Abigail Read Online Free PDF

chose to witness this night.
    “I’ve had enough of your prattle, woman!” His sandals scuffed the stones behind her as though he had tripped, and Abigail regained her balance and stepped to the side, afraid he might land on her in his drunken stupor. If only she had stayed out of sight. If she had hidden in her rooms instead of checking on the food supply for his feast, he wouldn’t have happened upon her there, wouldn’t have spoken to her, wouldn’t have elicited the response she had given that had gotten her into trouble. Oh, when would she learn to curb her tongue?
    A litany of foul words spewed from Nabal’s mouth as he righted himself and came toward her again. Another bend in the spacious garden and they would be at the old olive tree along the wall that bordered Nabal’s property. This private garden had been her sanctuary—something she had often needed in her six months of marriage—when he had turned her away from his bed to punish her for some unknown slight, or when she needed to lick her wounds after she found him with one of the servant girls. This had been her safe place, a place he had never bothered to follow. Had someone betrayed her and told him her secret?
    She slowed her pace, but he was quick to grab her wrist and pull her to the end of the walk, where the olive tree spread its branches in a gnarled, shaded greeting. He whipped her around to face him, a sliver of moonlight setting his dark, narrow face into a grotesque mask. Her heart beat faster, if that were possible, as she met the hatred in his eyes. He reached above him to rip a thin branch from the tree, giving it a quick yank to try to pry it loose from the larger branch it clung to. His struggle brought forth a string of curses, as though the old tree would battle her husband for her honor.
    But even the tree betrayed her after a moment when Nabal finally staggered backward with a jolt as the branch gave way. A wicked gleam filled his gaze as he held it above her head. He had slapped her now and then and had found other ways to humiliate her or mistreat her, but until now he had never beaten her.
    “Please, my lord, what will people say if they knew you struck your wife? Surely the laws of Adonai forbid such a thing, and if my father got wind of it, or the priests—”
    A cackling laugh escaped his lips. “There are no priests, my dear wife—you forget King Saul killed them all, and who would dare tell your father? You?” He laughed again, but this time it was throatier and more vulgar.
    “Yes, my lord, but if the servants become aware that you would lay a hand on your wife, they may turn against you, and then who would help you to shear your many sheep? And you cannot forget that Adonai is watching, and you would not wish to break His law and—”
    His palm connected with her cheek so fast she didn’t see it coming. “Adonai would not expect a man to put up with a woman’s insolence.” His snarl sent another puff of foul breath toward her.
    Tears sprang to her eyes, and she raised her arms to protect her face, tasting blood on her lip. Why, oh why, had she opened her mouth again? There was no talking to him when he was like this, but how else was she to convince him to let her go if she did not speak? Try as she might, she had never learned to be meek and silent, though her mother had often warned her that her tongue, however wise her words might be, would get her into trouble one day.
    He turned the olive branch over in his hand, looking from it to her, as though savoring the terror she knew must be evident in her eyes, despite her desperate attempt to keep him from seeing her fear. “It’s time you learned to respect your husband, my dear wife.” He spoke with a sneer and a tone that held no respect for her at all.
    “Please don’t hurt me.” She covered her face with both hands as he towered over her. She was at his mercy, with no escape from him.
    Nabal’s thoughts churned through his head like a torrential wind