Thy Younger Brother

Chapter 4

"You are sure of this brother?" Shiphrah not to be taken by unnecessary fits of passion, questioned Ephraim.

"I am sure, Lehi's personal servants told me. Several days ago, they had helped the family prepare for a journey to Lehi's estate near the land of Benjamin. It is a usual occurrence, most of Lehi's wealth is from trading the produce of his lands there, but four days ago his caravan did not come through as expected. They sent a man to search for the family, only to find that Lehi had made it to Benjamin, gathered supplies, and they have disappeared from there. The servants are sure ill has fallen upon them, they have left no sign or trail. It is like they have vanished." Ephraim relayed his news in detail.

"As you have said," Ishmael rushed to calm the growing panic of his family, "It has only been four days, since their disappearance, we cannot say that they did not have reason to delay, they could have been lost in dangerous weather, or perhaps sickness forced their departure from the common trail. Lehi is a seasoned traveler, he has made that journey, and even more difficult ones, many times. We will pray for them, and for their safe return."

"Lehi's mind is failing him." Ephriam cut into his father's final statement, trying to bring back the gravity of what could be happening.

The fear that Ismael was feeling for the safety of his old friend was turned to anger the instant his son's words fell upon his ears. "I will never hear you disrespect such a goodly man again." he growled.

Scrambling for words at the chastisement of his statement, Ephraim mumbled his apology. "I meant no disrespect father; I was only repeating the words of both Laman and Lemuel. They say that they are worried for him, and that threats have been made against his life. They say he speaks against the temple and the against the high priests. I only share in their concern. Forgive for speaking against your friend."

"These are dark times, I too have no great love for the way things are being done away with in the temple, it is not a sin to have an opinion. We will wait for word of Lehi, and until then, we will leave this matter to the Lord." Ishmael made his exit of the family, walking solemnly back into the house, disturbed by that which he had been told.

"What do you think will become of them?" Hadassah asked.

"I do not know, but I do not think we will ever see them again, Laman has told me enough of his father's visions, for me to doubt that they are just wandering lost." Ephraim shook his head in disbelief and left them.

As her brother went back to his business, Mara watched Atarah begin to break. Her hands came covered her face, and she hurried from her sisters, the sound of a sob being caught in her throat, echoed through the stunned and silent courtyard. The remaining women resumed their weaving quietly, the joy of each other's company tarnished by a sickening feeling of what might become of this ordeal.

Mara found it hard to sort her feelings and her thoughts, of course she felt worried for the safety of Lehi and his family, but it would also be a great relief to her ears to finally hear Atarah stop talking about how she would marry Laman, and thus elevate herself to a life of luxury and pleasure. One could only hear so many times that they would never find a match as good as Atarah's and that they could never dream of satisfying a man such as Laman. She also couldn't help feeling like a knot in her stomach, that had tied itself there that day of the dinner, begin to loosen its hold on her. The vivid imaginings of an insufferable future of always feeling hideously ashamed and in a constant reminder of her own wicked heart, anytime she walked by a certain member of the house of Lehi, began to float from her mind like a passing storm. If there would be no betrothal between the families, what did it matter what Sam thought of her, she would never see him again.

This thought was followed by immediate guilt. She could not trade her own peace of mind for the well being of an entire family, no matter how tempting it seemed. Sam's only fault was that he had seen the truth in her, and that was no fault of his. She added an extra thought of good health to the house of Lehi, and for good measure on the worth of her heart, an extra wish for Sam.