Cara grunted as she yanked off his other boot. “Undo your pants, and I’ll pull them off, too.”
Richard scowled down at her. “I’ll manage, thank you.”
Cara smirked to herself as he rolled off the bed and went to Nadine. She handed him the glass of water with the tincture of hops. She had put something else in the glass of water, too.
“Don’t drink it all. I put in fifty drops. That’s way more than you should need, but I wanted to leave you with extra. Drink about a third, and then if you wake in the night, you can always drink another swallow or two. I put in some valerian and skullcap, too, to help insure you go into a deep and dreamless sleep.”
Richard downed half of it. His face contorted. “As bad as this tastes, it will put me to sleep or else kill me.”
Nadine smiled at him. “You’ll sleep like a baby.”
“Babies don’t sleep all that well, from what I’ve heard.”
Nadine laughed in a soft lilt. “You’ll sleep, Richard. I promise. If you wake too early, just take a little more.”
“Thanks.” He sat down on the edge of the bed, looking from one woman to the next. “I’ll manage with my pants. I swear.”
Cara rolled her eyes and headed for the door, urging Nadine along before her. Kahlan kissed his cheek.
“Get in bed. I’ll come back in and tuck you in and kiss you good night as soon as I see to the guards.”
Raina followed Kahlan out and closed the door. Nadine was waiting, rocking back and forth on her heels.
“How’s the arm? Do you need a poultice?”
“My arm is much better,” Kahlan said. “I think it’s fine, now. But thank you for asking.”
Kahlan clasped her hands and stood watching Nadine. Cara watched Nadine. Raina watched Nadine.
Nadine’s gaze moved from one woman to the next. She glanced to Ulic and Egan, who were watching her, too. “All right, then. Good night.”
“Good night,” Kahlan, Cara, and Raina said as one.
They watched as Nadine strolled off.
“I still say you should have let me kill her,” Cara said under her breath.
“I may yet let you,” Kahlan said. She knocked on the door. “Richard? You in bed?”
“Yes.”
Cara started to follow as Kahlan opened the door.
Kahlan turned. “I’ll only be a minute. I don’t think he can spoil my honor in a minute.”
Cara frowned. “With Lord Rahl, anything is possible.”
Raina laughed and slapped Cara’s arm, making her leave Kahlan be.
“I wouldn’t worry. With what we’ve seen today, neither of us would be in the mood,” Kahlan said. She shut the door.
A single candle was lit. Richard was covered to his stomach. Kahlan sat on the edge of the bed and took his hand. She held it to her heart.
“Are you terribly disappointed?” he asked.
“Richard, we will be married. I’ve waited my whole life for you. We’re together; that’s all that really matters.”
Richard smiled. His tired eyes sparkled. “Well, not all.”
Kahlan couldn’t help smiling herself. She kissed his knuckles.
“Just as long as you know that I understand,” she said. “I didn’t want you to go to sleep thinking I was heartbroken that we can’t be married just now. We’ll be married when we can.”
He put his other hand to the back of her neck and pulled her into a gentle kiss. She laid a hand on his bare chest, feeling his warm flesh, his breathing, his heartbeat. If she hadn’t been so devastated by the suffering children she had seen that day, the feel of him would have ignited longing in her own breast.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you, now, and always,” he whispered back.
She blew out the candle. “Sleep well, my love.”
Cara eyed Kahlan suspiciously as she closed the door. “That was two minutes.”
Kahlan ignored Cara’s little jab. “Raina, would you guard Richard’s room until you go to bed, and then have a guard posted?”
“Yes, Mother Confessor.”
“Ulic, Egan, with that sleep potion, Richard may not be able to awake if he were in danger. I’d like one of you to be here when Raina goes to bed.”
Ulic folded his massive arms. “Mother Confessor, neither of us has any intention of leaving this spot as long as Lord Rahl is asleep.”
Egan pointed at the floor against the opposite wall. “One of us can take a nap if need be. We’ll both be here. Don’t be concerned for Lord Rahl’s safety while he is sleeping.”
“Thank you, all of you. One other thing: Nadine isn’t to be allowed into his room—for any reason. None whatsoever.”
They all nodded in satisfaction. Kahlan turned to the blond-headed Mord-Sith.
“Cara, go get Berdine. I’m going to get a cloak. Both of you should bring your cloaks, too. It’s a foul night.”
“And where are we going?”
“I’ll meet you both out in the stables.”
“The stables? Why do you want to go out there? It’s time for dinner.”
Cara would never really balk at a duty over a matter so petty as dinner. She was suspicious.
“Grab something from the kitchens that we can take with us, then.”
Cara clasped her hands behind her back. “Where are we going?”
“For a ride.”
“A ride. Mother Confessor, where are we going?”
“The Wizard’s Keep.”
Both Cara and Raina lifted an eyebrow.
Cara’s surprise turned to a frown of disapproval. “Does Lord Rahl know that you want to go up to the Keep?”
“Of course not. If I had told him why I’m going, he would have insisted on going, too. He needs sleep, so I didn’t tell him.”
“And why are we going?”
“Because the Temple of the Winds is gone. The wizards who did it were put on trial. There are records in the Keep of all the trials held there. I want to find that record. Tomorrow, Richard can read it over, after he’s gotten some sleep. It could help him.”
“Makes sense, going to the Wizard’s Keep after dark. I will go get Berdine and some food and meet you in the stables. We’ll make a picnic of it,” Cara said with blithe sarcasm.
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