A Reluctant Queen (26 page)

He remembered the first time he had seen Ahasuerus. At the time, Haman had held a minor position as scribe in the Satrap of Babylon’s household. The surprising news that Darius had named his eldest son to be King of Babylon had not dismayed the satrap, who had perfect confidence that he would continue to be the real power while Darius’ son playacted a royal role.

Haman had not bothered to watch Ahasuerus’ royal entrance into the capital of his new kingdom. Babylon, that great walled city of terraces and opulent gardens, of massive brickwork and glazed tiles, had seen the traditional pageant often enough, and when Ahasuerus drove his golden chariot up the Processional Avenue from the Ishtar Gate, he had received a polite if unenthusiastic welcome from the local populace. Most of the officials, like Haman, had stayed home.

The young king was to reside in the palace Darius had built on the southern citadel, west of the palace of Nebuchadnezzar and just before the massive, moated wall of Imgut-Bel. It was not until the day of the king’s entry that Haman learned of his appointment as Chief Scribe in the new king’s household. This was an honor he had never expected; it was an honor his minor position did not merit. He was stunned.

In all the Persian Empire, the position of Chief Scribe was peculiar to Babylon. Nowhere in the world was writing more commonly employed in the everyday affairs of life than in Babylon, where every important commercial transaction had to be sealed by a written contract. The Chief Scribe was in charge of all public scribes and all public declarations and inscriptions. It was an extremely responsible job, with a high degree of visibility, and it did not take Haman long to figure out why it had been given to a low-ranking Palestinian. The satrap had wanted to insult Ahasuerus. Everyone connected to the court realized the appointment was an insult. It remained to be seen if the new king would realize this as well.

Haman vividly remembered his trepidation when Ahasuerus had interviewed the men whom the satrap had appointed to the royal household. The new Chief Scribe had joined the crush of officials in the main courtyard and waited for his name to be called so he could go into the throne room, where Ahasuerus sat in state. When finally it was Haman’s turn, he had pushed the curtain aside and stepped into the room, bowing so low that his nose touched his knees.

“You may approach,” the king had said and Haman had looked up.

The sight of the eighteen-year-old Ahasuerus had struck him like a blow, the young king’s beauty was so blindingly pure. Haman had walked forward on unsteady legs until he was within the circle of that unexpected radiance.

Ahasuerus had regarded him gravely. “Tell me about your duties, Haman,” he had said.

The audience had not lasted more than three minutes, but when Haman walked out of the room he had vowed to do everything he could to protect Ahasuerus from the pack of Babylonians he knew would try to pull the young king down.

This protective feeling had only grown stronger over the years, and now Ahasuerus had appointed him Grand Vizier, the most powerful post in all the empire.
Why then
, he asked himself,
am I so dissatisfied?

The shadows deepened and the room turned dark. He sat on, undisturbed by his wife or his servants, who knew enough to leave him alone when he closed the door of his private room.

The face of Ahasuerus as he was today presented itself in the frame of Haman’s mind. At twenty-seven, the king had lost that morning-of-the-world look that had so amazed Haman at their first meeting, and he had certainly shown himself competent to rule. But still Haman felt the familiar need to look after him.

He is too trusting. He sees only the good in people; he never sees the evil. Look at Smerdis and Teresh—he might have been killed. And now he will be grateful to that Jew for warning him
.

Haman had labored for years to protect Ahasuerus from untrustworthy friends. During that time he had never once found it strange that the only friend he ever thought Ahasuerus could trust was himself.

The following morning Ahasuerus summoned Haman to the small reception room off the Court of the Royal Kin that he used as an office. He was ready to hear the Treasury report.

When Haman finished detailing his discovery of the Head Treasurer’s thefts from the Tribute payments, Ahasuerus’ mouth was set in a hard line. He was dressed for riding. The window shutters were open, and from beyond the line of trees that gave the king privacy, Haman could hear the sound of horses being led into the south courtyard. Ahasuerus slapped a pair of gloves against his leather breeches and frowned. His hands were ringless, as they always were when he rode. He walked to the window and looked out. Over his shoulder he asked, “How did you discover the fraud?”

“It was simple, my lord. I compared the records with the amount of gold that was actually in the Treasury. They did not match.”

Ahasuerus turned around. “That must have taken you a long time.”

“It did. But it is one of the surest ways to uncover corruption, my lord.”

“How can you be certain that it is Otanes and not one of the under-officials who has taken the missing gold?” Ahasuerus asked.

