Delilah
Maligned as the courtesan who revealed the mighty Samson's secret for money, Delilah has become synonymous with treachery. But behind the myth is a tale far more tragic…From the moment they met, there was a fire in their relationship, with Samson pitted against Delilah's family. But Samson soon develops an overwhelming passion for Delilah; entranced by her beauty and passionate nature.Meanwhile the Israelites and the Philistines are in a state of constant conflict, with Samson a seemingly unbeatable warrior. The Philistines are desperate to learn the secret behind Samson's power and enrol Delilah as a pawn to bring him down. Driven by misplaced anger, Delilah agrees to use her wiles to discover the secret of his strength.But Delilah finds that Samson is far from the ogre that she had assumed. But a sequence of events have been set in motion which both of them are powerless to stop.The consequences of her mistake have gone down in history and this wonderful novel is as alluring and beguiling as Delilah herself. The perfect treat for fans of Anita Diamant and Helen Dunmore.
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Eleanor De Jong
Delilah
Copyright
This novel is entirely a work of fiction.
The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
AVON
A division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by
HarperCollinsPublishers 2011
DELILAH. Copyright © Working Partners Two 2011. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks.
HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication
Eleanor de Jong asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Source ISBN: 978-1-84756-238-8
Ebook Edition © APRIL 2011 ISBN: 9780007443192
Version: 2018-07-19
Contents
Chapter One
‘Lilah! Where are you?’
Chapter Two
‘It’s just as well, Delilah, that it was I who…
Chapter Three
Delilah put down the tray of empty drinking bowls, and…
Chapter Four
Due to their late arrival, Delilah had found herself too…
Chapter Five
‘How could you have let it come to that, Father?’
Chapter Six
Delilah would have been happy never to see Samson again.
Chapter Seven
The man’s hollow, watery eyes settled on Delilah for a…
Chapter Eight
Delilah regretted having pushed her shawl back so far from…
Chapter Nine
Samson appeared not to have heard her. ‘Your rescue will…
Chapter Ten
Delilah always enjoyed her visits to the centre of Ashkelon.
Chapter Eleven
‘So the Chass’ela vines have done better than we expected…
Chapter Twelve
It took a lot of eyelash-fluttering to convince Ekron to…
Chapter Thirteen
‘So Achish has you investigating your competitor’s wines.’
Chapter Fourteen
‘I don’t remember you wearing out your sandals so quickly…
Chapter Fifteen
Delilah had not noticed it the first time she entered…
Chapter Sixteen
The vineyard shimmered in the afternoon sun. The green leaves…
Chapter Seventeen
Phicol might have spies everywhere, but she doubted Samson’s reach…
Chapter Eighteen
By the time Delilah arrived at the market just after…
Chapter Nineteen
She lifted herself from him, genuinely alarmed. Were Phicol’s men…
Chapter Twenty
Joshua was terrified. ‘You shouldn’t have told your mother that,’…
Chapter Twenty-One
Delilah was studiously tying up the laden vine branches one…
Chapter Twenty-Two
Joshua helped Delilah climb into Achish’s best carriage, then he…
Chapter Twenty-Three
‘If I didn’t know better,’ said Phicol, ‘I’d say you…
Chapter Twenty-Four
The boats were drawn up on the shore, well clear…
Chapter Twenty-Five
The crowds were already gathering in the centre of Ashkelon.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Delilah looked at Phicol, searching his face for any sign…
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The waves, normally so soothing and peaceful, jarred at Delilah’s…
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Delilah wanted to avoid the breakfast table at all costs,…
Chapter Twenty-Nine
It took four long days for the bruise on Delilah’s…
Chapter Thirty
The watery sky was just tinged with the first red…
Chapter Thirty-One
Delilah barely stirred when Samson left the tent before dawn,…
Chapter Thirty-Two
Delilah traversed the edges of the crowd until she was…
Chapter Thirty-Three
Delilah hardly left her room for three days. She was…
Chapter Thirty-Four
There were soldiers too. At least ten, clustering around Phicol.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Though the night passed peacefully, Delilah was aware that her…
Chapter Thirty-Six
‘I had to go back,’ she said. ‘You understand that,…
Chapter Thirty-Seven
She explained to Joshua about the drugged drink. He listened…
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Ekron shuddered, a thin groan escaping his lips. His hair…
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Ariel reined in the donkeys and the wagon halted.
Chapter Forty
The sky was heavy with low-lying clouds that lingered but…
Jezebel
The Darling Strumpet
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Credits
Chapter One
‘Lilah! Where are you?’
Delilah tucked her feet more tightly beneath her and closed her eyes. She knew she couldn’t be seen – that was the magic of her tiny nest between the vines, especially now, with the leaves so broad and green and the clusters of grapes beginning to swell on their stems – but it made sense to keep still and wait for Ekron to pass. Up the slope behind her, the sounds of the wedding party were like the rush of a distant river.
