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time, the place, nor the person. |
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"Because I do not believe him capable of being faithful, and I am not a woman who can share a man." |
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"Neither am I," Alinor agreed, smiling slightly as she remembered the months of misery she had inflicted upon herself and her husband only because she thought he carried a dream of another woman in his heart. |
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"Then why should I marry?" Rhiannon asked heatedly. "He may wander as he pleases, but I will be constrained to keep my faith. I do not need his lands, nor his protection, nor the dower my father offers." |
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"You are fortunate in that," Alinor said, realizing that the girl must have lands of her own. "From whom do your lands come?" Alinor asked. Simon might have done even better by this marriage than they had thought, and they had been well satisfied with Llewelyn's offer alone. |
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"From whom? Who knows?" Rhiannon replied. "Perhaps they were gifted to my grandfather Gwydyon, or my grandmother Angharad, or they may have been his or hers by long descent. All I know is that there is Angharad's Hall and the flocks and servants and hunting rights. They are Kicva's now and will be mine." |
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Alinor did not like such a casual attitude toward property. Every foot of land that belonged to her was deeded and affirmed since the first patch had come to her remote ancestor when William the Bastard conquered England. However, she had learned through Ian's dealings with his Welsh lands that customs differed. Where little was under cultivation and population was low, ownership was less crucial. However, if Rhiannon's mother had the right to hunting and grazing, that was tantamount to ownership. She was also aware that neither Simon nor Rhiannon had her sense of possession. Still, land mattered, and the children would be well found between what Simon had and what Rhiannon would bring. |
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