The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran

complimented you. My, Queen Nefertari, I never dreamed what a beautiful shade of lapis your eyes were. How do you respond?"
    I smiled so that all my teeth were showing, and Woserit said sharply, "Not so fast! A woman's smile has to be slow, so that a man knows he must work for it. See?" Woserit let her lips curve slightly. "Now compliment me."
    I searched for a compliment. "High Priestess Woserit, you . . . you look lovely today. I'd forgotten what beautiful dark hair you had." As I spoke, Woserit's smile widened, but it wasn't until I had said my last words that her eyes fixed on mine and she gave me her fullest smile. I felt a sudden hotness in my cheeks.
    "You see?" Woserit said. "You want it to feel like a surprise. You want to keep him guessing whether he'll make you smile entirely so that when you do, he will feel like he's been given a gift." She put her arm in mine and led me to the door.
    "Watch," she instructed.
    We entered the hall outside her chamber and passed through a courtyard where servants were shoveling and toiling at the heavy work of the garden. As soon as they saw us, they scrambled to their feet and bowed. One man, who looked to be the head of the gardeners from the cut of his linen, stepped forward to greet Woserit. "It's an honor to see Her Holiness in the courtyard. We are graced by your presence," he said.
    Woserit let her lips curve slightly. "You've done beautiful work," she complimented.
    It was true. Myrtle and jasmine grew up around a granite fountain of Hathor, and stone benches had been arranged in clusters beneath the sycamore trees so that the pilgrims to Hathor's temple could sit and contemplate the goddess's splendor.
    "It is beautiful," the young gardener agreed. Woserit's smile widened. "But that is only because it is a reflection of you."
    Woserit smiled fully. "Very pretty."
    She laughed, but the young man didn't laugh. He was taken by her, and there was a light of new fascination in his eyes. "Come," Woserit said to me primly. "I will show you the orchards." When we left the courtyard and passed into the groves, Woserit turned.
    "He stared after you until we left the courtyard!" I cried.
    "You see what a smile can do? And mine is not even pretty." I made to interrupt her, but she shook her head at my protest. "It's true. It's nothing like yours. You have teeth as white as pearls, and no man who sees your smile will ever forget it."
    "I don't think that gardener will ever forget yours," I pointed out.
    "That's because I've learned how to use it," Woserit said. "I don't pass it out like an old woman giving free milk to the village cats. It's something that must be controlled, and for you especially. You use it on anyone. You must learn to be more judicious."
    She looked down the path and I followed her gaze to a group of men harvesting figs from the sycamore trees. "Do you see one who is handsome?" she asked.
    I flushed.
    "Don't be shy. There will be plenty of men at court, and some will need to be convinced that they are in your special favor. How will you do that? With a look," she answered. "With a smile. As we walk by, I want you to choose a man," she said. "Make him feel that he has been chosen. And then make him speak to you."
    "Without using words?" I exclaimed.
    "Using only your smile. So, which one shall it be?" she said slyly.
    I looked over at the group of men. Sitting down, sorting the good figs from bad, was a young man with dark hair. "The one who is counting," I said immediately.
    I thought a smile alone might not suffice, and the thought came to me to reach for my bracelet. . . . Quickly, I loosened the clasp, and as we passed the group of men I met the expressive eyes of the dark-haired man and smiled slowly. When his eyes widened with the realization that I was acknowledging him specifically, I let the bracelet fall. "My lady!" He jumped up and fetched my bracelet. "You have dropped something!" He held the bracelet up, and I let him have my fullest smile, the way