"I was told that you are to be wedded to the Mother Confessor, here. You are a very different sort of Lord Rahl from our father; Darken Rahl would never have considered marriage for himself. Of course, he probably was never tempted into marriage by one so beautiful as your betrothed. May I offer my congratulations? When's the wedding?"

"Soon," Kahlan interjected as she moved to Richard's side. "That's right," Richard said. "Soon. We don't know the exact date, yet. We. . have a few things to work out.

''Look, Drefan, I could use your help. We have a number of wounded men, and some of them are in grave condition. They were wounded by the same man who hurt Cara. I'd really appreciate it if you'd see what you could do to help them."

Drefan retrieved his knives, slipping them away without having to look at what he was doing. "That's what I'm here for: to help." He headed for the door.

Richard caught his arm. "You'd better let me go first. Until I change the orders, you will die if you step out of a room before me. We don't want that."

As Richard took Kahlan's arm and turned toward the door, she met Cara's eyes for an instant. Her hearing wasn't affected, Drefan had said. She could hear every thing, even though she couldn't react. She had to have heard Kahlan warn him not to put his hand on her there again. She had to have known what Drefan had been doing, but she had been unable to do anything to stop him. Kahlan's face heated at the memory. She turned and hugged Richard's waist as they went through the door.

Richard looked up and down the quiet hall, and when he saw no one, he backed her to the paneled wall outside her rooms and pressed a kiss to her lips. She was glad that Drefan had eased the pain in her arm earlier in the day; it hardly hurt to circle both arms around Richard's neck.

She moaned against his mouth. She was tired from the long day, and her arm did still hurt just a bit, but it wasn't weariness or discomfort that drove out the moan-it was longing.

He drew her into his arms and turned so that he was leaning his back against the wall instead. His powerful arms crushed her to him, almost lifting her toes from the floor as his kiss became more insistent. She returned it in kind. She pulled his lower lip through her teeth and then backed away for a breath.

"I can't believe Nancy or one of her women isn't here, waiting for us," Richard said.

He had left their guards farther up the hall, around the corner. They were at last alone-a rare luxury. Even though she had grown up with people always around, she now found their constant presence wearing. There was great value in simply being alone.

Kahlan gave his lips a quick lick and a kiss. "I don't think Nancy will be bothering us."

"Really?" Richard asked with a sly grin. "Why, Mother Confessor, who will protect your virtue?"

Her lips brushed his. "Dear spirits, no one, I pray."

He surprised her with an abrupt change of topic. "What do you think of Drefan?" That was a question she was not prepared to answer. "What do you think of him?"

"I'd like to have a brother I could trust and believe in. He's a healer. The surgeon was impressed with the way he helped some of those men. He said that at least one of them will live only because of what Drefan did for him. Nadine was more than a little curious about some of the compounds he carries in the leather pouches at his belt. I'd like to think that I have a brother who helps people. Nothing seems so noble as that." "Do you think he has magic?"

"I didn't see any trace of it in his eyes. I'm sure I would have been able to tell. I can't explain how I can sense magic, now, how I can see it sometimes sparkle in the air about a person, or show in their eyes, but I didn't see any of that with Drefan. I think that he is simply a talented healer.

"I'm grateful that he saved Cara. At least he said he saved her. What if she had recovered on her own after Marlin was dead and her link with him was broken?" Kahlan hadn't thought of that. "So, you don't trust him?" "I don't know. I still don't believe in coincidence." He sighed in frustration. "Kahlan, I need you to be honest, and not let me be blinded because he's my brother and I want to trust him. I haven't proven a very good judge of brothers. If you have any reason to doubt him, I want to hear about it." "All right. That seems fair."

He tipped his head toward her. "For example, you can tell me why you lied to him."

Kahlan frowned. "What do you mean. "

"About your headache being gone. I could see that he didn't make it any better. Why did you tell him that it was gone?" Kahlan cupped a hand to the side of his face.

"I'd like you to have a brother you could be proud of, Richard, but I want it to be real. I guess what you said about coincidence has made me wary, that's all." "Anything other than simply what I said, about coincidence?" "No. I hope he can bring a little brotherly love to your heart. I pray that it is nothing more than simple coincidence." "Me, too." She gave his arm an affectionate squeeze. "I know he has the women on the staff all aflutter. I suspect he will soon be breaking hearts, what with all the swooning looks I've seen.

"I promise to let you know if he gives me reason to suspect something amiss." "Thanks."

He didn't smile at what she said about the women all liking Drefan. Richard had never displayed any jealousy, he didn't have reason to, even if she hadn't been a Confessor, but still, there was a painful history with Michael that she realized could make reason less than relevant. She wished she hadn't mentioned it.

He ran his fingers back into her hair, holding the sides of her head as he kissed her. She pulled back.

"Why did you take Nadine with you this afternoon?" "Who?"

He leaned toward her again. She pulled back. "Nadine. Remember her? The woman in the tight dress?" "Oh, that Nadine."

She poked his ribs. "So, you noticed her dress."

His brow drew together. "Did you think there was something different about it, today?"

"Oh yes, there was something different about it. So, why did you take her with you?"

"Because she's a healer. She's not an evil person-she has good qualities. I thought that as long as she was going to be here, she might as well make herself useful. I thought that that might make her feel better about herself. I had her check that the men were making the quench Oak tea properly, that it was strong enough. She seemed happy to help."

Kahlan remembered Nadine's smile when Richard had asked her to go with him. She had been happy, all right, but not simply to help. The smile was for Richard, as was the dress.

"So," Richard said, "you think Drefan is handsome, as all the other women do?"

She thought his trousers were too tight. She pulled Richard into a kiss, hoping he wouldn't notice her face flushing and misunderstand the reason for it. "Who?" she breathed dreamily.

"Drefan. Remember him? The man in the tight pants?"

"Sorry, I don't remember him," she said as she kissed his neck, and she nearly didn't. She ached for Richard and nothing else.

There was no room in her mind for Drefan. Almost the only thing in her thoughts was the time she had been with Richard in that strange place between worlds where they had been together, truly together, as never before or since. She wanted him that way again. She wanted him that way now.

With the way his hands were slipping down her back, and the urgency of his lips on her neck, she knew he wanted her the same way, and just as badly.

But she also knew that Richard didn't want to even appear to be like his father. He didn't want anyone to think she was no more than Darken Rahl's women had been: an amusement for the Master of D'Hara. That was why he always let the women on the staff so easily keep him a bay; despite his frustrated objections, he never overruled them when they shooed him away.