by Wolf, Joan
“I see.” He opened his hands, then slowly closed them into fists again, the only sign he gave that he was not as composed as he appeared to be. “The Royal Messengers will leave Susa within the hour. I am sending two riders on each stage of every road so that if something should happen to one, the other will be able to continue on. There is no reason for them not to make their destinations in time to stop this massacre.”
“Thank you, my lord,” she whispered.
“I have ordered Mordecai’s release.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
“You look tired. I suggest you get some rest.” And without another word, he turned his back, walked to the door, pushed it open himself, and went out.
Esther stood staring after him, her eyes dry and burning. The grief she felt was too terrible to find a release in tears.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Early in the afternoon, Filius, the Deputy Treasurer whose recommendation to Hegai had allowed Esther to be presented as a candidate, received a summons to attend the king in his business room off the Court of the Royal Kin. When Filius presented himself, Ahasuerus was sitting behind his desk. The Deputy Treasurer had never been this close to the king and he found himself trembling with a mixture of nervousness and awe.
Ahasuerus was not a big man and he was dressed in the same simple white robes that many aristocratic Persian men wore. The only sign of his kingship was the thin, golden fillet on his head. Even his hands were bare of rings. But Filius had felt his power the moment he walked into the room. There was something about him . . .
The king regarded his Deputy Treasurer. “Was Haman planning to call you as a witness at this trial for Mordecai?”
Filius couldn’t get his answer out fast enough. “No, my lord! He has never once spoken to me about the charges against Mordecai.”
“Do you think the charges are valid?” was the next question.
Filius had come determined to tell the truth, no matter the cost. He summoned his courage and replied, “I have worked with Mordecai for over ten years, my lord, and I would stake my life upon his integrity. I do not believe that these charges can be valid.”
A small silence fell as the king’s light eyes studied Filius’ face. Then Ahasuerus said, “The lord Haman tells me he has evidence that Mordecai was stealing from the Treasury.”
Filius started to clasp his hands behind his back, then quickly changed his mind. One did not hide one’s hands before the Great King. “As I have not been allowed to see this evidence, my lord, I cannot say how it came into being. Perhaps the lord Haman is mistaken; perhaps he has misread some of the accounting. I can only repeat that I would stake my life on Mordecai’s honesty.”
The king’s face was unreadable. “Did you request to see the evidence?”
“Yes, my lord, I did.”
“And the lord Haman refused to show it to you?”
“Yes, my lord.”
The king looked down at his hands, which were clasped together on the top of his desk. He said, without looking up, “The lord Haman produced evidence against the last Head Treasurer as well. Did you think that evidence was in error also?”
“No, my lord.” Filius had not expected this line of questioning and once more he had to restrain himself from putting his hands behind his back, a position he had always found comforting.
The king’s quiet inquisition continued: “Had you suspected that Otanes was stealing from the Treasury?”
Filius was in despair. There was no right way to answer this question. “I . . . I might have had some suspicions, my lord.”
“Yet you did not think this information would be of interest to me?”
Filius was caught and he knew it. He fell back on the truth as his only possible answer. “My lord, I am but a Dadian and a clerk. It was not for me to accuse an Achaemenid noble.”
Ahasuerus raised his eyes once more to Filius. “Do you know of any reason why the lord Haman would wish to harm Mordecai?”
Filius was silent.
“Answer me.” Ahasuerus’ even voice was infinitely more terrifying than shouting would have been.
Filius blurted, “I know that Mordecai would not bow before the Grand Vizier, and this lack of respect enraged Haman.”
Ahasuerus lifted his brows. “Why wouldn’t Mordecai bow?”
“Because Haman was an Edomite, my lord. Apparently there is longstanding enmity between the Jews and the Edomites.” Filius shivered. “Indeed, my lord, the air fairly crackled with hatred every time the two of them met.”
“I did not know that.” Ahasuerus sat for a moment in silence, his eyes once again on his hands. Filius waited anxiously for the next question. Then, without looking up, the king said, “That is all, Filius. You may go.”
“Thank you, my lord.” The Deputy Treasurer prostrated himself and backed out of the room, desperately hoping that he had not just lost his job.
The next person the king asked to see in his office was Coes, whom Ahasuerus had sent to Haman’s house to order the release of Mordecai.
“He is safe, my lord,” Coes reported with satisfaction. “Haman’s servants were guarding him and they were more than willing to let him go upon my command.” Coes started to add something about Haman, then decided it was unnecessary. The circumstances could not have made it clearer to Ahasuerus what a snake Haman was.
“Mordecai was not hurt?” Ahasuerus asked.
“He looked somewhat haggard, my lord, but he said that was because he would not eat Haman’s food.”
The king nodded. His face looked still, but the skin across his cheekbones was taut and the look in his eyes would freeze the rivers. Coes, who knew him well, could see that Ahasuerus was enraged.
Coes said, “I learned a few things from the guards who remained in the city, my lord, that explain why the queen felt it necessary to intrude upon the banquet. Had you waited even until tomorrow to return to Susa, you might have been too late. Haman had the Jew’s trial and execution arranged for this morning. The queen rightly thought that Mordecai was in imminent danger of death. Fortunately, Sisames refused to proceed unless he heard from you directly.”
