But that he should return to her a belted earl was beyond her
wildest thoughts. This, however, was but little in her mind then. It was
her son, and not the Earl of Evesham, whom she clasped in her arms.
As the interview must necessarily be a short one, Cuthbert gave her but
a slight outline of what had happened since they parted, and the
conversation then turned upon the present position, and upon the steps
which had best be taken.
"Your peril is, I fear, as great here as when you were fighting the
infidels in the Holy Land," she said. "Sir Rudolph has not been here
long; but he has proved himself a cruel and ruthless master. He has
driven forth many of the old tenants and bestowed their lands upon his
own servants and retainers. The forest laws he carries out to the
fullest severity, and has hung several men who were caught infringing
them. He has laid such heavy burdens on all the tenants that remain that
they are fairly ruined, and if he stay here long he will rule over a
desert. Did he dream of your presence here, he would carry fire and
sword through the forest.
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