Shortly after Richard had gone to the window, he heard the door scrape open. The steps were light and familiar. Kahlan.
"What's this?" When he turned around to look at her, her eyes were traveling along the floor, her mouth slightly parted and smiling. She furrowed her brows as she debated whether or not to step on the petals. She slowly pushed the door closed behind her, and Richard heard the distinctive cling of the lock. Kahlan looked to the table beside her, picking up one of the lilies and twirling it in between her fingers. She looked back at Richard and smiled.
"Just a surprise." He beamed at knowing how taken aback she was, how this action utterly surprised her. He took pride in knowing he was the only one who could make the Mother Confessor speechless.
Kahlan's eyes redirected to the center of the floor. A large blue blanket was stretched along the marble, petals of the white flowers placed variously on top. There was a small bundle of honey cakes in a little weaved basket in the center of the blanket, two glasses of wine on each side. She looked back at the floor, not wanting to crush the small white flowers underneath her boots. Richard laughed as he crossed the room towards her, taking her hand in his and guiding her to the blanket, urging her to sit down.
Her hair was piled in a messy bun and a few escaped strands framed her face, which seemed to glow. She looked back and forth between the wine and the honey cakes before reaching into the basket and obtaining one.
"My favorite." She stated, taking a small bite from the cake. Richard laughed and took a sip of his wine, unaware of where to go from here. He realized he hadn't thought this situation through as much as he would have liked. He chuckled as she fumbled the cake in her hand when the honey started dripping down her chin. Kahlan finally balanced the cake and wiped the back of her hand along her chin, removing the honey. She scrunched her nose before she took another bite, positioning one of her hands below the cake to make sure none of the honey dribbled onto her dress. Richard couldn't stop smiling at her. He had never seen her fumble with anything, and now it seemed she was waging war on a simple honey cake.
"How were your meetings?" Richard took another sip of his wine, realizing he needed to put it down before it became a habit to drink whenever he wasn't sure what to say. His objective was not to get drunk.
Kahlan raised an eyebrow at him as she brought the honey cake away from her mouth. "Are you truly interested in that, Cypher?" Her lips curled up into a devious smile.
Richard laughed and reached for a honey cake, shaking his head at her. "I'm truly interested in what you do, yes." He took a bite and they both seemed to size each other up with their gazes.
"I'm truly interested in what all this is about." She lowered her head at him, looking through her lashes as her free hand gestured around the room.
"Oh, Amnell. Stop questioning everything." He took another bite of the honey cake, a satisfied look spreading across his face. She pouted and set her honey cake on the blanket, reaching for the glass of wine and letting the liquid meet her lips.
"This is all about me not believing in love, is it not?" She breathed out, setting her glass back on the blanket as she started picking pieces off the remaining honey cake, popping them into her mouth and licking her fingers clean of the sticky residue.
"Maybe." He drew out, realizing this conversation was going to happen. This time, he was fully prepared for it to occur. She pursed her lips as she ran her finger around the top of her glass of wine.
"I suppose you have some grand plan to make me reconsider my stance?"
"Possibly."
"I suggest you enact it quickly, while I'm still in a slight state of shock." She met his eyes, her blues dancing with mischief, her tone seductive. Her exposed flesh was glistening in the candlelight, the night air heavy and hot. Richard licked his lips as he breathed in, trying to control his temptation. He reached into his vest, pulling out the bracelet he bought earlier. Kahlan had a puzzled look on her face. He moved over to her, sitting at her hip. He lifted her small hand in his, sliding the bracelet onto her right wrist.
"Elegance to match your own."
"What's this, Richard?" She held her wrist in front of her face, observing the small piece of jewelry and turning her limb in different directions. He laced his fingers in hers, causing her to stop moving and look up into his eyes.
"This, Kahlan, is a token of my devotion to you. I know you don't wear jewelry often, in fact, I'm relatively sure you don't wear it all. However, I also know that you hold your mother's jewels in high regard, and I've noticed how you prefer blue to any other color. I figured you should have a piece of jewelry that is your own, that our daughters can hold in high regard when you pass." Richard saw moisture come to her eyes, her mouth twitching into a smile. She laughed as a tear fell down her cheek, and she moved her free hand to try and wipe it away. Instead, Richard kissed where the tear had fallen, gathering the moisture with his lips before pulling away from her. Kahlan clenched her eyes shut as she gently shook her head.
"You're making it incredibly difficult for me to keep my belief structure." Her voice was shaky, her eyes continuing to well up with tears. She tried to pull her hand away from Richard, but he wouldn't let go.
"Love isn't something to fear, Kahlan. One day, I'll be able to make you see that." His voice was soft and gentle, and he tried to let her know he wasn't trying to push her into a corner.
She shook her head at him and opened her mouth to offer another refute, but Richard didn't allow her to get that far. He quickly leaned in and captured her lips with his, never letting go of her hand.