“Um… because you have no choice?”
I poked his belly. “Fine, just keep your hands from wandering.”
He spurred his horse to a trot. I couldn’t help but notice his short kilt and how much skin he exposed. I clamped my hands firmly under my elbows and fretted at his proximity, wiggling to relieve the tension.
He gripped me tighter. “Don’t move, or you’ll fall.”
“Then I shouldn’t be riding sideways.”
“Then hike up your skirts and straddle.” Ittai wiggled his brazen eyebrows. I glared at him until he looked away, chuckling under his breath. “Relax, and I’ll tell you what David says about you.”
“What does he say?” I sounded like a flustered ninny.
“He said there’s not a woman in the world like you. You’re brave, courageous, and you love so hot. He misses you all the time. There’s not a night that goes by when he doesn’t look at the moon and the stars and think about you. He wants you so badly he’d go to the ends of the earth to find you. He delights in your smile, revels in your laughter. You thrill him so much.”
I peeked at him. His eyes were closed, and a dreamy smile caressed his face. I nudged him with my elbow. “This doesn’t sound like David.”
His large eyes blinked markedly. “What? You mean you don’t believe me?”
“I know him better than you. He’d never tell another man how he feels. He doesn’t even tell me.”
“Everything I said is true. You are brave, courageous, and thrilling.”
“And you’re a silver-tongued flatterer.” I laughed.
“See, it is true, your smile delights, your laughter thrills.” His gaze rested on me, and he flicked his tongue over his lips before swallowing, his neck rippling noticeably.
“I’m not sure David would be pleased with you flirting with his wife.”
“Ah, but I’d rather please his wife.” He crooned in my ear.
“And I’d rather flirt with my husband.” I crooned right back.
He averted his gaze and settled for whistling a tune that made me want to crack the gleaming white teeth out of his jaw, one by one.
I stared at the surrounding countryside as we meandered out of the forest, past fields and meadows dotted with tiny villages, to the flat plain. The Philistines held well-watered land, rich and abundant with crops and game, quite unlike the rocky, hard-scrabble terrain of my homeland.
Around midday, we stopped at a small village. Ittai rummaged in his bags and pulled out a veil. “Sorry, Princess, you’re going to have to put this on.”
I yanked it from him. “Maybe you should have given it to me before you kissed me so impudently.”
“Keep your voice down. There are bad men here.”
“And how do I know you’re not a bad man?” I adjusted the veil over my face.
“You have to trust me.” He dismounted and led the horse to a well. “Now, you’re my bride. Do not speak to anyone. Stay with the horse while I get something for us to eat.”
I nodded sullenly, not daring to glance about. Philistine warriors, with their brass helmets decorated with red feathered plumes, hovered around the marketplace. Their stony eyes shifted and scanned over me. I lowered my head and ran my hands over the horse’s mane as they approached me.
“Hebrew woman,” the lead man said in the trade language.
I stared at the bronze plates on his chest. Cold sweat ringed my scalp.
“Eh, are you mute?” The man waved a hand in front of my face.
I pulled my veil tighter and pointed to my mouth while shaking my head, wondering where my dark-haired savior had gone.
“She’s not from these parts.” Ittai’s voice rang behind them.
“Prince Ittai.” The men scooted back in deference. “Your father sent us to bring his treaty bride. Might this be King Saul’s daughter?”
Ittai threw his head back and roared in laughter. “Her? Does she look like a princess to you? She can’t even speak, mute and deaf. Well, maybe not quite deaf, she reads lips. But only my lips. And she’s mine.”
An elderly gentleman hobbled over from the side of the well. “Do you always dress your women like Hebrews?” He chuckled, his jowls jiggling. “I’ve watched you two. She seems a little too feisty to be a maid.” He rubbed his hands as if palming coins.
“Hebrew clothing keeps leering eyes off my property, especially useful for transporting my bride.” Ittai slapped the side of his saddlebag.
