Content with her decision for the first time, Ester settled in to wait for morning. But of course, her temperament was not of the type to allow for a solid night’s rest when she knew there was an exciting task ahead of her. She tossed and turned for hours, dozed on and off, and at the first light of dawn, decided it was ridiculous to try to stay in bed any longer. She would go to Abigail’s chamber now and discuss the marriage, waking her if need be. Abigail would forgive her. Indeed, she would be glad to receive the news as soon as possible! That determination made, she dressed and hurried to her maid’s chamber.
She knocked quietly because she did not want to wake the other servants, but she soon discovered it was also too quiet to wake Abigail. So she opened the door and stepped in, lamp in hand.
What she saw was an empty bed, straightened and neat. Ester sighed, wondering what Abigail was doing up already. She did not usually rise so early, did she? Then again, if she were having trouble sleeping, she was not the kind to wile away the time in bed. She would be up getting something done. So Ester left the room as silently as she had entered it and moved to the kitchen.
That room was empty and asleep, the fire still banked from the night before. At a loss as to where to look next, Ester headed back through the servant’s hallway.
Andrew was just emerging as she came through, and she stopped with a smile. “Andrew. I am looking for Abigail, but she is not in her room or the kitchen. Do you know where she could be?”
Andrew did not seem surprised by his friend’s absence, which told Ester that she was probably up early more often than she suspected. “She often attends your son before you awake,” he murmured, “so that she can be there to assist you at her usual time.”
“Of course.” Ester rewarded him with another smile. “Thank you, Andrew. Well, I am certain you want me to find her as quickly as possible, so I will go check Jason’s room.”
She left Andrew with a nervous grin on his face and moved toward her son’s chamber with a light step. She did not think Jason would be awake yet on his day off but knew that Abigail moved silently and was likely refreshing his water and straightening up while he slept.
She knocked lightly on the door but did not wait for a response before easing it open. She would just motion for Abigail to join her, and then take her elsewhere for the conversation.
“Mother!”
Ester’s eyes had been scanning the room for her maid, but they now flew in the direction of the startled voice. Her eyes went wide when she looked over and saw her son in his bed, leaning over a woman. Ester did not need to see the averted face to know that it was Abigail.
“Jason!” She sputtered for a moment, horrified, then snapped her spine into rigid alignment. “You have one minute. I suggest you utilize it to make yourself decent.”
She whirled away and slammed the door behind her.
*
Jason heard his mother bellowing out his father’s name and winced. He thought to look down at Abigail. A tear coursed down her cheek, still turned into his chest. He brushed it away gently.
The contact seemed to spur Abigail into motion. Without so much as a word, she jumped up and stumbled over to where her clothes still lay on the floor. Her hands shook as she slipped the tunic on over her head.
“Abigail.” Jason reached for his clothing as well. “I will handle this.”
She was not given an opportunity to respond The door burst open again, and this time an enraged Cleopas entered, Ester in tow.
His mother met Abigail’s gaze. “Abigail, go begin breakfast.”
Abigail averted her gaze, color staining her face. She hurried past her masters without attempting to look at either of them and fled the scene.
His parents turned their gazes on him. Jason sat on the edge of his bed and awaited the lecture.
It did not take long for it to begin, though the twitching muscle of his father’s jaw was the only visible sign of his anger. “Jason, what in the world were you thinking, taking your mother’s slave into your bed?”
The indolence he had lived in as an adolescent flooded him, and he shrugged without concern. “Satisfying my needs.”
Cleopas clenched and then unclenched his fist. “You do not satisfy your needs with a maid that your mother thinks of as a daughter.”
“She is just a slave.”
“She is not.” The hot tears flowing down his mother’s cheeks caused him more dismay than he cared to admit. “Abigail is my dearest companion. You know how much she means to me, and yet you would defile her–”
“Mother,” Jason broke in, voice harsh to cover his guilt, “you are overreacting. She is still your companion.”
“You miss your mother’s point. You have made Abigail your companion, and now we cannot give her to another. And it so happens that she was looking for her this morning to ask her if she would agree to becoming Andrew’s wife.”
“Andrew!” Jason could not have explained why he was shocked, but the outrage of it brought him to his feet. “You would give her to a slave? Father, she is too good for him!”
“Not anymore,” Ester spat.
Cleopas silenced her outburst with a glance, then turned back to Jason. “If you wanted her, you had only to speak, Jason. I am certain your mother would have had no objections to making Abigail your wife.”