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I was shaken awake in the dark.
“Master, there are soldiers at the gate demanding to come in,” came a hissed whisper.
Mary stirred on her side of the bed. “What’s wrong?”
“Go back to sleep — I’ll take care of it,” I assured her as he slipped out of bed. Hoisting my robe over my head and shoulders and pulling it down to cover my body, I followed the servant out the front door.
Five large soldiers stood on the other side of the gate. With relief I noted they wore Galilean uniforms, not Roman.
“What is the meaning of this?”
The largest of the five replied, “We heard you’re harborin’ a fugitive here, a rebel from up in the hills. A man stealin’ Herod’s money.”
My worst fear! As I opened my mouth to speak, I felt the familiar sensations from so many years ago, back in the days when my legs quivered and I stuttered uncontrollably. No! I could not afford to do that now! The soldiers would see stuttering as a sure sign that they had rattled me, that I had something to hide. To protect my life, and those of my family and the people of my estate, I could not afford to speak with anything less than patrician confidence and authority.
“Certainly Herod Antipas did not put you up to this,” I said. “He would have spoken to me directly. And it could not have been your commander. I shall have to speak to Herod about this, and he might put you in chains if you don’t shut up and leave my gates immediately.”
The soldiers seemed taken aback, but the large one who had spoken tried to bluff it out.
“I got orders from the palace. You just never mind who it was what gave ‘em. Me and my men are gonna search this place high and low.”
Dad had taught me when to press my advantage. I fixed my gaze firmly on the man’s eyes. “What is your name?”
“Marcus,” he said.
“Well, Marcus,” I said, stepping closer to the gate, my jaw jutting forward and my finger pointing at his face, “perhaps you don’t realize how much trouble you’re in right now. So I will speak very slowly, and I won’t use any big words. I’m a close friend of Herod’s. I’m a close friend of your commander. I’m a close friend of everybody important in the palace. So unless it was Herod himself who spoke to you directly and gave you these orders, then it was a lie. Somebody may have told you that Herod gave these orders, but it was a lie. Now if you don’t leave my gate this instant, I am going to go speak to Herod and your commander and tell them that their man Marcus foolishly fell for a lie and rousted me out of my sleep. Well, is that what you want me to do?”
In the ensuing silence I could hear my heart thudding in my ears. But I forced myself to ignore it, and stared the man down as if I could crush him with a word.
“I gladly pay my taxes — more taxes than almost any other man in the city. I sit at table with Herod and share his food and wine. A trusted member of Herod’s court is now a member of my family. Do you really believe I would be sheltering a rebel here at my house? Someone has set you up, and they plan to steal everything you own after Herod arrests you and puts you in prison. Are you going to let them steal everything from you?”
The soldier shook himself as if emerging from a dream. “C’mon, guys,” he said to his companions, “we’ve been set up. Let’s go arrest the bastard who did this to us.”
They turned and walked back up the path toward the city. When I was satisfied they weren’t coming back, I went into the house.
“What’s wrong?” Mary asked when I entered our room. She obviously had not obeyed my order to go back to sleep.
“Let’s try to get some rest for now,” I said, trying hard to keep any tension out of my voice. “In the morning I think I want you and Mom to go stay with Susanna in Cana. If Chuza doesn’t object, it might be a good idea for Joanna to go too.”
But Mary stopped me. “Yes, we will protect ourselves if that is the proper thing to do. But first, let us pray. Your brother baptized me, and he taught me to speak to the Lord our God.”
I bristled with impatience, but kept my silence as she prayed aloud. Surprisingly, I felt a sense of calm wash over me, and I slept soundly the rest of the night.