“Ah, ’tis a bride you have?” the old man said. “Taking after your father already, aren’t you? How many brides do you have, eh?”
Ittai grinned broadly, pulled his shoulders back and trained his gaze over the soldiers. “Being prince has benefits. Now be gone and make haste to find that missing princess. You know my father’s temper.”
As soon as the soldiers tramped into the woods, Ittai pulled a coin out of his pocket and palmed the old man’s hand. “You keep dreaming. She’s a feisty wildcat, that one.” He pushed the old man toward the poppy vendor.
How dare he claim me as his? This Philistine had no manners, no finesse, no… He licked a smooth tongue over his lips, plopped me on his horse and the basket of food on my lap. Without acknowledging me, he led us off the trail to a riverbed in the scrubland. He hitched the horse to a tree behind a thicket of bushes and reached to help me.
I slid from the horse, tore off my veil, and punched him. “Mute? Deaf? Reads your lips only? You despicable boy.”
He mouthed ‘wildcat’ and wrestled me to the ground. Gripping both my wrists over my head, he grinned. “What are you going to do now?”
I struggled under his weight. “You better let me go. What were those men talking about?”
“Nothing you should worry about.”
“I happen to understand your language,” I said. “Mute, deaf, my sandals!”
“Oh, Princess, you are definitely… not mute.” He muttered a few choice phrases under his breath and smacked his lips a mere inch from mine.
“You are a bad man. You’ve humiliated me, satisfied?” I choked back tears, not wishing to give him anything to gloat over.
His face hardened. “Apologize for your nasty temper. Go ahead.”
“I don’t apologize, especially to the likes of you. You insulted me. I’m not your property, and I’m definitely not your bride.”
His eyes softened, and for a moment, I thought he would kiss me again.
“That’s a pity,” he said and helped me up. “Here, have something to eat.”
He handed me meat, olives, and bread and sat on a log next to me.
I nudged him. “Sorry. And thanks.”
He grunted and spit out an olive pit, his shoulders slumped over his knees. We sat side-by-side in silence and finished our meal.
He took his horse to the river, and I followed to wash my hands and face. The horse snorted and stomped his hooves. Ittai waved me to his side.
“We should be going,” His eyebrows darkened over his high-bridged nose. “A few soldiers have backtracked. Hurry.”
He helped me mount, and I glanced back at him. “And what’s this about me being a treaty bride for your father?”
“My father will marry you in exchange for a deal with your father,” he said.
“Deal? What kind of deal?”
“They didn’t tell me. But it must be important because you have a huge price on your head.”
Alarmed, I shook his arm. “Is that the reward you’re claiming?”
He looked at me for a long moment. A stream of emotions played over his face: pride, fear, anger, and sadness, and then finally, nothing.
“My reward will be altogether different,” he said.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” I said. “What exactly are you going to do with me?”
He avoided my gaze and sucked in his cheeks.
I prodded him. “What aren’t you telling me? Are you trying to irritate me?”
“I’ve told you too much already.” His mood dar
kened, completely opposite to his playful behavior earlier.
A chill traveled down my back. “Ittai, you’re not turning me over to your father, are you?”
“Trust me,” he said.
“How can I? I don’t even know you.”
He hastened his horse into a gallop. “There’s not much you can do about it now.”
I gripped the horse’s mane and wished I didn’t need to lean on him while I fought the nausea in my stomach.
We wound our way down the valley and met a contingent of warriors.
“Ho, Prince Ittai.” The lead man pulled his horse. “Did you find her? The Hebrew princess?”
Ittai kept his horse moving. I hid my face in the crook of his neck.
The other man said, “Who’s the girl?”
“Mine,” Ittai said. “You want the princess, you better move to the east. Rumor has it she’s crossed the border back to Israel already.”
“Oh, I see.” The man broke away from us.
I closed my eyes and clung to his warmth. Would he really take me to David, or did he want me for himself? What if Jada had set me up? Oh, God. What have I gotten myself into?
