QUOTE : have her for his wife. As it turned out, Jacob understood Mercy better than he or anyone else could have imagined. When she discovered his trickery, she was hurt, but not as hurt as when she thought that Esau had spurned her. Maybe it was because she expected less from Jacob, so it was easier to be disappointed by him. Then there was the fact that she was a Morgan. She liked that. Divorce was hardly a consideration; to do so would place her on the social level of a prostitute. The fact was, she’d made a play for the best and wound up with second best. She could live with that. Too much was at risk to try to undo what had been done. Besides, there was something romantic about a man who would go to such great lengths to marry her. Esau couldn’t bring himself to forgive his brother. He didn’t fault Mercy. She’d been deceived and trapped. His only consolation was his hope that God would make things right. Striking Jacob with a bolt of lightning was preferable, but Esau chose to let God handle the specifics. He was willing to wait. Someday, Mercy would be his wife. For more than a decade Esau waited and prayed. The fact that Jacob and Mercy were unable to produce children in that time was for him an encouraging sign that God did not favor their union. He contented himself with brief, clandestine encounters with her. They were innocent enough, but the