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Page 172
great service to you. Until now he has forbidden his men to raid English land because he did not wish to give Winchester an enemy to point at so that men's eyes would be turned away from his iniquities. Now he has lifted that prohibition with regard to foreigners on Welsh soil."
"Would that not apply to me as well as to Henry in the opinion of most of Llewelyn's men?" Richard asked wryly.
Simon grinned. "Perhaps, but you need not worry about it. They will not assault your keeps. They have not the means and they are not fools. Why should they try to crack a nut they know will break their teeth when plenty of sweet meat is lying about loose? They will prey on Henry's baggage trains." He paused and frowned. "I do not say any of themnot even Prince Llewelynloves you. They do not wish to do you good, only to enrich or protect themselves. Why should you care? If Henry's army begins to starve and the men are too busy watching over their shoulders for raids to give full attention to Usk keep, Llewelyn and his men will have served you as well as if they were your devoted servants."
Richard did not like what he said. Simon could see that in his face. He was accustomed to spoken and sworn alliances, not to these negative, roundabout benefits. Sometimes sworn partners were no more reliable than the ephemeral Welsh, but you could curse them with a clean heart. The only safe path, to Richard's mind, was to assume they would give no help at all. Still, Simon knew them well and, although young, had shown more than once that he was no fool. He said Llewelyn would act.
"When would such help as Llewelyn's men will give me begin?"
I should imagine Henry's army has already been well stung. Ievanc's man said they were over the border, and, anyway, the raiding parties often claim

 
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