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Page 180
Naturally that produced another chorus of laughter, and Geoffrey said reprovingly, "What? Do you not think Sybelle worth so much?"
Walter flushed but said doggedly, "I think her worth so much that I had rather have her dowerless than be overwhelmed by obligation."
"But there can be no obligation," Joanna pointed out dryly. "We are not offering you anything. Do not forget that everything will be Sybelle's, at her will, not at yours."
"What?" Richard cried.
"It is a family custom," Alinor said soothingly, "and between myself and both my husbands, it has caused no trouble." She stared down Geoffrey's groans and Ian's laughter with mock severity. "When there is love and each partner's desires are reasonable, there can be no difference of opinion, no matter to whom the lands belong."
"What woman's desires are reasonable?" Richard asked bitterly.
Alinor looked concerned and leaned close to him. "Dear Richard," she said very softly, "when these troubles are over, I wish you would come to Roselynde and bring Gervase. Her mother, I understand, has been long dead, and she never met your mother." Alinor's voice quavered slightly. Isobel of Clare, Richard's mother, had been her dearest friend, her only real woman-friend aside from Geoffrey's stepmother, Ela. Isobel's death had been a hard blow to Alinor, one she had not yet absorbed completely despite the length of time. She steadied her voice and went on. "Perhaps Gervase would be interested to hear of your early life and family."
Richard stiffened a trifle, then dropped his eyes. "We will come. I thank you," he said equally softly.
The others waited with varying degrees of understanding through this private exchange. Absorbed by his own affairs, Walter hardly noticed it. Having originally been as shocked as Richard, Walter now surprisingly found himself impatient with the earl's protest about the way his marriage contract would be written. Several days' familiarity with the terms and his serious discussions with Sybelle had reconciled him completely.
"Indeed, I understand, Lady Joanna," Walter said, "but the good must come to me in the end, even if it passes through my wife's hands first. If you believed me likely to

 
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