Chapter 12
Isaiah 1:8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
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The city of Gath stood starkly on a lofty cliff, approachable only from the north. Massive walls encircled it with no spaces or gaps. Everything about the city appeared rock hard, a military fortress. As we drew near the gate, Ittai asked me to close my eyes.
“Why?” I strained my neck. Gruesome figures were impaled on poles driven into the ground. My stomach lurched, and I pressed my face to his chest.
He cradled my head and whispered, “I warned you.”
The guards hailed him at the gate. “Ho, Prince Ittai.”
“Peace,” Ittai said in a firm voice.
They bowed low. “The king will be pleased. Enter.”
As soon as we cleared the gate, I asked, “Are you taking me to David?”
“Not yet. We have to find you a place to hide. Tomorrow morning, I’ll take you, promise.” His demeanor changed, and he seemed to relax. He kissed my cheek. “I know what I’m doing. Don’t worry.”
Too tired to fret, I slumped against him. His warmth comforted me, even if it was temporary.
We arrived at a tiny stone house behind a walled courtyard. Ittai hitched his horse and helped me dismount.
“Ho, Auntie Kyra,” he said.
A middle-aged woman set her fan on the bench she was sitting on. “Another one of your lady friends?”
Ittai flushed. “She’ll need a room for the night and a bath.” He handed her a silver coin. “Promise me you won’t say anything about her.”
She cackled. “Seeing as you haven’t told me her name, no, I have nothing to say.”
She looked me over with a somewhat disapproving eye. “Come in, young one. When are you to be presented to the king?”
I halted at the threshold. “Wait, I need a word with Ittai.”
I grabbed his arm and hustled him around the corner of the house. “What are you doing?”
“Getting someone to clean you up. Would you like to meet David smelling like horse sweat and dust?” He bent over my neck and took a sniff before I palmed his face and gave it a firm shove.
“Who is she? Why did she ask if I were going to the king?”
“I’m not taking you to the king,” he said.
“How can I know that?”
“If I wanted to betray you, I would have marched you to the palace already and collected my reward.” He lifted one roguish eyebrow for emphasis. “You’re fortunate I found you, because I’m the only one in the entire world who’d take you where you want to go.”
“How can I believe you?”
“My reward is neither silver nor gold, but a hope and a song.”
“Stop talking in riddles and tell me.”
He didn’t reply. His eyes intently on me, he looped a strand of my hair around his finger. I stood paralyzed when his lips touched mine. Deceptively gentle, definitely not tentative, the kiss tasted like a challenge, a deliberate provocation. A pulse beat of affection swirled and tangled my breath with his tongue. Moments later, consciousness caught up, and I inhaled sharply. “I can’t.”
He rubbed my chin with his thumb and whispered, “Trust me,” before stepping out of the courtyard.
What had come over me? My face heated and a sigh escaped my lips before I took several deep breaths to compose myself. I walked to Kyra’s door.
“Young one, do you have a name?” she asked.
“For now, no.”
“I shall call you Princess, because Prince Ittai brought you.” She called for a maid to fetch water and led me to a room lit with oil lamps. It was small, but well-appointed: a mahogany chest, a leather couch, and an oak table. A platter of fruit and a bowl of water sat on top of the table. A bronze mirror lay on the chest, and the couch sported a woolen throw and several pillows.
The maids returned with hot water and filled the tub while Kyra peeled off my clothes. She palmed the emerald and hefted its weight. “This is an exquisite stone.”
“Yes, it is.” I kept my tone casual as prickles crawled down my spine.
She eyed me. “Where did Ittai find you?”
I sunk into the tub, keeping one hand over the emerald. “I wonder. Does Ittai have a lot of lady friends?”
She leaned over, and her big teeth gleamed. “Now, why would a waif like you be interested in a prince?”
I jerked my face away from her, grabbed a sponge, and scrubbed my arms.
She twirled her finger in the water. “You’re more high-minded than I thought. Very well, in case you’re interested, he’s not betrothed.”
