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political incidents, Cuthbert had heard little of what had passed in

England since his departure; and putting up at a hostelry, he inquired of

the host whether Sir Baldwin of B,thune was in London, or whether he was

away on his estates. The landlord did not know. There were, he said, but

few nobles at court, and London was never so dull as at present. As

Cuthbert did not wish his coming home to be known to John until he had

learnt something of the position of affairs, he despatched Cnut to the

Tower to inquire privately of some of the officials about the place

whether Sir Baldwin was there. Cnut soon returned with the news that he

had not been at the court since his return from the Holy Land, and that

he was living at his castle down in Dorsetshire. After some hesitation,

Cuthbert resolved to set out to see his friend, and after six days'

travel he arrived at the castle of the knight.

Sir Baldwin received him with immense joy. He had not heard of him

since they parted at Zara, and he feared that a fate similar to that

which had befallen King Richard had overtaken Cuthbert, even if he were

still alive.

"Have you seen aught of the king, our master?" the good knight inquired.

"Nothing," Cuthbert said. "I know no more than yourself. Indeed, I hoped

to have learnt something from you as to the king."

"I was separated from him at Gortz, and while he was taken a prisoner to

the archduke, I was allowed to pursue my way. I had many difficulties

and dangers, and was some weeks in finding my way back. Nothing was

known of the king when I returned. Indeed, I was the first bearer of any

definite news concerning him since the day when he sailed from Acre.

Three weeks ago, as you may have learnt, the news came that he is now

detained in captivity by the emperor who demanded his delivery by the

Archduke John, into whose hands he first fell. But where he is, no one

exactly knows. The news has created an immense excitement in the

kingdom, and all are resolved to sacrifice any of their treasures which

may be demanded in order to satisfy the ransom which the recreant

emperor has placed upon the king. Shame is it indeed that a Christian

sovereign should hold another in captivity. Still more, when that other

was returning through his dominions as a crusader coming from the Holy

Land, when his person should be safe, even to his deadliest enemy. It

has long been suspected that he was in the hands either of the emperor,

or of the archduke, and throughout Europe the feeling of indignation has

been strong; and I doubt not, now that the truth is known, this feeling

will be stronger than ever."

"But, now that it is known," Cuthbert said, "I suppose there will be no

delay in ransoming the king."

"There will be no delay in raising the ransom," Sir Baldwin said. "But

the kingdom is very impoverished by war, by the exactions of Prince John,

and by those of Langley, who held it for King Richard. He was a loyal

servant of the king, but an exacting and rapacious prelate. However, I

doubt not that the rents of the English nobles will soon be charged with

sums sufficient for the ransom; and if this avail not, not one of them

will grudge their silver flagons and vessels to melt down to make the

total required. But we must not flatter ourselves that he will obtain his

liberty so soon as the money is raised. Prince John has long been

yearning for sovereignty. He has long exercised the real, if not the

nominal, power, and he has been intriguing with the Pope and Phillip of

France for their support for his seizing the crown. He will throw every

obstacle in the way, as, we may be sure, will Phillip of France,

Richard's deadly enemy. And now about yourself, Sir Cuthbert; tell me

what has befallen you since we last met."

Cuthbert related the adventures which had befallen him, and heard those

of Sir Baldwin.

"You have not, I suppose," the latter remarked, "as yet seen

Prince John?"

"No," Cuthbert replied, "I thought it better to come down to ask you to

advise me on the position of affairs before I attempted to see him."

"You did well," Sir Baldwin said. "When I arrived, I found that the

proper officials, had, according to King Richard's instructions, drawn up

the patent conferring upon you the lands and title of Earl of Evesham,

before leaving Acre, and had received the king's signature to it. This

was attested by several of the nobles who were with us and who returned

safely to England. Prince John, however, declared that he should not give

any heed to the document; that King Richard's power over this realm had

ceased before he made it; and that he should bestow the earldom upon

whomsoever he chose. As a matter of fact, it has been given to Sir

Rudolph Fleming, a Norman knight and a creature of the prince. The king

has also, I hear, promised to him the hand of the young Lady Margaret,

when she shall become of marriageable age. At present she is placed in a

convent in Worcester. The abbess is, I believe, a friend of the late

earl, and the girl had been with her for some time previously. Indeed she

went there, I think, when her father left England. This lady was ordered

to give up her charge to the guardianship of Sir Rudolph; but she refused

to do so, saying that it would not be convenable for a young lady to be

under the guardianship of a bachelor knight having no lady at the head of

his establishment, and that therefore she should retain her, in spite of

the orders of the Prince. Prince John, I hear, flew into a fury at this;

but he did not dare to provoke the anger of the whole of the clergy by

ordering the convent to be violated. And indeed, not only would the

clergy have been indignant, but many of the great nobles would also have

taken their part, for there can be no doubt that the contention of the

abbess was reasonable; and there is among all the friends of King Richard

a very strong feeling of anger at your having been deprived of the

earldom. This, however, has, so far, not found much vent in words, for as

it was uncertain whether you would ever return to claim your rights, it

was worth no one's while to embroil himself unnecessarily with the prince

upon such a subject. God knows that there are subjects enough of dispute

between John Lackland and the English barons without any fresh ones

arising. The whole kingdom is in a state of disturbance. There have been

several risings against Prince John's authority; but these have been, so

far, suppressed. Now that we know where King Richard is, and hope for his

return ere very long, it is probable that peace will be maintained; but

should treachery prevail, and King Richard's return be prevented, you may

be sure that John will not be permitted to mount the throne without the

determined resistance of a large number of the nobles."

"But," Cuthbert said, "John is not the successor to the throne. Prince

Arthur of Brittany was named by King Richard from the first as his

successor. He is so by blood and by right, and John can have no pretence

to the throne so long as he lives."

