Rashi's Daughters, Book III: Rachel (50 page)

 

Rachel had her first opportunity when Simon came looking for Eliezer the following week.

“I hope he’ll be here soon.” The dyer shifted his weight from one foot to the other then back again. “I’m completely out of indigo and have almost no alum either.”

“I’m sure he’ll arrive any day now,” Rachel said with more assurance than she felt.

But Simon made no effort to leave. He continued to pace the courtyard, leaving Rachel wondering how to get rid of the man without insulting him. For lack of a better subject she asked, “I don’t suppose you’ve heard of any fuller who’s looking for employment.”

Simon stopped in his tracks. “Now that you mention it, I heard a rumor about Othon; that he’s treated an apprentice so badly that the fellow may leave.”

“I’m not interested in another apprentice, not even Othon’s.” Yet the man was one of the best fullers in Troyes.

“Don’t be hasty. From what I’ve heard, this apprentice knows everything his master does, perhaps more.”

Rachel approached Simon, getting a bit closer than she usually stood to a man. “Find out more about this apprentice, and you can be sure I’ll send for you immediately when Eliezer arrives.”

As soon as she saw Simon turn the corner, she grabbed her veil and headed for Albert and Alette’s house. Their salon was a whirlwind of activity; Alette and her daughters busily spinning while Albert and Jehan sent the shuttles between the warp so quickly that their hands were almost a blur.

Alette’s face lit with pleasure. “You’ve saved me a trip,” she addressed Rachel. “We’ll be out of wool next week.”

“We should have some from the new shearing at Ramerupt by then, and you’ll find the quality even better than last year’s.”

“Is that what brings you to visit, Mistress?” Jehan was always polite, but his fingers no longer slowed when he spoke.

“I need some information about Othon the Fuller,” Rachel said. “Actually, I want to know about his apprentice.”

“Othon will never allow one of his apprentices work for a competitor,” Albert replied.

“I heard that one of them is unhappy,” Rachel countered.

“Perhaps,” Alette said. “Othon’s a hard man to deal with and has only gotten worse as he’s aged.”

Rachel laid a handful of coins on the table. “Find the weavers who supply Othon’s cloth and the women who spin for them. Buy them some ale at the fair and see what you can learn.”

 

When Rachel delivered the new wool to the weavers the following week, Jehan told her that one of Othon’s apprentices was so proficient that he practically ran the place for his master, whose gout was forcing him to spend more and more time in bed. But there were no signs of the apprentice’s unhappiness, Albert warned her. In fact everyone expected him to marry Othon’s daughter and carry on the business. But they assured Rachel that they would continue to ask about him.

Eliezer arrived a few days later, catching Rachel without a fully formed plan for how to confront him. Upon discovering that she’d immersed in the Seine only the day before, he showered her with affection, and Rachel found it easier to enjoy his attention and say nothing about Gazelle. She convinced herself that fighting with Eliezer would solve nothing and only distract her from searching out the elusive fuller’s apprentice.

Thus she found time to stop in at the dyer’s while Eliezer napped. “My husband has returned with an excellent supply of dyestuffs,” she told Simon. “But I suggest you wait until tomorrow to come by, after he’s had time to rest.”

He flashed her a salacious grin. “I’ll give him two days.”

She forced herself to smile back. “Have you learned any more about Othon’s apprentice?”

“Now that Eliezer’s home, I’ll have an excuse to talk to the other dyers.” Simon chuckled. “Once they know I have access to his best merchandise, I’m sure I can loosen their lips.”

The next two weeks passed with no word from Simon, and Rachel was thankful that she’d been too upset about Gazelle to tell Eliezer about the fuller’s apprentice. Not that they had time to talk about her textile business or his concubine. Eliezer was adamant both that Shemiah begin learning about the dyestuffs and fur trade, and that the boy’s betrothal be finalized that summer. Their son was in his sixteenth year and needed to have his future settled.

