They
returned to-night, but I know not whether they brought one with them."
Masanath clasped her hands and thought for a moment, a mental struggle
evidenced on her little face by the rapid fluctuations of color.
"Get thee down to the kitchens, Pepi," she said presently, "and if Nari
hath come, send her up to me. Give thyself comfort and remain in the
palace. It may be that I shall need thee."
She surveyed herself with a swift glance in a plate of polished silver
which was her mirror, and then, darting out of her door, ran down the
corridor as though she would outstrip repentance before it overtook her.
The flight was not long, but she had lost her composure before she
started. Outside her doors, she trembled as if unprotected. Soldiers of
the royal guard paced along the hall before her chambers. The lamps that
burned there were of gold; the drapings were of purple wrought with the
royal symbols; the asp supported the censers; the head of Athor
surmounted the columns. She was a dweller of the royal house. Far, far
away from her were the unimperial quarters in which, once, she would have
lived. There was her father--there was Hotep--
She came upon him whom she sought. He was on the point of entering his
apartments.
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