“If it had been one of the under-officials, he would have changed the records to match the amount of gold, my lord. Otanes could not do that as he cannot write. Also, the Head Treasurer is the only person to have unlimited access to the Treasury.” Haman shrugged. “I am sure he thought he was perfectly safe, my lord. There is a tremendous amount of gold in the Treasury, and the chance of anyone bothering to reconcile the gold with the records was very slim.”

“Do you think he was robbing my father as well?”

“I am certain of it, my lord.”

Ahasuerus slapped his gloves against his breeches again but harder this time. He was angry. “The senior court officials are certainly keeping my judges busy these days,” he said grimly.

“I am truly sorry to grieve you with this news, my lord.”

“You are certain that the corruption does not spread beyond Otanes?”

Haman had spent an hour the previous evening trying to find a way to implicate Mordecai in this charge. To his disgust, he had been unsuccessful. “I am certain, my lord,” he said regretfully.

“Very well. Send a guard to tell Otanes what he stands accused of. And inform the Chief Judge as well.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Ahasuerus’ taut face relaxed into a smile. “As ever, I must thank you for your faithful service, my friend. I have chosen the right man to be my Grand Vizier.”

A compliment from Ahasuerus could always send Haman’s spirits soaring. “Thank you, my lord.”

Ahasuerus pulled on his gloves and walked to the door. He tapped once and the page boy on the other side opened it immediately. The king went out to greet his horse.

A few days later Mordecai had an appointment with Ahasuerus to present a letter from the Susa Jews. Ahasuerus listened gravely as Mordecai read the carefully crafted words aloud. When Mordecai had finished, he said, “I am happy that the Jews of Susa desire peace in Palestine. The important issue, however, is what the Jews of Palestine desire.”

“They desire peace also, my lord. It is true that there is a prophet in Jerusalem who is preaching war against Edom, but I have it on the best authority that the people of Jerusalem have paid him no heed.”

“The satrap has told me the same thing.” Ahasuerus laced his slender, ringed fingers together. “What I am wondering,” he said softly, “is why the Susa Jews felt it necessary to approach me on this matter.”

Mordecai looked into Ahasuerus’ eyes.
There is a great deal of intelligence in that light
-
gray gaze
, he thought, and on the spur of the moment he decided to be honest.

“I will tell you what we fear, my lord. Edom has long desired a seaport. She took advantage of the years of the Jewish Exile to move settlers into Jewish land in southern Judah. She would dearly love to move even further west, across our entire country, to the sea. This is something we cannot allow.”

Ahasuerus said, “Do you have any reason to believe that Edom will attempt such a movement?”

“Not at the moment, my lord.”

“And in the future?”

“My lord, I would not be honest with you if I did not say that the Jews of Susa are greatly concerned about the fact that you have appointed an Edomite to be your Grand Vizier. We fear that if, for some reason, trouble should arise in Judah, you will hear only one viewpoint on the subject.”

Ahasuerus unclasped his hands and the light glistened off a ruby in one of his rings. He said, “What if I told you that there is also a Jewish voice close to my ear?”

Mordecai’s heart leaped.
Esther has told him who she is!
It was the only explanation Mordecai could conceive of that would account for the king’s extraordinary statement. He saw that Ahasuerus was waiting for his reply and managed to say hoarsely, “I would ask who that voice might belong to, my lord.”

“It belongs to you, Mordecai,” the king said gently. “I am appointing you to take Otanes’ place as Head Treasurer of the empire.”

Haman could not believe it when he heard the news. He was too stunned even to feel outraged.

I devoted months to proving that Otanes was embezzling gold from the Treasury and this is my reward. Otanes’ position is to be given to a Jew
.

There was nothing he could do about it. Haman knew better than to think he could question the king’s judgment in regard to this appointment. However gracious Ahasuerus might be, he kept a space around himself that no one dared to step into. The greatest desire of Haman’s life was to be the person who was allowed to enter that space.

He had never done so, but until now he had had the consolation of knowing that no one else was closer to Ahasuerus than he was.

In Mordecai, Haman scented a dangerous rival.

Mordecai was a friend of the queen’s, and Ahasuerus seemed bewitched by his new wife. While Haman could not consider a woman a serious adversary, he feared the Jew.

Because of his connection to the queen, Mordecai would have access to the royal apartments.

Mordecai had been the man responsible for bringing to light Teresh’s plot against the king’s life.

Worst of all, Ahasuerus liked him. He would never have made him Head Treasurer otherwise.

For nine long years, admiration and jealousy had lived in uneasy coexistence within Haman’s heart. With the appointment of Mordecai, the delicate balance of those emotions began to tip in the wrong direction.