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Chapter Twenty-Seven
“I’m very flattered.” Anna closed the book and returned it to Esther’s hands. “But this story belongs to all the people. We should have copies made.”
Anna was always thinking about publishing, even in a fantasy dated over 2,000 years before the printing press was invented.
“As soon as I return to Shushan, I promise I will hire the finest scribes in the kingdom to do just that. It will be dispatched to all parts of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, using their native tongue, just as King Achashverosh had commanded in his failed attempt to subjugate women.”
“Sounds like the perfect revenge,” Anna chimed in. “I’m going to get ready for tonight’s banquet. I’m really looking forward to Darius meeti
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The dust from Darius’ horse galloping away from the carriage crash stung Anna’s eyes. She walked toward the river’s edge in hopes she would find the book he’d thrown into the water, but there was no sign of it anywhere. She could still hear Darius’ condemnation of her and Vashti. It was hard to distinguish it from Henry’s threats she had heard only moments before.Men’s egos were the same in any era, Anna thought. Judging by the fact that all mention of Adara or Vashti after she was banished in biblical text was omitted, it was clear that Darius had made good on his threat. She wondered if his curse on her ever finding love would also become reality. When Nate first told Anna about his hearing a mysterious voice at the shrine and how he came to write Vashti’s Daughter, she had thought he had a very active imagination, but she couldn’t explai
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Sunday afternoon on a warm spring day was the perfect way to experience the magic of the Santa Monica Pier. From the moment Anna walked under the welcome sign, the dark foreboding shadow of Henry’s broadcast was left on the other side. Walking with Nate by her side, she could feel the tension he had felt earlier fade as well. They bought a gigantic ball of cotton candy and rode the carousel like a couple of teenagers on their first date. Anna couldn’t remember the last time she had enjoyed an afternoon of simple pleasures and she was grateful for the opportunity to share it with Nate, who seemed to be enjoying the mini-vacation as much as she was. “Would you believe I’ve lived in California for over ten years and have never been to Santa Monica?”&
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For the next hour, Anna and Nate escaped the devastation of the past week, deeply involved with the passionate joys of the present. It wasn’t until they were basking in the afterglow that they allowed conversation to intercede. Lying with her head on his chest, his fingers gently caressing her back, Anna listened to Nate’s calm voice recite every detail that had kept him away from answering his messages over the past few weeks. Her emotions flew the gambit of shock, anger and disbelief. That Monday morning following their stroll on the pier, Nate was just about to leave for his tenure interview when he’d received a call from the NCAA head office. The head of the Syracuse investigation committee had seen the C-Span program where Henry had accused Nate of being involved with the events when he was on the basketball team and demanded he fly to Indianapolis to attend an emergency meeting.
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- Vashti's Daughter Acknowledgements and References
- Vashti's Daughter Epilogue
- Vashti's Daughter Chapter Thirty-Six
- Vashti's Daughter Chapter Thirty-Five
- Vashti's Daughter Chapter Thirty-Four
- Vashti's Daughter Chapter Thirty-Three
- Vashti's Daughter Chapter Thirty-Two
- Vashti's Daughter Chapter Thirty-One
- Vashti's Daughter Chapter Thirty
