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Sighing, I ran my hands over my face. It couldn’t go on like this. Why was I suddenly having these strange hallucinations and dreams?
Was it some kind of panic before the wedding, which was getting closer and closer? Was I getting cold feet? Or was it quite normal to feel like this?
"Mom, I wish you were here to help me," I whispered desperately. I'm sure my mother could have reassured me. Would have talked me through it and given me advice.
But I couldn't ask them. My dad and brothers were definitely the wrong ones for that, too.
Maybe I should talk to Aspasia again. Although she wasn’t married, she always struck me as having experienced more than a young life like hers could grasp.
Exhausted, I let myself fall backward onto the bed. Despite the sleep, I was still tired.
Another glance out the window and then at my watch next to the dresser told me it was soon supper time. After that, I would go to the so-called confession again.
Alex and I wanted to work out for two hours while Chris would sneak into the university library with Edward to look for new reading material regarding the other women from the Bible.
Sarah, Abraham’s wife, as well as Hagar, the Egyptian maid with whom Abraham also fathered a child, we had been able to exclude so far.
Next, we wanted to focus on Rebekah and Dina. Hopefully, we would find a clue in their stories.
Something that made the research difficult was that many women mentioned in the Bible had not been given names. Thus, Adam and Eve are said to have fathered many other sons and daughters besides Cain, Abel, and Set.
If the actions of the Knights of the Seals referred to one of these rather unknown women, then we definitely had a problem.
The further we progressed with our research into the Bible, its stories, and the people associated with them, the clearer it became that this book was written and handed down by men.
Women's rights in most biblical texts were similar in many respects to those of the female population today. Women were considered the property of their fathers, who were even allowed to sell them as slaves. After marriage, this property right was passed to the husband. The latter could own several wives at the same time.
In contrast, there were a few passages that reflected traces of an older, matriarchal society that was supposed to have prevailed during the time of the establishment of religion, thousands of years before the birth of Christ.
Tonight, we would dive deeper into literature together. I hoped we would soon make a breakthrough like the other group. In the meantime, the latter watched the docks to see precisely which point they could enter the premises and then reach the ship's interior.
But now I had to get this man out of my head first.
Tanael Baldur. I wondered if that was his real name.
CHAPTER 35
Half an hour later, I had dinner with Dad and my brothers. Jordy was incredibly pale and had clearly not been able to find any sleep. Although he and Anne had long ceased to feel love for each other, she was still his wife, and they shared a piece of their lives together.
I generously filled the plate and concentrated on every last bit of vegetable, meat, and potato to distract myself from my dream. Nevertheless, my thoughts drifted back too often to that kiss, and even the mere memory brought heat to my cheeks.
“Kids, I know everyone’s still a little shaken up from the gala,” Dad said suddenly, looking around anxiously, “but we’re expected at a reception in the Hamptons this weekend.”
"At a reception? At whose reception?" asked Chris, who must have been wondering what he was doing at a reception on the weekend as a priest.
"It is taking place at the estate of that major entrepreneur from London who recently came to New York City to open a new branch of his company here."
Rick lifted his eyes from his food with interest.
“Oh, is that the one we already ran into at the gala?” he asked, still chewing.
“That’s the one,” Dad replied. “No one knows what he really does for a living. Only the 20 richest families in New York are invited to his reception, and we’re all supposed to stay at his estate, too.”
“All of us?” I groaned in amazement. “Me too?” Actually, it was unusual for women to be welcome at such festivities.
Surprisingly, my father nodded.
"Yes, in fact, the invitation explicitly states that female family members should definitely be brought." Dad looked at us urgently. It was pretty clear what he was trying to tell us with his eyes. He naturally suspected that this entrepreneur was working for the Knights of the Seals. Living under the same roof with this man for two days would be a delicate and dangerous business. No less risky than John Adam Nash showing up at the gala.
