CHAPTER XXI.
THE ATTEMPT ON THE CONVENT.
Upon the following evening Cuthbert proceeded to Worcester. He left hishorse some little distance outside the town, and entered on foot. Havingno apprehension of an attack, he had left all his pieces of armorbehind, and was in the quiet garb of a citizen. Cnut attended him--forthat worthy follower considered himself as responsible that no harm ofany sort should befall his young master. The consequences of his ownimprudence in the Tyrol were ever before his mind, and he determinedthat from henceforth there should be no want of care on his part. Heaccompanied Cuthbert to within a short distance of the convent, and tookup his position in the shade of a house, whence he could watch shouldany one appear to be observing Cuthbert's entrance.
Upon ringing the bell Cuthbert told the porteress, as had been arranged,that he had called on a message from Dame Editha, and he was immediatelyushered into the parlor of the convent, where, a minute or two later, hewas joined by the lady abbess. He had when young been frequently to theconvent, and had always been kindly received.
"I am indeed glad to see you, Sir Cuthbert," she said, "though Icertainly should not have recognized the lad who used to come here withmy cousin in the stalwart young knight I see before me. You are indeedchanged and improved. Who would think that my gossip Editha's son wouldcome to be the Earl of Evesham! The Lady Margaret is eager to see you;but I think that you exaggerate the dangers of her residence here. Icannot think that even a minion of Prince John would dare to violate thesanctity of a convent."
"I fear, good mother," Cuthbert said, "that when ambition and greed arein one scale, reverence for the holy church will not weigh much in theother. Had King Richard been killed upon his way home, or so long asnothing was heard of him, Sir Rudolph might have been content to allowmatters to remain as they were, until at least Lady Margaret attained anage which would justify him in demanding that the espousal should becarried out. But the news which has now positively been ascertained,that the king is in the hands of the emperor, and the knowledge thatsooner or later his freedom will be obtained, will hasten the friends ofthe usurper to make the most of their advantage. He knows that the kingwould at once upon his return annul the nomination of Sir Rudolph to theearldom which had previously been bestowed upon me. But he may wellthink that if before that time he can secure in marriage the person ofthe late earl's daughter, no small share of the domains may be allottedto him as her dowry, even if he be obliged to lay by his borrowedhonors. You will, unless I am greatly mistaken, hear from him beforelong."
The abbess looked grave.
"There is much in what you say, Sir Cuthbert; and indeed a certainconfirmation is given to it by the fact that only yesterday I received aletter from Sir Rudolph, urging that now the Lady Margaret is past theage of fifteen, and may therefore be considered marriageable, the willof the prince should be carried into effect, and that she should for thepresent be committed to the charge of the Lady Clara Boulger, who isthe wife of a friend and associate of Sir Rudolph. He says that heshould not wish to press the marriage until she attains the age ofsixteen, but that it were well that his future wife should becomeaccustomed to the outside world, so as to take her place as Castellan ofEvesham with a dignity befitting the position. I wrote at once to himsaying that in another year it would, in my poor judgment, be quite timeto think about such worldly matters; that at the present the LadyMargaret was receiving an education suitable to her rank; that she washappy here; and that unless constrained by force--of which, I said, Icould not suppose that any possibility existed--I should not surrenderthe Lady Margaret into any hands whatsoever, unless, indeed, I receivedthe commands of her lawful guardian, King Richard."
"You said well, holy mother," Sir Cuthbert said. "But you see the hawksscent the danger from afar, and are moving uneasily already. Whetherthey consider it so pressing that they will dare to profane the convent,I know not. But I am sure that should they do so, they will not hesitatea moment at the thought of the anger of the church. Prince John hasalready shown that he is ready, if need be, to oppose the authority ofthe holy father, and he may well, therefore, despise any local wraththat might be excited by an action which he can himself disavow, and forwhich, even at the worst, he need only inflict some nominal punishmentupon his vassal. Bethink thee, lady, whether it would not be safer tosend the Lady Margaret to the care of some person, where she may beconcealed from the search of Sir Rudolph."
