A Stray Drop of Blood (17 page)

“
She does. And Andrew knows as no one else could exactly how precious she is. He understands her, and he loves her. I think he has proven how much in his patience.”

Ester smiled, even chuckled a bit. “He has. The poor man, he probably despises me for making him wait so long.”

Cleopas laughed too, and kissed her. “Impossible. No one could despise you. There is no one in the world so lovable.”

Content with her decision for the first time, Ester settled in to wait for morning. But of course, her temperament was not of the type to allow for a solid night’s rest when she knew there was an exciting task ahead of her. She tossed and turned for hours, dozed on and off, and at the first light of dawn, decided it was ridiculous to try to stay in bed any longer. She would go to Abigail’s chamber now and discuss the marriage, waking her if need be. Abigail would forgive her. Indeed, she would be glad to receive the news as soon as possible! That determination made, she dressed and hurried to her maid’s chamber.

She knocked quietly because she did not want to wake the other servants, but she soon discovered it was also too quiet to wake Abigail. So she opened the door and stepped in, lamp in hand.

What she saw was an empty bed, straightened and neat. Ester sighed, wondering what Abigail was doing up already. She did not usually rise so early, did she? Then again, if she were having trouble sleeping, she was not the kind to wile away the time in bed. She would be up getting something done. So Ester left the room as silently as she had entered it and moved to the kitchen.

That room was empty and asleep, the fire still banked from the night before. At a loss as to where to look next, Ester headed back through the servant’s hallway.

Andrew was just emerging as she came through, and she stopped with a smile. “Andrew. I am looking for Abigail, but she is not in her room or the kitchen. Do you know where she could be?”

Andrew did not seem surprised by his friend’s absence, which told Ester that she was probably up early more often than she suspected. “She often attends your son before you awake,” he murmured, “so that she can be there to assist you at her usual time.”

“
Of course.” Ester rewarded him with another smile. “Thank you, Andrew. Well, I am certain you want me to find her as quickly as possible, so I will go check Jason’s room.”

She left Andrew with a nervous grin on his face and moved toward her son’s chamber with a light step. She did not think Jason would be awake yet on his day off but knew that Abigail moved silently and was likely refreshing his water and straightening up while he slept.

She knocked lightly on the door but did not wait for a response before easing it open. She would just motion for Abigail to join her, and then take her elsewhere for the conversation.

“
Mother!”

Ester’s eyes had been scanning the room for her maid, but they now flew in the direction of the startled voice. Her eyes went wide when she looked over and saw her son in his bed, leaning over a woman. Ester did not need to see the averted face to know that it was Abigail.

“
Jason!” She sputtered for a moment, horrified, then snapped her spine into rigid alignment. “You have one minute. I suggest you utilize it to make yourself decent.”

She whirled away and slammed the door behind her.

~*~

Jason heard his mother bellowing out his father’s name and winced. He thought to look down at Abigail. A tear coursed down her cheek, still turned into his chest. He brushed it away gently.

The contact seemed to spur Abigail into motion. Without so much as a word, she jumped up and stumbled over to where her clothes still lay on the floor. Her hands shook as she slipped the tunic on over her head.

“
Abigail.” Jason reached for his clothing as well. “I will handle this.”

She was not given an opportunity to respond The door burst open again, and this time an enraged Cleopas entered, Ester in tow.

His mother met Abigail’s gaze. “Abigail, go begin breakfast.”

Abigail averted her gaze, color staining her face. She hurried past her masters without attempting to look at either of them and fled the scene.

His parents turned their gazes on him. Jason sat on the edge of his bed and awaited the lecture.

It did not take long for it to begin, though the twitching muscle of his father’s jaw was the only visible sign of his anger. “Jason, what in the world were you thinking, taking your mother’s slave into your bed?”

The indolence he had lived in as an adolescent flooded him, and he shrugged without concern. “Satisfying my needs.”

Cleopas clenched and then unclenched his fist. “You do not
satisfy your needs
with a maid that your mother thinks of as a daughter.”

“
She is just a slave.”

“
She is
not
.” The hot tears flowing down his mother’s cheeks caused him more dismay than he cared to admit. “Abigail is my dearest companion. You know how much she means to me, and yet you would defile her–”

“
Mother,” Jason broke in, voice harsh to cover his guilt, “you are overreacting. She is still your companion.”

“
You miss your mother’s point. You have made Abigail
your
companion, and now we cannot give her to another. And it so happens that she was looking for her this morning to ask her if she would agree to becoming Andrew’s wife.”

“
Andrew!” Jason could not have explained why he was shocked, but the outrage of it brought him to his feet. “You would give her to a slave? Father, she is too good for him!”

“
Not anymore,” Ester spat.

Cleopas silenced her outburst with a glance, then turned back to Jason. “If you wanted her, you had only to speak, Jason. I am certain your mother would have had no objections to making Abigail your wife.”

“
Wife?” Jason could only stare at his father. Had he lost his logical mind after so many years immersed in the stifling Law? “I did not want a
wife
, father. I wanted a lover, and that is what I took.”

“
That is not how things are done here!” His mother slashed a hand through the air. “You are not in Rome anymore.”

“
Your mother is right,” Cleopas agreed solemnly. “When you desire your parent’s slave in Israel, you let him give her to you in marriage, you do not just take her to your bed. This is not Rome.”

“
And I will not be here forever. I will go back to Rome, and I will not do that with a Hebrew wife.”

“
Son, you must marry Abigail.” His father’s face was hard, uncompromising. “You have dishonored her, and now she can never be given to another man.”

