she judged from the turn taken upon leaving the
convent that it was toward Evesham. They had proceeded some miles, when
a trampling of horses was heard, and a body of armed men rode up. For a
moment Lady Margaret's heart gave a leap, for she thought that she had
been rescued by her friends. There was a loud and angry altercation, a
clashing of swords, and a sound of shouting and cries outside the
litter. Then it was placed roughly on the ground, and she heard the
sound of the footsteps of her first captors hurrying away. Then the
horsemen closed round the litter, and the leader dismounted.

"I am happy indeed, Lady Margaret," he said, approaching the litter, "to
have been able to save you from the power of these villains.
Fortunately, word came to me that the outlaws in the forest were about
to carry you off, and that they would not hesitate even to desecrate the
walls of the convent. Assembling my men-at-arms, I at once rode to your
rescue, and am doubly happy to have saved you, first, as a gentleman,
secondly, as being the man to whom our gracious prince has assigned you
as a wife. I am Sir Rudolph, Earl of Evesham."

As from the first the girl had been convinced that she had fallen into
the power of her lawless suitor, this came upon her as no surprise.

"Whether your story is true, Sir Rudolph," she said, "or not, God knows,
and I, a poor weak girl, will not pretend to venture to say. It is
between you and your conscience. If, as you say, you have saved me from
the power of the outlaws, I demand that, as a knight and a gentleman,
you return with me at once to the convent from which I was taken by
force."

"I cannot do that," Sir Rudolph said. "Fortune has placed you in my
hands, and has enabled me to carry out the commands of the prince.
Therefore, though I would fain yield to your wishes and so earn your
good-will, which above all things I wish to obtain, yet my duty toward
the prince commands me to utilize the advantage which fate has thrown in
my hands."

"You must do as you will, Sir Rudolph," the girl said with dignity. "I
believe not your tale. You sought before, in person, to carry me off,
but failed, and you have now employed other means to do so. The tale of
your conduct to Dame Editha has reached my ears, and I hold you a
foresworn knight and a dishonored man, and as such I would rather die
than become your wife, although as yet I am but a child, and have no
need to talk of weddings for years to come.