"I would gladly do so," the abbess said, "did I know of such a person orsuch a place. But it is difficult indeed, for a young lady of rank to beconcealed from such sharp searchers as Sir Rudolph would be certain toplace upon her track. Your proposal that she should take refuge in thehouse of some small franklin near the forest, I cannot agree to. In thefirst place, it would demean her to be so placed; and in the second, wecould never be sure that the report of her residence there might notreach the ears of Sir Rudolph. As a last resource, of course, such astep would be justifiable, but not until at least overt outrages havebeen attempted. Now I will call Lady Margaret in."
The young girl entered with an air of frank gladness, but was startledat the alteration which had taken place in her former playfellow, andpaused and looked at the abbess, as if inquiring whether this could bereally the Cuthbert she had known. Lady Margaret was fifteen in years;but she looked much younger. The quiet seclusion in which she had livedin the convent had kept her from approaching that maturity which as anearl's daughter, brought up in the stir and bustle of a castle, shewould doubtless have attained.
"This is indeed Sir Cuthbert," the abbess said, "your old playfellow,and the husband destined for you by your father and by the will of theking."
Struck with a new timidity, the girl advanced, and, according to thecustom of the times, held up her cheek to be kissed. Cuthbert was almostas timid as herself.
"I feel, Lady Margaret," he said, "a deep sense of my own unworthinessof the kindness and honor which the dear lord your father bestowed uponme; and were it not that many dangers threaten, and that it weredifficult under the circumstances to find one more worthy of you, Iwould gladly resign you into the hands of such a one were it for yourhappiness. But believe me that the recollection of your face hasanimated me in many of the scenes of danger in which I have been placed;and although even in fancy my thoughts scarcely ventured to rise sohigh, yet I felt as a true knight might feel for the lady of his love."
"I always liked you, Sir Cuthbert," the girl said frankly, "better thanany one else next to my father, and gladly submit myself to his will. Myown inclinations indeed, so far as is maidenly, go with his. These aretroubled times," she said anxiously, "and our holy mother tells me thatyou fear some danger is overhanging me."
"I trust that the danger may not be imminent," Cuthbert answered. "Butknowing the unscrupulous nature of the false Earl of Evesham, I fearthat the news that King Richard is found will bestir him to earlyaction. But you can rely, dear lady, on a careful watch being kept overyou night and day; and should any attempt be made to carry you away, orto put force upon you, be assured that assistance will be at hand. Evenshould any attempt succeed, do not lose heart, for rescue will certainlybe attempted; and I must be dead, and my faithful followers crushed,before you can become the bride of Sir Rudolph."
Then turning to other subjects, he talked to her of the life he had ledsince he last saw her. He told her of the last moments of her father,and of the gallant deeds he had done in the Holy Land.
After waiting for two hours, the abbess judged that the time forseparation had arrived; and Cuthbert, taking a respectful adieu of hisyoung mistress, and receiving the benediction of the abbess, departed.
He found Cnut on guard at the point where he had left him.
"Have you seen aught to give rise to suspicion?" Cuthbert asked.
"Yes," Cnut said, "the place is undoubtedly watched. Just after you hadentered a man came from that house yonder and went up to the gate, as ifhe would fain learn by staring at its iron adornments the nature of himwho
had passed in. Then he re-entered his house, and if I mistake not isstill on the watch at that casement. If we stand here for a minute ortwo, perchance he may come out to see what delays you in this darkcorner, in which case I may well give him a clout with my ax which willsettle his prying."
"Better not," Cuthbert said. "We can retire round this corner and soavoid his observation; and were his body found slain here, suspicionwould be at once excited in the mind of his employer. At present he canhave no ground for any report which may make the knight uneasy, for hecan but know that a gentleman has entered, and remained for two hours atthe convent, and he will in no way connect my visit with the LadyMargaret."
