"She is beautiful. And what's more she'll never grow old.

She's thirty, has borne three

children and, there you are, she looks like a maiden of fifteen.

Neferura overheard the old man's words, heaved a sigh and murmured reproachfully,

"Oh, I wish I knew her secret. Unamonu knows it but he won't tell".

Unamonu looked at her in surprise as if he saw her for the first time in his life. He was

suddenly struck by the thought : "This woman is a stranger to me although she's my sister

and wife, while Isit, although, a stranger,. She seems to be my true sister and wife !" It was a

strange thought and it frightened him. He wanted to drive it out of his mind and again turned

his eyes towards Isit who was laughing noisily in self contentment as the pharaoh stroked her

naked back. In Unamonu's heart his hatred for Dadefra flared up more violently than ever. He

felt like dashing over to save Isit from the caresses of an enemy. Neferura's voice calmed him

down,

"Look what a beautiful dress she has on. I'm going to have one like it. Do you think it will

suit me ? Do you like the cut of the sleeves ? They're like swallows. Look at the way the

pharaoh's hugging her. Oh ! and the poor queen smiling and putting up with it all. But she

really is too cool. Isit is much sweeter.

Then Isit stretching her neck under the royal kiss turned her eyes towards the table

where Unamonu was sitting, caught his eye and her smile froze on her lips. It was for the very

first time that Unamonu actually saw her eyes, blue as the morning sky, her eyelids heavy

with make-up, a mysterious and tempting gleam, a reminiscence of another world. Her

bewildered gaze on Unamonu was so long that everybody took notice. The pharaoh himself

turned his eyes towards Unamonu's table and whispered something in Isit's ear that made her

start as if waked from a pleasant dream. Neferura had noticed Isit's long, steady look and

blushed with pride when Dadefra himself deigned to look their way and murmured in delight,

"Did you see that, Unamonu ? Isit looked at me. So did the pharaoh. I am the only one

they took notice of here. I'm so happy".

The slaves were now bringing fruit and sweets.

In front of the royal table on the small square designed for the purpose, Tantnuit, the

dancer, made her appearance. She was stark naked holding a red transparent veil in her

hands voluptuously twisting her body to the sounds of the sistrum, flute, and harp. The

pharaoh's eyes were all ablaze. The small orchestra struck up a tantalizing tune. Slave girls
squatting among the musicians clapped their hands beating time. Tantnuit twisted and span

round swaying her hips, shaking her belly whirling the veil around as if in self-defence

against passionate advances. Dadefra kept licking his lips feasting his eyes on her. When, at

the end of the dance, she threw herself on her knees before him, the pharaoh gave her a

cornelian ring as he squeezed her slightly sweated arm.

Tantnuit had hardly left the scene and Danga, the dwarf, the court's pampered jester

rushed in. He was received with peals of laughter to which he responded by sticking out his

tongue. He walked about on all fours yelping like a hungry clog and turned somersaults. But

the pharaoh took no notice of him.- Angered at being ignored, the dwarf howled wild words in

an unknown language. In vain. Some county governors ignorant of conventions at court let

out feeble laughs.

Next came a black with monkeys trained to dance like human beings to a special music

played on flutes and drums. Everybody was delighted except Dadefra. He did not even glance

at the foreign maestro and his two parrots trained to talk with each other about the new

pharaoh and shout at the end : "May our master Dadefra live millions and millions of years !"

All of a sudden the pharaoh in a harsh voice gave the order

"Tantnuit !"

The master of ceremonies ran out in despair to find Tantnuit wrapped in a linen cloak

sitting among her companions underneath an old palm-tree nearby. The moment Dadefra set

eyes on her his face lit up with pleasure. In the middle of the dance he spoke one word to the

queen and another word to his favourite ; he rose, beckoned to the dancer, took her by the

hand and the four of them made for the palace gate. On her way out Isit turned to have