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There was one consideration that had not occurred to Walter but that was of great importance: Sybelle believed in herself. In fact, the hints Marie had been giving were broad enough to make Rhiannon frown but passed right over Sybelle's head. Not that Sybelle failed to understand; however, by the time Marie found what she thought was a place in the conversation where her hints would really pierce Sybelle to the heart, Sybelle had decided that Marie was not only silly but a deliberate and spiteful troublemaker. |
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She had reason and opportunity to come to this conclusion because she had discovered that Marie mistakenly believed she had a right to a grudge against Walter. This came about through Rhiannon's efforts to keep Sybelle and Marie apart. During one of the times Rhiannon managed to draw Marie away. Gervase told Sybelle the sad story of Marie's dower lands and how Walter had rejected her after showing her particular favor when Richard refused an adequate dower. She coupled this information with the spoken assumption that Lord Geoffrey would never be so ungenerous, even if his circumstances were straitened by a war, leaving the clear implication that Walter had offered for Sybelle only for her dowry. Naturally, Gervase tried to cover the spitefulness of such a revelation with the suggestion that she made it only to warn Sybelle of her future husband's cupidity so that she could take steps to protect herself. |
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Unfortunately for Gervase, Sybelle knew that Walter had, more than once, offered to take her with no dowry at all and provide for her out of his own lands by assigning one of his properties to her. Moreover, he had agreed without argument that the property and money which would come with her should remain in her control. Thus, Sybelle was convinced more firmly than ever that Walter desired her for herself alone. Nor was she in the least angry with Gervase, who, she assumed, had been misled by Marie's delusion that Walter was enamored of her. |
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For Marie, Sybelle felt a mixture of distaste and pity that insulated her completely from any hints, no matter how broad, that Walter was Marie's lover. Marie's manner when she uttered her suggestive little stabs was so spiteful under her simperings that Sybelle dismissed what she said without a qualm of doubt as a desire to make trouble. What kept Sybelle awake for some time after Walter was peacefully |
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