The Gate of Heaven

by Gilbert, Morris

  Dinah was shocked when Demetrius walked straight up to her and informed her of his father’s command to accompany her to the palace.

  “I don’t need you to guard me.”

  “Your father insists on it, but I don’t think you ought to go.”

  Dinah stared at him. “It’s none of your business, Demetrius. You’re always meddling with things that don’t have anything to do with you.”

  Demetrius shook his head. His lips were set stubbornly. “Servants and slaves hear things.”

  “What sort of things?”

  “Things about Prince Shechem. He uses women.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Everybody talks about it,” Demetrius said. “When he sees one he likes, he just takes her if she’s a poor girl. With the richer ones like you, he has to use more strategy.”

  Dinah stared at Demetrius, her anger rising. “You shut your mouth right now, Demetrius! Get out of here! I don’t want to listen to you!”

  Demetrius knew he could say no more. He turned and walked away, anger in every line of his body.

  “He doesn’t know anything. I’ll show him that I’m able to take care of myself!”

  Chapter 30

  Dinah was in a flurry of excitement planning for her trip. No robe was good enough, and she had almost driven Leah crazy with her demands for new jewelry and new robes. Leah had finally said, “I wish your father hadn’t agreed to let you go. No good will come of it!”

  Dinah had paid no attention to her. She ignored her mother’s concern as she had Demetrius’s warning. She was taken off guard, however, when she looked up one day to see a group of camels making their way toward the camp. At once she knew this was some sort of noble procession, and then she saw that Prince Shechem was on the camel in the lead. Her breath began to come quicker, and she flew to her tent and made herself ready. She did not have time to change clothes, but she gave her hair a few brushes and moistened her lips and cleaned her face.

  When she stepped outside her tent, she saw the prince getting off his camel. She also saw that Demetrius was standing off to one side. None of her brothers were in evidence as she walked forward.

  “Ah, it is the lovely daughter of Israel.” The prince bowed low. “I’ve come to escort you to the palace.”

  Dinah stopped. “But, Prince Shechem, my father was going to send me tomorrow.”

  “I know, but the desert is dangerous. I thought it might be better if you would come with some of my own personal guard. You will be perfectly safe that way.”

  Dinah was confused. The arrangements had already been made, and she knew it would not please her father if they were not carried out. “I’m so sorry, my prince, but I could not disobey my father.”

  Shechem laughed. “Well, you are an obedient daughter. That is good to see.”

  “I trust that I am.” Dinah hesitated, then said, “It was kind of you to think of such a thing.”

  “Perhaps you would like to go for a ride on one of our beasts, you and I.”

  Dinah actually had ridden on a few camels but not in years. The idea of going for a ride with the prince intrigued her.

  “Yes, that would be wonderful.”

  “Good. Casmir, assist the lady on your beast. She and I are going for a ride.”

  “Mistress, I do not think that would be appropriate.”

  Both Dinah and Shechem turned to see Demetrius, who had approached.

  “Who is this fellow?” Shechem asked, anger beginning to show itself in his features. “He’s not one of your brothers, is he?”

  “No. He’s only a slave. Demetrius, mind your own business!”

  But Demetrius well knew what Jacob would have done. “I don’t want to be impertinent, mistress, but you yourself know that your father would not approve of such a thing. Nor would your brothers if any of them were here.”

  “I tell you go away, Demetrius, or I’ll have you whipped!”

  “You should,” Shechem cried out. “We don’t put up with this sort of insolence in the palace. Go away, fellow.”

  Demetrius bowed slightly. “I am the servant of Israel, and this is his daughter. As a good servant, I could not permit such a thing as you suggest, Your Highness.”

  Dinah was furious. “Demetrius, I told you to go away! Now, will you obey me or not?”

  “I’m sorry, but in this case I cannot obey you.”

  “Such a fellow needs to be beaten!” Shechem exclaimed.

  “Yes, he does!”

  “Casmir, take care of this fellow!” Shechem ordered.