Ahasuerus said, “I see.”
Coes took a step closer to the desk. “And there is one more thing, my lord. Haman had a scaffold built just outside the city walls. I spoke to some of the workmen who were still there, and they told me it was for the Jew who had embezzled money from the king.”
“A scaffold? He was going to hang my Head Treasurer?”
“Yes, my lord. And the scaffold is at least twice as high as those we use to execute common criminals.”
“His audacity surpasses all belief,” the king said, his soft voice sounding eerily dangerous.
“Yes, my lord.” Coes waited for his orders.
Ahasuerus said, “Coes, you will take this ungrateful Palestinian and hang him upon the very scaffold he built for an innocent man.”
Coes repressed a smile. “I will be happy to do so, my lord. When do you wish it done?”
For the first time there was the flicker of emotion in the king’s cold eyes. “Today,” he said.
“The city is still celebrating the festival, my lord. Are you certain you don’t want to wait until tomorrow?”
“Haman’s very existence is an insult to the Truth. To destroy him is to destroy the Lie. What could be a more fitting tribute to Ahuramazda?”
“Very true, my lord,” Coes said heartily. “All who love the Truth will rejoice at the destruction of such a traitor.”
There came a tap at the door and a page came in. “My lord, the decrees are ready for you to affix your seal.”
“Bring them here,” Ahasuerus said.
Coes left and the scribes came in with the king’s new decree.
The interminable day passed and Esther waited, but Ahasuerus did not come to see her. She sent Hathach to tell Coes that someone had better go after Arses, who still might not realize that the king had returned to Susa. Hathach reported back to
Esther that Coes would take care of it.
It was late in the afternoon when Hathach told Esther that her uncle wished to see her. She and Luara were in the queen’s reception room, looking over a marriage offer for one of the harem girls. Esther told Hathach to bring her uncle to her.
Mordecai had bathed and eaten before coming to the palace, but even so Esther was appalled by his haggard looks. She took two steps toward him and cried in distress, “Uncle Mordecai! You look terrible! Are you certain you are all right?”
“Yes, Esther.” His face was grave. “Thanks to you, I am all right.”
Her lip quivered and tears filled her eyes. “I am so glad to see you! I was afraid that monstrous man would kill you before I could speak to the king.”
“My brave girl,” he said tenderly and held out his arms.
He had sheltered her for almost all of her childhood. For years, his arms had been her safety and her refuge, but even as she huddled against him, she knew that he could not help her now. It was not her uncle’s arms she longed for.
She said into his shoulder, “Ahasuerus has promised me that there is nothing to fear. He has sent two messengers on every stage of the road and there is still time for them to reach their destinations. None of our people will be hurt.”
Mordecai patted her back. “This is all because of you, Esther. You have saved your people—Israel.”
She pressed her forehead deeper into his shoulder. “What is happening to Haman?”
“The king has ordered him to be hung from the very scaffold he erected for me.” Mordecai sounded pleased.
Esther stiffened and backed away from her uncle’s embrace. “How awful all this is for Ahasuerus,” she whispered.
“Yes. He trusted that Edomite snake. This must have come as quite a shock.”
Esther nodded mutely.
Mordecai scanned her face. “You look distressed, Esther. Why? What is there to worry about now?”
She tried to explain. “Ahasuerus is . . . upset . . . with me. He trusted me like he trusted Haman, and I, too, have deceived him. I let him believe a lie about me; I never told him I was a Jew.”
Mordecai gestured dismissively. “Surely that cannot matter now? He should be grateful to you, Esther! You saved his name from infamy.”
“I don’t think he is feeling grateful right now, Uncle Mordecai,” Esther said shortly. “I think he is feeling betrayed.”
“Not by you, surely!”
“By me, because I lied to him. By you, because you lied to him. By Haman, of course. By Haman most of all.”
Mordecai was full of confidence. “He will get over it, chicken. I can understand that right now he may be feeling a little annoyed, but once he has a chance to assess the situation, he will be grateful to you. There is no need for you to worry.”
Esther stared at her beloved uncle.
How insensitive he is, she thought. He would die for her, of that she had no doubt. But he would never understand her feelings. Once she had thought that all men were like that. Now she knew differently.
She didn’t bother to attempt an explanation; she merely said, “I hope you are right, Uncle Mordecai.”
A smile lit up his thin, drawn face. “Think about it and you will see that all has turned out for the best. I know that you are fond of Ahasuerus, and now that he finally knows you are a Jew, you will be able to follow your religion and remain married to him as well.”
There was nothing she could find to say in the face of &7 such blind optimism.
Mordecai squeezed her hand. “Ahasuerus will not stand in the way of your religious practices, Esther. I’m sure of it. He may not be a Jew, but he is a good man. He has impressed me.”
Esther regarded her uncle’s face and a flicker of humor curled her lips at his unconscious arrogance. She thought of how Ahasuerus would look if she told him that he, the Great King of Persia, should feel deeply honored that he had made a good impression on his Jewish underling. She said, “Thank you, Uncle Mordecai.”
