The men, abashed by the calm dignity of this young girl, abstained from laying hands upon her, but merely motioned to her to accompany them.  Upon their way they met the man who appeared to be their leader, and he, well pleased that the affair was over, led the way to the courtyard.

“Farewell, my child,” the abbess exclaimed.  “God will deliver you from the power of these wicked men.  Trust in Him, and keep up your courage.  Wickedness will not be permitted to triumph upon the earth; and be assured that the matter shall be brought to the ears of the pope’s legate, and of Prince John himself.”

She could say no more, for the men, closing round the weeping girl, hurried her out from the convent.  A litter awaited them without, and in this the young lady was placed, and, borne upon the shoulders of four stout men, she started at a fast pace, surrounded closely by the rest of the band.

It was a dark night, and the girl could not see the direction in which she was being taken; but 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.”