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The Virgin Tiffany Reisz 9710K 2023-09-03

PPPS And the hood

At ht she crossed the threshold and entered the convent Silence reigned inside the heavy stone structure She could hear her own breathing, her own heart beating She breathed like a wounded runner who’d had to crawl to the finish line But she wasn’t done crawling yet Not until she was behind the inner door Only behind that door would she be safe Only behind that door could she rest

Like every monastery, the convent einal doorkeeper for the Jesuit order, Brother Alphonsus Rodríguez, who joined the Jesuits after the death of his wife and his three children According to Søren, Brother Alphonsus treated every person who knocked on the door of the Jesuit school where he was stationed as if it were God Hi lorified doorman for forty years In 1888, the world’s most devoted doorman became a saint

Elle didn’t feel like God as she walked to the porter’sShe didn’t feel like the Devil, either She felt tired and scared, and she wanted sley’s to find the past week had been nothing but a dreahtmare She’d wake up and find Søren next to her in bed, and she’d roll over and stretch out on his chest, press her ear to his heart and listen to it beating He would stir and wake and stroke her hair and her bruised back until she fell asleep again When she woke up for the day he would be long gone with only the stains on the sheets, the welts on her body and the scent of winter on his pillow to prove he’d been there

That was the Søren she knew and loved She had no idea who this new Søren was, the one she’d o But she was relieved to know she’d put several hundred miles between the would be enough until she was behind that door in front of her, the door with a simple brass plaque that read, No Men Beyond This Point Nothe bell and said a prayer to Saint Monica, praying her earthly daughters would take her in and shelter her

A wooden panel at athat reminded her of an old-fashioned bank teller’s was pushed aside and a wolasses peered out at her

"Welcome, child Can we help you?" she asked, her tone kind and curious

"My mother is here Sister Mary John," Elle said, her voice wavering against her will "I need to talk to her"

"Is it an e? Now is the Great Silence and nearly everyone is sleeping"

That question utterly flu down at the ency?

Yes Yes it did

"So to find me, and this is probably the first place he’ll look"