Meneptah's face flushed.
"Say on, O my kinswoman," he said, moving uncomfortably.
"Kinswoman! And a year agone, I thought to hear, 'O my daughter.'"
The color in the king's face deepened.
"Wilt thou reproach me, Ta-user, for my son's wilfulness?" was his tactless reply.
Ta-user shot an amused glance at the discomfited countenance of Har-hat and went on.
"Nay, O my Sovereign. I do but wish to incline thine ear to me. Say first thou wilt grant me my boon."
He looked at her doubtfully, but she drew nearer and lifted her face to his.
"I do not ask for thy crown, or thy son, or for an army, or treasure, or anything but that which thou wouldst gladly give me, because of thy just and generous heart."
The doubt faded out of his face.