A Reluctant Queen (35 page)

Esther made a conscious effort to relax the grip of her clasped hands. She did not want to appear nervous. “Considering Mordecai’s ties to my family and his services to the king, I do not think the king would be pleased to find that he had been tried, and perhaps even executed, while the king was not present to hear the evidence himself.”

All the wrinkles in the old man’s face moved and then, to Esther’s great relief, he broke into a smile. “I am in complete agreement with you, my lady. I see no reason why we cannot postpone the trial until after the king has returned.”

Relief flooded through Esther. She had thought she would prevail, but she had never done anything like this before and she had been afraid she would not do it well. She smiled back at him. “Thank you, my lord Judge. You are a wise man.”

Sisames rose slowly and creakily to his feet. “That Palestinian overreaches himself. I will be glad when Ahasuerus returns to put right the injustices Haman has done in his name.”

“I will be glad as well,” Esther returned. “Thank you for coming to see me, my lord Sisames.”

“It was my great pleasure, my lady,” the old man replied.

As soon as Esther returned to her own apartment she told Luara to send for Muran. “Tell her I must look beautiful today, as beautiful as I have ever looked in my life. I must look like a queen.”

When Muran arrived and Esther told her what she planned to do, the Mistress was so upset she forgot to give the queen her title. “You cannot burst in upon the king in such a manner, Esther! It is not only contrary to court protocol, it is against the commandment of Ahuramazda for the king to see his wife on this holy day!”

“I understand all that, Mistress,” Esther replied patiently. Then she explained to Muran about the proclamation and the reason she had to see Ahasuerus.

“You are a Jew?” The Mistress was horrified.

Esther held on to her fragile calm. “Yes. I am a Jew and Mordecai is my uncle. He wished me to become a candidate for the king’s hand when he learned that Haman was an Edomite. My uncle was afraid that Haman would try to act against the Jews because our nations have always been enemies. I have questioned my uncle’s plan many times, but, Mistress, now he has been proven right. Mordecai lies under peril of death and my people are threatened with annihilation. I have no choice; I must speak to the king.”

Muran remained obdurate. “You cannot do this, my lady. You do not understand how unspeakable—”

Esther did not wish to hear any further about how unspeakable her actions would be. She cut into Muran’s tirade. “Believe me, I understand perfectly, and my mind is made up. I would like you to help me dress for the banquet, Muran.” She managed a slight smile. “It is important that I look my best, but even more, it is important that I look like a queen. The guards must be so awed by me that they will let me into the banquet. You can do that for me, Muran. I know you can.”

Muran wouldn’t give up. “You cannot go unveiled into that room of men!”

“I must. Ahasuerus needs to be able to see that it is I, and no other, who approaches him. Then he will raise his scepter and I will be safe.”

Still Muran protested. At last Esther said wearily, “Very well, Mistress. I will not ask you to go against your own beliefs. Luara can help me. You may go back to the harem.”

If the situation had not been so dire, Esther would have found the indignation on Muran’s face comical. “Luara!” The Mistress almost spat the word. “She knows nothing about how a queen should look. If you are determined to do this, my child, then I will help you.”

Esther felt tears prickle behind her eyes at this unexpected proclamation of loyalty. “Thank you, Mistress, you are a good friend. No harm will come to you because of this; I will see to that.”

The Mistress raised her perfectly plucked eyebrows. “You may not be in a position to . . . ‘see to’ anything, my lady. What you are planning to do is not something that Ahasuerus is likely to forgive. He has already put away one wife; there is nothing to stop him from putting away another.”

The pain that Esther was trying so hard to ignore stabbed once more at her heart. She waited a moment before she replied, “It would be ironic, would it not? He put Vashti away because she would not show herself before him at a banquet, and now you are saying he may put me away for doing the very thing that Vashti would not.”

“Irony doesn’t interest me. Your welfare does.” Muran’s voice was tart, but real concern was in her eyes.

Esther blinked hard to hold back the threatening tears. She picked up the Mistress’s swollen hand and held it tightly. “I thank you, Muran, but the lives of my people must outweigh my own welfare. Surely you can understand that?”

The Mistress’s great bosom heaved with a sigh. “I suppose so. Now, my lady, let us start with a bath.”

All during the long, tedious beauty session, Esther kept thinking about the day she had met Ahasuerus for the first time. Today was almost a replica: the bath, the waiting women fussing over her skin and nails, the hours that Luara spent setting pearls into the strands of her hair. She had been full of dread on that first day, and she was full of dread today as well. Today, she thought, was worse.

Luara had almost finished with her hair when Hathach brought word that the king had arrived back at the palace and was being arrayed in his state robes in a tent that had been set up in the Apanada. He would not even enter his own apartment today because the queen was present.

He was here. Soon she would see him. She had missed him so much, had longed for his return, and now . . . now she felt numb. This was good, she thought. It was better by far to feel nothing, to protect herself from the agony she knew was coming. But no, she must not think of that. Think instead of how long she had been sitting here, with Luara putting in those horrid pearls.

