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Page 33
Nonetheless, Geoffrey had not been able to resist completely the pleading in Walter's eyes. Although he had said that this was no time for talk of marriage alliances, he had also made it clear that he welcomed Walter's friendship regardless of the political differences they might have in the future. On the one hand, that prevented Walter from making any offer, but on the other, it had implied that Geoffrey would not entertain any other man's offer for Sybelle, either.
Unfortunately, the crisis did not dissipate in a spate of harsh words and subsequent reconciliations, as Walter had hoped. Nor, no matter how hard he tried, could Walter convince himself that the oath he had sworn to the king when he was invested with his lands was more binding and important than the principle the Earl of Pembroke had espoused. In fact, Walter did not have the lands. Walter knew where his duty lay, and with much pain he put aside his desire for Sybelle to do it. He offered his own sword and the men of Goldcliffall he hadto Richard Marshal.
Richard did not refuse him, but he urged caution and, if possible, the avoidance of an open break with the king. The fewer men for whom he had to bargain with Henry, Richard pointed out, the easier it would be to make peace. He suggested that Walter play a defensive role, that he help protect the properties of proscribed men against the attacks of opportunists who went about looting for profit, even though they claimed to act in the king's name. Walter's heart leapt with joy. He could not offer for Sybelle because there was still danger that the king would proscribe him without overt offense on his part, but until that happened, he could visit Sybelle's family and, if she happened to be there, see her.
There were, in fact, several meetings. Walter found occasion to visit Hemel after the council called for 9 July, for which the entire upper nobility was absent to show its displeasure with the king's actions and with the ministers he had chosen. And in August, at third summoning, when a trap was laid for Richard from which he barely escaped, Walter saw Sybelle in Oxford. Those meetings were not of unalloyed pleasure. Walter found that Sybelle was as deeply interested in politics as in estate management.
In addition, Walter discovered that the men of the Roselynde clan allowed their women unusual freedoms. Sybelle spoke

 
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