  The burly servant of the prince laughed and motioned to the others. “Come along, fellows,” he said. “This slave deserves a thrashing.”

  Dinah was suddenly confused. She saw the five servants of the prince advancing on Demetrius, who stood calmly awaiting his punishment. She called out, “Wait a minute—”

  But it was too late. Casmir had thrown himself forward. He was a big muscular brute, and the blow he threw should have demolished Demetrius. But Demetrius simply ducked under it and drove his fist into the guard’s face. Casmir stumbled backward and sat stupidly, with blood running from his nose and dripping onto his white tunic.

  “Grab him!” Casmir shouted.

  Dinah started forward, crying, “Oh no!”

  But the prince took hold of her arm, saying, “That fellow needs discipline. My men will take care of it.”

  Dinah was appalled when she saw all five of the men throw themselves upon Demetrius. He fought hard, but there were too many for him and they were too strong. Finally three of them were holding him down, and the one called Casmir had run to his camel and come back with a cane. He began lashing Demetrius across his fair back.

  Dinah cried out, “Don’t do that!”

  But Shechem said, “You must not allow servants that liberty, Dinah. It is dangerous.”

  “Let him go!” Dinah cried. She saw the red welts beginning to ooze blood as the huge man struck with all of his strength.

  Dinah could not free herself from the prince’s grasp, but at that moment three of her brothers came rushing in—Reuben, Judah, and Levi. Reuben took the situation in with one glance and ran forward. He was a huge, strong man, and his first blow knocked one man completely unconscious. His next blow hit another in the back of the head, and the man dropped as if struck by lightning. The three brothers made short work of the guards, and finally Reuben strode toward Dinah and the prince. His eyes for once were not mild but were blazing in anger. “What is going on here, Dinah?”

  Shechem was taken aback. His men were chosen for their ferocity, but these sons of the desert had made short work of them. Quickly he saw that it was time for a strategic retreat.

  “I am Shechem, son of King Hamor. I fear we’ve had a misunderstanding.”

  “I fear we have indeed! Why were your men thrashing another man’s servant?”

  Dinah spoke up. “It was a misunderstanding. These are my brothers.”

  “Prince, it is no misunderstanding when you put your men on another man’s servant,” Reuben said.

  Reuben was the mildest of men, and Dinah had never seen him so incensed. She knew he had become a close friend of Demetrius, and now as he stood towering over the prince, she knew that in his present state he was entirely capable of attacking the prince himself.

  Quickly she intervened. “It was all a mistake, and it was my fault.”

  “No indeed, the fault was mine,” Shechem said quickly. “I will ask your pardon, sir, and I will take my men away at once.” He turned and called, “Get that man on his camel. All of you prepare to leave.” Then he said to Dinah, “I am terribly sorry for all of this. I thought I was doing the right thing. I hope it won’t interfere with your decision to visit my father’s kingdom.”

  “Of course not, Your Highness.”

  Reuben did not relent. “I will inform my father of what has happened. I’m not at all sure that he will allow his daughter to make her visit.”

  “I will
send my apologies by an emissary,” Prince Shechem said quickly. He turned and moved to his camel. He mounted, and his battered guards follows suit. One of them had to be tied on his camel, and they rode off as quickly as they could manage.

  Judah had been standing beside Reuben. Now he turned and ran back to Demetrius. “Poor old fellow. This was bad.”

  “Yes, it was,” Demetrius said grimly.

  Reuben was still furious. “Dinah, I’m going to ask Father not to let you to go. Look at what they did to Demetrius!” He went to the injured man on the ground. “Let me see,” he said.

  “It’s not so bad.” Demetrius tried to make light of his wounds.

  By this time Dinah was heartily sick with shame. She knew she had brought it on, and now she went at once to Demetrius and said, “Let me see.” She saw his back bleeding from the cruel strikes of the cane and cried out, “Oh, that’s terrible! Come to my tent. We must clean your back and put some ointment on it.”

  “It’s not necessary, mistress.”

  “Of course it is. Come along.”

