“The past is dead,” Eliab said. “And you know the truth.”
Naomi clutched the towel to her chest. The cloth quaked from the boom of her heart. Why was Gera making these allegations? Had he not been convinced in the grove that Eliab had taken her as his wife? And if he found out she was still a virgin, would he claim her and take her from Eliab?
“It has been a long trip.” Eliab kissed his father’s hand. “I am going to take my wife to bed.” Eliab’s statement rang with a renewed fervor. His emphasis of the last word caused her legs to go limp.
Was Eliab worried about Gera’s accusations? Would Eliab honor her request to wait? Or would her belly be the next to bulge with a Benjamite baby?
9
Slowly, with a lack of haste, Naomi ascended the stepladder to Eliab’s bedroom above the stable. Her heart rate spiked with every footfall, for Eliab had not agreed to wait on a union. She followed her abductor, but stayed in the doorway, shifting her weight from sandal to sandal, contemplating a retreat into the darkness. But where would she run? And who was lurking outside the courtyard walls? Gera or another Benjamite bent on claiming a wife?
Eliab crossed the room and emptied a waterskin into a bowl. “I must cleanse myself. I have been gone for days.” He threw off his tunic.
She covered her eyes.
Eliab chuckled. “Surely you have seen a bare-chested man in the fields. I did not remove my loincloth.”
“Seeing laborers in the vineyard is different. I keep my distance and there are people about. I am not accustomed to having a stranger disrobe a stone’s roll from where I stand. Let alone when I am near where he sleeps.”
“I am not a stranger.” A hint of frustration strangled his defense.
“We’ve known each other a few days. There has been no betrothal period. No consent from my father.” She removed her hands from her face and averted her gaze while shuffling along the farthest wall. “I need more time. Will you agree to my petition to wait until the Sabbath?”
“Only if you agree to my request.”
“You did not make one.”
What would he require of her?
Eliab wrapped a cloth around his hips but did not seem in a hurry to dry or cover his chest. “I am making one now. If I am to control myself until after the Sabbath, then you must accompany me wherever I go during our brief betrothal.”
“Everywhere?” Her voice squeaked as she envisioned the worst possible places to accompany a man.
“Within reason.” He spoke as if this was an ordinary deal witnessed at the city gate. “I do not want you seized when my back is turned.”
“By Gera?” Even speaking his name sent a cool stream of water down her spine.
“By anyone.” Eliab’s voice hovered above a whisper. “We are not yet joined as one.”
“I do not want to be like Cuzbi.” The shock of her friend’s revelation weighed her down like an overflowing water jar. No ceremony had taken place in the presence of Cuzbi’s family. The traditions of their people had been cast off because of the needs of one tribe.
“I gathered that by your reaction earlier.” Eliab drew closer and lay on his back on a sleeping mat in the middle of the floor. A blanket lay in a mound at his feet. He grimaced as he stretched. “Come and sleep.”
“Aren’t you going to wear a tunic?”
“I believe a loincloth will be plenty warm.” He patted the space beside him.
She inched forward. Her ears and brain buzzed with the haunting echo of a ram’s horn blast. Would Eliab be able to resist the temptation of lying next to a woman, chest to breast, leg to thigh? “I am in agreement if you are.”
“Mm-hmm.” Eliab’s response rumbled from his throat.
She reclined by his side, picturing a barricade between their bodies. Instead of donkey dander, the scent of cassia and cloves filled the air. Had he put herbs in the basin in case he captured a dancer? Removing her veil, she tucked the cloth underneath her head, but she could not ignore the shape beside her. Her breathing quickened. Too fast. Too shallow. Her lungs began to burn. Eliab rolled onto his side, dwarfing her imaginary wall. His hair fell around his shoulders and he beheld her with sleepy eyes. Cuzbi spoke the truth. He was handsome. The weeks spent rebuilding his home and his city had left him broader than most of the laborers she had seen in the vineyards. One smothering embrace from him and she would be engulfed into that hard chest. No. No. No. She rubbed her arms to distract her thoughts.
“You are restless,” he said, propping his head upon his elbow.
