by Bodie Thoene
I suddenly understood. I had pledged the hand of Adrianna to Patrick without knowing all that was in Patrick’s mind. It had not occurred to me that I might lose my barrelmaker and, much worse, they might lose their daughter. “Has Patrick said he wished to return to his own country?”
“Not in so many words, sir. I was supportive of the match, but now I’m frightened. He speaks of his family in the great city of Verulamium where Isis is worshiped. Britannia is a godless place, sir, if you don’t mind my saying so. The Romans enforce their own ways upon the people. And if Patrick takes Adrianna away, we will see her no more.”
“Grandchildren,” Delilah whispered. “All I ever prayed for.”
“I gave the lad my word.” I stared at the seal upon my signet ring. “Patrick is a free man. And I have prepared the document to free your daughter.” Opening a leather folder, I displayed two documents. The first declared Adriana’s freedom. The second was the contract of marriage pledging Adrianna to Patrick. “Here. A ketubah.”
Delilah started to weep softly. “Oh, my baby girl. In a land of human sacrifice and demon practices!”
Samson patted her gently. “There, there, my dove. My angel. The Lord must surely go with her. Surely there are Jews in Britannia! Surely a synagogue among the pagan temples.”
The woman wept, drawing Martha to the door to gaze at our little gathering in sorrow.
Delilah cried, “But, sir, what shall I do? Oh, what shall I do without my baby girl near me?”
I could say no more. I had given my vow to Patrick in exchange for his efforts to save Faithful Vineyard. “I am at a loss how I can help. I gave my promise. If Patrick wishes to return to the far north … he will do what he will do. And there is nothing I can do to change what is.”
From the shadows, Martha cleared her throat. “Brother!” she declared. “There must be a way.” She stepped into the pool of light and set her hands on her broad hips in her determined way.
Delilah’s eyes shone with tears. Samson stared at her in surprise.
“Martha,” I greeted her.
She motioned for Samson and Delilah to leave us. “Shalom. There is work to do, Delilah. Supper to cook. Company coming. I will speak with my brother.”
The couple shuffled out of my chamber. Martha closed the door and whirled to face me. “Brother! What have you done?” I defended, “He asked me, and I—”
“He asked you!”
“To save the vines.”
“To save the vines, you sacrifice the wine? You are purest fool. Oh, you heartless creature! What have you done to sweet Delilah? And have you asked Adrianna if she wishes to be the wife of a pagan, one-legged barrelmaker from Britannia?”
She had me there. I had not thought to ask anyone. The girl was property, and I had the right to do as I wished. Freedom seemed a great gift. “My intentions were good. For the best, sister.”
“Ha!” She snorted, pivoted on her heel, and made for the door. “Come up with something fast, or you’ll have mutiny in the ranks.”
I had celebrated the end of a plague of locusts, yet now my house was a house of mourning.
At supper that night, Joseph of Arimathea the elder and Gamaliel, a great Torah scholar descended from a family of honorable Levites, sat at my table and feasted on lamb with mushrooms and wine sauce as we sipped the finest vintage yet created on my estate. Lamb, courtesy of Delilah and Adrianna. Wine, created by Samson, cured in barrels made by Patrick.
We had saved the vines, but now everything good and familiar seemed about to dissolve around me. I sucked the wine sauce from my lamb chop with a heavy heart.
Gamaliel commented, “Herod Antipas believes that Jesus of Nazareth is John the Baptizer raised from the dead.”
Joseph concurred. “The locusts fully destroyed the tet-rarch’s vines. He is casting around for who he can blame. Jesus is a sorcerer, some say. Did he cast a spell on the vines? Antipas, like his father, is driven by fear: fear of his Roman masters, of Pilate, of Caesar. Fear of what the people will do. Rebellion? Fear of his wife, Herodias. And now, after severing the head of a prophet at the demand of this woman, he fears that John the Baptizer is again alive and may do to him what Antipas himself has done to others.”
