When Jesus Wept - By Bodie Page 0,57

hedges

so that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit?

Return, we beseech you, O God of Hosts,

look down from heaven and see.”2

In that moment I noticed for the first time that the places in my vineyard where Jesus had walked before had remained completely undamaged during our war against the locusts. The song continued:

“Visit this vine

and the vineyard which your right hand has planted,

and the branch that you made strong for yourself.

Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand,

upon the son of man

whom you made strong for yourself.

Then we will not turn back from you;

revive us and we will call upon your name.

Restore us, O LORD God of hosts;

cause your face to shine,

and we shall be saved!”3

The song came to an end, but I did not want to stop singing. I sang the last line of the chorus alone.

Jesus crossed his arms, his face shining. He said to me, “Lazarus, do you understand?”

I nodded once. “Yes, Lord.”

Then he said, “My Father is the Vinedresser. It is written by the prophets and it is true, ‘The Lord will restore the years the locusts have eaten.’ “4

Chapter 19

Patrick was given his freedom, but there was much more to my promise. He had asked for a wife. He had asked for freedom and the hand of Adrianna, the cook’s helper.

Samson was Adrianna’s foster father. The winemaker came to me in the company of his round and robust wife, whom he called Delilah because she had so captured his heart. Samson was a free man, yet his wife was a second-generation slave in the House of Lazarus. It was known that the House of Lazarus had the finest winemaker and the finest cook in the land. The couple had adopted Adrianna when she had arrived at my estate as a small orphan of about five years of age. Adrianna had possessed no skills. She was a shivering, lonely little girl when she came to us. Samson begged me for the favor of bringing her home to his childless wife. Little Adrianna became a part of the family, learning the culinary skills of Delilah, and was grafted into our faith and our ways.

Delilah and Samson stood before me on behalf of their daughter. “Sir, Patrick is a good man, as we all know. And now he has asked for the freedom of himself—”

“Which I have granted,” I said proudly.

Samson continued, “And for the freedom and the hand of my daughter.”

I nodded. “A fair bargain, considering the saving of Faithful Vineyard.”

Samson’s eyebrows went up slightly as he considered what he wanted to tell me. “Though he is not a Jew, as we are, he believes in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

I agreed with the good character of Patrick. “And so your daughter, who is also not descended from Abraham, is a good match for him.”

Delilah shifted uneasily and did not speak, though her lip trembled. “Sir, neither am I a Jew, but am descended from slaves of Gaul. Yet I would not return to my forefathers’ homeland if I were set free.”

I did not understand the emotion in Delilah’s face. The fear in her eyes. “What is it, good woman?”

Samson put his hand on Delilah’s arm. “Sir, Patrick is a Briton. Yes, he fears our God, and yet now that he has his freedom, he says he may take my daughter far, far away from this place and her mother. We have no child but Adrianna.”

“Perhaps, sir,” Delilah blurted, “he will take my girl back to his own kin in Britannia.”

Samson continued, “Here she is a slave in the household of a kind master, at least. But when she belongs to a husband, I will have no way to protect her if … ”

I suddenly understood. I had pledged the hand of Adrianna to Patrick without knowing all that was in Patrick’s mind. It had not occurred to me that I might lose my barrelmaker and, much worse, they might lose their daughter. “Has Patrick said he wished to return to his own country?”

“Not in so many words, sir. I was supportive of the match, but now I’m frightened. He speaks of his family in the great city of Verulamium where Isis is worshiped. Britannia is a godless place, sir, if you don’t mind my saying so. The Romans enforce their own ways upon the people. And if Patrick takes Adrianna away, we will see her no more.”

“Grandchildren,” Delilah whispered. “All I ever prayed for.”

“I gave the lad my word.”