Everything happened so quickly that Leah felt removed from her body, as though she were observing a reflection in a once still river, now tumultuous, frenzied, rushing to no end. Only moments ago she had stood in Rachel's wedding tent—which should have been hers—worrying that she would be killed along with Levi. Now, after a short bath and Vered and Uzi's magic touch with kohl underneath her eyes, Leah looked like a bride.
Amit had surprised her with a gift before the ceremony: her mother's wedding dress. She didn't know it had been kept hidden all these years, out of sight from Laban who surely would have torn it to shreds. Putting it on felt like slipping into a dream that she never wanted to wake from. There were embroidered roses on the sleeves, pink and blooming, with vines that traveled across the top. It was a simple wool gown—her mother needed no brightly colored fringe made from saffron threads or beads that sparkled to feel elegant. Just like me, Leah thought. Her heart warmed to the old woman once again for the sweet gesture.
When Laban saw her at the entrance to the tent, his shock barely registered before he grunted,"It suits you." He took her arm to start the procession, and Leah had to resist pulling away. It would be hard to forget the horror he put Levi and her through the past two days—years, truly—but this wedding was the start to forgiving him. Maybe he truly had listened to Rachel, and in the spirit of their mother's memory, he was going to forgive her as well.
Because Rachel and Leah both needed to marry before sundown, Laban coordinated their marriages in separate tents by the river. Each was marked with a path lined by burning torches. Leah's to the left of Rachel's. As the elder daughter, Leah would be married first according to custom. Then she and Levi would go to his tent to solidify their bond as man and wife while Laban oversaw Rachel's wedding.
"Can he be trusted?"Leah had whispered to Amit. In the corner of the tent, Uzi helped Rachel into her dress; the two of them kept giggling. Leah could not bring herself even to smile—she did not trust Laban. Mirah was nowhere in sight, having been banished from the preparations by Amit.
"I do not know,"Amit had confessed, smoothing out the creases in Leah's dress. "But what other choice do you have?"
Leah gripped her father's arm now. It was time to find out.
They walked into the wedding tent slowly. Her veil was so thick the rugs beneath her feet were bursts of color and shadow. She gulped a mouthful of dry air, afraid of tripping on the hem of the gown. Next to her, Laban was silent, but his hold on her was firm. Leah wanted to look into his eyes to gauge his sincerity, but she could barely make out the structure of his face. And then she became happily distracted by what awaited her.
Levi. She saw his tall figure shifting his weight at the far end of the tent. If she squinted, Leah could almost make out the slight angle of his jawline and remembered how, just nights before, his lips caressed her body. She thought there was no place they couldn't venture together, now that they had taken that last step. In his arms, she was the closest to herself she had ever been. But now, she realized that marriage would be another journey entirely.
"Is he smiling?"she whispered to her father, halfway down their walk. "I can barely see him. Does he look nervous?"
"Terrified,"Laban whispered. Something in his tone struck her as a little too rough—and his touch a little too tight, as though he was fearful she might run away.
When they reached the front of the tent, Laban placed her hand inside Levi's. His hands felt smooth—not the usual coarse texture from working with the hives—and she inwardly praised the camp women. They must have rubbed pumice stones over his hands to make them smooth.
Laban stepped away and Levi held her hands tighter with his sweaty palms.
"It will be over soon,"Leah whispered to him. "Then we will be together." She wasn't sure he could hear her, if the thickness of the wool veil muffled her words.
Laban stood before them and spoke the words that would bind them together. "Take heed that the sanctity of marriage is an everlasting bond,"he said. "What is done cannot be undone."
Leah smiled; they were already bound by the actions they had taken, last night, in their marriage bed.
The scribe from Haran motioned for Laban to step forward and make his mark at the bottom of the marriage contract: a clay tablet crisscrossed with spiky cuneiform letters. Then they were given a cup of wine to share. Leah drank first, holding the veil slightly away from her mouth as she lifted the goblet. The taste was sweet and full of spice. Then she passed the cup to Levi. She tried to peer through the veil to catch a glimpse of his face, to wink or smile and show him that she was happy, but all she saw was a shadowy figure in front of her. She leaned in slightly so that their faces almost touched—they could not kiss until the ceremony was completed, but Leah's desire could not be weighed down by all of her bridal clothes. She wanted him, her almost-husband, and no longer in secret.
Finally, after an eternity, the rituals came to a close. She smiled through her veil so brightly she was sure that Levi could see. He squeezed her hand twice and she squeezed back; a silent signal of their joy.
"It is done,"Laban pronounced.
If only Rachel could have been here.
It was the one thought that pierced her joy before Leah took Levi's hands in hers. But she knew that her sister's happiness was forthcoming, and soon they would all be together to celebrate. Levi was supposed to gently remove her veil and pull her in for a kiss, but Leah had had enough with customs.
Ripping off the veil, Leah laughed through her tears and reached toward her new husband for their first kiss as man and wife.
But her laughter gave way to screams. It wasn't Levi standing before her. She had been fooled.
It was Jacob.
****
Leah and Jacob are married! How will Leah respond to Laban's cruel trick? What is Rachel's future without the love of her life?
Pre-order SIN AND HONEY's 2nd novella THE TOUCH OF BETRAYAL (a retelling of Samson and Delilah) now!
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SIN and HONEY: Seven Years of Longing
RomanceSo Jacob served seven years, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. —Gen.29.20 Rachel was destined to love at first sight. Leah's only crime was falling for the wrong man. In Taryn Scarlett's richly lyrical novell...
