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not have to dismiss them, you see. Those who served well and wished for a permanent place, I could keep, since I fear it may be necessary to turn out some or all of the men who have served my brother's castellans." |
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"That is true," Geoffrey remarked, "and it would be a boon for the realm. When this fighting is over, there will be hundreds, perhaps thousands, of masterless men roaming the countryside. I have often found that once trained as soldiers, serfs are not willing to go back to tilling the soiland even if they do, they become far from docile. If you can find place for a few hundred in your keeps, it would be a good thing." |
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Richard nodded. "That is very true, and you need not set loose those you replace. There will be reason enough, I suppose, to hang them." |
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There was a general murmur of approval, which Alinor ignored, her brows knitted in thought. But when she spoke, it was to Ian. "You know, my love, I do not think there is anything else we have in the west. Our weakness there was one of the reasons Geoffrey so strongly favored Walter's suit, and it would not be practical to drag Walter down to the southeast for one keep." |
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"What about the farms near Oxenwood?" Ian asked. |
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"Walter may have them, and welcome, if he likes," Alinor replied, "but they are only about fourteen miles from Kingsclere, and Sir Harold can oversee those without trouble. I think five thousand silver marks would do Walter more good. And when his affairs are settled, he and Sybelle can buy land with it." Suddenly her face was old and sad. "There will be masterless estates in plenty when this war is over." She sighed. |
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The most interesting thing Alinor had said, in Walter's opinionuntil she mentioned the huge sum of five thousand markswas "we have." Walter knew the lands were Lady Alinor's and that, by contract, Lord Ian had no rights in them at all, yet that "we" had a well-used sound, as if it were natural for her to think of her husband as a full partner in everything she owned. It was a happy prognostication for the future. If Sybelle were accustomed to thinking in the same terms, his position as her husband would be much easier. |
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Of course, the mention of so much money put every other thought out of Walter's head. He gasped, and even Richard blinked. "It is too much," Walter cried, before he thought. |
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