While she could freely range the forest with her lover in
the morning, she had been content to return to her father's
castle in the evening, thus preserving underanged the balance
of her duties, habits, and affections; not without a hope that
the repeal of her lover's outlawry might be eventually obtained,
by a judicious distribution of some of his forest spoils among
the holy fathers and saints that-were-to-be,--pious proficients
in the ecclesiastic art equestrian, who rode the conscience
of King Henry with double-curb bridles, and kept it well in hand
when it showed mettle and seemed inclined to rear and plunge.
But the affair at Gamwell feast threw many additional
difficulties in the way of the accomplishment of this hope;
and very shortly afterwards King Henry the Second went to make
up in the next world his quarrel with Thomas-a-Becket;
and Richard Coeur de Lion made all England resound with
preparations for the crusade, to the great delight of many
zealous adventurers, who eagerly flocked under his banner
in the hope of enriching themselves with Saracen spoil,
which they called fighting the battles of God. Richard, who was
not remarkably scrupulous in his financial operations,
was not likely to overlook the lands and castle of Locksley,
which he appropriated immediately to his own purposes, and sold
to the highest bidder.
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