“Not particularly. But answer my questions.”
Nefron sighed. “The red-haired woman is alive, held here in another part of the palace.”
“And the men? What will happen to them?”
“What are their names?”
“Ryan Cawdor, Theophilus Algernon Tanner— he answers to ‘Doc’—and John Barrymore Dix.”
“They will be well treated. At least for a while.”
“And Jak—the young one?”
“He was not captured.”
A thrill of hope leaped through Mildred. “Do you know where he is?”
Nefron shook her head and pushed Mildred gently toward the tub. Turning on the faucet, she waited until the gush and gurgle of water was loud before whispering into her ear, “I do not know where he is at present. That ignorance is of my choice and for his own safety…as well as mine and yours. When the time is appropriate, I will find out. And so will you. Now, we must stop wasting time.”
Mildred hesitated, locking eyes with Nefron. They were dark, even darker than her own, but she saw a glint of red swirling in those sepia depths. Shuddering inwardly, Mildred stepped into the tub. In spite of her fear, anger and anxiety, she was happy for the opportunity to wash away two days’ worth of dried sweat and grit in the warm, rose-scented water. Using a small pitcher and a cake of soap, Nefron wet her head and shampooed her beaded hair.
Mildred allowed it, not even complaining when lather dripped into her eyes. For whatever reason, Nefron was trying to be kind to her, and she decided it would be foolish to question her about her relationship with her father. If Pharaoh had reduced the girl’s status to that of a bath attendant, there was no point in interrogating her about what had to have been a humiliating reversal of fortune.
“It will take too much time to remove the beads and comb out all your braids,” the girl said. “Mimses will just have to get used to a different hairstyle for women.”
“Why am I supposed to meet this Mimses?” Mildred asked, sponging water over her limbs.
“As I said, when he heard a black woman had been captured, he ordered you to be brought before him. He is very important, very powerful. Second only to my father in his influence over Aten. When you go before him, you must curb your tongue and not anger him.”
“Why?”
“Pharaoh has left the decision of what to do with you and your friends in Mimses’s hands. Unfortunately, since you killed so many Incarnates, he’s tempted to torture all of you to death.”
“Even Krysty, the red-haired woman?”
Nefron shook her head. “No. Her fate has already been decided. By Pharaoh.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Mildred muttered.
Nefron used the pitcher to rinse the soap suds from Mildred’s hair. As she poured the water, she leaned in close, her lips almost brushing Mildred’s earlobe. “One last thing, Mildred Winona Wyeth. When you’re in with Mimses, do not think of anything I have told you. Send your thoughts in another direction.”
Knuckling water from her eyes, Mildred asked, “Why don’t you just ask me to think about elephants?”
“What?” Nefron’s eyes were puzzled.
“When you tell someone not to think of something, invariably the first thing they think about is what they’re not supposed to think about.”
She paused and added, “Is Mimses a psychic or a telepath or something along those lines?”
“Not exactly. But he to whom Mimses is answerable—”
A sharp, impatient rapping came from the door. A voice rumbled, “The counselor awaits the outland woman.”
Mildred quickly rose from the tub, water cascading down her body. Nefron handed her the garments, and she dressed in them quickly. When she had put them on, Mildred looked down at herself and growled, “Somebody has got to be kidding.”
Instead of a frock or a skirt, she wore a broad strip of purple cloth fastened to a leather belt girding her hips. Another strip at the back fell to her upper thighs. Circular cups made of thin, gilt-edged leather barely covered her breasts, exposing a good amount of cleavage. High strapped sandals completed the costume. She shook her head in disgust, the beads in her hair clicking. “Who does he think I am, Scheherazade the dancing girl? I’m not really built for this outfit.”