Michal (43 page)

“So I take it you agree, Hushai? Based on what you’ve heard?”

Hushai nodded. “Yes, my lord. I think they are a fire to be snuffed out before it is too late.”

“I’ll deal with it then.” David leaned back against the cushions. “I have another matter to discuss with you.” The desire had niggled at the back of his mind for months. It was time to give it voice.

“We are at your service, my lord,” Hushai said.

David clasped both hands beneath his chin, studying the men.

“Our nation has neglected the worship of the God of Israel since the days of Saul.” He watched Hushai nod vigorously and Ahithophel’s eyes soften. “I want to change this.”

“What do you have in mind?” Ahithophel asked, crossing one leg over the other.

“I want to bring the ark to Jerusalem. We could pitch a tent for it, like we did in the days of the judges, and offer sacrifices and worship the way Yahweh intended.”

“But where is the ark, my lord?” Ahithophel asked. “We haven’t heard of it in years, not since the Philistines sent it back to Beth Shemesh on an oxcart.”

“I believe it is in the house of Abinadab in Kirjath Jearim.” Hushai leaned forward. “They say the Lord has blessed the man for keeping it.”

David’s heart soared, the thrill of a new pursuit raising his spirits to great heights of joy. “We will go after it then. We’ll gather all the men of Israel and bring the ark to us here with songs of worship.”

“I’ll see about preparing a new cart for it to ride on,” Ahithophel said. “It would never do to use the cart from Philistine days, if it still exists. The ark of the Lord must ride on a newly constructed virgin cart, pulled by young oxen, never given to hard labor. We must give God our best if He is to bless us.”

David felt the hairs raise on his arms. “Sound advice, Ahithophel. Get started at once.”

“You wanted to see me, my lord?” Michal took a tentative step across the polished mud-brick roof to kneel at David’s feet. She touched her head to the cold stone and lifted it quickly once she felt his hand on her arm.

“I want to talk with you, Michal.” David’s fingers traipsed down her arm to her hand and intertwined with hers. “Come to the parapet and look out over Jerusalem.”

She allowed him to lead her. Keeping her attraction for David’s charismatic personality at bay was a struggle every time she was alone with him. She couldn’t allow him to woo her to forgive him or love him.

Love cost too much.

“Do you see the way God has blessed us since we moved here, my love?” He pointed to the surrounding homes and smiled.

Michal let her gaze follow his finger from the bright blue sky to the whitewashed brick buildings sparkling in the blaze of the late afternoon sun. She glanced down at the area homes and spotted a young woman in her courtyard with long, braided, ebony hair bending her lithe body over a small herb mill, whistling like a bird. Michal’s eyes darted to David’s handsome face. Had he seen the girl?

Sudden jealous thoughts rushed through her. If he brought her here just to show off his accessibility to beautiful women, he was wasting his time.

“I can look down on you from this spot, beloved.” David tugged her gaze away from the young woman, apparently oblivious to her. Michal looked over the rim to where he was pointing and spotted the lovely young Maacah and shy Abital with the doelike eyes walking about the courtyard.

“And everyone else in your harem.”

He stilled, then turned, leaning his back against the western parapet. “You dislike my privileged view.”

She lifted her chin, averting her gaze from his all-too-alluring eyes. “It’s nothing special, unless you like looking at women.” She glanced at him, but she could not read his thoughts. Turning away from him, she strode into the tent-like pavilion in the center of the roof. Breathing in the scent of spikenard, she was taken aback by the plush comfort of the king’s hideaway.

She took a seat on one of the cushioned couches and leaned her elbows against the pillows. The heady scents from the incense burner gave her a feeling of well-being. David stood in the wide opening where the flaps were pulled back to allow a magnificent view of the sky. He leaned one hand against the center tent post, watching her.

“I see this meets with your approval.”

Was she that readable? It irked her that he could perceive her thoughts while his own lay behind an impenetrable mask. Michal ran one finger over the embroidered threads on a pillow, then let her gaze skip across the interior of the tent. “Is this the kind of tent you lived in when you traveled in the wilderness?” What would it have been like to have been with him then?

“It’s more costly, more comfortable, and roomier.” He walked over and sat beside her with only an arm’s width between them. “Similar though.”

At his nearness, Michal’s breath grew shallow. She could feel the warmth of his body sitting so close. Too close. Why did he make her nervous?

She studied the fig leaf pattern on the pillow. “Why did you want to see me, my lord?”

David extended both legs and crossed his ankles. “Two reasons.”

She was aware of his scrutinizing gaze but couldn’t bring herself to meet his dark, fathomless eyes. If she did, she might drown in their liquid depths. She might let herself feel the strength of him.

She might love him all over again.

She moved the threads on the pillow back and forth beneath her fingers instead.

“Yes, my lord?”