Delilah, eyes red with weeping, entered and cleaned away the main course. My guests pretended they did not notice her. As was proper, they complimented her as if she were not in the room. I tried very hard not to glance at her.
“Most excellent meal,” Gamaliel said to me. “I heard the Roman tribune mention the quality of your wines and the reputation of your cooks. A mother and daughter, is it?”
Delilah sniffed and wiped a tear with the back of her hand.
Joseph agreed within Delilah’s hearing. “Any household in all the empire would envy such a cook as this. You must never let the Gentiles suspect the skill of such a cook. They will steal her away to some far corner of the world.”
I replied. “Yes. A gift from God, she is. She has always been with our family.”
I heard a choked sob as Delilah padded quickly down the hallway.
Joseph leaned in. “Is she all right?”
I tasted the sweet honeyed pastry of our dessert. “Her daughter will be wed soon.”
Gamaliel licked his fingers. “Emotions of mothers run high in such times.”
Joseph returned to the subject. “This Jesus is truly a wonderworker. My son is fascinated by him.”
Gamaliel nodded. “The vineyards and orchards of Antipas. Stripped. I do not believe Jesus called down this plague upon him, but he will certainly be blamed for every calamity from now on. Good men are always suspected by evil men.”
“I myself saw Jesus perform several miracles.” I sipped my wine. “Here’s one you’ll appreciate. It seemed unmistakable. At a wedding, it was. He turned water into wine.”
Gamaliel laughed. “A trick. And if not a trick, then sorcery.”
I studied the deep red contents of my cup. “But no. I tasted it. Unlike any wine ever made. More delicious than—”
Gamaliel laughed again. “So Jesus is your competition, eh?”
“Jesus,” Joseph mused aloud. “A cousin of John the Baptizer. I wonder if he’ll raise up a rebellion to avenge the death of such a righteous man.”
Gamaliel nodded. “Caiaphas has put forth to the council that Jesus’ works will lead to the deaths of many. That is, if there is another rebellion. Another preacher claiming to be the Messiah! I cannot think of a worse time than now for this Jesus to be preaching the coming of Messiah to redeem the people.”
Joseph raised his cup. “There will never be wine as good as yours, even if the Kingdom of God comes to earth.”
My guests spoke long into the night about the events unfolding in Galilee with the followers of Jesus. They recounted the rumors of miracles that daily streamed in to the priests and Temple authorities. It was indeed a dangerous time for Jesus.
I was relieved when the evening came to an end, and Gamaliel and Joseph retired to their bedchambers.
Weary, I made my way toward my study. The certificate of Adrianna’s freedom and the marriage contract were on my writing table. I sat down and studied them with regret. Surely my cook and my winemaker would never smile again. I resolved that in the morning I would talk with Adrianna to hear her thoughts on the matter.
Chapter 20
I did not feel it was my place to speak alone with the daughter of Delilah and Samson. Nor did I feel the girl’s parents should be present to influence her. I had hardly ever noticed the presence of Adrianna. She was a plain little girl when we brought her home from the slave auction. Plump, with brown hair and wide-set brown eyes, she rarely uttered a sound in my presence. Now, at age sixteen, she had become the focus of all interest. I needed the help of my sisters to sort this out.
Mary, Martha, and I sat on the wide veranda with the girl. Mary knew much about the love of a woman for a man. Martha knew nothing. I only had the perspective of a man.
Mary, whose gentle eyes brimmed wi
th compassion, leaned forward and took Adrianna’s hand. “Patrick has chosen you to be his wife.”
Adrianna clasped her hands together. “Yes, ma’am.”
When no other words came forth from the girl, Martha asked. “Well?”
One corner of Adrianna’s mouth curved in an almost-smile. “Well? What? Ma’am?”
Martha was impatient. “We brought you here so you could tell us what you think about it.”
Adrianna answered, “I don’t know. I never thought about it.”
Mary patted the girl’s arm. “Do you love him?”
