Unspoken by Francine Rivers Page B

in her neck. How could he let her go after last night? He breathed in the scent of her and knew he was undone.
    “I thought last night would be enough.” She put the heels of her hands against her eyes. “I thought I could live on the memories of being with you. But now . . . I feel . . . I feel . . . unclean!” She shuddered.
    Her words so mirrored his own feelings that he was disturbed. “Do you think I want to send you away?” He felt torn and frustrated. “I’d keep you with me if it wouldn’t raise a cry across the city. Your father . . . your grandfather.”
    “My husband!”
    “I have to get you out of here before anyone knows what’s happened between us.”
    Her body was tense against him. When he kissed her neck, she leaned her head back with a shaky sigh. “It’s no use. Someone will find out. And I’ll die for it.”
    He went rigid. “No one’s going to find out!”
    She turned in his arms, and he saw the fear in her eyes. “People already know, David! Your guards, my handmaiden. Any one of a dozen people who saw your men bring me in through the servants’ entrance last night.”
    He dug his fingers into her hair. “And who are they to dare speak against the king? My men will keep silent, and you will tell your maid she’d better hold her tongue if she values her life!” He saw the shock in her eyes and spoke more gently. “You didn’t realize what a ruthless man I could be, did you?” He tried to smile, but there was a fierceness inside him that claimed her for his own. “Listen, my love. Suppose someone did whisper of our night together. Would any priest dare confront me?”
    “Nathan would.”
    “Nathan knows me. He would dismiss any gossip as ugly rumor and nothing more. And besides, who would take the word of a guard or handmaiden over that of a king?” He kissed her tears away. “Trust me. I won’t allow any harm to come to you. I swear it!”
    “I’ve always trusted you, David. My father said you’ve always been a man of your word.”
    David winced inwardly, but anger rose quickly in self-defense. Why should he feel guilty over spending one night with the woman he desired? What harm could come of something done in secret? He was the king. Didn’t he deserve some happiness? Kings had always taken whomever they wanted. Why shouldn’t he? Who had done more in bringing the tribes together? Who had killed Goliath and rallied the Israelite army to victory? Who had led the kingdom to victory after victory? Who had been wrongly accused and pursued for years all because the people loved him? And during those hard years, who had been the one man to praise God? Besides, it was no one’s business but his own what he did in the privacy of his chamber!
    Still, he knew it was wiser to keep his own counsel in this particular matter. He thought of Eliam, his longtime friend. He thought of Ahithophel, his adviser. He thought of Uriah’s courage and ferocity in battle. If they found out Bathsheba had spent the night in his bed, there would be trouble. All three were men of God and would want to follow the letter of the Law. And the Law of Moses demanded that an adulteress be put to death.
    Fear gripped David’s belly as he realized the danger to Bathsheba. He shoved it away and reminded himself he was the king! Who would dare touch a woman he loved?
    “No stone will ever strike you.” He would kill any man who tried to harm her.
    It never once occurred to David that it was he who was shattering her life.

    Bathsheba waited for David to summon her again, but he didn’t. She watched for him on the wall, but the king didn’t appear. She listened for word of him, but all she heard was “The king is resting in his palace while our husbands are off at Rabbah fighting his war with the Ammonites!”
    “It’s our war,” she said in his defense. “If the Ammonites get away with insulting David’s ambassadors, they might think him weak and attack Jerusalem. Better to have the battle at