Richard’s journey through the Cotentin and the Bessin was a triumphal progress. Everywhere the people crowded round him with presents and acclamations, processions, dances, and songs: “God has come to our aid with His might; the king of France will go away now!” they said.[1146] Philip was just then besieging Verneuil, but as usual he withdrew at Richard’s approach.[1147] He had already lost his most valuable ally in the duchy; Richard and John had met, and Richard had accepted John’s submission and sent him to recover Evreux from the French, a charge which John fulfilled promptly and successfully.[1148] Richard himself, after dashing into Maine to besiege and capture Beaumont-le-Roger (whose lord had apparently gone over to Philip), proceeded to secure his lines of communication along the left bank of the Seine by fortifying Pont-de-l’Arche, Elbœuf, and La Roche d’Orival, and then turned upon Philip who was besieging Vaudreuil. A conference between the kings had just been arranged when the mines dug by the French under the keep suddenly resulted in its fall. Richard vowed vengeance, and Philip hastily withdrew.[1149] Before leaving Verneuil Richard had received intelligence that Montmirail was being besieged by some “Angevins and others”;[1150] an English chronicler says “Angevins and Cenomannians,”[1151] and another simply “Angevins.”[1152] Whether the lord of Montmirail, William of Perche-Gouet, [Sidenote: _June_] was a partizan of Philip and the besiegers were acting on their own initiative in Richard’s interest, does not appear; Richard now hastened to the place, but before he reached it the besiegers had levelled it to the ground.[1153] He pushed on into Touraine, where an excellent opportunity of recovering [Sidenote: _June 1-13_] Loches was offered to him by his wife’s brother, Sancho of Navarre, who had collected a band of Navarrese and Brabantines and set out with them to act against Philip. Sancho himself was very soon called home by the death of his father; but his troops went on and laid siege to Loches.[1154] Richard stopped on his way thither to gather some money at Tours, or rather at Châteauneuf, by turning the canons of S. Martin’s out of their abode and seizing their goods,[1155] and also receiving a “voluntary” gift of two thousand marks from the burghers.[1156] Then he went on to Beaulieu[1157] and joined the Navarrese force in assaulting Loches; on June 13 it surrendered.[1158]