She will tell thee that I am indeed the ally of sorrow and anguish.
With a frown Sesen tore the note into little pieces and went on with her interrupted game of draughts with Merit-aton, Pharaoh’s eldest daughter.
Until Menna had stumbled upon Renny, the Syrian, hawking his despised figurines in the inhospitable streets of Thinis, Beq, an Egyptian sculptor attached to his house, had served Menna the Overseer as messenger.
For Menna, when not on duty at the Palace, was accustomed to rise late. Menna’s mornings were spent at the bath. Indeed, it not infrequently happened that the sun had begun his downward flight across the heavens before the lordly Overseer had succeeded in escaping from the ministrations of his slaves.
For several hours he must perforce suffer the attentions of his body-servants, his wig-keeper, sandal-bearer, perfumer, and the keeper of his jewels.
Thus, one stalwart Ethiopian, having finished rubbing his handsome frame with aromatic oils, another slipped about him the tunic and over-dress of the day. And what to an ordinary mortal constituted a tight tunic, appeared to Benkhu, the Prince’s body-servant, positively loose and ill-fitting.
And since Menna affected extremes, his tunic fitted far more closely, his voluminous and richly plaited over-dress swung out in far more ample folds, than those of any other of the foppish members of the Theban Court.
Indeed, Menna left Benkhu’s nimble fingers dressed as few others of the courtiers could be dressed.
His costuming completed, Menna listened to the reports of his farm overseers, and to those of his spies both of court, bazaar and temple. For Menna, though outwardly faithful to Aton, still continued to hold the honorific post of Scribe of the Estates of Amen.
His business attended to, Menna essayed a game of draughts with one of his friends, or rowed about the lake in Thi’s pleasure-barge. It was the policy of Menna never to be far from Thi, the Queen-Mother.