They had just turned the corner which Cuthbert indicated, when a mancame up rapidly behind them and almost brushed them as he passed,half-turning round and trying to gaze into their faces. Cnut at onceassumed the aspect of an intoxicated person, and stretching forth hisfoot, with a dexterous shove pushed the stranger into the gutter. Thelatter rose with a fierce cry of anger; but Cnut with a blow of hisheavy fist again stretched him on the ground, this time to remain quietuntil they had walked on and passed out of sight.
"A meddling fool," Cnut grumbled. "He will not, methinks, have much toreport to Sir Rudolph this time. Had I thought that he had seen yourface, I would have cleft his skull with no more hesitation than I sendan arrow into the brain of a stag in the forest."
As they journeyed along Cuthbert informed Cnut of what the abbess hadtold him; and the latter agreed that a watch must be placed on theconvent, and that a force must be kept as near as possible at hand soas to defeat any attempt which might be made.
The next day one of the forest men who had been a peaceable citizen, butwho had been charged with using false weights and had been condemned tolose his ears, repaired to Worcester. His person was unknown there, ashe had before lived at Gloucester. He hired a house in the square inwhich the convent was situated, giving out that he desired to open ahouse of business for the sale of silks, and for articles from the LowCountries. As he paid down earnest-money for the rent no suspicionwhatever was excited. He at once took up his abode there, having withhim two stout serving-men, and a 'prentice boy; and from that time twosets of watchers observed without ceasing what passed at the Convent ofSt. Anne.
At a distance of half a mile from the road leading between Worcester andEvesham stood a grange, which had for some time been disused, the groundbelonging to it having been sequestrated and given to the lord of anadjoining estate, who did not care to have the grange occupied. In thisten men, headed by Cnut, took up their residence, blocking up the windowof the hall with hangings, so that the light of the fire kindled withinwould not be observed.
Two months passed on without any incident of importance. The feelingbetween the outlaws in the forest and the retainers of the false Earl ofEvesham was becoming much imbittered. Several times the foresters of thelatter, attempting pursuit of men charged with breaking the game laws,were roughly handled. These on making their report were sent back again,supported by a force of footmen; but these, too, were driven back, andthe authority of Sir Rudolph was openly defied.
Gradually it came to his ears that the outlaws were commanded by a manwho had been their leader in times gone by, but who had been pardoned,and had, with a large number of his band, taken service in the army ofthe Crusaders; also, that there was present a stranger, whose manner andthe deference paid to him by Cnut proclaimed him to be of gentle blood.This news awakened grave uneasiness on the part of Sir Rudolph. Theknight caused inquiries to be made, and ascertained that Cnut had beenespecially attached to the young Cuthbert, and that he had fought underthe Earl of Evesham's banner. It seemed possible then that with him hadreturned the claimant for the earldom; and in that case Sir Rudolph feltthat danger menaced him, for the bravery of the Earl of Evesham'sadopted son had been widely spoken of by those who had returned from theHoly Land.
Sir Rudolph was a man of forty, tall and dark, with Norman features. Heheld the Saxons in utter contempt, and treated them as beings solelycreated to till the land for the benefit of their Norman lords. He wasbrave and fearless, and altogether free from the superstition of thetimes. Even the threats of the pope, which although Prince John defiedthem yet terrified him at heart, were derided by his follower, whofeared no one thing in the world, save, perhaps, the return of KingRichard from captivity.
No sooner had the suspicion that his rival was in the neighborhoodpossessed him than he determined that one of two things must be carriedout: either Sir Cuthbert must be killed, or the Lady Margaret must becarried off and forced to accept him as her husband. First he endeavoredto force Sir Cuthbert to declare himself and to trust to his own arm toput an end to his rival. To that end he caused a proclamation to bewritten, and to be affixed to the door of the village church at the fairof Evesham.
