No Woman So Fair
BOOKS BY GILBERT MORRIS
T
HE
H
OUSE OF
W
INSLOW
S
ERIES
1. The Honorable Imposter
2. The Captive Bride
3. The Indentured Heart
4. The Gentle Rebel
5. The Saintly Buccaneer
6. The Holy Warrior
7. The Reluctant Bridegroom
8. The Last Confederate
9. The Dixie Widow
10. The Wounded Yankee
11. The Union Belle
12. The Final Adversary
13. The Crossed Sabres
14. The Valiant Gunman
15. The Gallant Outlaw
16. The Jeweled Spur
17. The Yukon Queen
18. The Rough Rider
19. The Iron Lady
20. The Silver Star
21. The Shadow Portrait
22. The White Hunter
23. The Flying Cavalier
24. The Glorious Prodigal
25. The Amazon Quest
26. The Golden Angel
27. The Heavenly Fugitive
28. The Fiery Ring
29. The Pilgrim Song
30. The Beloved Enemy
31. The Shining Badge
32. The Royal Handmaid
33. The Silent Harp
34. The Virtuous Woman
35. The Gypsy Moon
36. The Unlikely Allies
37. The High Calling
38. The Hesitant Hero
39. The Widow's Choice
40. The White Knight
C
HENEY
D
UVALL,
M.D.
*
1. The Stars for a Light
2. Shadow of the Mountains
3. A City Not Forsaken
4. Toward the Sunrising
5. Secret Place of Thunder
6. In the Twilight, in the Evening
7. Island of the Innocent
8. Driven With the Wind
C
HENEY AND
S
HILOH:
T
HE
I
NHERITANCE
*
1. Where Two Seas Met
2. The Moon by Night
3. There Is a Season
T
HE
S
PIRIT OF
A
PPALACHIA
**
1. Over the Misty Mountains
2. Beyond the Quiet Hills
3. Among the King's Soldiers
4. Beneath the Mockingbird's Wings
5. Around the River's Bend
L
IONS OF
J
UDAH
1. Heart of a Lion
2. No Woman So Fair
3. The Gate of Heaven
4. Till Shiloh Comes
5. By Way of the Wilderness
6. Daughter of Deliverance
*
with Lynn Morris
**
with Aaron McCarver
Lions of Judah, Book Two
No Woman So Fair
Gilbert Morris
© 2003 by Gilbert Morris
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
Bethany House Publishers is a Division of
Baker Book House Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Ebook edition created 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansâfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingâwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
eISBN 978-1-4412-6237-0
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Cover design by Lookout Design Group, Inc.
To Dr. Ruth Mills
I always vowed that I would never have a lady doctor, nor a Yankee doctorânow I have
both
in you, my great and glorious physician!
How good it is to have a warm, charming, witty, and compassionate doctor and friend to take care of me! I count you, dear Ruth Mills, as one of the blessings that God has put into my life.
GILBERT MORRIS spent ten years as a pastor before becoming Professor of English at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas and earning a Ph.D. at the University of Arkansas. A prolific writer, he has had over 25 scholarly articles and 200 poems published in various periodicals and over the past years has had more than 180 novels published. His family includes three grown children, and he and his wife live in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
Contents
The Courtship
How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful!
Song of Songs 4:1
The hot desert wind swirled dust devils across the parched earth, whipping up the sparse vegetation that had managed to sprout after the meager rains of spring. Two sluggish, muddy riversâthe Tigris and Euphratesâdivided and carved out a large Y in this featureless plain. Few trees offered any relief for man or beast from the shimmering heat. Birds darted over the marshes where the rivers overran their banks, and tiny ripples in the shallows marked schools of fish feeding on insects. Bordering the rivers to the north and south, fields of grain spread across the desolate flat land. Occasional date palms offered fruit and shade for travelers coming from outlying farms into the city of Ur of the Chaldees, on the Euphrates River.
