The Gate of Heaven (36 page)

“Did you grind that grain I want for my meal extra fine, the way I told you?”

“Yes, I did, mistress.”

“I'll check it. It was too coarse the last time.”

“I'm so sorry.”

The words may have been humble, but there was nothing humble in the face of Demetrius. He looked directly into her eyes, and there was none of the servile bowing or nodding. He simply answered questions with as few words as possible—at least to Dinah. She had noticed that he spoke and often joked with Joseph and the other slaves, but he always seemed to be laughing at her. She longed to catch him at it, but he was clever!

“All right. I put a pile of clothes inside the tent. I want you to take them down to the stream and wash them, and I want them
clean
. Do you understand me?”

“Oh yes, I understand you very well.”

Indeed, Demetrius did understand Dinah. She was the most spoiled young woman he had ever seen. He had noted almost at once that Jacob gave her everything she asked for, and that she had never learned humility of any sort.

“I'll be looking at them when you bring them back. Wash them and dry them and fold them. You think you can handle that?”

“I will do my very best, mistress. You may depend on it.”

Demetrius nodded and headed for the tent. Dinah turned to watch him, and when he came out he said, “I will take great care with these clothes. You may be sure. As a good slave should.”

Dinah did not miss the irony in his tone, but she could think of no retort. She whirled and walked away, saying sharply, “Be sure that you do!”

Temira and Ada had been watching the scene and both of them enjoyed it. Dinah was not the easiest person in the world to get along with and was not always careful to be gentle. Both had felt the weight of her anger, and now as Temira watched the tall form of Demetrius head for the stream, she said, “You know, Ada, I think I have a few things to wash myself. Get someone else to help with this.”

Ada laughed as Temira winked at her. “Be careful. A good-looking man like that can get a woman in trouble.”

“Or maybe the other way around.” Temira winked again and turned to her tent.

“…and so we were blown off course, and we wound up in Greece.”

“What's it like in Greece?” Temira said. The two had been washing clothes, but now they were finished. Temira had found herself sitting on a fallen tree beside the stream along with Demetrius. He had told her several fascinating stories of his travels, and she listened as he continued to speak.

As for Demetrius, he was amused at the young woman. It was obvious that she was one of the world's worst flirts, but he enjoyed being away from the sharp tongue of his mistress. He turned to Temira and saw that she was looking up at him with a rather enticing smile.
She's probably not listening to a word I say. She's a plum ripe for the taking
.

Demetrius was amused at how the other Hebrew women admired him too. Most of them tried to conceal it, but he was experienced in such things. Now as he saw Temira looking up at him, her lips parted and her eyes locked with his, he put his arm around her and kissed her thoroughly. She returned his kiss, and he felt her arms going about his neck, but at that moment Dinah's voice came loud and clear. “Demetrius! I didn't send you here to dally with slave girls!”

Temira jumped up, her eyes wide. She knew that Dinah was perfectly capable of beating her with a switch. She had done it before. “I was just washing clothes, mistress,” she said with a voice that was not steady.

“Yes, I saw what you were doing. If you don't have enough work to do, I'll find some more. Now, get out of here!”

“Yes, mistress!”

Temira scurried off, and Dinah turned to glare at Demetrius. Most servants would have been quaking with fear, but he was smiling slightly. “I washed all the clothes,” he said. “I was just telling Temira about some of my adventures.”

“Yes, I could see how you were
telling
her.”

Dinah picked up a lightweight white robe and flung it at him. “Look at that! It's still filthy! I'll just stand here and be sure that you do it correctly.”

“I'm so sorry that I've displeased you,” Demetrius said. He shook his head and tried to look sad, but he was amused.

Obviously the robe was perfectly clean, but he picked it up, stepped out into the stream, and began to rinse it in the water. “I'm afraid the creek is a little muddy. It's not clear enough for such dainty things as this. This must be one you wear right next to your skin.”

Dinah flushed. It
was
an undergarment that she wore, but she knew he was just tormenting her. “Just wash the robe without comment.”

Dinah stood watching as he leisurely washed the robe. She would never admit it, but she was fascinated by the tall, fair-skinned slave. She was somewhat mortified to find herself admiring him. He wore only the short kilt he had worn when she had first brought him home, and his upper body was lithe and muscular. He was humming slightly and paying her no attention whatsoever.

“Where do you come from?”

Demetrius looked up. “I come from a place called Minoa.”

“I never heard of it.” When he said nothing, she flung him another question. “Do all people there have blue eyes?”

“No. Most do not.”

Dinah found the conversation was hard, for Demetrius would give only brief answers. Finally, she said, “How did you become a slave?”

“Bad luck.”

