exposed the gold tooth in its nest of fur.
Lightly he punched David's arm Ken! Yes! said Major-General Joshua
Mordecai. You'll do.
David was late to fetch Debra for dinner that evening, but she had
already learned the reason from her father.
They went to the Select behind David's Tower, inside the Jaffa Gate of
the old city. Its unpretentious interior, decorated with patterns of
rope upon the walls, did not fully prepare David for the excellent meal
that the Arab proprietor served with the minimum of delay, mousakha
chicken, with nuts and spices on a bed of kouskous.
They ate almost in silence, Debra quickly recognizing and respecting
David's mood. He was in the grip of postcombat tristesse, the adrenalin
hangover of stress and excitement, but slowly the good food in his belly
and the heavy Carmel wine relaxed him, until over the thimblesized cups
of Turkish coffee, black and powerfully reeking of cardamon seed, Debra
ask, What happened today, David? He sipped the coffee before replying.
I killed a man. She set down her cup and studied his face solemnly, and
he began to speak, telling her the detail of it, the chase and the kill,
until he ended lamely, I felt only satisfaction at the time. A sense of
achievement. I knew I had done what was right. 'And now? she prompted
him.
Now I am sad, he shrugged. I am saddened that I had to do it. My
father, who has always been a soldier, says that only those who do the
actual fighting can truly know what it is to hate war. David nodded.
Yes, I understand that now. I love to fly, but I hate to destroy. They
were silent again, both of them considering their own personal vision of
war, both of them trying to find words to express it.
And yet it is necessary, Debra broke the silence. We must fight, there
is no other way. There is no other way, with the sea at our backs and
the Arabs at our throats. You speak like an Israeli, Debra challenged
him softly.
I made a decision today, or rather I was press-ganged by your father. He
has given me three weeks to brush up my Hebrew, and complete the
immigration formalities. 'And then? Debra leaned towards him.
A comnission in the airforce. That was the only point I scored on, I
had just enough strength to hold out for the equivalent rank I would
have had back home.
He haggled like a secondhand clothes dealer, but I had him, and he knew
it. So he gave in at last. Acting major, with confirmation of rank at
the end of twelve months. 'That's wonderful, Davey, you'll be one of
the youngest majors in the service.
Yeah, David agreed, and after I've paid my taxes I'll have a salary a
little less than a bus-driver back home. 'Never mind, Debra smiled for
the first time. I'll help you with your Hebrew. I was going to talk to
you about that, he answered her smile. Come on, let's get out of here.
I'm restless tonight, and I want to walk. They strolled through the
Christian quarter. The open stalls on each side were loaded with garish
and exotic clothes, and leather work and jewellery, and the smells of
spices and food and drains and stale humanity was almost solid in the
narrow lanes where the arches met overhead.
Debra drew him into one of the antique stores in the Via Doloroso, and
the proprietor came to them, almost wriggling with pleasure.
Ah, Miss Mordecai, and how is your dearly esteemed father? Then he
rushed into the back room to brew more coffee for them.
He's one of the half-honest ones, and he lives in mortal fear of the
Brig. Debra selected an antique solid gold Star of David on a slim
golden neck chain, and though he had never before worn personal
jewellery, David bowed his head and let her place it about his neck. The
golden star lay against the coarse dark curls of his chest.
That's the only decoration you'll ever get, we don't usually give
medals, she told him laughingly. But welcome to Israel anyway. It's
beautiful, David was touched and embarrassed by the gift, thank you. And
he buttoned his shirt over it and then reached awkwardly to kiss her,
but she drew away and warned him.
Not in here. He's a Moslem, and he'd be very offended. All right, said
David. Let's go and find some place where we won't hurt anybody's
sensibilities. They went out through the Lion Gate in the great wall
and found a stone bench in a quiet place amongst the olive trees of the
Moslem cemetery. There was a half moon in the sky, silver and
mysterious, and the night was warm and waiting, seemingly as expectant
as a new bride.
You can't stay on at the Intercontinental, Debra told him, and they both
looked up at its arched and lighted silhouette across the valley. Why
not? Well, first of all it's too expensive. On your salary you just
can't afford it. You don't really expect me to live on my salary? David
protested, but Debra ignored him and went on.