“He is a good king.” Mordecai added an additional approbation.
“I think so too,” Esther said.
“So, then. You will be restored to your proper identity, and we will have gotten rid of Haman, who would always have been a threat to Jewish interests. Things could not have worked out better.” Mordecai beamed at her. “You have been the means by which the Lord worked His will, Esther. I am so proud of you.”
She said, “Uncle Mordecai, has it ever occurred to you that if you had not provoked Haman by refusing to bow to him, he would never have done this terrible thing?”
The smile left Mordecai’s face, leaving it grave. “Esther, it is just not in me to bow to an Edomite.”
She shook her head at the hopelessness of men. “And of course it was not in Haman to ignore your taunt.”
“They want a seaport, Esther, and they will not be content until they have pushed us out of the way to get one. If we regard them as anything less than enemies, we will be making a grave mistake.”
Esther sighed. “It seems to me such a pity that we cannot all live together in peace.” She looked at her uncle’s hawk-like face. “But I suppose that is a woman’s dream.”
His expression softened. “It is a splendid dream, chicken. Keep it always in your heart.”
Unfortunately, that is where it will stay, she thought sadly.
“Don’t look so downcast! Smile and be glad! You are a heroine, Esther.” Mordecai grinned at her, a light-hearted, youthful grin, and she found herself smiling back. She was happy that her uncle was safe.
“Have you heard that Grandfather was ready to come to your rescue?” she asked.
“No. What do you mean?”
Esther told him what Arses had done.
Mordecai looked a little chagrined. “I have never liked Arses, but I always thought him an honorable man.”
“He said much the same about you,” Esther returned with amusement.
“Hmm.” Mordecai ran his finger up and down his nose.
“Grandfather probably still does not realize that he missed Ahasuerus. We have sent messengers to bring him back. When he does return to Susa, Uncle Mordecai, I think you must go to thank him.”
Mordecai looked gloomy. “I suppose I must.”
“He was outraged at the proclamation. He said it would be a blot forever on the name of Persia if such a massacre were allowed to occur.”
“Any honorable man would feel thus,” Mordecai said, but he looked more cheerful. “Certainly I will go to see him, chicken. Now that your whole heritage is known, it would be foolish of us to continue to be at odds with each other.”
Esther smiled. “It would make me happy if you and Grandfather could become friends.”
“Friends might be a little too much to ask, Esther,” Mordecai replied cautiously.
“Not even to please your heroine?”
He laughed and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. “To please my heroine, I will even try to become friends with Arses.”
She reached out and gave him a brief, fierce hug. “I am so glad to see you, Uncle Mordecai!”
He looked down at her, his expression suddenly concerned. “You look exhausted, Esther. I want you to get some rest.”
“I will try,” she said.
“Don’t worry about Ahasuerus. Blame everything on me. It doesn’t matter if I lose my position as Head Treasurer. You are the one who is important now.”
She smiled mistily. “Thank you, Uncle Mordecai.”
He nodded, kissed her again on the forehead, and left the room.
They had offered to allow Haman to see his wife and children, and he had refused. He knew they would be all right. Ahasuerus was not one to seek revenge upon the innocent. And there was nothing he wished to say to them.
He was already dead. His life had ended in the queen’s room some five hours earlier. Deprived of the light of Ahasuerus’ regard, he was destroyed as surely as a plant would be destroyed without the life-giving w
armth of the sun. Not even the sight of the enormous scaffold caused his heart to hurry its heavy rhythm. It plodded dutifully onward—thump, thump, thump—not realizing yet that the organism it sought to sustain was already dead.
There was a crowd gathered around the scaffold and it fell oddly silent as the execution procession approached from the palace. Haman walked in the midst of his guards as if he saw and heard nothing.
Coes himself had taken charge of this duty, and he signaled now that the prisoner should be brought ahead. Haman scarcely felt the guards’ hands upon his shoulders as he walked forward steadily and climbed the high ladder to the top of the scaffold.
When they put the rope about his neck, he did not close his eyes, but stared unblinkingly toward the Eastern Gate of the palace, clearly visible to him from his high perch. Then the trap door beneath him gave way, and he fell to his death.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
That night Esther lay alone in bed, her hands folded over her rounded stomach. She was exhausted, but she could not sleep. She had been waiting for hours, but still he had not come.
The easy tears filled her eyes. What was going to happen to them? Ahasuerus might put her away, as he had Vashti. He could also let her stay but erect a barrier between them, the same protective barrier that kept him safely separated from everyone else. And that she could not bear. The loneliness of living with him and being shut out from him would be almost as terrible as not seeing him at all.
She had heard the courtiers who undressed the king leave long ago and so she knew he was there in his bedroom. Her heart had been bleeding for him ever since Mordecai had told her of Haman’s execution.
Father in Heaven, she prayed. He has just executed his closest friend. I do not want him to bear this alone. Please. He cannot be left to bear this alone. Send him to me. I beg You, send him to me.
With every particle of her being, she longed to cross that hallway and go to him, but she knew that she could not. Because of her deception, she could not be the one to go to him. It was he who must come to her, and he had not done so.