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looks, but their fathers would be looking for more than just a pretty face.
    The Jewish custom was that the prospective husband’s family had to pay a bride price to his prospective in-laws as compensation for the loss of her services to their household. However, the wife was also expected to bring something to the husband’s family. Social status and sterling housewifely skills were the minimum a family would require before parting with a substantial bride price.
    I said, “Your mother must be wrong. Why would any father want to pay to bring me into his family?”
    Ruth said, “Those boys want you for the same reason that Samuel wanted you. And there will probably be others.”
    “No,” I said. “No and no and no. This can’t be true.”
    Ruth took my two hands and looked into my eyes. “Mary, listen to me. I’m not your friend because you’re beautiful; I’m your friend because I like you. You’re generous and kind and funny and fun to be with. But men aren’t always interested in those things. They think of something else when they look at a woman.”
    I thought of Samuel’s glittering eyes, and suddenly I was angry. “A Jewish man is supposed to think about a woman’s wifely qualities. When the scriptures talk about a wife, they say that ‘charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting.’” I lifted my chin. “A Jewish man is supposed to wed a woman whose housewifely accomplishments are richer than the ‘finest of pearls.’ That’s what the scriptures say!”
    “That may be true, but remember, they also tell us that Jacob preferred Rachel over Leah because Rachel was so beautiful. And David had Bathsheba’s husband murdered because he wanted her beauty so much. I don’t believe the scriptures mention Rachel or Bathsheba’s housewifely skills.”
    I wanted to stamp my foot, but I was afraid we might be heard from outside the closet. “Daniel doesn’t love me for my looks; he cares about
me
,” I said.
    “Yes, he does.” Ruth leaned forward to kiss my cheek. “But you and Daniel . . . well, you two are special. The rest of us will never have what you have.”
    I heard a note of regret in her voice. “Will you be content to marry the man your father picks for you?” I asked.
    “How would I go about choosing a man myself? I don’t know any men. None of the girls in this house knows any men. We must rely on our fathers for that sort of thing.”
    Suddenly my heart was wrung for my friend and for all the poor girls who didn’t have a Daniel in their lives.
    Ruth said, “We’d better go before Esther begins to look for us.”
    I agreed, and we listened for noise in the hall outside. When we heard no one, we slipped out the closet door and walked softly through the hall and into the kitchen.
    Later that night, as I was lying on my sleeping mat, some of Ruth’s words came back to me. In matters of marriage, she had said, girls must rely upon their fathers.
    But Lord Benjamin is not my father. My father lives in Bethany
.
    I wondered if I might have found a way of escaping any marriage offers Lord Benjamin might receive for me.

Chapter Six

    Jewish women are not taught to pray as the men are. Our learning is practically limited to prayers to be said over the preparation of food. But my studies with Daniel had made me feel that the Lord was ever-present, and I prayed often. I loved the psalms in particular. It comforted me to think I could look to the Lord the way a sheep looks to its shepherd, to know that the Lord would never let me be orphaned, that I would always find shelter in the shadow of His wings.
    My father had abandoned me, and Lord Benjamin had never made me feel like a full member of his family. So I turned to the Lord for what I lacked in paternal care. The Lord cared about me. If I prayed hard enough, He would take pity on Daniel and me and allow us to marry.
    During those difficult days Daniel and I were rigidly monitored. Samuel had told his father about Daniel’s protective way