“
Do you expect me to apologize for that?” Jason sneered. “She is mine, and she will stay mine, but I will not marry her. You cannot force me to, and I will not do it.”

“
Then you will not have her!” Ester took a step forward, rage coming off her in waves.

Jason’s gaze, probably looking as cynical as he felt, had her taking a step back. “Would you rather I frequent the beds of harlots, Mother? Because either way, I will see that my needs are satisfied. If you choose to take Abigail from me, I will go elsewhere. Is that what you want?”

Cleopas held up a hand, his expression saying his word would be law. “Jason, you are our son. And whether or not we condone your behavior, it is our duty to love you and respect you above anyone we have brought into our household. Know that we do not wish for this to continue. But I would rather you keep Abigail as your lover than turn to the prostitutes and their diseases.” He drew up to his full height. “But that means that she is yours. You will see to the care of her well being, and you will be honored by her as her master. But when you tire of her, you will give her back to your mother. Is this understood? That means that according to Hebrew law, as her master, you have the rights to her body. But according to Roman law, she is not your wife.”

Jason nodded. His mother stifled a sob.

“
And,” Cleopas continued, “she will continue as your mother’s companion, performing all the duties she has until now. Is that satisfactory?”

Again, Jason nodded. Ester stalked from the room, leaving him and his father to stare at one another. Jason did not like the look that entered his eyes.

“
Before your mother, I have taken your side.” His voice was low, strained. “She will not easily forgive that. But before you alone, I will say this very clearly. You have dishonored your mother, and you have disappointed me. You have refused your heritage, and you have scorned what she holds dear. You have destroyed the life of a young woman who could have been happy. And if any chance of her happiness is salvaged, it will only be because Andrew loves her more than you could possibly understand and is willing to take what you cast off.”

He, too, turned toward the door but paused before exiting. “I wanted to think you had matured into a man of wisdom, Jason. But if you had, you would realize as my slave does that you just rejected a treasure.”

~*~

Abigail had fled to the kitchen as was demanded, but she found it impossible to carry out the task assigned. Her hands would not work. They shook too much, and the tears that clouded her eyes kept her from focusing on anything. She could hear the dim sound of raised voices in the far end of the house, and she shuddered. She heard quick footsteps coming her way and quickly dashed at the brine in her eyes.

Andrew barreled into the room and did not stop until he was a breath away from Abigail. He framed her face in his hands, and she looked up to see his countenance contorted with pain.

“
It is true?”

The only answer she could manage was a quivering lip.

Andrew moaned and drew her against him, wrapping his arms around her. She was too upset to object and held on tightly as a few errant sobs escaped her throat.

“
I am so sorry.” He buried his hand in her hair. “Why did you not come to me? I would have protected you. I would have–”

“
I know.” She turned her face up and saw his emotion raw and unhindered. It pleased her as much as it terrified her. “I could not let you, though, Andrew. He would not have stood for it, and you would have gotten hurt or worse.”

“
Oh, dear one,” Andrew mumbled, resting his forehead on hers. “If only the mistress had not waited so long. She was coming this morning to speak with you. I asked for you, Abigail. I asked to have you as my wife, and the master said it was up to the mistress, and she said she wanted to make sure it was what you wanted before she agreed.”

Her eyes went wide and filled with tears again.

Andrew stroked a thumb over her cheek to catch the drop before it could make its track. “What would you have said?”

“
Oh, Andrew.” She reached up and tentatively touched a finger to his cheek. “Nothing could have made me happier. I never suspected that you thought of me like that.”

His smile was sad and small. “How could I not? You have grown into such a lovely woman. I love you, Abigail. I have always loved you, and now it has become so strong that it absorbs me.”

Her eyes slid closed, and she settled against him. “I, too, wish our lady had not waited so long. Perhaps if I had already been your wife, Jason would not have approached me.”

“
Even if we were only betrothed, I would have had the right to do something about this.” His voice was hard now, as if he barely had control over his anger.

“
Or if we were betrothed and he did not care, I could be stoned.”

“
No.” Andrew pulled back a little, face set. “You would have called out.”

“
Would I? I do not know if that is true. Jason is not an easy man, Andrew, nor a weak one. If I had called out, you would have come, and if you had come, you would have fought him. But if you had raised a hand against your master, he would have killed you.”

The way his lips parted proved he understood it was not only of the hypothetical problem she spoke, but what she had actually done. “So you gave up your life to preserve mine? You would not let me protect you so that you could protect me?”

Abigail bit her lip and glanced up at him. “It would seem that I love you as much as you say you love me.”

He swallowed hard, but still his voice came out low and rough. “I will wait for you, Abigail. I want no other. I do not care that he has had you. I love you, and you will be my wife. I heard him refuse to marry you; but he will grow tired of the pressure his parents put on him to do that, and he will be done with you soon. And when he is, I will be here waiting.”

She opened her mouth to respond but was halted by the sudden noise of more quick footsteps, heavy and hurried. Andrew barely had time to drop his arms from her before Jason burst into the room. He halted just inside the kitchen and surveyed the situation with a frozen gaze. His face was impenetrable.

With a few quick movements, he had advanced on them and shoved Andrew into the worktable, holding Abigail back with one hand while the other gripped the front of Andrew’s garment.

“
You will never have her,” he swore in a hiss. “I will see to that.” He released him and turned to Abigail, pulling her against him and covering her mouth with his in a show of possession and force. Breaking the embrace, he demanded quietly, in Latin, “Do not disappoint me, Abigail.”