IT WAS ALREADY DARK when Hannah returned home from the palace. She went straight upstairs. Isaac was seated upright in bed, his nightshirt opened at the neck. “Oh my God,” he said, jumping to his feet. “It’s so late and I thought the worst. I thought …” He took her and the baby in his arms, resting his chin on the top of Hannah’s head. “I thought …” he began again, but could not go on.
“I know,” said Hannah.
“I wasn’t even here to say goodbye when you left. You could have died alone thinking I didn’t care for you anymore.”
In the doorway, hesitant to move into the bedchamber, stood Möishe and Zephra, both smiling. Möishe said, “Your head is still attached to your shoulders, I see.” He could turn the grimmest subject into a joke.
Zephra entered and patted Hannah’s cheek. “I am so happy you are alive.”
Behind Möishe and Zephra, in the shadows, stood Grazia. She made no move to come into the bedroom, and from the look on her face she was not as happy as the others were to see Hannah and the baby.
“A joyous occasion,” she said finally, and then retreated downstairs.
Zephra and Möishe followed her.
“Such a lovely child,” Isaac said.
“The Valide gave her to me. I will raise her, if you agree.” A tone of defensiveness had crept into her voice.
“Hannah, I am sorry about the way things have been between us—so strained, so difficult. We will raise the child together. You and I.”
Hannah felt a stir of hope. She looked down at the baby, their baby. The tiny face, the rounded cheeks, the mouth like the bud of a rose. She looked so much like Leah, it broke Hannah’s heart. The Valide had almost certainly noticed the resemblance but had not mentioned it.
“And, Isaac, I have the money to repay Grazia.”
He turned to her, a puzzled look on his face.
“The Valide gave it to me.”
“Are you jesting?”
She passed him the baby and took the velvet purse from her pocket. She shook it so the coins jangled.
The look of pure happiness on Isaac’s face made Hannah regret her earlier suspicions.
“I do not know what to say.” Isaac laid the baby down in her cradle and gave it a slight push with his hand. “I was so afraid of losing you, Hannah. I saw us drifting further and further apart until there seemed to be nothing I could do to stop it. I never wanted Grazia. All I wanted to do was placate her to buy us more time. I was trapped.”
Hannah began to see all of Isaac’s actions in a different light. He had not been fawning over Grazia after all, but was merely trying to keep her at bay.
“Shall we tell Grazia the news together?” Hannah asked, taking his hand.
They found her in the garden, tossing a ball to Matteo. Grazia had not been looking well of late. Her mouth was tight. She was not taking the usual care with her appearance. Today her dress was creased and her hair had been arranged in haste.
“We have your money,” Hannah announced without preamble. “Now you can sail home and remarry.”
Grazia stared at her and then at Isaac, an unreadable expression on her face.
“Aren’t you overjoyed?” Isaac asked, his arm around Hannah’s shoulder.
Hannah showed her the velvet pouch. Grazia took it, weighing it in her palm. She did not look like a woman who had just been handed a fortune.
“Where did you get this?” Grazia asked.
“It does not matter,” said Hannah.
“Aren’t you happy?” Isaac asked.
“Of course, I am overjoyed. It is just so unexpected.” But when she tried to smile, her lips remained closed and tight.
Matteo wrapped his arms around Grazia’s legs and buried his face in her skirts.
“I am happy, of course I am. It is just that I shall miss you all so terribly.” Grazia fondled Matteo’s ear. From the chicken coop in rear of the garden, the rooster crowed three hearty cock-a-doodle-doos.
“Isaac will ask the Rabbi to arrange for the divorce,” said Hannah.
Grazia took Hannah in an embrace. “Dear clever sister-in-law.” She kissed her on both cheeks. “I am so very pleased that you will remain Isaac’s wife.”
There was such a note of insincerity in Grazia’s voice that Hannah wondered why Grazia had bothered to say the words at all.
The following day, Hannah, Isaac, and Grazia went to the Rabbi’s study, where two other rabbis were present. Under the direction of Rabbi Yakov, Grazia untied from Isaac’s foot a sandal specially designed for the ritual divorce ceremony and hurled it across the room. She then spit on the ground in front of Isaac, declaring, “My brother-in-law refuses to raise unto his brother’s memory a name in Israel; he will not marry me.”
Isaac, as the ceremony demanded, responded, “I do not wish to take her.”
Hannah noted with relief the elation in his voice as he said the words.
Grazia continued at the urging of the Rabbi: “Marriage to you would be an abomination.” She said it without conviction, but Hannah didn’t care.
Then it was over.
They walked home together, Grazia lingering a few steps behind Hannah and Isaac. Isaac cradled Jessica in his arms. He brushed against Hannah from time to time and smiled at her, making jokes and teasing her.
“So I am to be deprived of the happiness of having two wives to scold me and order me about?” Grazia made no reply, not even a smile.
When they reached their house, his face took on the tender look it got when he was thinking of making love to her. She was glad she had been to the mikvah recently and so was ready to receive his love. She felt the old Isaac coming back to her, and she accepted him as easily as she might envelop herself in a cherished cloak.
That night was hot and so muggy that Isaac suggested they sleep under the stars. In the middle of their garden was a secluded space formed by arching willow trees and carpeted with moss. On summer nights when their bedchamber grew unbearably hot, they often slept there.
When Isaac made love to her, he let her reach her fulfillment first. When it was his turn, he called out her name. When Isaac had persuaded her to marry him, he had promised no one would ever love her as much as he would. Falling asleep beside her, holding her in his arms, Isaac had kept that promise. Thank you, God, Hannah prayed, for returning my husband to me.
At dawn, as they were waking up under the willow, Isaac said, “Good morning, dear wife.” He kissed her on the forehead and drew her closer. They made love again, tenderly, and later, still in each other’s arms, discussed their plans for the day ahead.
Isaac said, “Grazia wants to take Matteo to the parade to celebrate Prince Mehmet’s circumcision.”
Hannah wiggled out from under his arm and sat up. “The streets will be packed with thousands of people. What if he gets tired and has to be carried? What if he stumbles under the wheels of a cart? I think it is wiser if we all go.”
“But baby Jessica needs you here,” said Isaac. “And Möishe and I have work to do on the looms. Matteo will be thrilled to have Grazia all to himself before she takes her leave. It is only for a few hours.”
“I suppose you are right,” Hannah said with reluctance. She should not let her dislike of Grazia interfere with Matteo’s love for his aunt.
“It will be a spectacular event,” said Isaac. “This will be a day he remembers for the rest of his life.”