On This Foundation (13 page)

“I don't know. Right now I'm not ready to marry anyone, including your master.” But Nava had raised a good question. How much influence would she have in this household, with a man who was firm and liked everything his way? Chana would need to find out.

“There you are, Chana.” She heard Malkijah's voice behind her and turned. “We were wondering what happened to you. . . . You aren't pestering my guest, are you?” he asked Nava.

“No, my lord.”

“Then I'm sure you must have work to do. Go.”

“Yes, my lord.” Nava bowed her head as she scurried into the kitchen carrying the heavy tray.

“It's my fault, Malkijah, not hers. I had a question, and I didn't want to bother you with it.”

“It's no bother at all. Ask me anything you'd like.”

“It's nothing. . . . Nava was very kind and helpful.” Embarrassment made Chana's cheeks grow warm. She scrambled to change the subject. “Look, isn't the moon beautiful?”

“It is. Come, I want to show you the view from my rooftop.” His hand rested on the small of her back as he guided her up the stone steps and showed her the breathtaking view. Gentle hills rolled away in all directions, and Chana could see the narrow ribbon of road they had traveled on from Jerusalem, winding between the hills. The silver-gray leaves of Malkijah's olive trees rustled softly in the breeze below them. It was the first time Chana had been completely alone with him, and his charisma was undeniable. He seemed to be pulling her toward himself like a fisherman hauling in his catch; she didn't know why she instinctively struggled to free herself from his net.

“It's magnificent up here, Malkijah. Thank you so much for such an enjoyable evening. You have a beautiful home, and everything is so well run.”

“But . . . ?”

“What do you mean?”

“I still hear a note of hesitation in your voice. You don't seem convinced that you would be happy here with me.” She didn't reply as her heart pounded harder. “I sense you holding back, Chana. Is it something I've said or done?”

“No, you've been wonderful and charming and generous and—”

“Am I wasting my time by pursuing our relationship?”

She couldn't look at him. “I honestly don't know.”

“Tell me what my next step should be?”

She searched her heart for a reply before looking up at him. “You told me that you wanted to marry again because you didn't think you would ever find happiness unless you did. But to tell you the truth, I'm afraid to let myself fall in love again. I'm afraid I'll be opening my heart to all the pain and sorrow I felt when Yitzhak died. I don't think I could endure that again.”

He covered her hand with his as it rested on the wall. “But wasn't there joy, too? Didn't Yitzhak bring you happiness?”

“Yes, of course.”

“When you close the door against pain, you're cutting yourself off from the possibility of joy, too.”

“I suppose that's true.”

“Tell me, Chana, are you happy?”

She remembered how she had recognized the servant girl's sadness because it was so much like her own. “No . . . I'm not really happy.”

“Would you like to be?”

Yes. She was so tired of the blanket of grief that pressed down on her, smothering her, making her temper short and stealing her joy day after day, draining her tears. Yes. She would
like very much to be happy again. But she didn't think it was possible without Yitzhak.

“Believe me, I understand why you're afraid to love again,” Malkijah continued. “But would you be willing to settle for contentment? For companionship? I believe we could find both of those things with each other because our stories are so similar. We understand each other's loss in a way that few other people can. And we both understand that our loved ones will always own a huge part of our heart.”

She wanted to ask if he also felt bewildered and abandoned, resentful toward the Almighty One for taking the person he loved—but she didn't. He was waiting for her reply. “Yes,” she finally said. “Yes, I believe I could find contentment here with you.” It was the truth.

Malkijah smiled. “And what would the next step be? For you and me?”

Chana felt a rising panic as he drew his net toward the shore, even if Malkijah did show enormous kindness and understanding. “Maybe we should spend a little more time together to get to know each other.”

He lifted her hand and placed it between both of his, giving it a gentle squeeze before releasing it again. “Good. I will be patient, and give you a little more time.” He smiled his crooked smile and led her down the stairs and into the house.

T
HE
D
ISTRICT
OF
B
ETH
H
AKKEREM

T
he noise of a commotion jolted Nava awake. Running footsteps. Voices. Was someone shouting her name? She listened in the darkness, her heart racing.

“Nava! Nava, help me!”