Cnut and several of his followers were there, all quietly dressed asyeomen. Seeing a crowd round the door of the church, he pressed forward.Being himself unable to read writing, he asked one of the burgesses whatwas written upon the paper which caused such excitement.
"It is," the burgess said, "in the nature of a cartel or challenge fromour present lord, Sir Rudolph. He says that it having come to his earsthat a Saxon serf, calling himself Sir Cuthbert, Earl of Evesham, islurking in the woods and consorting with outlaws and robbers, hechallenges him to appear, saying that he will himself, grievouslyalthough he would demean himself by so doing, yet condescend to meet himin the lists with sword and battle-ax, and to prove upon his body thefalseness of his averments. Men marvel much," the burgess continued, "atthis condescension on the earl's part. We have heard indeed that KingRichard, before he sailed for England, did, at the death of the lategood earl, bestow his rank and the domains of Evesham upon Sir Cuthbert,the son of the Dame Editha. Whether it be true or not, we cannot say;but it seems strange that such honor should have been bestowed upon oneso young. In birth indeed he might aspire to the rank, since his father,Sir Walter, was a brave knight, and the mother, Dame Editha, was of goodSaxon blood, and descended from those who held Evesham before thearrival of the Normans."
Cnut's first impulse was to stride forward and to tear down theproclamation. But the remembrance of his solemn determination not infuture to act rashly came across him, and he decided to take no stepsuntil he had reported the facts to his master, and taken his counselthereon.
Cuthbert received the news with much indignation.
"There is naught that I should like better," he said, "than to try mystrength against that of this false traitor. But although I have provedmy arm against the Saracens, I think not that it is yet strong enough tocope against a man who, whatsoever be his faults, is said to be avaliant knight. But that would not deter me from attempting the task. Itis craftily done on the part of Sir Rudolph. He reckons that if I appearhe will kill me; that if I do not appear, I shall be branded as acoward, and my claims brought into disrepute. It may be, too, that it isa mere ruse to discover if I be in the neighborhood. Some rumors thereofmay have reached him, and he has taken this course to determine upontheir truth. He has gone too far, and honest men will see in the cartelitself a sign that he misdoubts him that my claims are just; for were I,as he says, a Saxon serf, be sure that he would not condescend to meetme in the lists as he proposes. I trust that the time will come when Imay do so. But at present I will submit to his insult rather thanimperil the success of our plans, and, what is of far greaterimportance, the safety and happiness of the Lady Margaret, who, didaught befall me, would assuredly fall into his hands."
After some thought, however, Cuthbert drew up an answer to the knight'sproclamation. He did not in this speak in his own name, but wrote as ifthe document were the work of Cnut. It was worded as follows: "I, Cnut,a free Saxon and a leader of bowmen under King Richard in the Holy Land,do hereby pronounce and declare the statements of Sir Rudolph, miscalledthe Earl of Evesham, to be false and calumnious. The earldom was, asRudolph well knows, and as can be proved by many nobles and gentlemen ofrep
ute who were present with King Richard, granted to Sir Cuthbert, KingRichard's true and faithful follower. When the time shall come SirCuthbert will doubtless be ready to prove his rights. But at presentright has no force in England, and until the coming of our good KingRichard must remain in abeyance. Until then, I support the title of SirCuthbert, and do hereby declare Sir Rudolph a false and perjured knight;and warn him that if he falls into my hands it will fare but badly withhim, as I know it will fare but badly with me should I come into his."
At nightfall the cartel of Sir Rudolph was torn down from the church andthat of Cnut affixed in its place. The reading thereof caused greatastonishment in Evesham, and the rage of Sir Rudolph, when the news cameto his ears, was very great. Cuthbert was sure that this affair wouldquicken the intentions of Sir Rudolph with regard to the Lady Margaret,and he received confirmation of this in a letter which the abbess senthim, saying that she had received another missive from Sir Rudolph,authoritatively demanding in the king's name the instant surrender ofLady Margaret to him. That night forty archers stole, one by one,quietly into Worcester, entering the town before the gates were shut,and so mingling with the citizens that they were unobserved. When it wasquite dark they quietly took their way, one by one, to the square inwhich stood the convent, and were admitted into the shop of MasterNicholas, the silk mercer.
