Chapter Sixty-Two
THEBES, EGYPT
Senenmut and I chance being seen and hold hands.
My guards are about, of course, but knowledge about my relationship with Senenmut is no secret to them, and they are sworn to keep private all the doings of my life and kingship.
It is the citizens of nearby Thebes and the workers at my temple complex who cannot bear witness to my love for my trusted adviser.
A pharaoh who was once the widowed queen is not someone who can ever marry again—or even be seen in a romantic relationship.
Standing on a hill on the west bank of the Nile across from Thebes, high above the mortuary temple being chiseled into the cliffs, Senenmut and I have a bird’s-eye view of the structure and the undulating, monochromatic tan landscape in which it is set.
Terraces, each bordered by rows of pillars, stare out at the river like unblinking eyes, behind which sits my temple and tomb.
I believe I can say without bias that it is the most magnificent building ever constructed in Egypt, and it is not even complete.
Pride courses through me as I think about this building project. A structure of this magnitude became a unifying project from which people could derive confidence and will contribute to the country’s maat. Never are a pharaoh’s monuments really for that pharaoh’s glory or afterlife.
“You have outdone yourself, my love,” I say to Senenmut with a grateful squeeze of his hand.
I cannot avert my eyes from his masterpiece.
It contains all the imposing elements of Mentuhotep II’s temple nearby and yet is entirely original in its design.
It is larger, more elegant, and covered in the engravings and sculptures telling the story of my reign, solidifying the dynasty emanating from this female pharaoh.
With those thoughts of my dynasty, a worry tugs at me.
Thutmose III and Neferure have only one child.
All of Neferure’s other pregnancies failed to reach fruition.
Fortunately that child is boy of six years of age, my delightful grandson, Amenemhat.
As Thutmose’s eldest son, he stands to become the pharaoh when we are both gone, but I have concerns.
So few children reach adulthood, and I’d feel more confident about the stability of my “dynasty” if Neferure had borne others.
“It pales in comparison to your own splendor,” Senenemut replies to my compliment.
Banishing the bothersome thoughts about Neferure, I mock slap his shoulder. “Such flattery! We aren’t at court, you know. It isn’t necessary.”
I feel his eyes upon me, and I face him.
How I adore the way those crinkles at the corners of his eyes have turned into creases and lines, the constant reminder of the laughter and joy he brings into my life.
Even though he is advancing in years—Senenemut is well into his forties now—he is still beautiful to me.
“I mean every word,” he says, and I know it’s true. I feel his love and devotion every minute of my existence, and sometimes, it seems the only true part of my life, the only part where I can be fully myself.
I study the lovely and peaceful structure.
Its every aspect is constructed with perfect balance, the very essence of maat.
Although we are too far away to see the carved details on the walls, I know that every surface is covered with the story of my life—from my divine creation when my mother was visited by the god Amun in the guise of Thutmose I to the glory of my expedition to Punt to scenes of my interactions with the gods, surrounded by my immediate family including Thutmose III and Senenmut.
“Now tell me where we are really going to be buried.”
“There.” He points to two adjacent spots in the hill above the valley. “That is where you and I will rest near each other forever.”
We smile at each other, delighted that we’ve been able to keep our secret.
I will not be interred in the cliff tomb constructed for me when I was a princess, or the tomb of my father that had been reconstructed for me as a queen, or near this mortuary temple made for me as a pharaoh.
Formal tombs are often subject to looting, because of the many goods with which we are buried, and we do not want our afterlife together to be disrupted. Hence, these private burial places.
It delights us both to know this life is not the end for us.
Together, we will rejoin in the hereafter, and the trappings of our tombs will ease the journey.
Our sarcophagi are nearly identical, save the engravings; both are pink Aswan granite and the same shape and size.
The hidden cliffside tombs Senenmut has designed for us are very close and angled toward one another, so that we may always be in each other’s view.
And he has devised the most exquisite night sky—complete with an accurate rendering of the stars—for the ceiling of both our tombs, so that we may forever stare at the heavens together.
I turn away from the cliffs to kiss my love. His lips are soft, and his arms strong as they encircle me. I am about to lose myself in my passion for this wondrous man, when I hear the sound of a throat clearing.
Breaking away, I stare at the soldier making that noise, not masking my fury. My moments alone with Senenmut outside my palace chambers are so rare that I resent the interruption.
“My deepest apologies, Your Majesty. But one of Pharaoh Thutmose the Third’s couriers has journeyed up the hills to deliver a message.”
I pull away from Senenmut. In all the years of our shared rule, I do not recall Thutmose ever going to such lengths to reach me. “What did he say?”
“Pharaoh Thutmose the Third awaits you in the palace at Thebes, and requests that you join him at once. The matter is urgent.”