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Page 82
rents collected before the coming of the King's writ are mine or the King's. Cannot you tell me that much plainly?"
"Plainly! Did you ask a plain question until this moment? Straw babies! Wet nurses!"
Restless with impotent rage, Simon came round the table and moved toward Alinor. If, instinctively, he had sought to cow her by towering over her, his instinct was at fault. The technique might work excellently with men, but Alinor was accustomed to standing up for her authority while being towered over by some male or another. True, she had never needed to face up to any man quite as large as Simon, but absolute size had little effect upon her.
The movement had another good effect, however. As if the restraint upon Simon's muscles had also paralyzed his brain, movement freed it. The color began to fade from his complexion and his eyes, which had shone like pinpoints of white light, began to show misty gray.
"You did this apurpose," he said softly, his voice near to trembling. This innocent flowerthis venomous serpentthis womanhad been enraging him deliberately.
"Most assuredly," Alinor returned promptly. "I had to know for what I was to be held accountable."
"No, I do not mean your questions. You angered me apurpose. Why?"
Alinor uttered a little girl giggle. "If I did it apurpose, I should be a great fool to tell you why, should I not?" Then she sobered and lowered her head a trifle, glancing at him upward from under her long, silky black lashes. "But truly I did not begin with the purpose of enraging you. I was angry myself, because you frightened Brother Philip. He is nottruly, he is not entirely of this world."
"I saw that too late. I am sorry I frightened him. I had my bellyful of the pretended stupidity of your

 
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