And what is more important, you aren't a tourist any more. So you can't
live like one. 'What do you suggest? 'We could find you an apartment.
Who would do the housework, and the laundry, and the cooking? he
protested vehemently. I haven't had much practice at that sort of
thing. I would, said Debra, and he froze for an instant and then turned
slowly on the seat to look at her. What did you say? I said, I would,
she repeated firmly, and then her voice quavered. That's if you want me
to. He was silent for a long moment.
See here, Debs. Are you talking about living together?
I mean, playing house-house on a full-time basis, the whole bit? 'That's
precisely what I am talking about. But - He could think of nothing
further to say. The idea was novel, breath-taking, and alive with
enchanting possibilities. All David's previous experiences with the
opposite sex had been profuse rather than deep, and he found himself on
the frontiers of unexplored territory. Well? Debra asked at last.
Do you want to get married? his voice cracked on the word, and he
cleared his throat.
I'm not sure that you are the finest marriage material in the market, my
darling David. You are as beautiful as the dawn, and fun to be with,
but you are also selfish, immature and spoiled stupid Thank you kindly
Well, there is no point in me mincing words now, David, not when I am
about to throw all caution aside and become your mistress. Wow! 'he
exclaimed, with all the frost thawing from his voice. When you say it
straight out like that, it almost blows my mind. Me too, Debra
confessed. But one condition is that we wait until we have our own
special place, you may recall that I'm not so high on public beaches or
rocky islands. I'll never forget, David agreed. Does this mean that
you don't want to marry me? He found his mortal terror of matrimony
fading under this slur on his potential marriage worth.
I didn't say that either, Debra demurred. But let's make that decision
when both of us are ready for it. 'Right on, doll, said David, with an
almost idiot grin of happiness spreading over his face.
And now, MajorMo an, youmaykissme, 'shesaid.
. rg But do try and help me remember the conditions. A long while
later, they drew a little apart to breathe and a sudden thought made
David frown with worry.
My God, he exclaimed, what will the Brig say! He won't be joining us,
she told him, and they both laughed together, excited by their own
wickedness. Seriously, what will you tell your parents? I'll lie to
them graciously, and they'll pretend to believe me. Let me worry about
that. Beseder, he agreed readily.
You are learning, she applauded. Let's just try that kiss again, but
this in time in Hebrew, please. 'I love you, he said in that language.
Good boy, she murmured. You are going to make a prize pupil. There was
one more doubt to be set at rest, and Debra voiced it at the iron gate
to the garden, when at last he took her home.
Do you know what the Bris, the Covenant, is? 'Sure, he grinned, and
made scissors out of his first and second finger. It seemed in the
uncertain light that she blushed, and her voice was only just audible.
Well, what about you?
That, David told her severely, is a highly personal question, the answer
to which little girls should find out for themselves, and his expression
became lascivious, the hard way.
All knowledge is precious as gold, she said in a small voice, and be
sure that I will seek the answer diligently.
David discovered that the acquisition of an apartment in Jerusalem was a
task much like the quest for the Holy Grail. Although the high-rise
blocks were being thrown up with almost reckless energy, the demand for
accommodation far outweighed the supply The father of one of Debra's
students was an estate agent and the poor man took their problem to his
heart; the waiting-list for the new blocks was endless, but an
occasional apartment in one of the older buildings fell vacant, and he
used all his influence for them.
At unexpected moments of the day, Debra would send out an urgent signal,
and David would fetch her in a taxi at the University and they would
hell across town, urging on the driver, to inspect the latest offering.
The last of these reminded David of a movie set from Lawrence of Arabia
complete with a dispirited palm tree out front, a spectacular display of
bright laundry hanging from every balcony and window, and all the sounds
and smells of an Arab camel market and a nursery-school playground at
recess rising from the courtyard.
There were two rooms and an alleged bathroom. The roses and wreathes of
the wallpaper had faded, except in patches where hangings had protected
their original pristine virulent colouring.
David pushed open the door of the bathroom and, without entering,
inspected the raggedy linoleum floorcovering and the stained and chipped
bath tub; then pushing the door further he discovered the toilet bowl
festering quietly in the gloom with its seat set at a rakish angle like
the halo of a drunken angel.