The house was a large one, with its floors overhanging each the onebeneath it, as was the custom of the time, and with large casementsrunning the whole width of the house.
The mercer had laid by a goodly store of provisions, and for three daysthe troop, large as it was, was accommodated there. Cuthbert himself waswith them, Cnut remaining at the grange with the ten men originally sentthere.
On the third day Sir Rudolph, with a number of knights and men-at-arms,arrived in the town, giving out that he was passing northward, but hewould abide that night at the hostelry. A great many of his men-at-armsdid, as those on the watch observed, enter one by one into the town. Thepeople of Worcester were somewhat surprised at this large accompanimentof the earl, but thought no harm. The Abbess of St. Anne's, however, wasgreatly terrified, as she feared that some evil design might be intendedagainst her. She was, however, reassured in the evening by a messagebrought by a boy, to the effect that succor would be near, whatsoeverhappened.
At midnight a sudden uproar was heard in the streets of Worcester.
A party of men fell upon the burgesses guarding the gate of the town,disarmed them, and took possession of it. At the same time those who hadput up at the hostelry with Sir Rudolph suddenly mounted their horses,and with a great clatter rode down the streets to the convent of St.Anne. Numbers of men on foot also joined, and some sixty in all suddenlyappeared before the great gate of the convent. With a thundering noisethey knocked at the door, and upon the grating being opened Sir Rudolphhimself told the porteress who looked through it that she was to go atonce to the abbess and order her to surrender the body of the LadyMargaret to him, in accordance with the order of Prince John; adding,that if within the space of five minutes the order was not compliedwith, he would burst in the gates of the convent and take her forhimself. In another minute a casement opened above, and the abbessherself appeared.
"Rash man," she said to Sir Rudolph, "I warn you against committing thesin of sacrilege. Neither the orders of Prince John nor of any otherpotentate can override the rights of the holy church; and should youventure to lay the hand of force upon this convent you will be placedunder the anathema of the church, and its spiritual terrors will bedirected against you."
"I am prepared to risk that, holy mother," Sir Rudolph said, with alaugh. "So long as I am obeying the orders of my prince, I care naughtfor those of any foreign potentate, be he pope or be he emperor. Threeminutes of the time I gave you have elapsed, and unless within two morethe Lady Margaret appears at the gate I will batter it down; and you maythink yourself lucky if I do not order my men to set light to it and tosmoke you out of your hole."
The abbess closed the window, and as she did so the long row ofcasements in the house of Master Nicholas were opened from top tobottom, and a volley of sixty clothyard arrows was poured into the groupclosely standing round the gate. Many fell, killed outright, and shoutsof rage and pain were heard arising.
Furious at this unexpected attack, Sir Rudolph turned and commandedthose with him to attack the house whence this volley of missiles hadcome. But even while he spoke another flight of arrows, even more deadlythan the last, was poured forth. One of the knights standing by the sideof Sir Rudolph fell, shot through the brain. Very many of the commonmen, undefended by harness, fell shot through and through; and an arrowpiercing the joint of the armor of Sir Rudolph wounded him in theshoulder. In vain the knight stormed and raged and ordered his men toadvance. The suddenness of the attack seemed to his superstitiousfollowers a direct answer from heaven to the words of the abbess. Theirnumber was already seriously lessened, and those who were in case to doso at once took flight and scattered through the city, making for thegate, which had already been seized by Sir Rudolph's men.
Finding himself alone with only a few of his knights and principalmen-at-arms remaining, while the storm of arrows continued unabated, SirRudolph was forced to order his men to retreat with many fierce threatsof the vengeance which he would hereafter take.