“I am accustomed to sleeping with my mother.” And not accustomed to such a thin, poorly woven mat. She licked her cracked lips, but her tongue was a dried reed. “You have ridden that donkey for days. Settle down. I will not disturb you.”
“On my back, thieves could hold me down and slit my throat. Staying on my side, I am ready to do battle.” He lowered himself so his face became even with hers.
“There is nothing of value here.” The upper room held only a bed, a washbasin, and candle wax.
“Oh yes, there is. There is something priceless here.” His dark brown eyes glimmered as if he slept next to rows of gold coins. “But she is safe with me.”
“Even from Gera? He is furious with—” Eliab’s finger touched her lip and lingered. His skin had softened from the washing.
She shivered at his intimate caress, and when he removed his hand, the warmth of his touch remained upon her lip.
“He is brazen if he thinks he can plot against the house of Berek. Ashbanel was a fool to have married Gera’s sister.” Eliab’s arm rested upon her waist.
Her belly jumped as if she had swallowed a locust, but she did not protest. In his cocoon of strength, she found a moment of refuge.
“Gera’s kin mocked the Law and our prophets. They worshipped idols, and their perverse petitions to false gods overflowed into the streets. They have the blood of the Levite’s wife on their hands. I am blameless, as is the line of Berek.” His stare fixed on her face. “Do you believe I am innocent?”
She did. She had to. With him, she had a measure of hope. Hope for protection. Hope for a rescue. Hope that God would not abandon the girls of Shiloh.
“Yes, I believe you,” she whispered. “I am thankful you have honored my request.”
“I have not slept in days. When we come together again, I may regret my decision.”
“But you will still honor it?”
He leaned closer and brushed a loose ringlet behind her ear. His breath bathed her cheek.
She became sculpture-still.
“Until after the Sabbath. Yes.” His hand grazed the contour of her cheek. “Now rest, Naomi.” The length of his arm cradled her hips.
Was this an innocent display of protection? A snare if she tried to flee? She wanted to find rest, but a riptide of emotions rallied her conscience for battle.
Her chest tightened. If she returned to Shiloh, Eliab would have no wife or children. A sprig from the vine of Jacob and Rachel would wither. She didn’t want to be a traitor to the memory of her brothers. They fought with valor to uphold God’s laws. Where did she belong? Her spirit was torn. She wished for a sign, for she ached to see her family. What is my future, Lord? Was she to help the wayward tribe of Benjamin survive? Or curse Eliab’s line into extinction?
10
When she awoke, Eliab was gone. He had honored their agreement to keep her chaste. Perhaps an honorable remnant remained in the land of Benjamin. Though today she would keep her distance from her would-be husband and not tempt his self-control.
She washed her face and went outside to bake bread. If she did not eat soon, she would faint from the escalating heat.
Descending the steps from the upper room, she scanned the structures, trying to find her protector. Eliab rounded the corner from the stable with a bridle tucked under his arm.
“Boker tov.” His voice rose as if he greeted guests at a party. “You are awake early.” He strode toward her, arms extended. W
as he going to lift her down to the ground?
She jumped off the last rung before his hands could engulf her waist. “Are you going somewhere?” Better to change the subject and send him back into the stable to finish readying the mule than to have him greet her wholeheartedly.
“We,” he began, intimating their collaboration with the rotation of his hand, “are going into the mountains to hunt for livestock. There are more mouths to feed, and we’ve had to travel far of late to find animals that survived the slaughter. I do not have jewels from my wife to sell.”
Was he insulting her lack of wealth? Recalling the theft of Cuzbi’s rings awakened hostility inside her soul. Her friend was too easily swayed in thinking Benjamites were more than thieves and scoundrels. She arched her shoulders and put her hands on her hips. “Would you sell them if you did?”
“I have been able to provide for my family without a woman’s trinkets.” Eliab looped the reins around his arm. “And today we’ll have an extra scout.”
Good. A chaperone. “Surely separate mounts will make your work easier.” Riding in his lap all day might cause him to lust for the night.
He stifled a grin. “Of course. How can I rope and harness with a barrier in front of me?”
