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Page 258
tion but the lack of evidence of her ears. Knowing was her warden and that she admired him, the spiteful ladies of the Court would have been only too eager to tell her if his fancy had fallen on one among them.
Anyhow, she had lost the main thread, the core of the problem. If Simon did wish to be her lover, should she accept or refuse? The busy needle now hung suspended. There was a very unusual uncertainty in Alinor's mind. All her life she had been a creature of certaintiessometimes mistaken ones that had to be discarded and apologized for but, nonetheless, certainties. Now, however, she was unsure. There was no question about what was right. The question of sin barely brushed her mind. One had time to atone for the sins of youth with good works, alms, and prayer when those sins were no longer so desirable. What Alinor was sure about was that kisses in corners and hurried couplings behind hedges were quite wrong. They would never suit her temperament. That was not the kind of excitement that Alinor craved. But the uncertainty remained. Could she resist Simon?
A sharp memory of the warmth in her lips, the sensitivity of her breasts, the softness in her loins made her sigh. Perhaps she would be able to resist himperhaps. Perhaps she would remember that the big body that woke such exquisite sensations in hers did not hold the mind and spirit she thought she lovedperhaps.

 
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