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he was equally confident thatif they should somehow triumph against all the oddsJohn would not revert or even degenerate into a worse tyrant. |
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The worst sufferers, of course, were Joanna and. Geoffrey. Their condition was pitiable. Pursued by whispers, which hissed behind her back and dissolved into false smiles when she turned to confront them, Joanna took refuge in an apparent bovine placidity. Because she dared not permit any crack in her protective shield that might allow her fear and incipient hysteria to break out, she treated Geoffrey with the same dull acceptance that she presented to malicious ill-wishers and genuine sympathizers alike. |
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Joanna's first private meeting with her betrothed had been uncomfortable. She had stiffened like a spear shaft when he tried to take her in his arms, and when he begged her to tell him why she was so cold, she had torn loose altogether and run away. Poor Joanna dared not answer for she knew she would burst into tears and beg Geoffrey to believe in her, not to repudiate her if her body betrayed her and refused to give proof that she truly was a virgin. It was the worst thing she could do, she thought. It would increase his suspicion and jealousy to show that she was conscious there could be a doubt of her purity. |
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Night and day, awake and asleep, she thought and dreamed about Geoffrey's reaction. Had Ela told him? Ordinarily, Joanna would not have doubted her foster mother, but Ela was not normal these days. Her world was dissolving around her, and she often spent days at a time in bed, just staring. If Ela had told him, had he accepted his stepmother's information as true? Ela would do anything to save Salisbury and, thus, much against her will, to save the king. Geoffrey might think the tale just a device to make him keep an unchaste wife for political reasons. Even if he believed Ela, would he help Joanna if she needed help? Would he think he could overawe the court into silence? If he believed Ela, why did he not tell Joanna all would be well? Why did he not assure her he would love her and protect her no matter what happened? |
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