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“Sorry. That was my fault. It isn’t proper, Mother Confessor.”
“That’s for me to decide.”
“If you say so, Mother Confessor.”
Kahlan held her arm out as Nancy slipped the sleeve over her hand. “I say so.”
Nancy glanced to the bed. “You were conceived in that bed. Who knows how many Mother Confessors before you conceived their daughters in that bed. It holds a legacy of tradition. Only wedded Mother Confessors took their men to that bed to conceive a child.”
“And not one of them because of love. I was not conceived through love, Nancy. My child, if I have one, will be.”
“All the more reason that it should be by the grace of the good spirits—in the sanctity of marriage.”
Kahlan didn’t say that the good spirits had taken them to a place between worlds to sanctify their union. “The good spirits know what’s in our hearts; there is no one else for either of us, nor will there ever be.”
Nancy busied herself at the bandage. “And you are eager to get to it. Like my daughter and her young man are.”
If Nancy only knew how eager.
“That’s not it. I’m just saying that I don’t want you coming in on me when Richard is here with me. We will be wedded soon. We are irreversibly committed to one another.
“There is more to being in love than just jumping into bed, you know. Like just being close, in one another’s arms. Can you understand? I can’t very well kiss my future husband and have my injuries comforted by him if you keep popping your head in every two minutes, now can I?”
“No, Mother Confessor.”
Nadine knocked at the open door. “May I come in?”
“Yes, of course. Here, set your bag on the bed. I can manage, now, Nancy. Thank you.”
With a deprecating shake of her head, Nancy shut the door behind herself. Nadine sat on the bed next to Kahlan and worked at finishing unwrapping the bandage. Kahlan frowned at Nadine’s dress.
“Nadine, that dress… it is the same one you were wearing yesterday, isn’t it?”
“Sure.”
“It seems—”
Nadine looked down at herself. “The ladies washed it for me but it’s… Oh, I know what you’re talking about. It was torn in the tunnels, when we went for a swim. Some of the fabric at the seams was ruined, so I had to take it in to save it.
“I haven’t had much of an appetite since I left home, thinking about… I mean, what with my travels, I was busy, and I’ve slimmed down a bit, so I was able to take in the seams and save the dress. It’s not too tight. It’s fine.”
“In view of your aid, I will see to it that you get another dress that would be more comfortable.”
“No. This one’s fine.”
“I see.”
“Well, your cut looks no worse this morning. That’s encouraging.” She carefully wiped at the old poultice. “I saw Richard on the way out. He looked upset. You two haven’t had a fight, I hope?”
Kahlan’s forbearance evaporated. “No. He was upset because of something else.”
Nadine paused at her work. She turned to her bag and brought back a horn. The fragrance of pine pitch filled the air when she opened it. Kahlan winced as Nadine dabbed on the poultice. When she was satisfied, she began winding the bandage back around Kahlan’s arm.
“There’s no need to be embarrassed,” Nadine said in a casual tone. “Lovers sometimes have spats. They don’t always end a relationship. I’m sure Richard will come to his senses. Eventually.”
“Actually,” Kahlan said, “I told him that I understood about you and him. About what happened. That was why he was so upset.”
Nadine’s wrapping slowed. “What do you mean?”
“I told him what you said about letting him catch you kissing his brother. The little ‘shove’ you gave him. Remember?”
Nadine brought the tails of the bandage around, her fingers suddenly working swiftly at tying them. “Oh, that.”
“Yes, that.”
Nadine avoided looking up. She slipped the sleeve of the dress over Kahlan’s hand. As soon as she had pulled the dress up over Kahlan’s shoulder, she dropped the horn back in her bag.
“That should do it. I should replace the poultice later today.”
Kahlan watched as Nadine hefted her bag and scurried for the door. Kahlan called her name. Nadine reluctantly paused and turned partway back.
“Seems you lied to me. Richard told me what really happened.”
Nadine’s freckles vanished in a crimson glow. Kahlan stood and gestured toward a tufted velvet chair.
“Care to set things right? To tell me your side of it?”
