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Page 118
''And where were your men?"
"I did not fear treachery, and there was none intended. Besides there is no need for such lessoning. Lady Alinor is only high-spirited. It is a game with her to make me angry and then to make me laugh. But she has high good sense also. It needs only to explain the case to her. Belike she will know better what to say to Lady Isobel than you or I."
It was easier said than done, however, to explain the case to Alinor. Simon found that it was very difficult to speak to her for more than a few minutes at a time. The weather had turned cold and wet, as it often did at the end of July and the beginning of August, so no one rode out. They were not dinner partners in the huge Great Hall of the White Tower. Alinor sat with the King's wards at a special table near the dais where the Queen could keep an eye on her charges. It was impossible to talk during the entertainments furnished by minstrels and jugglers. Simon could manage to be close beside Alinor, but so could a dozen others and Simon did not wish to spread the news of William's problem among the castlefolk.
Even later in the evenings, when the minstrels played dancing measures, Simon had no better success. He could and did dance with Alinor. They both enjoyed it greatly, but the intricate steps which separated them completely and brought them together at arm's length were not conductive to private conversation. What was more, Simon never had a chance to lead Alinor away from the dancing to cool herself or take refreshment. No sooner did one dance end than half-a-dozen Court gallants were clustered like ants around a honey trap, pleading to dance the next measure with her. Simon was nearly reduced to cursing Alinor's excellent health and strong young body. She was never tired.
It had been Simon's intention to bring up the subject of William and Lady Isobel of Clare casually, as

 
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