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Page 348
ently he intended to remain at Clifford until his bitch of a wife arrived at her keep and then to ride over from Clyro every day.
Marie was by now thoroughly infuriated. In her mind, Walter was an abomination on the face of the earth. He spoke to her with so casual a mien, as if nothing special had ever passed between them; that was an insult. He was an evil influence, desiring a renewal of the warwhich Marie knew everyone else wanted ended; that was treason. He was a nuisance, for as long as he was in the neighborhood, Sir Heribert would have to hide at Craswall; that was the greatest evil of all because she would be left to beg favors from Gervase every time she wished to ride out or have a note carried instead of telling Sir Heribert what she wanted and having it done. Walter would have to be got rid of.
Walter was distressed by the way Marie responded to his greeting because it indicated she still had strong feelings about him. All his previous affairs, except those terminated because of excessive greed on the part of his mistress, had ended by mutual consent, with no stronger emotion than mild regret. When by chance he met those ladies again, they were pleasantly, if distantly, friendly. Thus, Marie's refusal even to acknowledge him increased his sense of guilt. He believed he had misjudged her and caused her pain, and he felt an obligation to make up for that.
However, Walter knew there was no recompense that he could offer, and he tried to bury the guilt in concentration on the political problem at hand. His first suggestion was to ignore the king's presence altogether, since Henry was offering no threat to them. This, however, neither Bassett nor Siward would accept. Both wished to strike a telling blow.
"But not at the king," Walter warned. "You know that Richard would not consider that, even when Henry was sitting outside his gates at Usk. Nor even when the king had broken his oath and offered greater insult could anyone persuade him to attack his liege lord directly. If you move on Huntington, you will have Richard for an enemy. In Roselynde we spoke of the fine edge upon which Henry's purpose is balanced. Is there some way we can show our contempt for his ministers and our respect for his own person?"
"Respect!" Siward sneered.

 
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