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instructions to my chief vassal at once. May I have your permission to summon Sir Simon?" |
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"Of course," Berengaria agreed readily. |
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She rang a little silver bell, and a page appeared. Berengaria nodded at Alinor who gave the boy instructions to find Sir Simon and ask him to meet her in the Cloister. At this point Joanna interrupted to remark that Sir Simon might be away from the hospice on the King's business. She advised that the page come back for Alinor when Sir Simon was found. |
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"He is like a hand to Richard," Joanna remarked with seeming casualness, but her eyes on Alinor, "employed on every service. I do not know what Richard would do without him." |
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One could mask one's eyes, lips, and hands, Alinor found, but the blood of the body cannot be mastered. Color stained her white skin. She took up the glove cuffs upon which she was working and bent her head over them, but she was aware of two pair of curious eyes on her. There was no sense in trying to talk about how much Simon was like her grandfather; there had already been too much talk about "her knight." Alinor wondered whether it would be more dangerous to tell an outright lie or to confess, but she was never put to the point. Joanna made some general remark about clothing that would be suitable for the Holy Land, and the brief awkwardness passed. Joanna had discovered what she wanted to know and, unlike Berengaria, did not need to discuss the matter. Alinor was relieved. Somehow, she trusted Richard's sister. |
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Her advice about Simon had certainly been sound. It was not until shortly before the dinner hour that Alinor was called to the Cloister. She found Simon, dusty and tired, leaning against the balustrade. It was cool and shaded in the Cloister and Alinor wished she could let Simon be still, but voices carried along the stone and the pillars could shield any number of listeners. Alinor did not specifically fear spies, but what she |
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