Adrianna tucked her chin. A blush flowed up her cheeks. “I don’t know about that, ma’am. But my father often said what a good fellow he is. A hard worker. I find him pleasant enough. Almost handsome. I don’t mind the wooden leg. But …”
“But what?” I asked, unconsciously echoing the girl.
She looked startled at the sound of my voice. Her gaze shifted nervously from me to Martha and then settled on Mary. “But … he seems to wish to carry me far away. And though I am a free woman now, though I don’t know what being free means, I am to be taken away from my mother and father and this … my home. As if I am still a slave.”
I tugged my beard and considered my hasty pledge to offer the girl in marriage. If she was to be set free, what right did I have to give her to a man in payment for saving my vineyards? “You are not a slave.”
She held her gaze on Mary. “Then if I am free, why will I be married and taken away from my home and family?”
Martha asked, “Don’t you like the fellow?”
Adrianna replied, “Like. Yes. But if I am free …”
I interjected, “Even women who are born free have arranged marriages.”
Mary shot me a disapproving glance. “Brother, what do you know of a woman’s heart?”
Adrianna’s eyes filled with tears. “Then I am not free.”
Martha agreed with me. “What our brother says is correct.”
Adrianna dared to blurt again, “But if he takes me to Britannia—a place I do not even know, nor do I know how far it is from my home—then if I am taken there against my will I am not free. You see?”
Of course we all understood the concept of freedom. We understood that women were not truly free to do as they wished. Mary had rebelled against custom, and it had resulted in the ruin of her reputation. Yet my concern was for the overall happiness of my household. My cook would never smile again. My winemaker would weep salt tears into the barrels. My barrelmaker would simply be gone.
I thanked Adrianna and sent her back to her mother in the kitchen.
“Well,” I said to my sisters, “that was of no use to me. I have given my pledge to Patrick.”
“No use at all,” Martha concurred. “I came upon Delilah sobbing as she kneaded the bread this morning. Too much salt in her tears for the bread to bake joyfully.”
Mary’s pretty lips pressed tight, as if she was trying not to speak.
I asked her, “What do you want to say?”
“No one cares about the girl. All you care about is keeping your word to Patrick. A pledge that you gave upon the life and happiness of another human being. Upon the lives of several others, if you count your cook and your winemaker. And all the rest of us.”
I argued, “She might be very happy in Britannia.”
Mary tossed her hair. “I know something of that place. It is a land where none are free. And women are worth less than cattle. There is a custom among them that a wife or daughter may be taken away and used vilely at the will of the royalty and then, after the ravage, returned to her husband.”
Martha’s mouth twitched. She stared off at the vines. “A terrible revelation, sister. How could you know such a thing?”
“Does it matter?” Mary snapped. “Brother? Does it matter how I am aware of such a terrible practice among the pagans of the north? I tell you, you must find a better way. If you have given Adrianna freedom, then she must be free. If she loves him but does not want to be taken from her mother and father, then you must find another way to keep your promise.”
Patrick’s hair was the color of the red donkey. A matched pair, I thought, as we rode toward Jerusalem. Only the donkey was not stubborn. And for the first time I thought that Patrick was in need of a beating.
Patrick’s freedom had suddenly made him unmovable.
“I am a free man.” Patrick lifted his chin. “I will marry Adrianna. I asked, and you said if I saved the vineyard I could have her. A promise is a promise, sir.”
“But her parents. Samson is your friend. Delilah is … well … you cannot break the heart of such a good woman.”
“I will go where I will go. That is what being a free man means, does it not?”
“But to marry Adrianna and take her away to Britannia! To deny the girl’s parents the joy of raising grandchildren.”
Patrick set his eyes on the road ahead. Herod’s devastated vineyard was on our right. There was not one green sprig remaining. I remembered the sorrow Samson had expressed over what my grandfather had lost when his life was taken from him: he had lost the joy of knowing his grandchildren!
Sweeping my hand toward the ravaged vines, I said to Patrick, “Samson has been kind to you.”
“Like a father.”