Nadine stood woodenly for a moment, then sank into the chair. She folded her hands in her lap and stared down at them. “I told you, I had to give him a shove.”
“You call that a shove?”
Nadine turned even redder. “Well.” She flicked a hand. “I knew how boys lost their heads over… over their lust. I figured that was my best chance of getting him to… to lay claim to me.”
Kahlan was confused, but she didn’t let it show. “Seems it would have been a little late for that.”
“Well, not necessarily. I was bound to end up with one of them when I let Richard catch me like that, naked, atop Michael, having a good time of it. Michael was game for me, that was for sure.”
Kahlan’s brow rose. “How did you figure that—”
“I had it worked out. Richard would come in behind me. He’d see me on Michael’s lance, crying out with the pleasure of it, and he’d be taken with lust by the sight, and by my willingness. Then he’d lose his head, his inhibition, and at last he’d have to have me, too.”
Kahlan stared dumbly. “How was that going to get you Richard?”
Nadine cleared her throat. “Well, it was like this; I figured that Richard would enjoy having me. I’d make sure of that. Then, I’d tell him no the next time he wanted me, and he’d want me so much, after he’d had a sampling, that he’d claim me. If Michael wanted to claim me, too, then it’s my choice, and I’d choose Richard.
“If Richard didn’t claim me, and I got pregnant, then I’d say it was his and he’d marry me because it could be his. If I didn’t get pregnant, and he wouldn’t claim me, well, then, there was still Michael. I figured second best was better than none.”
Kahlan didn’t know what had happened; Richard hadn’t said. She feared Nadine would stop her story right there. Kahlan couldn’t very well admit she didn’t know what happened next, and worse, she feared to hear just how successful Nadine’s bizarre plan had been. In the first version, the kissing version, Richard had turned away. But Kahlan now knew that version wasn’t true.
She watched the vein in the side of the Nadine’s neck throb. Kahlan folded her arms and waited.
At last, Nadine collected her voice and continued. “Well, that was my plan, anyway. It seemed to make sense. I figured I’d get Richard out of it, at best, and Michael at worst.
“It didn’t work the way I thought. Richard walked in and froze.
I smiled over my shoulder. I invited him to come join the fun, or else to come to me later and I’d see to him, too.”
Kahlan held her breath.
“That was the first time I saw that look in Richard’s eyes. He didn’t say a word. He just turned and walked out.”
Nadine stuck a hand in under the hair hanging around her face and wiped it across her nose as she sniffled. “I thought I’d at least have Michael. He laughed at me when I told him he’d claimed me. He just laughed. He never wanted to be with me again after that. He’d gotten what he wanted. I was no use to him after that. He moved on to other girls.”
“But, if you were willing to… Dear spirits, why didn’t you simply seduce Richard?”
“Because I was worried he might expect that and have his resistance built up for it. I wasn’t the only girl he danced with. I was afraid he wouldn’t want to commit, and that if I simply tried to seduce him, he might be ready for that and turn me down. I’d heard a rumor that Bess Pratter tried that. It didn’t seem to have worked for her. I was afraid it wouldn’t be enough of a shove.
“I figured that jealousy would be the thing that pushed him off the fence. I figured my plan would take him by such surprise that he’d just lose his head with jealousy and lust, and then I’d have him. I’ve heard tell there’s nothing more powerful in a man than jealousy and lust.”
With both hands, Nadine pushed her hair back on her head. “I can’t believe Richard told you. I didn’t think he would ever tell anyone.”
“He didn’t,” Kahlan whispered. “Richard only stared at me when I told him that you said he caught you kissing his brother. He didn’t tell me the story. You just did that all by yourself.”
Nadine’s face sank into her hands.
“You may have grown up with Richard, but you didn’t know him. Dear spirits, you didn’t know the first thing about him.”
“It might have worked. You don’t know as much as you think. Richard is just a boy from Hartland who never had anything and has had his head turned by fine things and people doing his bidding. That’s why it might have worked—because he just wants what he sees. I was just trying to make him see what I have to offer.”