Barrier? She wasn’t an ox. “If you insist.” As she turned away, her belly rumbled. Long and loud. She clutched her robe and tried to quiet the gurgle.
“You will find oil and flour by the fire pit. Hurry and prepare us something to eat so we may be on our way.” He backed toward the stable. “Your body sounds like it needs some roasted lamb.”
Thoughts of meat on a spit caused her mouth to water and her stomach to churn all the more. She added to the fire in the courtyard, inhaling the familiar scent of ash and charred wood.
When she was almost done cooking the dough on a heated stone, Jael planted herself at Naomi’s side. Isa hurried to join Eliab. The boy’s hair snaked in every direction as if he had been caught in a windstorm. His wrap barely contained the mass of curls. Jael rubbed a braided leather band that secured her indigo head covering.
“Isa wove this band for me.” Jael’s broad smile was too bright for the early hour of the morning.
Naomi stroked the weave. “He will have to show me how he tightened the hide without it twisting.” She lifted the last piece of manna from the stone and glanced at her friend. “Were you safe last night?” She sucked in a breath and held it, waiting for Jael’s answer.
“No drunkards came in the night to pester me. Isa has a small home, but I did not have to knot the ties of my tent as in Shiloh.” Jael broke the bread into wafers. “And you fared well?” Jael bit into a burnt corner. Her cheeks reddened as if embarrassed by her boldness.
Naomi tightened the belt around Jael’s waist. Should she mention her arrangement with Eliab? Could Jael keep her secret? The girl seemed to be growing fond of Isa. What if Jael blurted the truth? She needed to protect herself and Jael.
“I still owe you a garment, and I would have had plenty of time to set a loom last night as Eliab snored till dawn.”
“Will we find thread here?” Jael rocked forward and threw a branch on the graying embers.
“I doubt any survived the fires. Perhaps I will come across a village on the trails today.”
“You are accompanying the men?” Jael’s eyes widened.
“At Eliab’s request.” She grabbed hold of Jael’s arms and felt a tremor. “You will be safe. Eliab’s father and brother are elders. They must protect a daughter of Israel.” She doubted Isa had recounted the abuse of the Levite’s wife to Jael. Naomi shuddered at the memory. “A long trip into the hills may take all day. Do not worry.” She fingered Jael’s band. “With a gift like this, Isa cares for your well-being.” And with Isa along, there was a better chance of her own well-being.
Eliab and Isa joined them in the courtyard and consumed Naomi’s bread as if she had offered them raisin cakes and honey. Isa stationed himself beside Jael and left a hand upon her back while Eliab stocked provisions on their mules.
Jael accepted Isa’s caress without a flinch. Was Jael growing fond of her captor in the same way as Cuzbi? Am I alone in my disdain?
Naomi wrapped the remaining bread in linen and hurried toward her mule. Oh, to be on the trail, alone on her mount. A thought sprang to her lips. “Shall we pray for a blessing before our journey?”
“I’m not singing this time.” Isa brushed off his tunic and knelt to the north, toward Bethel, where the Lord had revealed Himself to their ancestor Jacob.
“A blessing would be nice instead of a curse.” Eliab bowed low. He cleared his throat. “Hear, O Israel. The Lord our God, the Lord is one. May we find favor in Your eyes today, O God.” He cocked his head and looked her direction.
Their eyes met. Had she been staring at him through prayer? She shut her eyes and spoke the petition anew, willing her cheeks not to flame scarlet.
“Selah.” Eliab spoke the benediction above her crouched body.
She remained tucked in a bow, taking a few moments to revel in the firmness of the soil beneath her forehead and the warmth of the ground beneath her palms. Just her. In solitude. She needed strength to last another day.
“It is time to leave.” Eliab drew her to her feet.
They approached the mules. Hers did not have a waterskin. Did Eliab expect her to flee? Did their vow not give him a sense of peace?
Hours later, the sun showed little mercy as they labored up paths no wider than the mules’ shoulders. Even when Naomi squinted, the terrain remained whitewashed. Shadows evaporated underneath the day’s harsh glare. The top of her head warmed hotter than a silversmith’s fire.
