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give me a time with you. We will leave tomorrow or the next day." |
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Perhaps that was part of it, Alinor thought cynically. Richard was not unkind when he noticed and the kindness did not interfere with what he desired. This time it certainly did not. Simon would have what he craved, and Richard would have freedom to do what he liked in his own bed. She did not say that. She no longer cared what the King was or did. It was enough that he had sent Simon to her. Richard should have his night free of interference. |
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It was not unlikely that Simon had similar thoughts. He made a token protest when Alinor bade him stay the night. However, when she pointed out that the army would not move far that first day, if it moved at all, Simon did not argue that the King might need him. He simply turned in and went to sleep in the King's bed. As it turned out, it was just as well that he stayed. The army did not move until August 22. |
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The march was most curious. Richard had arranged for supply ships to parallel their course down the coast, and Saladin's army also followed them some miles inland. The heat was killing. Many were stricken as Simon had been, some so much worse that they died. And, despite the supply ships, there was never enough meat. Nonetheless, Simon's letters to Alinor were cheerful. Sooner or later, he wrote, Saladin must come to grips with them. He could not, for shame, allow them to proceed indefinitely or the heart would go out of his men and his allies would begin to doubt him. |
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The day before they reached the city of Arsuf, Richard's foreriders brought the news that Saladin's army had formed to block their further passage. How greatly they were outnumbered Richard did not know, but he was sure that to permit his men to charge into the Saracen forces would mean that they could be broken into small parties and massacred. The baggage |
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