"That is so," Sir Baldwin said. "But, unhappily, in England at present

might makes right, and you may be sure that at King Richard's death, be

it when it may, Prince John will make a bold throw for the throne, and,

aided as he will be by the pope and by Phillip of France, methinks that

his chances are better than those of the young prince. A man's power, in

warlike times, is more than a boy's. He can intrigue and promise and

threaten, while a boy must be in the hands of partisans. I fear that

Prince Arthur will have troubled times indeed before he mounts the throne

of England. Should Richard survive until he becomes of age to take the

field himself and head armies, he may succeed, for all speak well of him

as a boy of singular sweetness of disposition, while Prince John is

detested by all save those who flatter and live by him. But enough for

the present of politics, Cuthbert; let us now to table. It is long since

we two feasted together; and, indeed, such meals as we took in the Holy

Land could scarcely have been called feasts. A boar's head and a good

roasted capon are worthy all the strange dishes that we had there. I

always misdoubted the meat, which seemed to me to smack in flavour of the

Saracens, and I never could bring myself to inquire whence that strange

food was obtained. A stoup of English ale, too, is worth all the Cyprus

wines, especially when the Cyprus wines are half full of the sand of the

desert. Pah! it makes my throat dry to think of those horrible meals. So

you have brought Cnut and your four archers safely back with you?"

"Yes," Cuthbert said, smiling, "But they were, I can assure you, a heavy

weight on me, in spite of their faithfulness and fidelity. Their

ignorance of the language brought most of my troubles upon me, and Cnut

had something of the nature of a bull in him. There are certain things

which he cannot stomach, and when he seeth them he rageth like a wild

beast, regardless altogether of safety or convenience."

In the evening, the two knights again talked over the course which

Cuthbert should adopt. The elder knight's opinion was that his young

friend had best formally claim the title by writing to the king-at-arms,

and should also announce his return to Prince John, signing himself "Sir

Cuthbert, Earl of Evesham;" but that, in the present state of things, it

would be unwise for him to attempt to regain his position, should, as was

certain to be the case, Prince John refuse to recognize him.

"You are very young yet," Sir Baldwin said, "not eighteen, I think, and

can afford to wait, at any rate, to see whether King Richard returns.

Should he come back, he will see all these wrongs are righted; and one of

his first cares would assuredly be to cast this usurper out of his stolen

dignities. How old is the Lady Margaret?"

"She is fifteen," Cuthbert said. "She was three years younger than I."

"I wish she had been younger," Sir Baldwin said. "At fifteen she is not

by custom fairly marriageable; but men can strain these points when they

choose; and I fear that the news of your coming will hasten both the

prince and Sir Rudolph in their determination to strengthen the claim of

this usurper by marriage with the heiress of Evesham. The Lady Margaret

and her friends can of course claim that she is a royal ward, and that as

such the king alone can dispose of her person and estates. But,

unfortunately, force overrides argument."

"But surely," Cuthbert said, "they will never venture to take her by

force from the convent?"

"They venture a great many strange things in England now," Sir Baldwin

said; "and Worcester is perilously near to Evesham. With a clump of

twenty spears, Sir Rudolph might break into the convent and carry off the

young lady, and marry her by force; and although the Church might cry

out, crying would be of little avail when the deed was done; and a

handsome present on the part of Sir Rudolph might go far to shut the

mouths of many of the complainants, especially as he will be able to say

that he has the king's sanction for what he did."

"Methinks," Cuthbert said, "that if such be the case it would be perilous

indeed to wait for King Richard's return. Assuredly Sir Rudolph would not

tarry until she attained the age of seventeen, and it may well be that

two years may yet pass before King Richard comes back. It seems to me the

wiser part will be that I should give Prince John no notice that I am in

England. As you say, such notice would be of no avail in recovering my

lands and title, but it would put the prince upon his guard; and

assuredly he and his minions would press forward their measures to obtain

possession of the person of the Lady Margaret; while, on the other hand,

no harm can come of my maintaining silence."

"I think that you are right, Sir Cuthbert. It were indeed best that your

enemies should suppose you either dead or in some dungeon in the Tyrol.

What would you then do?"

"I would return to my old home," Cuthbert said. "My lady mother is, I

trust, still alive. But I will not appear at her house, but will take

refuge in the forest there. Cnut, and the archers with him, were all at

one time outlaws living there, and I doubt not that there are many good

men and true still to be found in the woods. Others will assuredly join

when they learn that Cnut is there, and that they are wanted to strike a

blow for my rights. I shall then bide my time. I will keep a strict watch

over the castle and over the convent. As the abbess is a friend and

relative of Lady Margaret's, I may obtain an interview with her, and warn

her of the dangers that await her, and ask if she be willing to fulfil

the promise of her father, and King Richard's will, in accepting me as

her husband when due time shall arrive, and whether she will be willing

that I should take such steps as I may to deliver her from the

persecution of Sir Rudolph. If, as I trust, she assents to this, I will

keep a watch over the convent as well as the castle, and can then either

attack the latter, or carry her off from the former, as the occasion may

appear to warrant. There are plenty of snug cottages round the forest,

where she can remain in concealment in the care of some good farmer's

wife for months, and we shall be close at hand to watch over her. With

the aid of the forest men, Sir Walter took the castle of Sir John of

Wortham; and although Evesham is a far grander pile than that, yet

methinks it could be carried by a sudden assault; and we know more of war

now than we did then. Prince John may deny me the right of being the Earl

of Evesham; but methinks before many months I can, if I choose, become

its master."

"Be not too hasty in that matter," Sir Baldwin said. "You might capture