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Page 292
cheat him of his due and that nearly every man there knew it also. He could not sacrifice Simon for the sake of a few marks and Longchamp's pride because it would lay too much temptation in John's path.
"Is this true?" the King asked Longchamp.
"That I wish to deprive Sir Simon of his office or his ward is a lie," William Longchamp snarled.
Simon turned slowly and took three steps forward. Even though they were well apart and Longchamp stood on the first step of the dais, Simon towered over him. "Do you call me a liar?" he asked softly.
"I call your correspondent a liaror a fool. My lord," Longchamp turned toward the King. "I am your deputy as Chancellor and Justiciar of England, and I say the man chosen by Sir Simon is totally unfit for this duty. He is uncle to Lady Alinor Devaux, the chief of her vassals, and too close in love to the gentry of Sussex to judge fairly what is owing from them to Your Grace."
"Well, Sir Simon," Richard asked almost smiling. He should have known William would not fail him. "Is what the Bishop of Ely says true?"
Longchamp was clever, but he and Richard both underestimated Simon, assuming that his big body and quick reflexes were all there was to him. Longchamp expected a roar of rage and angry sputtering denials that he could demolish. Instead Simon grinned cheerfully at the King. Richard suffered a sudden reversal of feeling. He remembered that cheerful grin very well.
"One word in three is God's truth. Sir Andre is indeed chief of Lady Alinor's vassals, which was a strong reason to name him deputy, as he can summon Lady Alinor's men to defend the coast without the long delays necessary when a sheriff calls a levy. Did I judge wrong in this, my lord?"
Richard was a consummate soldier and tactician; he could not help grinning back. Clever in politics, finance, and chicanery, Longchamp was an idiot in warwhich

 
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