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nurse rather than as a woman. If that was what he wanted, she told herself spitefully, that was what he would have. Call him her love, her heartnot she!
Meanwhile, Sir Léon was discovering that Geoffrey's capture was having enormous and unexpected benefits quite aside from the wealth that would accrue to his uncle. At first, that did not seem likely. The initial meeting between Sir Léon and his wife had not been easy. His jealousy had been sharply reawakened when he had seen the expression on Gilliane's face as Geoffrey was carried in and had been further exacerbated when she disappeared below before greeting him rather than sending a servant. In addition, he had been infuriated to find Geoffrey imprisoned in a cell rather than treated as a guest. Because he was fearful of what he might learn from investigation of the first two problems, he had attacked the last matter first. The shock the explanation gave him, sent him down to apologize to Geoffrey before he did anything else. His brief contact with Joanna had sent him back up the stairs with a sudden, overwhelming gratitude for his own wife.
Having seen Geoffrey's condition, Sir Léon no longer suspected Gilliane of any physical infidelity. What had appeared on her face, however, was a warning that his wife was a woman of strong feelingsa thing he would never have noticed before the need to read Joanna's expression had made him aware that women had feelings. To his surprise, he found that he was as possessive of Gilliane's feelings as of her body.
Truthfully, he had never thought about her much. Gilliane had been chosen for him by his parents, as was proper, and he had found her pleasant enoughobedient, hardworking, and a good breeder. What more did he need? Long absence and a crush of new experience had jolted him from his rut, however. After many years of marriage, Sir Léon suddenly saw his wife as woman. She was looking back at him, her hands held forward placatingly, obviously nervous and distressed more than joyous. She was not beautiful, but she was no haughty bitch either. Sir Léon came

 
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