You and Joe could work on it, Debra suggested uncertainly. It's not
really that bad. David shuddered, and closed the door as though it were
the lid of a coffin.
You're joking, of course, he said, and Debra's determinedly bright smile
cracked and her lip quivered. Oh, David, we are never going to find a
place! 'And I can't wait much longer. 'Nor can I, admitted Debra.
Right. David rubbed his hands together briskly. It's time to send in
the first team.
He was not sure what form the presence of Morgan Group would take in
Jerusalem, but he found it listed in the business directory under Morgan
Industrial Financeand the Managing Director was a large mournful-looking
gentleman named Aaron Cohen who had a suite of offices in the Leumi Bank
building opposite the main post office. He was overcome with emotion to
discover that one of the Morgan family had been ten days in Jerusalem
without his knowledge.
David told him what he wanted, and in twenty hours he had it signed and
paid for. Paul Morgan picked his executives with care, and Cohen was an
example of this attention. The price David must pay for this service
was that Paul Morgan would have a full report of David's transaction,
present whereabouts and future plans on his desk the next morning, but
it was worth it.
Above the Hinnom canyon, facing Mount Zion with its impressive array of
spires, the Montefiore quarter was being rebuilt as an integrated whole
by some entrepreneur. All of it was clad in the lovely golden Jerusalem
stone, and the designs of the houses were traditional and ageless.
However, the interiors were lavishly modernized with tall cool rooms,
mosaic -tiled bathrooms, and ceilings arched like those of a crusader
church. Most of them had their own walled and private terraces. The
one that Aaron Cohen procured for David was the pick of those that
fronted Malik Street. The price was astronomical. That was the first
question that Debra asked, once she had recovered her voice. She stood
stunned upon the terrace beneath the single olive tree. The stone of
the terrace had been cut and polished until it resembled old ivory, and
she ran her fingers lightly over the carved front door. Her voice was
hushed and her expression bemused.
David! David! How much is this going to cost?
That's not important. What is important is whether you like it. It's
too beautiful. It's too much, David. We can't afford this. It's paid
for already Paid for? She stared at him. How much, David? 'If I said
half a million Israeli pounds or a million, what difference would it
make? It's only money. She clapped her hands over her ears. No! she
cried. Don't tell me! I'd feel so guilty I wouldn't be able to live in
it. Oh, so! You are actually consenting to live in it. 'Try me, she
said with emphasis. You just try me, lover? They stood in the central
room that opened on to the terrace, and although it was light and airy
enough for the savage heat of summer that was coming, it smelled now of
new paint and varnished woodwork.
What are we going to do about furniture? David asked.
Furniture? Debra repeated. I hadn't thought that far ahead. For what
I have in mind, we'll need at least one kingsize bed.
Sex-maniac, she said, and kissed him.
No modern furniture looked at home under the domed roof, or upon the
stone-flagged floors. So they began to furnish from the bazaars and
antique shops.
Debra solved the main problem with the discovery in a junk yard of an
enormous brass bedstead from which they scraped the accumulated dirt;
they polished it until it glowed, fitted it with a new inner-spring
mattress, and covered it with a cream-coloured lace bedspread from
Debra's bottom drawer.
They purchased kelim and woven woollen rugs by the bale from the Arab
dealers in the old city, and scattered them thickly upon the stone
floors, with leather cushions to sit upon and a low olive-wood table,
inlaid with ebony and mother of pearl, to eat off. The rest of the
furniture would come when they could find it for sale, or, failing that,
have it custom-made by an Arab cabinet-maker that Debra knew of. Both
the bed and the table were enormously heavy, and they needed muscle to
move them, so they called for Joe. He and Hannah arrived in his tiny
Japanese compact, and after they had recovered from the impact of the
Morgan palace they fell to work enthusiastically with David supervising.
Joe grunted and heaved, while Hannah disappeared with Debra into the
modern American kitchen to exclaim with envy and admiration over the
washing-machine, dryer, dish-washer and all the other appliances that
went with the house. She helped to cook the first meal.
David had laid in a case of Goldstar beer, and after their labours they
all gathered about the olive-wood table to warm the house and wet the