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  　If it was possible, the bedroom was more jarring to the senses than the sitting room, with the red theme carried into the carpets, embroidered bedcover, immoderate collection of ornate, gold-fringed crimson pillows, and the swirled, pink marble fireplace surround. Kahlan thought that if Cara was wearing her red leather and ever wanted to hide, she could simply sit in this room and no one would ever find her.

  　Only half the lamps in the bedroom were lit. Several blown-glass bowls set about on tables and the desk were filled with cried rose petals, their fragrance mingling with the lamp oil to permeate the air with a heavy, sickly-sweet odor.

  　When the hinges squeaked, the woman resting on the bed opened her eyes, saw Kahlan, and sprang to her feet. Ready to take Nadine with her Confessor's power if she gave the slightest indication of aggression, Kahlan unconsciously held an arm out to her side to keep Cara out of her way. In preparation, her muscles tight as coiled steel, Kahlan was holding her breath. If the woman conjured magic, Kahlan would have to be quick.

  　Nadine hastily knuckled the sleep from her eyes. By her indecision as to which foot to put forward in the awkward curtsy she performed. Kahlan knew that she was no noblewoman. But that didn't mean she couldn't be a Sister of the Dark.

  　Nadine gawked at Cara for an instant before 【创建和谐家园】oothing down her dress at her shapely hips and addressing Kahlan. "Forgive me, Queen, but I've been on a long journey and I was taking a bit of a rest. Guess I must have fallen asleep; I didn't hear you knock. I'm Nadine Brighton, Queen."

  　As Nadine dipped into another inelegant curtsy, Kahlan quickly surveyed the room. The washbasin and ewer hadn't been used. The towels beside them on the washstand were clean and still folded. A simple, worn woolen travel bag sat at the foot of the bed. A clothe【创建和谐家园】rush and a tin cup were the only foreign objects on the overwrought, gilded table to the other side of a red velvet chair beside the fringed canopy bed. Despite the early spring chill and cold hearth, she hadn't pulled down the bedcovers for her nap. Perhaps, thought Kahlan, so as not to become tangled in them if she had to move fast.

  　Kahlan didn't apologize for entering without knocking. "Mother Confessor," she said in a cautious tone, feeling the need to make clear the tacit threat of the power she wielded. "Queen is one of my less . . . common, titles. I am more widely known as the Mother Confessor."

  　As Nadine blushed, the sprinkling of freckles at the top of her cheekbones and across her delicate nose almost disappeared. Her large brown eyes turned to the floor with unease. She hastily ran her fingers through her thick brown hair, although it didn't look disheveled.

  　She wasn't as tall as Kahlan, though she looked to be about the same age, or perhaps a year younger. She was a lovely-looking young woman, and cast off no warning signs of threat or danger, but Kahlan wasn't put at ease by a fresh face and innocent demeanor.

  　Experience had taught Kahlan hard lessons. Marlin, the latest lesson, hadn't appeared, at first, to be anything other than an awkward young man. This young woman's lovely eyes, though, didn't seem to have the same timeless quality to them that had so unnerved Kahlan. Still, her caution wasn't allayed, either.

  　Nadine turned and hurriedly swept the flats of her hands over the bedcover, pressing out the wrinkles with quick strokes. "Forgive me, Mother Confessor, I didn't mean to muss your lovely bed. 1 brushed my dress first, so I wouldn't get road dust on it. I intended to lie on the floor, but the bed looked so inviting I couldn't resist giving it a try. I hope I haven't caused offense."

  　"Of course not," Kahlan said. "I invited you to use the room as your own."

  　Before the last word was out of Kahlan's mouth, Cara had swept around her. Even though there seemed to be no rank among the Mord-Sith, Berdine and Raina always deferred to Cara's word. Among the D'Harans, the rank of the Mord-Sith, and Cara in particular, seemed undisputed, though Kahlan had never heard anyone put definition to it. If Cara said, "Spit," people spat.