“Are you almost finished?” Esther asked fretfully.

“The pearls are in place, my lady. I just need to pull your hair back with these pearl combs.”

Esther sat patiently as her maid worked, skillfully inserting the combs in a way that allowed the rest of the shining ebony mass to fall down her back to her waist.

Next came the robing. The tunic that Muran had chosen was ivory in color and the robe was ivory as well, sewn all over with the same precious pearls that sprinkled Esther’s hair. Her soft leather slippers were encrusted with pearls as well.

Finally, after all the pleats had been arranged to Muran’s satisfaction, the Mistress went to work on Esther’s face. She outlined her eyes with kohl, making them look even larger and darker than usual. Then she dusted a light coral rouge on both her cheeks and her lips.

Muran had just pronounced her ready when Hathach came back into the room. “The king went into the Service Court half an hour ago. The food has not yet been served; they are still drinking the healths. It is time to go.”

Luara moved to stand beside Esther. Muran raised her eyebrows. “You are risking the king’s anger if you go with her, Luara.”

Esther felt Luara step even closer. The girl said, “I do not care. I shall always go with my lady.”

I should not let her do this
, Esther thought. But she did not have the willpower to send Luara away.

Hathach spoke calmly. “Come, my lady. I will go first. All you need to do is follow behind me.”

Esther knew Ahasuerus would be furious with Hathach if he did this. She said in a shaking voice, “You do not need to come, Hathach. I know my way.”

Hathach turned and gave her a long, level look.

I can’t cry
, Esther thought.
I will ruin the eye cosmetics
. She attempted a smile, failed, and settled for a nod. Hathach opened the door and stepped out into the hall. Luara slipped on her veil, which she would wear until she reached the banquet room.

By the time Esther came down the steps that led from the living quarters into the King’s Court, everyone seemed to know what she was going to do. As she crossed the court, a page suddenly darted forward and bent to kiss the hem of Esther’s tunic. “May the Wise Lord go with you, my lady,” the little boy said.

“Thank you, Niki.” She touched the top of his curly black head with her ringed fingers before she once again moved forward behind Hathach. And so the progress continued: Hathach first, then Esther, then Luara, coming behind as a proper maid should.

The first critical moment came when they reached the great double doors that led from the private royal apartments into the public part of the palace. The two eunuchs who stood guard there were obviously staggered to see the queen.

“My lady!” one of them protested. “You cannot go into the public rooms!”

Hathach answered, “The queen is going to the king. Step aside, please, and let her pass.” His voice was pleasant but subtly loaded with authority.

Thank God for Hathach
, Esther thought, as the eunuchs stood aside with obvious bewilderment to let her through.

The Household Court was busy with men coming and going about their business, and the shock of Esther’s arrival ran through the place like an unexpected storm. Out of the corner of her eyes, Esther registered the aghast expressions, and for a moment her step faltered. Nothing anyone had said so far had made the offensiveness of what she was doing as clear to her as the stunned faces of the men in the Household Court.

Suddenly Luara moved forward and held out her arm. Esther closed her fingers gratefully around the support her maid was offering, and the two of them followed Hathach’s long, slim back across the brick floor of the deathly quiet Household Court.

For a moment Esther’s mind flashed back in time, to the day she had first followed Hathach, the day she had first come to the harem.

I thought I would die if Ahasuerus chose me to be his wife. And now I feel as if I will die if he puts me away
. She drew a deep, steadying breath.
I must stop thinking this way. I must only think of what I have to do
.

They were entering now into the passage that led from the Household Court to the Service Court, where the banquet was being held. When they reached the door to the Service Court they were stopped by the two guards who were posted there.

After staring at Esther in disbelief, one of them said to Hathach, “You can’t go in there. The king has not sent for you.”

Luara removed Esther’s veil and Hathach said, “The queen may go where she chooses.”

“Not into a religious banquet she can’t,” the other guard said deliberately.

Esther looked at first one guard, then at the other. She lifted her chin. “You cannot stop me.”

The first guard stepped forward, as if he would physically bar her way.

“If I tell the king that you have laid one finger on the queen, you are a dead man,” Hathach said coldly.

The man hesitated and the two guards looked at each other. Hathach used the moment to push open the door into the Service Court and walk in, holding it open for Esther. She followed, still clutching Luara’s arm.

Ahasuerus saw her first. He was seated on his golden throne at the far side of the court, a golden coronet on his head, the golden scepter in his hand. His purple robe was embroidered with gold and the hand that grasped the scepter was covered in golden rings. The expression on his face was incredulous.

A hush swept across the room as the men seated at the banquet tables turned to follow the king’s eyes to the doorway where Esther stood. The room was suddenly filled with a tension so overpowering that the air seemed to vibrate. Esther felt it with every nerve, every vein, every fiber of muscle in her body. She dropped Luara’s arm and forced herself to take one step forward into the room, then another, and yet another still.