As the sun began to set in the west, a solitary vulture circled languidly over the busy metropolis, where fortified walls formed an elongated triangle that lay in the flatland near the confluence of the two rivers. The high wall surrounding the city was broken only by a few gates. Within that wall, in a broad, open section of the city, lay a sprawling temple complex, with a mud-brick zigguratâdedicated to the moon god Nanna and his wife Ningalârising eighty feet in three-step terraces.
The vulture tilted to his left and made a sweeping curve, searching for an evening meal. He studied the crowded mass of houses and bazaars surrounding the temple and the broad canal that circumscribed the city, connecting it with the larger of the two rivers leading to the big sea beyond. Another waterway cut through the heart of the city, along which path the vulture now soared until reaching the large harbor at the southern tip. The bird circled above the boats that sat quietly at anchor in the dead calm of evening. Having not spotted any carrion on the city streets, the vulture moved on, sailing effortlessly over the farmland that spread outward in every direction. There he would more likely find food.
A short, fat man, whose expensive robe barely covered his midsection, stopped along the streets of Ur to glance upward at the setting sun. A glittering stone on his pudgy finger caught the last rays. Eliphaz hesitated, tempted to return to the safety of his home. He was a timid fellow who knew that being out as darkness was gathering was inviting trouble. Nonetheless, he urged himself on, muttering under his breath, and scurried down the narrow, twisting streets. He knew them well, having spent all of his forty years within the city walls. He rarely stepped outside the gates into the open land, preferring the close comfort of the crowded houses, bazaars, and shops. The security of being around people was necessary for Eliphaz. He loved nothing better than the festival days when the farmers brought their produce and the city swarmed like a giant anthill.
Rounding a corner, Eliphaz halted at the sight of a large yellow dog emerging stiff-legged from the gathering shadows, his lips pulled back from his teeth. Eliphaz clasped the box he was bearing to his chest and backed up against the nearest wall. “Get away!” he shouted in as rough a tone as he could muster. The animal continued forward, his eyes glittering.
Two street urchins, no more than ten or twelve, were scuffling in the dust. Seeing Eliphaz shrinking against the wall, the boys grinned and pointed.
“Look at him! He's afraid of an old dog,” one of them said, laughing.
“Give us the box, and we'll make the dog leave you alone,” the other said. When Eliphaz did not answer, both boys approached him and demanded, “What's in the box?”
Eliphaz stared at the dog, then at the boys, whose sticks were raised threateningly. He reached into the purse that hung around his neck, pulled out a sack, and stuttered, “H-here, you can have these dates.”
The smaller of the two boys darted forward and snatched the sack. “Come on, Nopaz.” The boys turned and ran, whistling to the dog, who stiffly trotted away after them.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Eliphaz hurried on down the street. Humiliated by the scene, he purposed that the next time he ventured out at dusk, he would bring one of his slaves with a weapon.
By the time Eliphaz reached the house he was seeking, the sun was disappearing below the top of the city wall. Eliphaz entered the courtyard of the large house, which was set back from the street. Even in the growing darkness, he could see the lush greenery of the plants in decorated clay pots. He called out, “Hello!” and immediately a man emerged from one of the inner gates. He was a wiry fellow, below average height, who grinned and bobbed his head as he approached the visitor. “You are late tonight, sir.”
“Yes, I am, Hazil.”
Hazil reached out his hands. “Can I carry your box, sir?”
“No, I'll take it in. Am I late?”
“The meal hasn't started yet, but they have been expecting you.”
“I'll go right on in,” Eliphaz muttered, hastening into the house. Hazil turned, his hand on his hip, studying the man as he disappeared. Then he laughed softly and entered the house again himself, walking down a long corridor toward the cooking area. An oven half buried in the earth was sending up tendrils of smoke, which swirled about the dried onions and vegetables hanging from the ceiling. On one side of the room a woman was slicing vegetables with a knife, her back to Hazil. A mischievous grin tugged at Hazil's thin lips as he silently tiptoed toward her. He threw his arms around her full figure, laughing when she shrieked. No sooner had she turned than he planted a kiss on her mouth, shutting off her objections, then stepped back and plucked a piece of roasted meat from a dish on the table.