  　Nadine let out a wide-eyed squeak when she saw the leather-clad Mord-Sith coming at her.

  　"Cara!" Kahlan called out.

  　Cara ignored her. "We have your friend, Marlin, down in the pit. You'll be joining him shortly."

  　Cara jabbed a finger in the hollow at the base of Nadine's neck, causing her to drop backward onto the chair beside the bed.

  　"Ow!" Nadine shouted as she glared up at Cara. "That hurt!"

  　As she bounded up off the chair, Cara seized the young woman's throat in an armored fist. She swept her Agiel up and pointed it between the wide brown eyes. "I have not yet begun to hurt you."

  　Kahlan snatched Cara's braid and gave it a mighty yank. "One way or the other, you're going to learn to follow orders!"

  　Cara, still gripping the young woman's throat, turned in surprise.

  　"Let her go! I told you to let me handle this. Until she makes a threatening move, you will do as you are told, or you can wait outside."

  　Cara released Nadine with a shove that plopped her down in the chair again. "This one's trouble. I can feel it. You should let me kill her."

  　Kahlan pressed her lips together until Cara rolled her eyes and grudgingly stepped aside. Nadine came off the chair, slower this time. Her eyes teared as she rubbed her throat and coughed.

  　"Why'd you do that! I've done nothing to you! I didn't disturb any of your fine things. You people have the worst manners of anyone I've ever seen." She shook a finger at Kahlan. "There's no call to treat a person that way."

  　"On the contrary," Kahlan said. "An innocent enough looking young man showed up at the palace today, also asking to see Lord Rahl. He turned out to be an assassin. Thanks to Cara, here, we were able to stop him."

  　Nadine's indignation faltered. "Oh."

  　"That's not the worst of it," Kahlan added. "He confessed to having an accomplice-an attractive young woman with long brown hair."

  　Nadine's throat-rubbing paused as she looked at Cara, then back to Kahlan. "Oh. Well, I guess I can understand the mistake ..."

  　"You asked to see Lord Rahl, too. That's made everyone just a little jumpy. All of us are quite protective of Lord Rahl."

  　"I guess I can see the reason for the confusion. No offense taken."

  　"Cara, here, is one of Lord Rahl's personal guards," Kahlan said. "I'm sure you can understand the reason for her belligerent attitude."

  　Nadine took her hand away from her throat and rested it on one hip. "Of course. I guess I landed in the middle of a hornet's nest."

  　"The problem is," Kahlan went on, "you haven't yet convinced us you are not the second assassin. For your sake, it would be best if you did so at once."

  　Nadine's eyes darted between the two women watching her. Her relief reversed to alarm. "Me? A killer? But I'm a woman."

  　"So am I," Cara said. "One who is going to have your blood all over this room until you tell us the truth."

  　Nadine spun around and snatched up the chair, brandishing its legs toward Cara and Kahlan. "Stay away! I'm warning you; Tommy Lancaster and his friend Lester once thought to have their way with me, and they now have to eat all their meals without the benefit of their front teeth."

  　"Put down the chair," Cara warned in a deadly hiss, "or you will be eating your next meal in the spirit world."

  　Nadine dropped the chair as if it had caught fire. She retreated until she was up against the wall. "Leave me be! I didn't do anything!"

  　Kahlan gently hooked Cara's arm and urged her back. "Let a sister of the Agiel handle this?" she said in a whisper as she lifted an eyebrow. "I know I said 'until she makes a threatening move,' but a chair is hardly the kind of threat I had in mind."

  　Cara's mouth twisted in annoyance. "All right. For the moment."

  　Kahlan turned to Nadine. "I need some answers. Tell the truth, and if you really have nothing to do with this assassin, you will have my sincere apology and I'll do what I can to make up for our inhospitality. But if you lie to me, and you intend to do harm to Lord Rahl, the guards outside have orders not to allow you to leave this room alive. Do you understand?"

  　Nadine, her back pressed against the wall, nodded.

  　"You asked to see Lord Rahl." Nadine nodded again. "Why?"

