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Page 399
we must be quartered apart. If once we are engaged at Acre I dare not move for fear of endangering you, I will be in sad case."
"But Richard," Joanna protested, "How can it be the same thing?"
"To me it is the same," the King bellowed.
"As you will. As you will. Do not be angry, Richard," Berengaria placated.
That Richard had merely been spoiling for a fight and his wife had failed him became obvious when they reached Acre. There were no safe lodgings, no secure castles in which the women could be placed and guarded. Such places could be found only inside the city itself and that was held by the Saracens. The Christian army was housed in pavilions, in rough tents, under raw hides, or under nothing at all in a rough semicircle around the city. There was not even the possibility of removing the women a safe distance from Acre because the besiegers were themselves besieged. Beyond the Christian camp lay Saladin's army, not in a compact body that could be attacked but in separate groups spread widely over the surrounding mountains and valleys.
Richard instructed the captain of his ship to sail slowly so that he could examine the disposition of the forces. When it became plain that the city was still strongly defended and that Saladin would prove a worthy foethere had always been the chance that the Saracen successes were more owing to the incompetence of the Latin princes than to their leader's abilityRichard's temper improved. It was his arrival, not Philip's that would bring about the fall of Acre. He would be the one to lead the victorious army on to free Jerusalem.
The greeting accorded them when they landed gave strong support to Richard's expectations. Even the French rejoiced aloud. Trumpets were blown, horns and pipes sounded, crowds rushed to escort Richard

 
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