It sounded like Dan's voice. She sat up and looked around, wondering if she'd been dreaming. But Rachel and some of the other women were also awake. One of them got up and lit a lamp.

“Nava, where are you?” the distant voice shouted.

It
was
Dan!

Nava leaped up from her pallet in a panic and struggled into her clothes. The steamy summer night made it difficult to get dressed, and her tunic became hopelessly twisted as fear pounded through her. Several minutes passed before she could get straightened out, and she ran outside in her bare feet, unwilling to waste more time. The shouts came from the center of the compound, near the kitchen. Other servants had awakened, too, and hurried there with her. Someone had lit a torch. And there was Dan in the middle of her master's courtyard, shouting and
struggling to free himself as two burly men gripped his arms, trying to drag him away.

“Dan! I'm here!” Nava shouted. She tried to weave between the gathering spectators, desperate to reach him. But someone grabbed her from behind, yanking her to a stop, holding her back.

“Stay here, girlie. Stay out of it.” Shimon, her friend from the goat pen.

“Let me go! That's Dan! They're hurting him!” But he wouldn't release her, in spite of her pleas. “I have to help him, Shimon. Please!”

“Stay here and wait for our master. He'll straighten this out.”

At last Malkijah arrived, still fastening his robe, his sandals untied and flapping as he walked. Nava had never seen him look so angry. “What's all this noise? What's going on? You're disturbing my guests.”

“We caught a thief breaking into your estate, my lord.”

“I'm not a thief! I told you I was just—” Dan cried out in pain as one of the men holding him twisted his arm, cutting off his words.

“The evidence says otherwise, my lord. He scaled the wall to get inside, and we caught him sneaking around your compound.”

“I came to see Nava. She'll tell you I'm not a thief. She knows me.”

“Who's Nava? Who is he talking about?” Malkijah asked. Nava started to reply but Shimon cupped his calloused hand over her mouth, muffling her words.

“Hush, girlie!” She struggled against him but couldn't break free. Master Aaron had also awakened and stood outside with everyone else. He pointed to Nava from across the courtyard.

“That's Nava. She's your serving girl, Father.” Everyone turned to her as Shimon finally took his hand off her mouth.

“Dan is my friend, from home,” she said. “I've known him all my life, and he isn't a thief.”

“Maybe they're working together, my lord,” one of the men holding Dan said. “Maybe she's giving him information from the inside.”

“I haven't stolen anything and neither has Nava,” Dan shouted. Again, the man twisted Dan's arm behind his back. Dan grimaced in pain, speaking through gritted teeth, “I just came to see if Nava was all right.”

“Please, tell them, Rachel,” Nava begged. Her friend from the kitchen stood beside her. “Tell them I was asleep right next to you. We woke up at the same time, remember? I'm not a thief.” But Rachel shrank back, too terrified to say a word. Would no one speak up to defend her and Dan?

“You had no right to climb over my wall,” Malkijah said. “Or sneak around my home in the dark. You're trespassing.”

“I was trying to find Nava so I could talk to her. I didn't know there would be a wall or that the entrance would be locked. I work with my father on our land all day, so I couldn't get here until after dark. It took longer than I expected, and everyone was asleep.”

Nava thought of the danger Dan had faced in order to see her, walking all the way from home at night, and she loved him more than she'd ever thought possible. Suddenly one of the spectators standing off to the side moved into the circle of torchlight. Nava recognized the woman she'd talked to earlier tonight, the one who said she might marry the master. “Malkijah, wait,” she said. “May I say something?”

Nava felt sick. What if the woman told her master how unhappy she was?

“Of course, Chana,” Malkijah said. “I'm so sorry about all this unpleasantness. And I'm sorry we woke you up. This must be frightening for you after what happened to your fiancé.”

“I wasn't frightened,” she said with a wave of dismissal. “Listen, I spoke with Nava earlier tonight, and she told me she had a boyfriend back home, so I know that much is true. Maybe he really was coming to see her.”

Aaron got his father's attention before he could reply. “Didn't you say you noticed that some wine was missing the other day, Father?”

“Dan didn't take it!” Nava tried to shout. “You know who—!” Shimon pressed his hand over her mouth again.

