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Page 387
rence. Although he had little to do with the native population or the noblemen who had deserted Comnenus and sworn fealty to Richard, it was clear to him that no promise or oath would bind the Emperor. If Comnenus was loose on the island, he would attempt to subvert it to damage the Crusaders' purpose.
The notion of a lingering period of relative idleness to enable the King to spend considerable time with his new wife did not sit as well with Simon. Richard was thirty-two years of age and had doubtless made more than one attempt to conquer his inclinations. From what Alinor said about Berengaria, Simon doubted she would have the skill or patience or even the desire to keep the King steady to his purpose. It would be easier for all if Richard were well occupied with other duties and business, and had little contact with his wife, except for formal meetings at feasts and entertainments. The night calls for the duties of the marriage bed could be brief if he had the excuse of the need to work or fight the next day. In that way he would not need to dwell upon what he must do. If he spent nearly the whole day murmuring love poems to the woman, the distasteful necessity of handling and using her body would never be out of his mind.
Simon stared blankly at the wall of the King's chamber where a graceful young man, totally unclothed as usual, fled from the outstretched arms of a handsome, equally naked woman. An odd-looking chariot harnessed to four white horses stood in the background. Richard had laughed at Simon's first comment on the wall painting and had told him it was a most moral scene. The boy Hippolytus was the woman's son by marriage and was fleeing Phaedra's suggestion that he violate his father's bed. Simon shook his head and shifted his position. His brain could consider the King's problem, but his bowels could not comprehend it. Once in Alinor's bed, he feared neglecting his martial duty far more than his marital duty.

 
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