Rachel, still surprised to see Shemiah towering over her instead of looking up, was forced to agree. Soon she was too busy negotiating his engagement contract, as well as working in the summer vineyard and lending women money, to think about anything else. As Papa had done when she’d become engaged to Eliezer, Moses refused to allow Glorietta’s betrothal upon learning that Shemiah would be traveling on business. In addition, Moses demanded a heavy financial penalty should Eliezer breach the engagement contract.

Eliezer took this setback with more grace than previously. “Let us have
erusin
and
nisuin
together at the wedding. I’m not worried that Moses will find a better match than our Shemiah for Glorietta,” he confided to Rachel in bed one evening. “She’s not nearly as attractive as you were . . . or as you are now.”

That was the end of talking and the beginning of conversing.

 

As if Rachel weren’t occupied enough, summer always brought more correspondence for her father than Simcha could handle. One evening, as the others were reviewing the day’s Talmud lesson before returning to synagogue, Papa handed her some letters.

“I’d like you to respond to these queries.” He pulled out the bench next to him for her to sit. “More questions about apostates and
anusim
. Almost four years since the great bloodshed; when will they end?”

She scanned the first one, relieved to find it rather straightforward. A man and woman, both
anusim
, performed
erusin
during the time they’d been compelled to forsake the Law of Moses. The witnesses had similarly been forced to apostatize. The couple had since left that locale and wished to repent. Was their marriage legally binding?

“Of course their marriage is valid.” Rachel looked to her father, who nodded vigorously. “Although the couple committed a serious sin, they are still considered Israel. Their hearts remained faithful to Heaven, and they escaped as soon as they could—their
erusin
is most certainly binding.”

Salomon shook his head sadly. “So many of our people wish to punish the
anusim
; yet who knows how they would act with the sword at their throats?”

Rachel read the next letter, a short one, and scratched her head in confusion. “A young man, whose only brother has apostatized, cannot find a woman who will marry him.”

“A difficult problem.” Salomon stroked his beard quite a while before continuing, “I’m not sure I have a solution.”

“I don’t understand.”

“If our questioner should marry and then die before having children . . .” he left the sentence for Rachel to finish.

“Of course.” Her face lit with understanding. “His wife would be left an
agunah
, chained to his apostate brother, who can neither marry her nor free her through
chalitzah
.”

“There may be some hope for the poor fellow.”

“What hope? No woman would want to assume that risk, not when there are unfettered men available.”

“He could possibly find a convert to accept him.” Salomon didn’t sound confident of his answer.

“Or if he were of less-saintly character, he could get a maidservant with child first,” Rachel said.

Salomon shook his head. “Most fathers wouldn’t want their daughters marrying into a family tainted by apostasy, and even less so if the prospective groom is lacking in morals.”

 

By the end of the summer, Rachel and Moses had almost completed their children’s engagement contract. It was an amicable process, a relief from Moses’s demanding patients and Rachel’s desperate debtors, one that each had secretly prolonged as a pleasant contrast to the rest of their business dealings. Eliezer, recognizing that he couldn’t return to Toledo without signing the document, fumed with frustration at their lack of progress. When they agreed to suspend negotiations until after Sukkot, Eliezer could barely hide his exasperation.

Rachel had no sympathy for his bad moods; she was exulting over the information she’d received from Alette and Simon. First came a visit from the weaver.

“We have almost finished two more bolts of broadcloth.” Alette put her hand on Rachel’s when the latter reached for her purse. “No need to pay until the fair’s over, but I couldn’t wait to tell you what I heard about Othon’s apprentice.”

Rachel poured her a cup of wine. “What have you learned?”

Alette’s eyes twinkled with excitement. “You know how some tavern wenches take advantage of the fair season to earn extra coins from the merchants.”

“
Oui
.” Proper women didn’t like this by-product of Troyes’ fairs, but the fact remained that there weren’t enough harlots to service all the visitors. Prices naturally increased, drawing local amateurs to supplement their incomes in this fashion.

“Sybille’s younger daughter works in a tavern near the Vienne Creek, so she knows all the dyers and fullers,” Alette said. “One night Othon’s apprentice comes in, and he’s picking quarrels with the other patrons, which is quite unlike him, says Sybille’s girl. So the tavern keeper tells her to quiet his bad temper or get him to leave before a fight starts, and since the fellow is good-looking, she tries to cheer him up.”

