Daughter of the Nile by Jill Eileen Smith

Author:Jill Eileen Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC042030;FIC042040;FIC027050
ISBN: 9781493404070
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2016-08-01T04:00:00+00:00

Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire, and had killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and had given it as dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife; so Solomon rebuilt Gezer.

1 Kings 9:16–17

But Pharaoh’s daughter went up from the city of David to her own house that Solomon had built for her.

1 Kings 9:24

9

JERUSALEM, 963 BC

I awoke with a start to the sound of soft purring in my ear. I opened one eye and closed it again, then pulled Abdukar closer into my arms lest he awaken Solomon, who still slumbered peacefully beside me. It was a rare occurrence to have the king at my side in these past two years since coming to Jerusalem. A rarity I did all in my power to keep.

Solomon stirred, and I lay still, trying to hold a wiggling cat to no avail. My cat, betraying little beast, favored my husband, and before I could stop him, he sidled up against Solomon’s back as though he belonged there.

Fully awake now, I rolled onto my side, studying these two “men” who filled my heart and my daily thoughts. Solomon had taken more wives since our arrival to what had once been King David’s palace. Building projects abounded throughout the city, the central focus being that of the temple, where stones from quarries and heavy timber of cedar and cypress from the king of Tyre were dragged up the side of the mount and set in place with as little marring as possible. And still the temple looked as though it had barely begun.

And my palace outside Jerusalem—for that is where Solomon insisted we would build it—had yet to have a single foundation stone laid. My brow furrowed too often of late, and I feared I was going to have unseemly lines across my forehead if I did not stop fretting. But living in the cramped quarters of King David’s palace was wearing on me, and I chafed at this forced need to wait while Solomon built other structures and married women from other foreign lands.

He stirred again, and I straightened, smiling down at him when he rolled onto his back and pulled Abdukar into his arms. The cat settled on his chest, and Solomon’s other arm came around me, drawing me close.

“This little beast should have his own room,” he said, his voice still heavy with sleep.

“And so he shall when your wife has her own palace.” I kissed his cheek, lest he find my comment annoying.

A chuckle came from deep within him. “Ah, my little Egyptian minx.” He pulled me closer and kissed the top of my head. “You will have your palace. Did you never notice how long it took to build something while you lived in Egypt?” He rose on one elbow to look at me.

I shrugged, giving him a playful pat. “I was young in Egypt. I didn’t trouble myself about such things.”

“And you are young here,” he said, winding a strand of my hair around his finger.

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