  　"I'm on my way to my love. He's been gone since last autumn. We're to be wed, and I'm on my way to him." She brushed a strand of hair back from her eyes. "But I don't know where he is, exactly. I was told to go see Lord Rahl and I would find my betrothed." Nadine's lower lids brimmed with tears. "That's why I wanted to speak with this Lord Rahl-to ask if he could help."

  　"I see," Kahlan said. "I can understand your distress over your love being missing. What is your young man's name?"

  　Nadine pulled her kerchief from her sleeve and dabbed it at her eyes. "Richard."

  　"Richard. Is there more to his name?"

  　Nadine nodded. "Richard Cypher."

  　Kahlan had to remind herself to draw a breath through her open mouth, but her mind couldn't seem to make her tongue work.

  　"Who?" Cara asked.

  　"Richard Cypher. He's a woods guide where I live, in Hartland, that's in West-land, where we live.'"

  　"What do you mean, you're to wed him?" Kahlan finally managed in a whisper. She felt her world threatening to crush in around her as a thousand things all at once whirled chaotically in her mind. "Did he tell you that?"

  　Nadine twisted her damp kerchief. "Well, he was courting me ... it was understood . . . but then he disappeared. A woman came and told me that we're to be married. She said that the sky had spoken to her-she was a mystic of some sort. She knew all about my Richard, how kind and strong and handsome he is and all. She knew all manner of things about me, too. She said that it's my destiny to marry Richard and Richard's destiny to be my hu【创建和谐家园】and."

  　"Woman?" Kahlan could get out no more than that one word.

  　Nadine nodded. "Shota, she said her name was."

  　Kahlan's hands balled into fists. Her voice returned with venom. "Shota. Did this woman, Shota, have anyone with her?"

  　"Yes. A strange little . . . fellow. With yellow eyes. He kind of scared me, but she said he was harmless. Shota is the one who told me to come see Lord Rahl. She said Lord Rahl could help me find my Richard."

  　Kahlan recognized the description of Shota's companion, Samuel. This woman's voice, calling Richard, "my Richard," kept thundering around in the storm in Kahlan's head. She worked at making her voice sound calm. "Nadine, please wait here."

  　"I will," Nadine said, gathering her composure. "Is everything all right? You believe me, don't you? Every word is true."

  　Kahlan didn't answer, but instead pulled her stunned stare from Nadine and marched from the room. Cara closed the door as she followed on Kahlan's heels.

  　Kahlan staggered to a halt in the outer room, everything swimming in a watery red blur.

  　"Mother Confessor," Cara whispered, "what's wrong? Your face is as red as my leather. Who is this Shota?"

  　"Shota is a witch woman."

  　Cara stiffened at that news. "And do you know this Richard Cypher?"

  　Kahlan twice swallowed past the painful lump in the back of her throat. "Richard was raised by his stepfather. Until Richard found out that Darken Rahl was his real father, his name was Richard Cypher."

  　CHAPTER 5

  　I'll kill her," Kahlan rasped in a hoarse voice as she stared off at nothing. "With my bare hands. I'll strangle the life out of her!"

  　Cara turned toward the bedroom. "I will take care of it. Better if you let me take care of her."

  　Kahlan hooked Cara's arm. "Not her. I'm talking about Shota." She gestured toward the bedroom door. "She doesn't understand any of this. She doesn't know about Shota."

  　"You know this witch woman, then?"

  　Kahlan bitterly huffed out a breath. "Oh yes. I know her. She's been trying to prevent Richard and me from being together since the first."

  　"Why would she do that?"

  　Kahlan turned away from the bedroom door. "I don't know. She gives a different reason every time, but I sometimes fear that it's because she wants Richard for herself."

  　Cara frowned. "How would getting Lord Rahl to marry this little strumpet gain Shota Lord Rahl?"

