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Page 332
never went near his fellow prelatewho might not have been above laying hands upon himbut followed the king to London and was welcomed warmly by Roger of London. Reinforced by that saintly man's approvaland determinationhe again fronted the king.
Henry squirmed and protested that what was done was his right. Restraining. his temper, Robert of Salisbury reasoned gently but with total inflexibility; Hubert de Burgh must be returned to the church from which he was taken. Sanctuary was inviolable for anyone. Even the blackest criminal, the bloodiest murderer, was sacred when under the protection of the Church and could not be returned to prison or executed, as long as he remained on holy ground.
That "even," implying as it did that de Burgh was less guilty than a criminal, grated on Henry. Unwisely, he exploded, saying that offending the king was a crime worse than murder. Robert of Salisbury, in turn, drew himself up and told Henry plainly, very plainly, that a man's soul belonged to God, whereas the pride of a king belonged to himselfand was a sin and an offense to God and might need humbling. When Henry became nearly incoherent with rage, the bishop withdrew, but not for long. His manner made it plain enough that this was only the first round, and he felt he had won it.
Henry would have been glad to flee again, hoping to wear out the older, frailer man, but he could not. The conference at which Winchester's next move was to be made was only two days away. A hasty message was sent to Peter des Roches, but he was already on his way. Alinor and Ian and Geoffrey and Joanna arrived very nearly on Winchester's heels. Adam and Gilliane had taken all the children, except Sybelle, and had gone to see to the provisioning and sealing of all the vast properties.
The king would get nothing from the men and women of the Roselynde blood. They would not rebel, but even Ian felt that Geoffrey's surety to Pembroke

 
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