The Eagle And The Lamb (Truly Yours Digital Editions) by Darlene Mindrup

Author:Darlene Mindrup
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2012-11-30T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Sara was kneeling in the vegetable garden behind the villa when Decimus joined her. She glanced up quickly but turned away before her eyes had more than a moment to rest on Decimus’s confused face. She had always felt comfortable around Decimus. . .had always felt toward him the way she would have liked to feel toward Dathan. But in a few short words, Antonius had destroyed the camaraderie she felt with Decimus. She was uncomfortable and unsure how to make matters right. Was it true? Did Decimus love her more than as a sister, or was it a figment of Antonius’s imagination?

Decimus knelt down beside her, tearing ruthlessly at the weeds in the cucumber patch. His features drew into a frown, his eyes sparkling with suppressed anger.

“Antonius has forbidden us to mention religious matters to Diana. He says if he hears of it again he will have us both flogged.”

Sara heaved a sigh of relief. So Antonius hadn’t mentioned their conversation to Decimus. She was able to look at him more fully, forgetting her own distress in the face of his.

“Did he say why?” she asked softly.

He continued to pull at the weeds, and Sara noticed a tear wend its way down his cheek. Brushing at it impatiently, he turned toward Sara.

“I would defy him if not for you. I cannot allow him to punish you.” He gritted his teeth fiercely. “But how can I not talk to Diana when she is so close to accepting the truth?”

Sara laid a hand gently on his arm. “There will be a way. Remember what the apostle Paul said. Slaves must obey their masters. To defy Antonius is to defy God Himself.”

Releasing a pent-up breath, Decimus turned to her and gave her a rather wan smile. “How did you get to be so wise?”

Sara laughed. “I have had a good teacher. The best. My father once heard the apostles speak. It so filled his heart that he has spent the rest of his life trying to share it with others.”

Decimus looked at her thoughtfully. “I wonder if my parents have ever heard the salvation message.”

“Someday, Decimus, you must take it to them. I believe God has prepared you for just such a message. You have a way about you. People trust you.”

He looked hard into her eyes. “Do you trust me?”

Sara reached down to pull a cucumber from the vine, even though she could tell it wasn’t quite ripe. Her face flooded with embarrassed color. “Of course I do. You are the brother I never had.”

He watched her quietly before turning away. “I thought you had a brother.”

Relieved to change the subject, Sara told him about Dathan and their life together. He had always been rebellious and selfish, always avoiding work and seeking pleasure wherever he could find it.

Beatrice walked into the garden. “Sara, my lady wants you.”

Sara got quickly to her feet, reaching down a hand and squeezing Decimus lightly on the shoulder. “Things will work out. You’ll see. Just trust God.

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