one of which heaven would keep an account Still because of the law of his land heone whom he had once condemned, and therefore chose thisto him
When I had finished, as Amada still remained silent, Pharaoh asked of Bes how it caht of our return and another on this night
”Because, O Pharaoh,” answered Bes rolling his eyes, ”for the first time in my life I have been just a little too clever and shot my arrow just a little too far Hearken, Pharaoh, and Royal Lady, and High Priest I knew that my master loves the lady Aue and temper, one who readily takes offence even if thereby she breaks her own heart and so brings her life to ruin, and with it perchance her country Therefore, knoomen whom I have studied in my own land, I saw in this matter just such a cause of offence as she would lay hold of, and counselledof her before the King Some evil spirit made him listen to this bad counsel, so far at least, that when I lied as to what had chanced, for which lie the lady Aed till h the skin, he did not at once tell all the truth Nor did he do so afterwards because he feared that if he did I should in fact be scourged, for my master and I love each other
Neither of us wishes to see the other scourged, though such is lanced at Amada ”I have said”
Then at last Amada spoke