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was a defensive note in his voice, however, and his eyes, too, went to the stairwell. He adored his stepfather and, simultaneously, resented the implication that Ian was aging and secretly feared that any exertion might in fact be a strain for him. |
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"That is not what Joanna means," Gilliane said. Her voice had none of Joanna's whiplash quality, but there was a silken strength in it. Fourteen years of happy marriage to Adam had changed her from a fearful, anxious girl to a very strong, though quiet, woman. "You know what kind Ian is," she continued. "What he has sworn, he will abide by. You will break his heart, Simon, if you openly defy the king." |
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"Why?" Simon asked passionately. "I have not even sworn to Henry. But cannot you all see that he intends to make you slaves?" |
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Gilliane, too, was wondering what was wrong with Simon. Not only was his disposition usually very sweet, but he had never cared a bit about politics. There was a wild streak in himnot in the usual sense of drinking and gambling, but in disregarding practical matters. Unlike the rest of his family, he was totally uninterested in land and had little sense of possession. He did not wish to be encumbered by the management of property. So, usually, he did not care what the king did, but after Henry had dismissed the Earl of Pembroke's deputy from officewhich he had no right to doSimon had come roaring out of Wales to demand that his family defy the king. |
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"I have sworn to him, and I am still of your mind, Simon," Adam growled. "There can be no question of oath-breaking if we refuse to go to this summoning. The king has broken his oath first. Does he hold by the great charter that he has sworn to more than once? Well, Geoffrey, what have you to say?" |
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Geoffrey, Joanna's husband, had been sitting in one of the deep window embrasures, staring out into the beautiful garden of Roselynde keep. Roses made a blaze |
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