Tiiy pretended to dote on it, and was delighted, and Smenkara found himself a person of new importance. She was planning the throne to the second generation. She had only to be patient to get her own way. Nor did she think the prince would impede her. She had only to reach around him to grasp the reins of government again, a gesture perhaps awkward, but which would do nothing to imperil her grip. All this she would do, she was convinced, for the good of the country. She had always ruled for the good of the country, even when Amenophis had been well enough to rule for himself. She believed firmly in the altruism of her own acts, and she took it for granted that Horemheb would believe in it too. Ay, of course, was different. Ay believed in nothing. Nefertiti was also different. But then Nefertiti had no power and so did not have to be reckoned with. Tiiy made two mistakes in all this: Nefertiti was not in the least interested in the good of the country, she was interested in herself, and so anything done for the good of the country left her totally unmoved, particularly if Tiiy happened to be doing it.