“He’s the king’s son,” I said, wondering if he were the prince my father had wanted me to marry. “Wouldn’t his father plan a political marriage for him?”
“He’s headstrong, that one. He wants to choose his own bride. That’s why every princess ends up in his father’s harem. Besides, he doesn’t want someone to marry him because he’s the king’s son.”
“Oh, I understand—” I bit my tongue and splashed water on my hair. Would David have married me if I weren’t the king’s daughter?
While I toweled my hair, Kyra toyed with her bracelet and glanced at my pendant again. She handed me a robe. “Tora will bring your meal.”
After I dressed, a maid wrapped in a veiled shawl set a platter of food on the table.
“Shalom,” she said in Hebrew and headed quickly out the door. I stared after her. An Israelite, here?
* * *
I awoke sore and aching. The horseback ride had been uncomfortable, especially one with a half-naked man who threatened to kiss me at every turn. Sunlight streamed through a tiny window high above me. Within moments, Kyra peeked in and told me Ittai was waiting in the courtyard. I sorted through the garments in my bag. Sometimes when a woman could not pay for Jada’s reading, she slipped us an article of clothing.
I pulled on a plain dress and a Philistine skirt over my underclothes, and completed my outfit with a roughly spun cloak, tying everything together with a leather sash. It would be better to go through the city in disguise and not advertise my Hebrew origin. Donning my veil, I glanced at myself in the bronze mirror. Looking more like a vagabond than a princess, I looped my heavy bag over my shoulder and went out the door.
Ittai greeted me, his bronze skin in contrast with the crisp white linen stretched over his broad shoulders. His sparse kilt flapped, and I wondered whether he wore anything underneath. My gaze lingered a little too long on his sculpted thighs before traveling to his face.
White teeth gleamed from his wolfish smile, and I couldn’t help but return it. He took the bag from me and held out his arm. “Ready to meet your lord?”
With a leisurely swagger, Ittai guided me through the streets. Foreign sights and soun
ds surrounded me: a cacophony of sing-song voices, young women in tight, revealing clothes, street merchants hawking their wares, mothers walking their children, older men in long skirts discoursing loudly over drinks, and leather-kilted soldiers patrolling the streets.
He stopped near a fountain in the marketplace and took a sip of water. Several lanes converged there, and he turned and scanned as if trying to decide the direction to take.
“Do you know the way?” I asked.
His wide mouth stretched into a grin. “Offer me a reward.”
“Why should I?”
“I might conveniently get lost. Gath is a big city.” He bowed low. “I’m at your service.”
“Fine, what would you wish me to confer upon you, humble servant?”
“A kiss.”
“Despite what you seem to believe, I do not simply bestow kisses on every Ittai, Joash, or Kenan.”
He leaned closer to my veiled face and peeked in. “You liked it so much before.”
I snapped the veil tightly and huffed. “You impudent boy. You… you… forced…”
“I forced you? Does David know what a sharp tongue you have?”
I marched away from him, and he muttered, “Sharp and yummy.”
I shook my fist. “I heard that, you imp.”
“So long, Princess,” he yelled. “See you in Gaza. The beaches are nice this time of year.”
Several soldiers leered at me and stepped over to take a closer look.
“Having trouble with your bride?” one said to Ittai.
“Where did you get her? Does your father know?” said another.
The first soldier clapped Ittai’s back. “Cousin, I didn’t know you were betrothed. I thought you weren’t the marrying kind. That’s what you told the king last spring when he brought you the Princess Raya.”
“Ha, the old king ended up marrying her himself. So who’s your bride?” the second soldier said. “Or, is she your father’s treaty bride? She looks Hebrew.”
Ittai shook his head. “Does she look Hebrew to you? Too pretty and dainty to be Hebrew. Frankly, I don’t understand why Father would want the daughter of Saul. From what I heard, she’s a real bear. Hairy, too, with feet as big as Goliath’s.”
They guffawed and slapped their thighs.
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