Read Online Providence by Barbara Britton - Free Book Online Page A

Naabak.”
    Reumah whirled on her “Did you petition this prophet? What of your ears? I do not see proper flesh. If this prophet of yours is so great, why did he not heal you? You stood in his presence.”
    Heat flooded Hannah’s limbs and cheeks. “He touched me but he said it was not my time.”
    “And what if it’s not my husband’s time?” Reumah clutched a pillow to her breast. “He should accept the ridicule of this Jew?”
    Hannah’s mouth fell open at Reumah’s callous blasphemy. Oh Lord, forgive this mockery. Knees weak, she dropped to the floor before her mistress.
    “It has to be Naabak’s time.” Her words rose with hope. “Naabak has no time to spare.”
    Reumah sprawled on the bed, her hair splaying across her headrest. Her gaze rested on the ceiling and danced from one rendering to another.
    Hannah removed her mistress’s sandals and sat by the bed.
    “You have given me a thought. Naabak has seen the priests at the temple but not the king’s advisor. He has the standing of a god. I shall ask the king to grant me a personal meeting with his priest. He knows Naabak is loyal to him. There is no greater power in all of Aram. If the king’s priest hears what the God of Israel can do, he should be able to do more.”
    “It is not the same.” Hannah jumped to her feet. “My eyes have seen a miracle of the Most High God.”
    “Israel does not house all the gods. I will send a swift chariot to the king’s palace tomorrow.” Reumah leaned forward. “You and Mereb be ready to accompany me to the house of Hadad when our letters arrive.”
    “I cannot attend you in the worship of another god.” Her heart raced at the thought of breaking the Commandments of God. She gripped the bed to steady herself. “My father and brother are priests.”
    “You forget your place, slave.” Reumah lunged across the bed and grasped Hannah’s tunic. “We will go to the house of Hadad, and I will show you there are powerful gods in Aram. The king’s priest can intercede for us and save my husband.” Her grip loosened. “Now ready me for bed.”
    Hannah struggled to untie Reumah’s sash. How could a daughter of a Levite priest step foot in a pagan temple? There was no sacrifice grand enough to wipe away this sin. She could hide this abomination from her family, but with the Hebrew God, there were no secrets.
    But she was a slave now. How did a slave ignore the order of a master and keep her life? Especially when the master was Konath’s mistress?
    Panic seized her. She would be breaking God’s first commandment not to worship any other gods. Would a jealous Jehovah overlook her entry into the House of Hadad? Tears wetted her eyes as if she walked through a windstorm in the wilderness.
    A spited God did not heal curses.

10
    Three days passed before letters from the king arrived. Three more days passed before Hannah and Reumah were rid of their flow. And she endured three face slaps for refusing to travel to Hadad’s temple.
    You shall have no other gods before me.
    Commandment broken.
    Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
    Another commandment broken.
    How many more coals could be heaped upon her head?
    She clutched the side of a sleek war chariot and tried to stay on her sandaled feet. Mereb stood at her back, a fortress wall keeping her from fleeing. Reumah traveled alone. Her indigo and scarlet scarves fluttered faster than the stallion’s mane.
    Hannah pulled her head covering tight to preserve the elaborate braids Reumah insisted she wear to impress the pagan priest. She shielded her face from the windblown dirt, kicked up by speed of the horses while the rock strewn terrain jarred the cart of the chariot. The loose cut of her dress rippled against her body.
    A hollow sensation filled her bones as the domed temple came into view. Her stomach churned like a violent sea. Damascenes leaned out of windows, curious to the pounding of hooves and wheels that normally whisked soldiers to