Death Comes as End - Agatha Christie [61]
Now watching her, Renisenb thought, ‘She is me–and she is Khay–’
Then Teti looked up, and seeing her mother, she smiled. It was a grave, friendly smile, with confidence in it and pleasure.
Renisenb thought: ‘No, she is not me and she is not Khay–she is herself. She is Teti. She is alone, as I am alone, as we are all alone. If there is love between us we shall be friends all our life–but if there is not love she will grow up and we shall be strangers. She is Teti and I am Renisenb.’
Kait was looking at her curiously.
‘What do you want, Renisenb? I do not understand.’
Renisenb did not answer. How put into words for Kait the things she hardly understood herself. She looked round her, at the courtyard walls, at the gaily coloured porch of the house, at the smooth waters of the lake and the graceful little pleasure pavilion, the neat flower beds and the clumps of papyrus. All safe, shut in, nothing to fear, with around her the murmur of the familiar home sounds, the babble of children’s voices, the raucous, far-off shrill clamour of women in the house, the distant lowing of cattle.
She said slowly:
‘One cannot see the River from here…’
Kait looked surprised. ‘Why should one want to see it?’
Renisenb said slowly:
‘I am stupid. I do not know…’
Before her eyes, very clearly, she saw spread out the panorama of green fields, rich and lush, and beyond, far away, an enchanted distance of pale rose and amethyst fading into the horizon, and cleaving the two, the pale silver blue of the Nile…
She caught her breath–for with the vision, the sights and sounds around her faded–there came instead a stillness, a richness, an infinite satisfaction…
She said to herself: ‘If I turn my head, I shall see Hori. He will look up from his papyrus and smile at me…Presently the sun will set and there will be darkness and then I shall sleep…That will be death.’
‘What did you say, Renisenb?’
Renisenb started. She was not aware she had spoken aloud. She came back from her vision to reality. Kait was looking at her curiously.
‘You said “Death”, Renisenb. What were you thinking?’
Renisenb shook her head.
‘I don’t know. I didn’t mean–’ She looked round her again. How pleasant it was, this family scene, with the splashing water, and the children at play. She drew a deep breath.
‘How peaceful it is here. One can’t imagine anything–horrible–happening here.’
But it was by the lake that they found Ipy the next morning. He was sprawled face downwards with his face in the water where a hand had held him while he drowned.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
SECOND MONTH OF SUMMER 10TH DAY
Imhotep sat huddled down upon himself. He looked very much older, a broken shrunken old man. On his face was a piteous look of bewilderment.
Henet brought him food and coaxed him to take it.
‘Yes, yes, Imhotep, you must keep up your strength.’
‘Why should I? What is strength? Ipy was strong–strong in youth and beauty–and now he lies in the brine bath…My son, my dearly loved son. The last of my sons.’
‘No, no, Imhotep–you have Yahmose, your good Yahmose.’
‘For how long? No, he too is doomed. We are all doomed. What evil is this that has come upon us? Could I know that such things would come of taking a concubine into my house? It is an accepted thing to do–it is righteous and according to the law of men and Gods. I treated her with honour. Why, then, should these things come upon me? Or is it Ashayet who wreaks vengeance upon me? Is it she who will not forgive? Certainly she has made no answer to my petition. The evil business still goes on.’
‘No, no, Imhotep.