David switched legs, topping the left foot over the right. “First of all, I’d like you to come with me when we go to get the ark to bring it to Jerusalem. You could help lead the rest of the women in worship.”

Was he serious? She bit back a laugh. “I can’t carry a tune, David.” She looked at him then. Surely he knew this.

“You could play a tambourine.”

She smiled. “I’ve never liked to play any musical instrument.”

David looked at her, his reaction still unreadable. “I want you there, Michal.”

“I’m honored, my lord.” Though she didn’t see the point.

David lifted his hand to play with a lock of her hair.

She stiffened. “What else did you want, my lord?”

He let his arm drop to the cushion and sighed. After a long pause, he stood and walked to the opposite end of the tent. He turned to face her. “I’ve heard you’ve been inciting your nephews and the tribe of Benjamin against me. Is this true, Michal?”

She sucked in a harsh breath. Now this was unexpected. Her fingers stilled on the pillow, and she leveled her gaze first at the floor, then at him.

“No, not against you. But we do believe it is only fitting that some of my family still be recognized as part of the hierarchy of your kingdom, David. After all, my father was Israel’s first king, and many people have not forgotten all he did to bring the tribes together and defeat the Philistines. Since all of my siblings are dead, and you refuse to name me your queen since we have no child, I think the least you can do is give my nephews, whom I helped raise, places of leadership in the kingdom. The older ones could be governors or judges in the land or captains in the army. But if you want to avoid trouble with the tribe of Benjamin, you’d best give them something worthwhile.”

Michal realized she was glaring at him then, and she hadn’t expected her speech to come forth with such venom. But she’d given the matter a lot of thought and had been planning how to approach David for months. Now she had.

“Are you telling me that you have been stirring up an entire tribe in my kingdom, all for the sake of giving five spoiled young men a place of power in the land?” His face darkened, though his voice remained perfectly calm.

“They’re no more spoiled than your own sons!” How dare he!

“Are you aware that Merab’s sons have been known to speak of rebellion against me, Michal?”

She averted her gaze. She’d suspected but had no proof. “I can’t believe they would do that.”

“Well, they have. And I’d appreciate it if my wives would keep out of the affairs of state and find useful things to do that didn’t involve arousing trouble among the tribes.” He walked closer as he spoke and stooped to kneel at her feet. “I’m trying to bring them together to honor the Lord, Michal, not tear them apart.”

Michal couldn’t pull away from the tender look in his eyes. “I’m sorry.” But she wasn’t sorry. Not really.

“Just come with me to bring the ark, Michal. Things will improve if you do.”

He stood then and pulled her to her feet. Why did he always think his ideas would make everything all right? He was not privy to her thoughts and had no inkling of the hurt places in her soul. And as long as he relegated her to just one of many wives in his harem without making her queen, he never would.

34

Michal sat astride a white mule at the head of the company of David’s wives, watching the sea of men and women tuning a variety of instruments and jabbering with excitement. The noise sounded like the low rumble of thunder before a storm, but one glance at the cloudless blue sky dispelled the possibility. She wasn’t sure why she’d come. Until her traitorous heart caught a glimpse of her husband decked out in full regal attire, waiting for the priests to come out of the building and set the ark on the gilded cart.

David had spared no expense in the construction of the cart. Even the oxen wore a glistening harness with gold inter-lays. She had to admit the royal markings and rich trappings made her heart swell with pride. It was small compensation for David’s recurrent indifference, but on a day like today it helped.

Michal pushed the newly embroidered blue veil from blowing across her cheek and lifted her gaze up the hill, where the men were fitting the ark into the place created for it. Moments later a young man hopped into the seat and grabbed the oxen’s decorative reins. Another young man stepped in front of the oxen and started down the hill, guiding the man driving the cart. The crowd’s noise drifted to silence as the oxen took their first step. The ark lurched to one side, and men and women held their collective breath. Michal released her own long-held sigh of relief as the oxen’s steps righted the ark and began a slow descent. It would do no good to see the ark of God tumble into the dust.

At David’s wave and joyous smile, the music began in earnest. Michal’s heart lifted at the sound of her husband’s clear voice rising above the crowd.

She shaded her eyes, watching David follow the cart and lead the people toward the base of the hill to Nachon’s threshing floor. She kicked the mule’s sides and motioned for the women to follow. Most of the women were on foot, but David allowed his wives the privilege of riding. She wouldn’t have come if she’d had to walk the whole way. Head held high, chin tipped up, Michal maneuvered the mule behind David and off to the side. She didn’t want to get too close to the ark. Something akin to fear kept her a healthy distance from the ancient golden symbol of her people’s faith.

“I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart. I will tell of all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You. I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.”

Michal heard David’s glad refrain, and her heart surged with a mixture of joy and pain. Why couldn’t she praise God like that? What kept her from feeling the radiance reflected not only in David’s melodic tones but in the expression on his handsome face?