For this present I have an account to settle in which Poictou is on my side.

Marquess, you likewise are in my debt.

See to it that you give my enemies no advantage.' The Marquess and his cousin gave their words, holding up the hilts of their swords before their faces.
Richard, in his city of Poictiers, was calmly forwarding his plans.

His first act, since he now considered himself perfectly free, had been to send Gaston of Bearn with letters to Saint-Pol-la-Marche; his second, seeing no reason why he should wait for King Philip or any possible ally, to cross the frontier of Touraine in force.

He took castle after castle in that rich land, clearing the way for the investiture of Tours, which was his first great objective.
I leave him at this employment and follow Gaston on his way to the North.