Richard didn't know what to think. He wanted to believe his brother was innocent, but it was difficult to buy that at the moment.
Michael felt guilty, he could tell. It was an indication that he had known something was wrong but had chosen to ignore it.
And now he couldn't ignore it any longer.
He was having difficulty reconciling this stranger with the brother he'd known all his life. Had Michael always been like this and he just hadn't wanted to see it?
When he'd been younger, he'd wanted nothing more than to be just like his older brother.
After their mother's death, Michael had become more distant and withdrawn, his heart hardened by the loss of feminine nurturing, but Richard had still looked up to him and done his best to connect with him.
He'd admired him, thought him a great leader.
It had wounded him deeply when Michael had been so quick to think the worst of him and turn against him when their father had been murdered by Ranssyn Fane.
He still loved his brother, but now he also saw how flawed he was.
But perhaps he wasn't a lost cause. If Michael was truly willing to help them, they might still have a chance to defeat the D'Harans.
It was a sound plan, he had to admit. Given the chance, the people of Hartland would rise up the way the people of Brennidon had. He knew what an angry mob was capable of under the right leadership. And the people of Hartland had always followed Michael's guidance.
It was a big risk to take, but Richard wanted to give his brother a chance to redeem himself.
His instincts were telling him to trust Michael. Just as he'd trusted Mark back in Brennidon.
The only part of the plan that didn't sit well with him was Anna's role in it.
He loathed the thought of her "distracting" the viceroy, but what choice did they have?
And he really wished Chase hadn't opened his big mouth. Now Kahlan knew that he and Anna had a past together. He didn't want Kahlan to feel threatened. Their love was so fragile, in many ways. He never wanted to do anything that would hurt her or upset her. He didn't want her getting ideas…
He and Anna had grown up together, and she'd been his best friend. She'd helped him through some of the darkest times of his childhood, like when he'd been struggling to cope with his mother's death, and he was grateful for her love and support.
He'd always cherish what they'd had together, but he also knew that Anna had let go of him years ago. Just as he had let go of her. Growing up had meant growing apart. She hadn't even written to him after she'd moved away from Hartland.
Seeing Anna again only confirmed that whatever they'd shared was in the past. It had been many years, and they'd both changed. They'd always care about each other, but they'd both moved on with their lives.
(To be continued in Chapter 5...)