  　Kahlan flicked a hand. "I don't know. Shota is always up to something. She's caused us trouble at every turn." Her fists tightened with resolve. "But it won't work, this time. If it's the last thing I do, I'm going to end her meddling. And then Richard and I are going to be married." Her voice dropped to a whispered oath. "If I have to touch Shota with my power and send her to the underworld, I will end her meddling."

  　Cara folded her arms as she considered the problem. "What do you wish done with Nadine?" Her blue eyes turned toward the bedroom. "It still might be best to ... get rid of her."

  　Kahlan squeezed the bridge of her nose between a finger and thumb. "This isn't Nadine's doing. She's simply a pawn in Shota's plotting."

  　"One foot soldier can sometimes cause you more trouble than a general's battle plan if he ..."

  　Cara's words trailed off as her arms came unfolded. She cocked her head, as if listening to a wind in the halls.

  　"Lord Rahl is coming."

  　The ability of the Mord-Sith to sense Richard through their bond to him was uncanny, if not unnerving. The door opened. Berdine and Raina, wearing leather of the same cut and skintight style as Cara's, but brown rather than red, strutted into the room.

  　Both were a bit shorter than Cara, but no less attractive. Where Cara was leggy, muscular, and without a spare ounce of fat, blue-eyed Berdine had a more curvaceous shape. Berdine's wavy brown hair was plaited in the characteristic long braid of a Mord-Sith, as was graceful Raina's fine, dark hair. All three shared the same ruthless confidence.

  　Raina's incisive, dark-eyed gaze took in Cara's red leather, but she made no comment. Both she and Berdine wore grim, forbidding expressions. The two Mord-Sith turned to face one another from either side of the door.

  　"We present Lord Rahl," Berdine said in an officious tone, "the Seeker of Truth and wielder of the Sword of Truth, the bringer of death, the Master of D'Hara, the ruler of the Midlands, the commander of the gar nation, the champion of free people and bane of the wicked"- her penetrating blue eyes turned to Kahlan-"and the betrothed of the Mother Confessor." She lifted an introductory arm toward the door.

  　Kahlan couldn't imagine what was going on. She had seen the Mord-Sith display a variety of temperaments, from imperious to mischievous, but she had never seen them acting ceremonial.

  　Richard strode into the room. His raptor gaze locked on Kahlan. For an instant, the world stopped. There was nothing else but the two of them, joined in a silent link.

  　A 【创建和谐家园】ile widened on his lips and gleamed in his eyes. A 【创建和谐家园】ile of unbounded love.

  　There was only her and Richard. Only his eyes.

  　But the rest of him . ..

  　She felt her mouth drop open. In astonishment, Kahlan put a hand over her heart. As long as she had known him, he had worn only his simple woods clothes. But now . . .

  　His black boots were all she recognized. The tops of the boots were wrapped with leather thongs pinned with silver emblems embossed with geometric designs, and covered new, black wool trousers. Over a black shirt was a black, open-sided tunic, decorated with symbols snaking along a wide gold band running all the way around its squared edges. A wide, multilayered leather belt bearing several more of the silver emblems and a gold-worked pouch to each side cinched the magnificent tunic at his waist. The ancient, tooled-bather baldric holding the gold and silver wrought scabbard for the Sword of Truth crossed over his right shoulder. At each wrist was a wide, leather-padded silver band bearing linked rings encompassing more of the strange symbols. His broad shoulders bore a cape that appeared to be made of spun gold. He looked at once noble and sinister. Regal, and deadly. He looked like a commander of kings. And like a vision of what the prophecies had named him: the bringer of death.

  　Kahlan would never have thought he could look more handsome than he always did. More commanding. More imposing. She was wrong.

  　As her jaw worked, trying to bring forth words that weren't there, he crossed the room. He bent and kissed her temple.

  　"Good," Cara announced. "She needed that; she had a headache." She lifted an eyebrow to Kahlan. "All better now?"

  　Kahlan, hardly able to get her breath, hardly hearing Cara, touched her fingers to him, as if to test it this was a vision, or real.

  　"Like it?" he asked.