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described Richard in far from flattering terms. He protested that he had been led to believe that Richard wished to conquer Sicily and depose him, that had he realized how honorable and magnanimous Richard was he would never have acted as he had. In fact he played so successfully upon Richard's feelings that he gained far more than he had lost. Richard agreed to accept an additional forty thousand ounces of gold plus a gilt table and chairs and a set of golden cups and dishes in complete quittance of Joanna's dowry. To that Simon had no objection. He did not think, he wrote, that much more could be squeezed out of Sicily without actually conquering the island.
It was the final clause in the agreement that disturbed Simon. To the Queen he merely reported that Richard had agreed to the marriage of his three-year-old nephew Arthur to Tancred's infant daughter, settling upon the girl twenty thousand ounces of Joanna's gold at the time of the wedding and naming Arthur as his heir. In a separate enclosure to Alinor, he expressed his true feelings.
''He has thus destroyed any hope of peace between himself and his brother John. Perhaps, in view of the dangers into which the King is going and the fact that he has no heir of his body, Lord John would have been content to wait until the climate or the disease of the Holy Land or the forces of Saladin made him King. As soon as John hears this news, however, he will begin to build alliances and stir up enmities so that if the King dies Arthur will be rejected. I cannot know what is in Lord John's mind, but seeing how Lord Richard has put his claim to the throne at naught, I fear that the same enmities and alliances will make it impossible for Richard to return to his kingdom without conquering John and his adherents by force of arms. Although I know the temptation will be great to side with Lord John against Longchamp, bid Sir Andre straitly not to do so. Let him, if it be possible, remain friends with

 
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