And then Dinah said, “Are you married? Did you have children?”

“No,” he said.

“Were you a criminal?”

“No, I was not.”

Dinah was irritated with his short answers. She had heard him talking to others and knew that he was well able to carry on a conversation. “Bring those things. I have some more work for you to do.”

“I'm sorry, mistress, but your father told me to help your brothers.”

“You're my slave. You'll do what I say.”

Demetrius came out of the stream with water dripping off of his lower body. He began to pick up the clothing, and when he had gathered every item, he said, “I'm sorry, but you'll have to take that up with the master. I can't disobey him.”

Dinah glared at him but knew there was no answer for that, for Jacob did legally own him. Nonetheless, it made her furious to see the slight smile on his face. “We'll just see about that!” she cried and then turned and ran back toward the camp.

Jacob was standing leaning on his staff talking with Judah and Zebulun when Demetrius came up. He had come out to look at the flocks and the three were in serious conversation. Jacob looked up and said, “Oh, here is Demetrius. You can use him to help build the fence if you want to.”

Judah smiled. “I thought he was a ladies' maid, but I suppose he can do a man's work. Have you ever built a fence, Demetrius?”

Demetrius was by now accustomed to being teased about being a ladies' maid, and he merely smiled. “No, but I've built some big ships. A fence can't be more complicated than that.”

“A ship!” Zebulun said, coming over to stand in front of him. “Have you ever sailed a ship?”

“Why, yes, as a matter of fact, I was the captain of my own ship. The name of it was the
Argus
.”

Jacob threw up his hands. “Please, Demetrius, don't encourage him. He thinks of nothing but the sea and ships.”

“Is that right? Well, there are worse things for a young man to think of.”

“I don't want my sons to be sailors. Now, just build the fence.” Jacob turned and limped off.

As soon as Jacob was out of sight, Zebulun began to fire more questions at Demetrius. “How big was your ship? Did it have one sail or more?”

Demetrius was amused at the young man's enthusiasm and had no compunction over talking to him about his experiences at shipbuilding and sailing.
Young Zebulun just might be a good friend,
Demetrius thought to himself.

Jacob had come out several times to watch the work on the fence that was going to enclose the ewes that were bearing young. It had been Judah's idea to keep them fenced up. Usually they moved so often that building a permanent fence was not worthwhile, but the water and grass were good here, so Jacob had agreed to it.

He was pleased to see the progress being made. Demetrius was attaching a top rail to an upright, and Jacob said to him, “My, you certainly are skillful with tools.”

“I learned a great deal of it by building ships.”

Jacob was becoming very interested in the young man as he learned more about him. At first he had not been sure what to do with him. Obviously Demetrius could not be a ladies' maid for Dinah, although Jacob let her use him for whatever tasks she could think of.

“You come from Minoa?” Jacob asked him. “That's out in the great sea, I believe?”

“Yes.”

“I've never been able to picture such a thing—sailing out of sight of land.”

“Most people can't because they have never been out at sea. Would you like me to show you where my home is?”

“Yes, I would like that.”

Taking a sharp tool in his hand, Demetrius sketched out a rude map in the dirt. “This is the great sea—and here we are. This is Canaan. Up north here is Syria. If you set sail from approximately here, you'll hit a large island named Cyprus. But if you bypass it and go straight across, you'll hit Minoa, named after Minos, one of the ancient rulers of our people. When you approach it, it has to be by sea. That's the reason we prospered, I think, master.”

“What is your land like?”

“Well, it's an island, sir, and we've learned to build ships better than anyone else. That's why we can go all over the world. Even the Egyptians accept us, and you know how the Egyptians are.”

“Yes, I do indeed!”

Jacob was fascinated to hear about Demetrius's homeland.

“What god do you worship in Minoa?” he asked finally.

Demetrius shrugged his shoulders. “Well, we worship many gods, master. Almost anything in nature, such as a tree or a mountain or a bull. The bull plays a large part in our worship.”

“You would pray to a bull?”

Demetrius smiled. “Yes, sir, and of course, there's the Mother Goddess. There are many figures of her on our island, and most of us pray to her.” Demetrius spoke about their beliefs for some time and finally said, “What gods do your people worship?”

“We have only one God,” Jacob said.

Demetrius had suspected this. “I heard that, but I couldn't believe it. Only one God? What's His name?”

Jacob smiled. “He has many names. The Most High God is one of them, or Almighty God, but He is the only God. The rest are merely blocks of stone.”

“What does He look like?”

“No one has ever seen Him.” Jacob hesitated as he remembered his experience and then said, “He sometimes speaks to men, but He has no form.”

Demetrius's eyes narrowed. “Has He ever spoken to you?”