The Ironsmith by Nicholas Guild

Author:Nicholas Guild
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781466886599
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

25

As soon as it became known that Deborah was to marry the ironsmith from Sepphoris, which was almost as soon as she knew it herself, both of the other fish merchants in Capernaum offered to buy her business. Within two days the matter was settled. Even her house was sold.

She explained it all to Noah as they sat beneath her grape arbor.

“Perhaps you could even accompany Joshua and me to Nazareth.” He made a small, self-deprecating gesture, as if shooing away a fly. “You could stay with Joshua’s mother until we are married. Of course, I can imagine many reasons why that might not be practical. There is your packing…”

“All of which Hannah can manage without me. There is nothing to hold me here.”

When he could summon courage to look her full in the face, Noah discovered that she was smiling.

“Please take me with you,” she said. “I have been unhappy here so long, and I do not wish to be separated from you again.”

“Then you will not be.”

He leaned forward and, very softly, kissed her on the lips.

* * *

After the first star had proclaimed the end of the Sabbath, Noah and Joshua walked to Deborah’s house to celebrate the journey, which would begin at first light the following morning. The house was in disorder because Hannah had begun packing and sorting as soon as she heard her mistress’s news. Although she had never known any place but Capernaum, staying behind in it formed no part of her plans.

Deborah, sensing Hannah’s distraction, prepared dinner with her own hands.

To be out of Hannah’s way, the three sat outside, resting their plates on their knees. There was a faint breeze from the sea, just enough to stir the air, and the moon shone like bronze.

“One would think she is the one getting married, instead of you.”

Joshua had clearly intended a jest, but something in Deborah’s expression suggested that he had come close to the truth.

“What have you promised the poor girl?” he asked.

“I have said that whatever I do not take to Sepphoris she may regard as her own to sell towards her dowry. There.” She shrugged her shoulders—quite prettily, Noah thought to himself. “Is that so evil? She too wants a husband.”

“Is that all women think about anymore?” Joshua asked.

“We have been through this before,” Noah interjected. Neither of the others betrayed any symptom of having heard him.

“She is poor—as I was once poor,” Deborah said. “And she is alone.”

“She is not alone as long as she has you.” Noah covered her hand with his own. “In you she has a better friend than most people can lay claim to.”

But Deborah was not mollified.

“A friend is not a husband. I cannot give her a family. She wants children, and a man’s arms around her. A man can lead many different lives. He can wander the earth if it suits him, and there is always time to settle. A woman has only one chance at happiness, and that is marriage.”

“The only happiness is in God,” Joshua announced, as if that settled the matter.

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