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David, and that is the end of it.”
    If he had been angry, I would have been less frightened. It was his cool composure that scared me the most.
    “Daniel won’t let you do this,” I said.
    “Daniel will know nothing about it. You will be married and away from Magdala before Daniel hears a whisper of what has happened. Aaron bar David will be here in two days’ time, and the wedding will be held the following day. It’s all arranged.”
    All arranged.
This . . .
outrage
had been planned from the time of the dinner party.
This
was why I had been invited to meet Aaron bar David. I stiffened my back and lifted my chin. “I won’t do it, and you can’t make me. I’ll go to the rabbi. He’ll stand up for me.”
    Lord Benjamin’s face set like stone. “I’ve heard more than enough from you, Mary. You will wed this man. Refuse Aaron, and I’ll disown you. Your own father will disown you. And if you run to Daniel and he marries you without my permission, he’ll become an outcast from his family and his religion. He’ll never be a scribe. He’ll be a pariah, and the only work he’ll ever know is that of a day laborer—if he’s lucky enough to find someone to hire him.”
    His words struck me like physical blows.
    “Do you want to do this to Daniel, Mary? Daniel whom you say you love?”
    I struggled to find words. “But you told us we could marry!”
    He shrugged. “This is the way things have always been. Why should you be different from any other girl?”
    I felt my stomach heave.
    “Go to see Esther. She has been making the arrangements for your wedding. And let us have no more of this rebellious talk.”
    I stared at Lord Benjamin and knew I was beaten. I couldn’t rob Daniel of his future. I would have died for him. I wished I could die for him but it seemed all I could do was to marry someone else.

    I ran all the way from Lord Benjamin’s room to the tiny cell I shared with Aunt Leah. I was shaking all over as if I had a fever, and in truth I did feel sick. My stomach heaved, and I thought for a moment that I might vomit all over the floor. I collapsed on my sleeping mat and buried my face in my trembling hands.
    I began to weep, deep wrenching sobs that wracked my body.
    The door opened, and Aunt Leah came in. “Mary? Miriam told me to come to you. Are you ill?”
    I looked up, and she cried out when she saw my face. She dropped to her knees and took me in her arms. “What has happened?” she asked.
    Through my sobs I managed to tell her about my interview with Lord Benjamin.
    “My poor lamb.” Aunt Leah pressed my head to her breast and cradled me with her arms. “It was wicked of him to let you think you could marry Daniel when he had this in mind. I thought better of him.”
    So had I. So had Daniel.
    I couldn’t stop crying. “Lord Benjamin is an evil man, and I hate him! He lied to us! He lied to his own son!”
    “Shh, shh,” Aunt Leah crooned. She held me tighter, rocking meback and forth as if I were a baby. And like a baby, I burrowed into her, seeking the comfort no one could give.
    “When is this marriage supposed to take place?” she asked after my sobs began to slow.
    I said thickly, “Aaron is coming here in two days’ time. We’re to be married the following day.”
    I felt Leah’s breath catch. “How clever. While we were in Bethany, Benjamin arranged a whole wedding for you.”
    “What am I going to do, Aunt Leah?” I wailed, pulling my face away from her tear-soaked shoulder.
    She didn’t answer.
    “Tell me what I should do!” I stared up at her, desperate for her to save me from this hideous fate.
    She looked desolate. “My darling girl, there is nothing you can do. Men make the decisions in this world, and we have no choice but to obey.”
    “But that’s not fair! I have a soul too! Surely the Lord thinks I’m just as important as a man!”
    “I don’t think that He does,” Aunt Leah replied regretfully. “Remember how the Lord asked Abraham to