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Page 525
for the fact that he still tired easily. To provide him with an active and reliable pair of hands and feet, in case violence broke out or much running to and fro was necessary, Adam went along with his brother-by-marriage. They returned frankly enthused both over the idea of a charter and the moderate behavior of the men. Nothing was to be done in haste, Adam reported at a family council. Alinor stared unbelievingly at her son, so much the man now that he understood the purpose and importance of political maneuvering.
The terms of the charter would be presented to the king and he would have sufficient time to consider before any pressure was applied, Adam continued. Geoffrey concurred with Adam's description of the proceedings, adding only that he thought there were some who were not too well pleased with the moderation. For them, he feared, this talk of a charter was only a device to draw in the uncertain until they were in too deep to withdraw. Perhaps the more rebellious hoped to drive the king into a rage, Geoffrey suggested, so that many would despair of reaching a settlement and join the more radical element.
If that was true, it did not show at first. Possibly, that was because the king also behaved with great moderation. He attended calmly to the complaints presented to him by a delegation on January 6, 1215. He even agreed that these were matters of grave importance, that there might have been injustices done. Finally, he said that he would consider what was owing to his lords and to his own honor and give them a reply after Easter. The family was dispersed by then, but Salisbury was back in court; he had not been able to resist John's urgent invitations with their note of pleading, only his eyes were clearer than they once had been. He wrote to Geoffrey at Hemel, and Joanna wrote to Adam and her mother that John was not as passive as he appeared. He had written to the pope for support.
Innocent's first move was as conciliatory as the king's, which implied either that he had attended to Langton's analysis of the situation or that John had actually written a fair account of the case. Both of these expedients seemed so unlikely that it was simpler to credit Innocent with divine

 
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