Victor bowed. "Very wise, madam. I'm sure your husband, the mayor, would be pleased that you intervened on his behalf."

Nicci glared at the top of his head for a moment while he was bowed before her. She then turned to stand before the second captive spy. She bowed to him.

Richard noticed that somewhere along the line the cord of Nicci's bodice had come unlaced. It wasn't lost on the man, either. Her deep bow provided him a good long look at her cleavage. Once she straightened, it was a moment before he finally looked up into her eyes.

"I hope that you will accept our apology for your inhumane treatment. It is not the way we were taught to respect all people as our brothers and equals."

The man made a face, as if to say he might be able to forgive his mistreatment. "I can understand why you people are so touchy, what with your insurrection against the Imperial Order, and all."

"Insurrection?" Nicci waved a hand dismissively. "Nonsense. It was little more than a misunderstanding. Some of the workers"-she gestured toward Richard without looking.»like these ignorant, selfish men, here, wanted more say for themselves and higher wages. It was nothing more than that. As my husband has often told me, it was misconstrued and blown all out of proportion. Selfish men caused an unfortunate panic that got out of control. It was much like this terrible tragedy here tonight-a misunderstanding resulting in needless harm to one of the Creator's innocent children."

The man regarded her with a long, unreadable look before he spoke. "And all of Altur'Rang feels this way?"

Nicci sighed. "Well, along with the vast majority of the people of Altur'Rang, my husband, the mayor, certainly does. He's been working to bring to task the hotheads and troublemakers. Along with representatives of the people he has worked to make these few reactionary types see what a mistake they made and what great harm they do us all. They acted without considering the greater good. My husband has brought the leaders of the trouble before the people's council and they have decreed the proper punishment. Most have repented. At the same time, he works to reform and reeducate the less intelligent of the lot."

The man tipped his head to her in a slight bow. "Please tell your husband that he is a wise man and has a wise wife who knows that her place is properly in service to the greater good."

Nicci nodded in return. "Yes, exactly, the greater good. My husband has often said that, despite our own personal wishes or feelings, we must always consider the greater good above all else; that despite any personal sacrifice we must think only of the betterment of all people and not cling to the sinful ways of individual wishes and greed. No one has a right to place themselves above the well-being of others."

Nicci's words seemed to have struck a cord with the man; such notions were the fundamental teachings and beliefs of the Imperial Order. She knew precisely how to strum those cords.

"How true," he said as he watched her, taking another long look down the gaping neckline of her dress. "I guess I'd better be on my way."

"And where are you headed?" Nicci asked. Her hand came up to modestly contain the sagging front of her dress.

He looked back up to her face. "Oh, we were just traveling through, heading farther to the south to where we have family. We were hoping to take up some work, there. I didn't know this fellow all that well. We've simply been traveling together for the last few days."

"Well," Nicci said, "considering what happened here tonight, I'm sure that my husband would suggest that for your own safety you continue with your journey and, considering the few reactionary types still about, it would be best if you were to do so at once. There has already been one tragedy tonight; we would not like to chance another."

The man passed a murderous glare across the assembled crowd. His gaze settled on Richard, but Richard kept his eyes turned to the ground.

"Yes, of course, madam. Please thank the mayor for trying to bring the filthy troublemakers back to the ways of the Creator."

Nicci flicked her hand toward a few of the guards. "You men, show this citizen safely out of the city. Take enough men to ensure that there will be no trouble. And I need not remind you of how displeased the mayor and the people's council would be should they discover that any harm whatsoever came to this man. He is to be allowed to go on his way."

The men bowed and mumbled that they would see to it. By the way they acted, Richard could tell that they knew how to fall back into the role of what life had been like under the Imperial Order. All the people in the stable watched in silence as the men disappeared into the night with their charge. Long after they were gone, everyone stood still in tense silence, watching the empty doorway, fearful to speak until the man was far enough away, lest he hear anything.

"Well," Nicci said at last with a sigh, "I hope that he makes it back to his fellow soldiers. If he does, then we have gone a long way toward spreading a little confusion before the battle."

"Oh, he will," Victor said. "He will be eager to report such news as you have given him tonight. Hopefully, they will be so confident that we can give them a real surprise."

"Let's hope so," Nicci said.

Some of the people still remaining in the stable broke into chatter, pleased with Nicci's apparent stratagem of confusing the enemy. Some bid a good night and went on their way. Some stood around the corpse, staring.

Nicci offered Victor a brief smile. "Sorry to have to strike you."

Victor shrugged. "Well, it was to a good purpose."

When Nicci turned to Richard, she looked uneasy, as if she feared a lecture or a reprimand.

"I want the troops coming this way to think they will have no trouble crushing us," she explained. "Overconfidence leads to mistakes."

"There was more to it," Richard said.

Nicci cast a quick glance at the people still in the stables and then eased closer to him so that others couldn't hear. "You said that I could come and join up with you once the troops coming to crush the people of Altur'Rang are destroyed."

"And?"

Her blue eyes turned as hard as iron. "And I intend to see to it."

Richard considered her for a time, finally deciding to let her do what she could to help the people of Altur'Rang and not interfere with how she planned to accomplish it. Besides, he was more than a little worried about what her plan might be. Right then, he didn't really want to know what she was up to; he already had enough to worry about.

Richard took the loose ends of the cords lacing her bodice, drew them tight, and retied them.

She stood with her hands at her side, watching his eyes the whole time he did it. "Thank you," she said when he finished. "I guess that must have come undone in all the excitement."

Richard ignored her lie and checked to the side to see Jamila there, behind some of the other people. The woman, her cheek swollen and red, was kneeling, hugging the frightened little girl.

Richard stepped closer. "How is she?"

Jamila looked up at him. "Safe. Thank you, Lord Rahl. You saved her precious life. Thank you."

As the little girl sobbed and clutched her mother, she eyed Richard with a look of terror, as if she feared he might slay her next. She had witnessed something terrible at Richard's hand.

"I'm relieved that she's safe and unharmed," he said to Jamila.

Richard smiled at the girl, but received only a hateful glare in return.

Nicci clasped his arm in empathy, but said nothing.

The people still left in the stable finally spoke up to congratulate him on saving the child. They all seemed to have guessed that Nicci's words to the man were a ruse of some sort. Many spoke up, then, to tell her that they thought her deception was clever.