It seemed possible then that with him had returned the claimant for the earldom; and in that case Sir Rudolph felt that danger menaced him, for the bravery of the Earl of Evesham's adopted son had been widely spoken of by those who had returned from the Holy Land.
Sir Rudolph was a man of forty, tall and dark, with Norman features.

He held the Saxons in utter contempt, and treated them as beings solely created to till the land for the benefit of their Norman lords.

He was brave and fearless, and altogether free from the superstition of the times.

Even the threats of the pope, which although Prince John defied them yet terrified him at heart, were derided by his follower, who feared no one thing in the world, save, perhaps, the return of King Richard from captivity.
No sooner had the suspicion that his rival was in the neighborhood possessed him than he determined that one of two things must be carried out: either Sir Cuthbert must be killed, or the Lady Margaret must be carried off and forced to accept him as her husband.

First he endeavored to force Sir Cuthbert to declare himself and to trust to his own arm to put an end to his rival.