  Dinah insisted, and Judah and Reuben accompanied the two to her tent. They watched as Dinah sat him down and scurried around finding water and cloths to wash his bloody wounds. Then she found a healing salve and began to apply it gently with her fingertips. “This ought to cool it off. It’s what I put on my own cuts.”

  “What in the world got into you?” Reuben demanded of his sister.

  “Don’t scold her,” Demetrius said.

  “She needs a scolding—or better still, a whipping! I’m going to tell Father. I hope he keeps you home.”

  As he left the tent, Rachel entered, and when she saw Demetrius’s back, she shook her head, her lips grim. “What a terrible thing! I’m so sorry, Demetrius.”

  “So am I,” Dinah said. Tears were in her eyes, and for once in her life she was ashamed of herself.

  “You’re the one who could use a caning,” Rachel said bitterly to Dinah.

  Demetrius rose and shook his head. “It’s all right. I’ve been hurt worse.” He gave Dinah one look and then turned and walked out of the tent.

  “I hope your father will show a little reason and sense,” Rachel said. “You don’t need to be around such a man as that Shechem. He’s vicious.”

  Dinah could not speak. She had been shocked by the scene that had exploded in her face, and now she knew her father was fully capable of forbidding her to go to the palace. “I didn’t mean for it to happen,” she whispered.

  “You never mean anything, but you must learn that you are a woman now and not a child.”

  Jacob was furious when he heard of the incident. After Reuben explained what had happened, he went at once to Demetrius. He insisted on looking at his back and said, “You’ll do no work for a while.”

  “I’m all right,” Demetrius insisted. He was weary of the whole thing.

  Jacob said, “You’ll need to care for that back. I’ll have Rachel see to it.” He left and immediately went to Dinah, speaking more harshly to her than he ever had in his life. Finally he said, “I’m afraid for you to visit such a man as that.”

  “It really wasn’t his fault,” Dinah pleaded.

  “He’s used to having his own way. I’ll have to think about it. I’m not at all sure you should go.”

  As Jacob left her tent, Dinah drew a deep breath. She was still trembling over the incident. The sight of Demetrius’s back cut so badly had shocked her. She had seen slaves beaten before, but somehow this was different.

  “Demetrius…?”

  Demetrius had been watching the sunset outside of camp where he could be alone to enjoy the evening quiet. He turned to find Dinah, who had come so silently he had not heard her approach.

  “Good evening,” he said quietly. “A beautiful sunset.”

  “Yes, it is.” Dinah tried to find the words she had prepared and finally stammered, “Demetrius, do…do you hate me?”

  Demetrius turned and saw the pain in her eyes. “Of course I don’t hate you,” he said. “One can’t hate a child.” He smiled and shook his head. “It’s not as bad as all that.”

  “Yes, it is. I feel terrible about it. I would have never done such a thing myself.”

  “It’s all right. Don’t worry about it.”

  Dinah did not know what else to say. He was looking at her in a strange way, and she laughed tremulously. “I’m always doing the wrong thing.”

  “Not always. This isn’t the wrong thing. I wager it’s been a long time since you asked someone to pardon you.”

  “Yes, it has. I know I’m spoiled rotten. And so is Joseph. We’re a pair, the two of us.”

  “I can understand that. He’s the son of the Beloved Wife. Jacob loves Rachel very much. Anyone can see that. As for you, a man always loves his daughters—and as you are Jacob’s only daughter, he must especially love you. My father was that way about my sister.”

  “Was he really?”

  “Oh yes. It used to infuriate me. She could get anything she wanted out of him. It reminds me of someone I know.”

  Dinah suddenly felt better. She had seen glimpses of gentleness in this man, and now she knew it was his true nature. Any other man would have been furious with her and hated her forever after being so humiliated as the result of her foolishness.

  “You saved my life from that bull and now I reward you by getting you badly beaten.”

  “It wasn’t really your fault. It was Prince Shechem’s doing.”

  “I know. He was wrong, and he’s sorry.”

