Further peace initiatives came and went until finally, on 24 September 1264, an envoy of Montfortians left for Boulogne to face the legate in person. Their party included three bishops, and Archbishop Guido wanted to hear it directly from them whether they supported this radical attempt to impose conciliar rule on the king. Even standing in front of the corpulent form of their superior did not sway them from this matter of principle, although the bishop of Winchester, the newest of the three to the cause, broke down sometime during the course of negotiations. This probably accounts for why only he was allowed to go back to England to consult on the concessions made to the legate during their talks. He was naturally equipped with letters of interdict if the Montfortians rejected his latest proposals. They got around this by sending yet another party, this one led by Henry of Almain, now released from custody after the bishops put up a bond to secure his return, with several amendments. For unknown reasons, they were attacked by a mob after arriving in Boulogne, leaving nine of their number dead and Almain losing all his documents. What he was able to report from memory apparently didn’t satisfy the legate, who took the other two bishops back to the conference table for one last attempt at peace.
