After 1468 BC, Memphis, land of Goshen.  Kairos 63: Rachel, Household Servant

Recording…

“Hotep, get your hands off me.”  Rachel whispered in her loudest whisper.  Hotep had his hands on her waist and hips from behind while she bent over.  Rachel wiggled her butt to try and wriggle free, but that just made Hotep smile.  He bent over her shoulder to peek out the side of the curtain.  “Hold your breath,” Rachel whispered.  He breathed in her ear.  “You reek of onions,” she said.

“Hush,” Hotep responded, but Rachel heard the excitement in his voice.  They were being naughty.

“Meme.  Tell Hotep to let me go.”  Meme got squished into the back of the closet.

“I’m not doing anything.  I’m minding my own business.”  Meme had her eyes shut, and her hands over her eyes.

“Big help…oh, hush.”

‘Hush,” Hotep breathed on Rachel

“Hush.” Rachel gently shoved Hotep’s face.

“Lord Horemheb,” A man spoke as Lord Horemheb walked into the room followed by a bowing Sokar, the weasel.  Horemheb put a papyrus scroll down on the table and turned to listen.

“You have evidence?”

Sokar stroked his beard.  “No hard evidence, but I do not doubt my sources.  They are all honest, hard-working men.  They say the curse that has fallen here and there on the people is the work of the Abramites.  Most of the Semites settled in Goshen and the delta are good people, content with their place.  But I have sources that say the Abramites dream of a land of their own.  If they can drive the true people of Egypt back, as the Hyksos once did, they may get it.”

Horemheb shook his head.  “The Abramites I know are all, as you say, honest, hard-working people.  They are builders, building ships and homes, and they work in the fields, bringing in the food that feeds us all.”

“They are mere servants of Egypt,” Sokar countered. “They have no standing here, and they know it.  That is why they want to take the land, so they can be the rulers.”

“And yet, I have not heard one complain about the work, or about being here.  They have homes as well, and families to care for.  You would have me believe a whole people are nothing but strange alien monsters.”

“My sources do not lie.”

“But you have no meat on your bone.  Bring me evidence.  Bring me the names of those responsible.  Put some meat on the bone, and I will bite.  Right now, all you have is rumors and hearsay.”

Sokar looked pensive for a moment before he let out his best and smarmiest smile.  “As you say, my lord.  We would not want to accuse the innocent.”

Rachel, behind the curtain, let out a small growl.  Hotep slapped her butt softly to keep her quiet.

“Come,” Horemheb said with what might have been a small glance at the closet curtain.  “I will walk you to the door.”  They left the room together and Rachel immediately got to her hands and knees to crawl to the window.  Hotep and Meme followed her lead.

“We would not want to accuse the innocent.  Ha,” Rachel mumbled.  “That is exactly what Sokar wants to do.”  She stopped at the window ledge to look down.  The room was on the second floor.

Hotep grabbed Rachel’s foot, pulled off her slipper, licked her toes, and sucked on her big toe.  Rachel yanked her foot free, spun around and grabbed her slipper.  “You need help,” she said.

“I was just checking to see if you have meat on your bones.  Yes, very nice.”  He licked his lips.

“Sick bird,” Rachel said, as she looked down again.  She slipped herself over the edge and slowly lowered herself until she stretched out, holding on only with her fingers.  She let go and found it not very far at all.  She whispered back up in her loudest whisper.  “Come on, Meme, before the lord returns.”

Meme looked scared, but Hotep moved her over the edge until she got committed.  Meme looked down and around, and pushed a little so she would come down in a bush.  She got scratched and would have shrieked, but Rachel was right there to slap a hand over her mouth.  The shriek bounced up to her eyes which got extra big.

“Look out below,” Hotep said, much too loud, and he made faces as he dropped to the ground.  The three got out of the garden to the walkway, and Hotep spoke.

“That was fun.”  He turned on Rachel.  “You are the best.”  He leaned down to give her a kiss on the lips, but Rachel got her hand in his face to hold him back.

“I am a child of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a household servant.  You are an Egyptian of rank, and the heir in the house.”

Hotep tried to push his puckered lips between her fingers.  Rachel had to put up her other hand.

“Are you proposing?”  It was the biggest turn off for boys she could think of, but Hotep was slick.

“Not yet,” he said as he pulled his face back. “I have to have a kiss first to see what I will do.”

“No chance.  I know how this works.  You want to dally with the serving girl, and once I am used up, you toss me away and go off to marry some snooty, Egyptian bitch.”  Rachel dropped her hands to her hips and walked back and forth with an exaggerated wiggle.  “Oh Hotep, dahling.  Come and kiss my feet.”

Hotep got mad, before he laughed and nodded, and then shook his head vigorously.  “Gods I hope not.  Anubis take my senseless soul if I fall for a woman like that.”

“You shouldn’t kid about the gods,” Rachel said.  “Trust me on that.”

“What?  I thought you Abramites only believed in one god.  I thought you said the other gods were all pretenders.”

“That is not something we should be talking about.”

“But I’m serious,” Hotep said, and he put on his serious face.  “I would never betray you.  If I fall for a woman like that, you have my permission to strike me dead.”

Rachel nodded.  “We could call it a mercy killing.”  She put her hand gently against his cheek, stepped up to within a hand’s breadth, and let her lips brush against his before she turned her back on him.  “There may be hope for you yet,” she said, and could not prevent the smile that came to her lips when he shouted something like, “Yahoo!”  In fact, he ran off down the walkway, shouting the same sentiment over and over.

Rachel let out the smallest laugh when Meme touched her arm to get her attention.  “I think you really like him,” she said.

“I do,” Rachel admitted before she pulled back.  “But if you tell him that, I will never speak to you again.”  She shook her finger at the girl.

“My lips are sealed tight as a tomb.  Your words are hidden in the secret reaches of the pyramid in my heart.”  Meme said what was expected.  It did not mean she would not tell Surti and the others at the first opportunity.

“Rachel.  Girl.  Would you come up here.  I have something to ask you.”  Lord Horemheb spoke down to them from the window they just dropped from.  Rachel swallowed and Meme’s eyes got big again.  Who knew how long the man had been standing there, watching.

“Yes, Lord,” Rachel said, while Meme whispered in her ear.

“You are in trouble.”