Sepphora was stunned when her father first mentioned that he had received a proposal for her hand in marriage. Although 16 years old, she had not thought the time for marriage would come so soon.
Sepphora had been around men all her life — her father and brothers — but the intricacies of marriage remained a mystery. Sometimes she imagined herself as the heroine in an ancient land, called upon to marry a mysterious man who was dark and attractive but needed to be tamed. She had been intrigued by the story of Esther living in the palace of King Ahasuerus, who used her feminine charms and intelligence to save her Jewish people.
It must have been on one of her outings to the centre of town that the man from whom her father had received a proposal had seen her. Her father had returned from buying some timber for building and repairing the fishing boats. He said it would seem only practical to consider this. The man was the second eldest son of the house where he had purchased his wood, and his name was Alexander.
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