Kahlan recalled a time when the Midlands feared these men. Under Darken Rahl, they were a formidable invader; inspiring dread and terror. She was amazed at how civil these men could be, how human, when given a chance. It was Richard, really, who had given them that chance. She knew that many of them understood that, and appreciated it.

When finally they reached the end of the long winding walk through the sprawling camp, they came at last to the tent Verna and Warren thought was to be theirs. Those following along bid the couple a good night and wandered back to the party, leaving the three of them alone.

Rather than let Verna and Warren slow, Kahlan stepped between them, took each under an arm, and guided them onto the path among the towering trees. Moonlight through the boughs cast wavering patterns on the snow. Not knowing what she was up to, neither Verna nor Warren protested as Kahlan kept them moving.

Finally, Kahlan spotted the lodge off through the trees. She stopped a little distance away to let them see the candlelight coming from behind the lace-like curtain. The juxtaposition against life in an army camp made it looked all the more romantic.

"This is a long and difficult struggle," Kahlan told them. "Starting a marriage under these conditions is a harsh burden. I can't tell you how happy I am that you two chose to go forward with it at a time like this. It means a great deal to all of us. We're all very happy for you. More than anything, I would like to thank you both for choosing life in all its glory.

"We will one day have to move on, as surely the Order will move again when spring comes, if not before. But for now, I want this place to be yours. I can give you at least this much, this little piece of a normal life together."

Verna unexpectedly burst into tears and buried her face in Kahlan's shoulder. Kahlan patted the Prelate's heaving back, chuckling at how out of character it was for Verna to show such emotion.

"Not a good idea, Verna, to let your new husband see you cry just as he's about to take you to his bed."

That did it, and Verna laughed, too. She gripped Kahlan's shoulders as she searched her eyes.

"I don't know what to say."

Kahlan kissed her cheek. "Love each another, be good to each other, and treasure being together-that's what I would like more than anything."

Warren hugged her, whispering his thanks in her ear. Kahlan watched as he led Verna the remaining distance to the lodge. At the door, both turned and waved. At the last moment, Warren swept Verna off her feet. Her lilting laugh drifted among the trees as he carried her through the doorway.

Alone, Kahlan turned back to the camp.

The door opened a crack. One bloodshot eye peered out into the dingy hall.

"You have a room? My wife and I are looking for a room." Before the man could close the door, Richard quickly added, "We were told you had one."

"What of it?"

Despite it being self-evident, Richard answered politely. "We've no place to stay."

"Why bring your problems to me?"

Richard could hear angry words going back and forth between a man and woman upstairs. Behind several of the doors in the hall, babies wailed without pause. The heavy odor of rancid oil hung in the dank air. Out the door at the back standing open to the narrow alley, young children, being chased by older children, squealed as they ran through the cold rain.

Richard spoke without expectation into the narrow slit. "We need a room."

A dog not far up the alleyway barked with monotonous persistence.

"Lots of people need a room. I only have one. I can't give it to you."

Nicci eased Richard aside and put her face close to the crack.

"We have the money for the first week." She shoved her hand against the door when he started to shut it. "It's a public room. Your duty is to help the public get rooms."

The man shouldered his weight into the door, shutting it in her face.

Richard turned away as Nicci began knocking. "Forget it," he said.

"Let's go get a loaf of bread."

Nicci usually followed his lead without admonishment, challenge, or even comment, but this time, instead of minding him, she rapped persistently on the door. Layers of peeling paint, every color from blue to yellow to red, fell from under her knuckles.

"It's your duty," Nicci called to the closed door. "You've no right to turn us away." No answer came. "We're going to report you."

The door opened a crack again. The eye glared out with menace.

"Has he a job?"

"No, but-"

"You go away. The both of your I'll report you!"

"For what, might I ask?"

"Look, lady, I got a room, but I got to keep it for people at the top of the list."

"How do you know we're not at the top of the list?"

"Because if you were you would have said so first off and showed me the approval you got with a seal on it. People at the head of the list have been waiting a long time for a place. You're no better than a thief, trying to take the place of a good citizen who's followed the law. Now, go away, or I will take down your names for the lodging inspector."

The door slammed shut again. The threat of having their names taken down appeared to take some of the fight out of Nicci. She huffed a sigh as they walked away, the bowed floor creaking and groaning underfoot. At least they had been able to get in out of the rain for a brief time.

"We will have to keep looking," she told him. "If you had a job, first, it would probably help. Maybe tomorrow you can look for a job while I keep looking for a room."

Out in the cold rain once more, they crossed the muddy street to the cobbled walkway on the other side. There were yet more places to check, though Richard didn't hold out any hope of getting a room. They'd had doors shut in their faces more times than he could count. Nicci wanted a room, though, so they kept looking.

The weather was unusually cold for this far south in the Old World, Nicci had told him. People said the cold spell and rain would soon pass. A few days before it had been muggy and warm, so Richard had no reason to doubt their judgment. It was disorienting for him to see woods and fields of lush green vegetation in the dead of winter. There were some trees with limbs bare for the season, but most were in full leaf.

As far south as they were in the Old World, it never got cold enough for water to freeze. People only blinked dumbly when he spoke of snow. When Richard explained snow as flakes of frozen white water that fell from the sky and covered the ground with a cottony blanket, some people turned huffy, thinking he was making a joke at their expense.

He knew that back home winter would be raging. Despite the turmoil around him, Richard felt an inner tranquillity knowing that Kahlan was most likely to be warm and snug in the house he had built; in that light, nothing in his new life was of enough importance to distress him. She had food to eat, firewood to keep her warm, and Cara for company. For now, she was safe.

Winter was wearing on and in spring she would be able to leave, but, for now, Richard was confident that she was safe. That, and his thoughts and memories of her, were his only solace.

People without rooms huddled in the alleyways, using whatever scrap of solid material they could find to prop up over themselves for a roof. Walls were fashioned from sodden blankets. He supposed that he and Nicci could continue to do the same, but he feared Nicci falling ill in the cold and wet-feared that then Kahlan, too, would fall ill.

Nicci checked the paper she carried. "These places on this register they gave us are all supposed to be available for people newly arrived-not just for people on a list. They need workers; they should be more diligent in seeing to it that places are available. Do you see, Richard? Do you see how hard it is for ordinary people to get along in life?"