Rachel and Leah (Women of Genesis) by Orson Scott Card Read Free Book Online Page B

her?”
    And as he bent toward her, and she realized that he was, in fact, going to kiss her, she remembered the voice that had chanted to her all the way to the well today, urging her on, faster, so she wouldn’t be late. If her vision meant anything at all, it meant
this
, that she was supposed to be here.
    She did not have to let him kiss her. His hold was gentle and she could break away at any time, without effort. And he had not tried to touch her until he was accused falsely. It was so perverse, to be defiant like this and actually do the thing he was accused of. But she understood such impulses; hadn’t she done the same to Leah, acting as she was accused of being, just to show how different things would be if the accusation were true?
    And yet it was a dangerous thing for this man to do. There were more witnesses than Old Jaw and the boys. Those other herders, they’d have the story all over the land of Haran within days, and then how could Father keep his honor without hunting down this stranger and killing him? She should not let him kiss her.
    All this flashed through her mind in the time that it took him to bend, deliberately, and kiss her, not upon the cheek, but on the lips, a bold, firm-lipped kiss like a father, like a brother.
    “You are a dead man!” shouted Old Jaw. “You think because I’m old you can have your way, but her father is a mighty man in this country! You take your life in your hands, sir!”
    The stranger pulled away from Rachel, and to her surprise, tears were streaming down his face. Yet they were not tears of grief—his smile was broad and his eyes were kindly as he looked at her. Nothing like the frown she wore on her own face.
    “I know that her father is Laban,” said the traveler, his tone amiable enough, “and this is his daughter Rachel. Which makes her my kinswoman, for I’m a son of Laban’s sister, Rebekah. Laban and I are truly brothers, and like a brother I greet his quick-witted daughter with a brother’s kiss. Do you dare to say I have no right?”
    And in that moment, everything changed. This was one of the sons of Isaac. A prince, truly, for he was a grandson of Abraham. And as Rebekah’s son, he had claim upon that story, too—the tale of the woman who met a stranger at a well.
    Meanwhile, Old Jaw was about to continue his bluster. “Any man can claim to be a kinsman, but how do I know—”
    “I know you, sir,” said Rachel. “For Aunt Rebekah has two sons, one who is known to be red and hairy, which is not you, so you must be the other one.”
    “Yes,” said the man, laughing. “I am, always and forever, the other one.”
    “How can this be true!” demanded Old Jaw. “The camp of Isaac is at Beersheba.”
    “And from Beersheba I have come,” said the traveler. “Iam Jacob, son of Isaac and Rebekah, grandson of Abraham and Sarah, and I have come to ask the hospitality of my brother Laban.”
    “It’s a strange thing, to ask it upon the lips of his favorite daughter!” said Old Jaw angrily.
    Favorite daughter. It made Rachel shiver, to hear it said so baldly. Was it true? Father doted on Leah, constantly looked after her, made sure her every whim was catered to. While Rachel was expected to do a full share of work in the camp, learning all the work, and not just the work of women, either. It had always seemed to Rachel that it was Leah who was the most favored. Leah was pretty, wasn’t she? And even though she couldn’t see well, she wasn’t
blind
. Father loved Leah dearly. Surely more than he loved Rachel, who was always getting into trouble and whom he constantly had to rebuke.
    But if this was what everyone believed, then Leah must believe it, too. No wonder she is so angry at me for no reason. She thinks I’m Father’s favorite! Such foolishness.
    “My father,” she said coldly to Old Jaw, “has no favorites among his children.”
    But it was Jacob who answered. “I’m glad to hear it. I’ve had enough of parents who have