“Be quiet,” he growled. “You'll be in much worse trouble if you go accusing Master Aaron.”

Again, the woman named Chana spoke. “It seems to me it would be easy to prove the truth of this young man's claims. Did the guards find any stolen wine on him when they caught him? Or any with Nava, for that matter?”

“Well, did you?” Malkijah asked the men who were holding Dan's arms.

“No, my lord. We didn't find anything.”

“Go search the girl's things,” Malkijah ordered. He turned to Chana as two of his servants hurried off, and his voice sounded gentle as he spoke to her. “Some wine has disappeared from my storeroom. I was afraid it might be the work of thieves, so I asked my guards to be especially alert.”

“We have a right to protect our property,” Aaron said. He glared at Dan with his chin raised, his arms folded across his chest. Nava had feared Aaron before tonight, but at this moment she hated him.

“What if he's telling the truth?” Chana asked. “What if he isn't a thief?”

“He still had no right to break into our home,” Aaron said before his father could reply. “He should be punished for trespassing.”

“I just wanted to see Nava. That's the truth, and I'll swear to it!” Dan said. Nava could tell by the way he breathed that he was in pain. The men were hurting him.

“Can you blame a young man for wanting to see the girl he loves, Malkijah?” Chana asked. “I hope you'll show him mercy.”

Malkijah turned to Dan again, his forehead knotted in an angry frown. “Is Nava your wife? Are you betrothed?”

“We're too poor to marry—”

“Then you have no right to be with her, especially in the middle of the night. Even if you aren't a thief, your own testimony accuses you of wrongdoing.”

“But I love her—”

“She belongs to us now,” Aaron said, taking a step toward Dan. “Forget about her.”

“What do you mean she belongs to you?” Chana asked.

“It's what the Torah says,” Aaron replied. “She's our bondservant.”

“Go back to bed, my dear. Please.” Malkijah rested his hand on Chana's back, trying to guide her inside the house. “We'll talk about it in the morning.”

“I know what the Torah says,” Dan shouted. “That's why I needed to make sure Nava was all right.”

The men returned from searching Nava's room before Malkijah could respond. “We found nothing, my lord.”

“You can't convict someone without evidence,” Chana said. “There should be two witnesses. Please, for my sake, let the young man go free.”

Nava held her breath as Malkijah took a long moment to decide. “Get off my property,” he finally told Dan. “And don't ever come near my home again. If you do, you will be punished.” The two men dragged Dan to the gate and shoved him through it, slamming and barring it behind him. “Now everyone go back inside and get some sleep,” Malkijah said.

Shimon turned Nava around and pushed her toward her dormitory. “Wait, wait. I want to explain to our master—”

“You heard him, girlie. Back to bed.” She tried to resist, but Shimon was very strong for an old man. He left her at the door where Penina stood waiting. Inside, the room where Nava and the other women slept looked ransacked.

“Why won't anyone listen to me, Penina? Why won't they let me explain?”

“You don't explain anything to the master unless he asks. Not a single word—understand?”

“Why is it so wrong to tell the truth? I know who really stole the wine and—”

Penina grabbed her shoulders and gave her a little shake. “You came very close to destroying your family's lives tonight, do you realize that? And for what? I told you, our master will never believe anything bad about his sons.”

“But the woman, our master's guest, she would believe me.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Are you willing to take that chance?” Nava started to reply but Penina interrupted. “You want to talk about the truth? Here's the truth, so you'd better listen: If our master tosses you out, your family will have no way to live. What will they do then? Your father will lose his land and they'll starve, that's what will happen. And it will be your fault—yours and that foolish boy who broke in here to see you.”

Nava knew Penina was right.

“Go to bed and forget about him. That part of your life is over.”

Impossible. Nava could never forget Dan. She helped the other women straighten up and arrange the beds, then laid down on her own. Dan had risked his life to come—and now he could never come back. Nava may never see him again, and she didn't know how she could bear it. She finally understood why Rachel didn't go home to see her husband and children. Seeing Dan tonight made the pain of their separation even worse.

The bitterness she felt toward her masters encircled her heart like a poisonous vine. Nava had tried to weed it out, but tonight it had grown bigger, stronger, watered by her tears.