How did Eliab find his way? A sea of rocks, large, small, jagged, worn, walled her in a desolate mirage. She clung to her mule, every muscle taut. The animal navigated narrow ridges without a glance toward the deep drops. Her eyes shut the moment pebbles cascaded off the side of the path.
“This is treacherous.” Voicing the danger knotted her stomach.
Eliab twisted and caught her attention. “So is not eating. Fear not—the mule is sure-footed.”
Isa tossed a grape in the air and caught it with his mouth. “Eliab,” he called, throwing a grape at their leader. Eliab caught it faster than a snapping turtle.
“Naomi.”
Before she knew what was happening, an object pelted her in the nose and fell to the ground. Of all the childish games! Staying balanced on the uneven trail was task enough, let alone leaning off the side of a mule. “’Tis a waste,” she scolded.
“Not if you catch it.” Isa chomped on another grape. His cheeks puffed as if he had stuffed an entire cluster in his mouth. “Did we not meet these girls in a vineyard?”
Meet? Did he jest?
Eliab stifled a laugh. “Give her a warning. They may not be as quick in Shiloh.”
Another grape tapped her cheek and plunged to the dirt.
She envisioned flinging something harder than a grape at their cackling faces. She sat straighter. “You did not call my name.”
“Naomi,” Eliab blurted out.
Humiliation would come swiftly if she missed the next grape. Opening her mouth, she thrust herself forward and bit down. Sweet, watery syrup soothed her tongue. A victory.
Isa clapped.
She wiped her mouth. “Ephraim is not without honor.”
Eliab shushed their banter. “Listen.”
“For what?” Isa slumped. “We have scouted this ravine before and not found a stray.”
Holding up one hand, Eliab motioned with his other.
Naomi heard a faint bleating. Was she imagining the muffled protest?
Isa shot up, his back straight as an axle. “I hear it too. What are you waiting for? Someone to steal our sheep?”
Eliab kicked his mule and crested the hill.
She and Isa gave chase.
Naomi gasped. A herd of ewes, a ram, and a kid huddled in the basin of a wadi as if waiting to be sheared.
; Eliab splayed his arms wide. “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob heard our prayers. Look what He has provided.”
“These have to be from someone’s herd. A caravan’s.” Isa surveyed the hills for a shepherd.
“They’re ours. Look.” Eliab indicated a barricade of jumbled rock. “A landslide has trapped our blessing. God is smiling on Benjamin.” Eliab dismounted, passed by Isa, and whisked Naomi off her mule. “Sometimes we searched for days and only found a small coney.”
Her stomach swirled as Eliab lifted her high into the air. She hovered for a moment, gazing into his jubilant face. Suddenly, he lowered her and plunged into a mouth-crushing kiss. Her bones became like dust in his embrace. How long did a kiss last? Her pent-up breath ached to be released. She jabbed his chest.
He drew back.
As their lips parted, her mouth hung open. The tingle from his kiss dropped an anchor to her toes. She wrapped her arms around her waist to stop the sensation sprouting behind her navel. “You promised you would wait.” Her face flushed, for the press of his body still lingered on her chest.
“It was a celebratory kiss. Certainly you’ve had one before?” He watched her like a spy, noting her reaction. He knew. He had to know. His kiss was not unpleasant.
“I have had no such celebrations.” Her reply did not hold the harsh rebuke she intended.
“You trust me in the dark, yet not in the daylight?” A slaked-thirst grin eclipsed his face while he stroked her cheek. “We do have company.” He motioned toward Isa, whose elation focused on their bounty.
“Perhaps you should see to the animals.” Her cadence rose and fell as she struggled for composure.
Eliab strolled toward Isa, but before he joined his partner, he glanced back and gave her a look her father would have forbidden.
Her insides twisted, but not in an unpleasant fashion, more as if someone tickled her gut with a strip of cloth. She fisted her hand and pressed it harder and harder against her belly until the sensation ceased.
Her plan to keep Eliab at a distance had failed. Tonight she would give every reason not to share his bed. She believed him trustworthy and did not question his word, nor did she question his honor, but he was an unwed man in haste for a child. And at this moment, she questioned her traitorous body more than she questioned him.
Building Benjamin Page 6