< previous page page_70 next page >

Page 70
Chapter Five
There was, however, not the slightest indication at dinner that day of any war of retribution to come. Alinor and Sir Simon were both at their best. Whatever surprise or concern had rendered Simon so abstracted was gone. He was attentive to Alinor's lightest question, answering courteously at first and then, spurred by her interest and the bright intelligence of her eyes, speaking more seriously of serious matters.
To Sir Andre's relief, Alinor was neither pert nor pertinacious, both of which she could be at her worst. Although there was no faintest shade of simpering, her attentiveness was flattering and her comments and questions showed her capacity for comprehending and absorbing what she was told. More, she showed her good manners by including her vassals in the talk. A girl trying to flatter an influential guest might well concentrate upon him to the exclusion of men she could command. Instead, she drew them into the conversation so that their specialized knowledge of their own areas added to Simon's more general information.
"And do you think the Lord Richard is one who will hold Hugh Bigod to his fealty?" Sir John asked with some concern.
His lands, although in Essex, abutted upon certain of the Earl of Norfolk's domains. Until Henry II had brought Bigod to heel with a mixture of force, bribery, and guile, that fierce magnate had been the scourge of the east. Latterly, he had been content to use the King's authority. With the advent of the war between Henry and his sons, Bigod had shown

 
< previous page page_70 next page >