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Page 301
garrison of Knight's Tower with your army and let my troop guard the keep. Thus you will have some fresh men, I will be safe, and you can be certain Knight's Tower will be open for refuge ifGod forbidyou need it."
"And Sir Heribert himself?" Richard asked.
"Let him make his own choice. He has been neutral thus far, and I have no right to push him into the rebellion. However, he came to Clyro with a large troop, saying he believed I wished him to join your party in the war. If he refuses to go with the army, would that not be a sign that his earlier eagerness to be urged to become one with us was a trap for me?"
"So it would seem to me," Richard agreed. "Not enough to merit his dismissal, perhaps, but a signyes."
Marie had not said one single word, but she was listening intently. The way Walter refused to be separated from Sybelle and his steady rejection of her own advances had fanned the red coals of her hatred to white heat. Her mind was quick and had seized immediately on the fact that Walter suspected Sir Heribert of being an enemy. Whether or not this was true made no difference. Marie thought it would not be difficult to make suspicion into fact. If she warned Sir Heribert that Walter intended to dismiss him, very likely he would seek to save himself. Whatever action he took might make trouble for Walter, and Marie passionately wished to make all the trouble she could.
A brief discussion on what would be adequate cause for dismissal of Sir Heribert passed over Marie's head while she was thinking of ways to implement the idea that had come to her, but her attention was caught when she heard Richard saying, "I will take Gervase and Lady Marie to Clifford. There can be no danger of attack on so strong a place now, and they will be more comfortable there and also closer to hand if the king should have a change of heart. If you would like, I can include Lady Sybelle in our party or I could take her to Clyro, which is only a few miles out of the way."
"I thank you, but I will accompany Walter to Knight's Tower," Sybelle said firmly. "There has been no lady in that keep for some years, and I felt no conviction that Sir Heribert was the kind to keep the women's quarters in good order. The sooner I take matters in hand there, the better."

 
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