  “I’m not sure about that, and I’m not sure you should go visit him either.”

  “Oh, Demetrius, I get so bored out here! It can’t hurt anything. I’ll make a little visit. I’ll see the people of the palace. You’ll be there, and Amasa. Tersa is going with me too, so nothing can happen.”

  Demetrius saw no sense in arguing. Dinah might be sorry for what had happened, but she still had a stubborn will.

  “Well, you’ll have your own way, I suppose.”

  And then Dinah did something she would not have dreamed of doing before all this had happened. The sight of Demetrius being beaten had done something to her ideas about him. As she had watched the cane cut into his flesh, it almost felt as if she were the one being whipped. Now she put out her hand and laid it flat on his chest. She felt the muscles there and the warmth of his body. She looked up boldly, and her face was flushed. “I’m so sorry that I’ve caused you all this trouble. Can you ever forgive me for being such a spoiled girl?”

  Demetrius was surprised at the sincerity he saw in her eyes. He covered her hand with his own and pressed it against his chest. “Of course I can. That’s the good thing, I suppose, about being a beautiful woman. You can always get your own way.”

  “Do…do you really think I’m beautiful?”

  Demetrius kept his hand over hers. He reached out and touched her cheek, feeling the smoothness of it. “You know you are,” he whispered. “If you lived in my homeland, Minoa, and I saw you there at a festival singing and dancing, I would do exactly what Prince Shechem did. I would come to you at once—as would every other young man in Minoa, and I’d have to fight them off. Does that please you?”

  Dinah was extremely conscious of his hand over hers and even more so of his hand on her cheek. His hands were rough but strong and gentle at the same time. She looked up into his eyes and felt the goodness and strength of Demetrius. “Yes, it does,” she whispered. Suddenly she did not trust her own impulses. She found herself wishing he would kiss her again, but that would never do! She drew back, and he released her at once. “Good night, Demetrius. Thank you for your forgiveness.”

  “Good night, Dinah,” he said. He used her first name without the title of “mistress”—and somehow this gave a warm intimacy to the moment. Dinah turned and walked away, leaving Demetrius standing there.

  He watched her go and then laughed shortly to himself. “What am I doing? Falling in love with that spoiled child? I can’t believ
e I’m behaving like a love-sick calf!” He tried to put his attention on the sunset, but he kept remembering the faint fragrance of her perfume and the smoothness of her cheek. “Here, stop this,” he said, striking his forehead. “Don’t be a fool. She would drive a man crazy inside of a month!”

  Chapter 31

  Much of Dinah’s pleasure as she traveled toward the palace was diminished by Demetrius’s attitude. She had bidden good-bye to her father and mother and taken her place in the wagon drawn by two donkeys, the back filled with clothing and other necessities. Tersa, a sturdy young woman whom Jacob and Leah trusted for her common sense, sat beside her.

  At first Dinah had been excited, but all day long she kept glancing at Demetrius, who walked alongside the wagon. His face was set, and she knew he was displeased with her decision to proceed with the visit. He had brought with him not only Amasa, a rather fierce man who was an expert in all sorts of fighting, but also Tascar and Moack to strengthen the guard. These two followed along behind, and for most of the journey their voices had been raised in arguments. They were close friends and argued about everything under the sun.

  Tersa was a good woman but no company at all for Dinah. She was in her midthirties, had buried two husbands, and was likely to take a third when the opportunity arose. She was completely without imagination but was a practical soul who could see to Dinah’s comfort and serve as a chaperone inside the palace walls.

  They had stopped at noon and had eaten a meal of cold meats and bread, washed down by sour wine. Demetrius had stayed with the men, but now he came to Dinah and asked, “Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

  “You mustn’t be angry with Shechem. He’s really not what you think,” she insisted.

  Demetrius did not answer. He gave her an odd look, shook his head in disbelief, and then turned to go back and speak to the men.

  Dinah was troubled by Demetrius’s attitude, but she put it behind her as they approached the city, which was called Shechem in honor of the prince.