“I understand what happened,” Rachel cut her off. “What did she learn from him?”

“To make a long story short,” Alette’s tone revealed her annoyance at being interrupted, “the fellow worked years for Othon under the impression that he would be rewarded with the hand of Othon’s daughter and a partnership in the business.”

Like Jacob had worked for Laban, Rachel thought. And this man was about to be similarly cheated.

“Except that Othon decided to marry his daughter off to another master fuller, one at least twice her age,” Alette announced. “Sybille’s girl said the apprentice had some choice curses for Othon.”

“Perhaps he would be willing to sell his skills elsewhere. By the way, what’s his name?”

“
Mon Dieu
, I don’t know.” Alette looked at Rachel hopefully. “But surely you can find out.”

Rachel lost no time in dispatching a message to Simon, but it was several days before the dyer sent word to meet at his shop. She arrived to find him stirring a vat of boiling blue liquid. Between indigo’s normal stink and the addition of horse urine as binder, the stench was horrific.

“I apologize for making you come to me,” Simon said as he wiped his hands. “But I need to get these finished if I’m going to sell them before the fair closes.”

“And I apologize for interrupting your work,” Rachel said, trying not to gag from the fumes. “But the rumor about Othon’s apprentice appears to be true.”

“I’ve made some discreet inquiries, and I believe that with the proper inducements Othon’s apprentice can be persuaded to ply his considerable skills elsewhere.”

“We keep calling him Othon’s apprentice. Doesn’t the man have a name?”

Simon avoided her gaze. “His name is Dovid.”

“Oh my.” Rachel slowly let out her breath. “I wonder if that improves or decreases my chances of hiring him.”

“Dovid may have been born a Jew, but he’s not one now,” Simon said. “Not that he’s big on worshipping the Hanged One; he only attends Mass on their major feast days.”

“Maybe Dovid’s not a Jew. Maybe his father fancied the name.”

“He’s a Jew all right. He’s circumcised.”

“That hardly sounds like a discreet inquiry.” Rachel smiled and added, “
Merci beaucoup
.”

On her way home, Rachel pondered this surprising turn of events. Had Dovid been converted as a child or more recently? And if the latter, was he one of the
anusim
? She needed to speak with Dovid, but, assuming she could locate the man, how should she approach him and when? One thing was certain. If he were that angry with his employer, she might not have much time.

 

When Sukkot arrived and it became evident that Moses and Rachel would not reach an agreement for several weeks, Eliezer swallowed his resentment and decided to use the time to make a fur-buying trip and for Shemiah and Pesach to accompany him. Part of his anger was with himself, knowing that he’d been too cowardly to confront Rachel about leaving early. And each time they used the bed, he felt less inclined to bring up the subject.

Finally he decided to wait until the Cold Fair closed to leave for Toledo—like usual. In the meantime, he could ask Salomon to intervene on his behalf. Relieved at his reprieve, Eliezer was determined to appreciate his son’s company and the scenery as the threesome traveled to Kiev. He would probably never see those lands again.

Rachel’s eyes filled with tears as her husband and son turned the corner and disappeared from sight. Seeing them on horseback together was a shocking reminder of how Shemiah had grown, for the two silhouettes were nearly identical. When they returned, Shemiah would be affianced to Glorietta. Rachel wiped away the wetness on her cheeks and sighed.

She had been craven not to challenge Eliezer about Gazelle, but their summer together had been more pleasant because of it. And was the fact that her husband had a concubine in a foreign land truly so terrible? Gazelle was merely one of Eliezer’s servants; why was this so different than if she’d been his cook? Rachel didn’t quite convince herself; yet she sensed that the wound, while not healed, would eventually only be painful if prodded.

Perhaps the best thing to do would be to give up her clothier ambitions and travel with Eliezer. Dovid had left Othon’s employment less than a week after the Hot Fair closed, and all her efforts to find him had failed. He was probably halfway to Flanders by now.