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she did. So long as she did not literally shriek in their faces or blow a brass trumpet right into their ears, neither of her vassals would have noticed her presence in any case. As soon as Sir Simon had removed his helmet and pushed back his hood, Sir Andre and Sir John had recognized him. They should have known him sooner, of course, but his squire had carried the Queen's pennon instead of his own and, until she left them, their real attention had been for the great lady. |
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Once recognition came, however, their attention was fixed. Sir Simon was no mere castle-holder like themselves, casually ordered to accompany the Queen. Although he lacked wealth and title and was not even the scion of a great house, he was a power in the land, high in the councils of the mighty. Born of minor Norman nobility, Simon had come to the Queen's household as a page soon after her annulment from Louis of France and her second marriage to Henry. He had, as was natural, been trained in arms and had shown such prowess that he had carried the Queen's colors in every Court tourney from the time he was sixteen years old. And rare, indeed, had been the occasion when he had not brought her the prize. |
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Twice duplicate prizes had been awarded when he and that William who was now Grand Marshal of England had fought to a standstill. Unwilling to lose either man, the King and Queen had stopped the fighting. Once he had been defeated by William, and oncehis dearest memoryhe had disarmed William, although he was so close to exhaustion himself that he never claimed to have won the bout. William Marshal, naturally, was Simon's closest friend. |
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The difference in their fortunesthe conditions that had made William Grand Marshal of England and Simon a mere King's justiciarwas a matter of sympathy and affiliation. William had been a King's man always; Simon, although he served the King, was really attached to the Queen whom he adored. It was very |
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