“Then you would treat him thus? Stripping away his joy? To take his daughter and future grandchildren? To deny old Samson the joy of dandling grandchildren on his knee? Then you send the locusts to devour his finest dreams of happiness.”
Patrick frowned at my words, and for a moment I thought I was getting through to him. “And my family? In Verulamium. When I was conscripted to serve our Roman masters, I promised myself that I would return home one day. That if ever I was free, I would come home.”
“How many years ago?” I asked.
“I’ve counted twelve years. Half my life lived in slavery. I was a lad of twelve when the soldiers took me from my father’s shop.”
I was silent for a time, wondering about the family who had remained behind. “Have you ever heard from them?”
“What? As in … a letter, you mean?”
“Surely you could send them a letter on one of the great merchant ships. Pay someone to carry it for you. And pledge a coin to the bearer from your family when they received word from you.”
“A letter carrier receive coin from my father? To receive word from me?” He expelled a short, bitter laugh. “My father sold me for his debt. And besides, I do not read. Neither does he read or write. Not like you Jews who teach a toddler his numbers and letters. We have no time for such nonsense where I come from. So. To answer your question, I ask you … how could I hear from them? What would I hear? ”
“I will help you send a letter. Your father owned a cooperage in the city of Verulamium, you say.”
“Aye. That he does. He’s not an old man. When he could not pay taxes, the Roman centurion came to draft my father as a smith, making weapons for the wars against the Celts in the north. Father begged them to let him stay home. They then selected my older brother, skilled with shoeing horses. Thranal is accomplished at making iron shoes. But my father knew my older brother was too valuable to lose. What was the blacksmith business without him?”
“Did they conscript him?”
“No. Father offered me and my younger brother, Oren, instead. Two strong boys. Two for one. Boys. Extra mouths for my father to feed. Worthless to my father. We would have been apprenticed out that year anyway. So. The Romans got quite a bargain. Except that Oren died the first winter. I lived on … as you can see. If you can call what I lived through living.”
“So you will go home and comfort your father in his old age.”
Patrick snorted. “He never liked me anyway. Always said I would come to no good. A worthless boy except that he could beat me and sell me. No. I will come home and show him. How, in spite of him, the great God of Israel gave me freedom and prosperity and happiness … and a wife. He will regret what he
did to me.”
“Your father’s regret will make you happy?” I fixed my gaze on Patrick’s bitter face. “Are you happy here?”
He nodded once. “For the first time in my life. Samson. And Delilah. Never two kinder … They have indeed treated me like a son …”
“Then why leave?”
He blinked as if it was the first time that question had ever entered his mind. “My dream to return. It kept me alive.”
“Your dream?” I urged him to speak of it.
His eyes hardened. “My vindication. A sort of revenge. Showing my father that he sold the wrong son into bondage. Justice. Showing them—”
I held my hands out, imploring. “Patrick? What are you thinking?”
“If I don’t go, my father will die never knowing how he consigned me to twelve years of misery.”
“Before Samson dies, he longs for grandchildren to love.”
“Until now. Until this place? I never knew a moment of happiness.”
“Happiness.” I weighed the concept in my right palm. “Or vindication.” I weighed his goal in my left.
He stared at me in disbelief. Could it be that happiness was more important than revenge?
My grandfather’s Bethphage vineyard was clearly destroyed. Vines he had planted. Desolate now and unyielding to the evil house of Herod the Great who had killed him to possess our heritage.
This was justice against the House of Herod, yet the sight of the devastation gave me no pleasure. I wondered as we rode past if there would ever be another vintage from my grandfather’s estate. I considered Bikri, alone and friendless. Thirty-eight years begging for mercy and none to help him. Vindication? Revenge? It was not sweet to my eyes.
So I knew that returning home to Britannia would not ever bring peace to Patrick. “And now you have won your freedom. You left Britannia as an unloved boy with two legs and a talent for making things. You will return to your father’s shop. You will show him that you have made your own life. Show him. A wife who loves you. A skill he did not teach you. Show him your worth?”
“That is my dream. My sunrise and sunset.”
