“If it came to an all-out conflict between me and Keturah, I would prevail, for many reasons. Father’s loyalty to his son. His memory of my mother. And the fact that in any quarrel between me and Keturah, I would be completely in the right.” He grinned at Rebekah. “But I foresaw that the bride my friend Eliezer would bring home for me would immediately seem to Keturah to be a dire threat to her place as queen of the camp.”

“Queen?”

“In all but name, and I suspect she whispers it when she thinks Father is asleep and no one else can hear. My concern was that you should not begin your married life having someone criticizing you and complaining about you constantly. Even though I would support you completely, why should Father’s old age be filled with conflict between his bride and his son? So we will set up our home here in Lahai-roi, and visit Father when we are invited, or when we choose. I thought you could bear Keturah’s charms more easily knowing each time that you would soon go home to a place where she has no authority.”

“That was very kind of you.”

“Not that I want to bias you against Keturah,” said Isaac. “Please form your own opinion of her.”

Eliezer glanced at Isaac with a sly smile.

Then, to Rebekah’s surprise, Isaac turned her camel’s head to the left and led the caravan off the main path toward the camp at Lahai-roi. A few minutes later, the camels were all kneeling, and servants were helping the girls down from their mounts. Rebekah was pleased that Isaac delegated Eliezer to help her down from her camel, and went himself to help Deborah. It was the perfect gesture of respect, exactly what would have been owed to Rebekah’s mother, had she been there, and Deborah was flattered and delighted by it.

Isaac had already determined which tent would be for Rebekah’s women, and either he had supposed she might have a chief servant or he was improvising, but either way he had a tent which he designated as belonging to Deborah alone. “I fear you will be lonely,” he said, “never sharing a tent with Rebekah again, so if you wish any of the other girls to sleep in your tent, you have only to tell me and it will be a great honor to the ones you choose. And when you wish to sleep alone, that will also be done.”

What Rebekah heard was that Isaac had very firmly informed Deborah that there was no possibility of her sharing Rebekah’s tent now.

“My betrothed is noble of heart as well as birth,” said Rebekah.

“And for the woman whom God has brought to me, I have no fine new tent to offer. Only this old one, much used.” And he gestured toward Sarah’s tent.