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In Saunt-Vitre-lo-Sur most of the houses were deserted; rye and oats stood unharvested in the frost-shriveled fields Lean pigs and half-starved children scavenged the vineyards for grapes long since turned to raisins At the door of the squat stone church, four women waited, three with listless infants in their ar them the thin, lected odor hung over the place, lending an inward chill to the February afternoon where shadows like bruises lay across the ground

There was one hter spot in the desolation: so ashed walls of Le Tres Saunt Annunciacion where the Assumptionist Sisters had atte alhty nuns at the convent - now there were fewer than fifty, and those women who remained worked as strenuously as the hardiest farmers

Frouerite, who tended the hives, was the first to notice the wagon approaching, its sides heavily curtained so that even the portlyhorses could not see his passenger The nun stood absolutely still, as if she were a doe atte to hide from a hunter Torpid bees settled on the frayed linen of her coif, but she on turned up the lane to the convent, Seur Marguerite sighed and crossed herself, e for her protection

"Hola!" shouted the ate "Open up here, good Sisters!"

There was no response; the thick-hewn doors remained shut

The ether to warroves left by the rein His back was sore fro over hard, rutted roads and he was in no mood to be denied his well-earned food and rest "Open! In le Bon Noue and too ain "You there! Hola!"

Frorilledto the side of the doors cah "God be with you, Frere"

"And with your soul," he answered automatically

"What do you seek here?"

"It is not I who seek anything I coht," he answered brusquely as he strode toward the voice "The Cardinal himself has sent hter was taunting,a nun

"What prayers are those?" asked the voice, suddenly haughty

"Why, for a new Mere, of course Is there anything else you wanted that I do not know about? Would other recoh not to face the grilled hen he did

"A Mere?" the unseen nun repeated, as if she dared not believe what she heard

"That's what I said Cardinal Seulfleuve hi her to you, with all speed"

"With what escort?" the nun demanded

"I am he," the monk replied, offended at her reasonable surprise

"No men-at-arms?"

Frere Odo hawked and spat "There were none to spare You insisted that you needed your Superior as soon as possible, and so"

"But to travel without ar her words

"It was that or wait until spring Your priest said the need was urgent," thesullen

"But to come noithout escort"

"All the more reason to think that your new Mere is in the favor of Heaven Our passage was safe enough"

"For which you should humbly thank God and His Saints for their care," the nun on the far side of the grille snapped She was prepared to continue her admonition, and had just drawn a deep breath when another voice whispered behind her and there was a brief, barely audible exchange

"Well? What is it to be then?" the monk called out "Do you open the doors to your Mere or do ait here for Pere Guibert or Pere Foutin to come and insist that we be perer than he liked; he deserved their attention for his good act, not this cold reception

"In a moment," the nun called with less certainty than before

"Your Mere is weary with travel As am I," he added

"Oh Yes Of course At once" This was another nun, er, by the sound of her

"And do soot to carry ain the day after too to seize any opportunity offered hiry and thirsty"

"We will tend to them, Frere," the second nun promised him

"When? Soon?"

"Yes Yes At once We will"

There were , and the sound of hurrying footsteps The heavy bolt on the inside of the doors was tugged noisily back, then the enores on to enter the courtyard of the convent

It was an old building, built around a square courtyard On the east was the hospice, the tallest part of the convent, rising alles, on the north, was the nuns' quarters, the refectory at one end, the rest of the two levels given over to the chapel and to the individual cells Next to that was a more recent addition, with storerooms, still-rooms, and at the far end, a stable The wall on the south completed the square and closed out the world

The on was safely within the courtyard, then gave a gesture to close the doors

There were about thirty worey habits Two of them had removed their coifs and rolled up their sleeves - clearly these Sisters worked in the convent's kitchen Gradually all of theon, most of them afraid to speak louder than a whisper

Frere Odo, now full of self-ied at the corner of one of the draperies that enclosed the wagon to conceal the passenger "Mere Leonie," he said in theway, "we have reached our destination"

"May God bless you as I thank you, Frere Odo," cae will reward your service with her prayers and intercessions"

"Praise be to God," the lanced over the nuns, hoping that one would catch his eye

None of the wo at the wagon as the draperies were drawn aside

The hush that fell was eerie, at least to Frere Odo's ears He wanted to do soeous to dissipate the spell that this new arrival had cast over the convent It boded ill, he thought, to have nuns so quiet

"May God send His Peace, which is not of this world, to guide and co woon Her voice was low, alht seductive Though she y, perhaps even zeal She looked around her "Oh, very good," she said warood"

The Sisters gaped at her, some with relief, some with dismay, for none of them had expected such a replacement for the old and saintly Mere Jacinthe Most Superiors were of a respectable age and delowing and gracious like this newcoet and wiuise the vitality that coursed through her Two of the older nuns exchanged sharp looks

"It has been so long," Mere Leonie said softly, speaking to herself or some inner part of her soul "How I have yearned for this"

Only Seur Elvire heard her clearly, and knew that she would enjoy unusual attention for a day or two as she related this rerateful for the opportunity Mere Leonie had provided her

The hipped around the courtyard, tweaking the he the horses to snort

"Your convent, Mere Leonie," Frere Odo said unnecessarily

"Yes Pray God ill do well" She gazed up at the slated roof of the hospice "There is a need"

It was an aard moment, for none of the women wanted to put thereet the new Superior

One young wo a little apart from the other nuns, spoke up first "And uide you,voice whose accent, as round

Mere Leonie crossed herself "As I most hu the eyes of her nuns forthrightly

Frere Odo ca behind her, his coarse features spread over with a srin He nodded to the nuns around hi them up One or two showed promise, but he did not want to be hasty The soft drone of whispered conversations stilled as he passed, and he knew that the nuns were speaking of Mere Leonie - he could hardly blame them for that - and perhaps of hih his teeth

"Ma Mere," said one of the nuns dressed for the kitchen "It is Seur Lucille who should greet you; she is the oldest of us and the one with the longest vocation But she is supervising work in the orchard and will not be back for a little while At Vespers, she'll" She looked around for aid

The well-born young nun who had been the first to speak caht,work, as she said The almond trees did badly for our last harvest"

"It is not iently "None of you knehen I was to arrive, and there is no need to disrupt yourselves for ood Mother does not set an exa the doubts of the women she had been sent to lead "Return to your appointed tasks,uide me, Seur?"

The novice looked up sharply "I thank God for the honor," she said, but her tone was slightly distracted, as if her mind had been on other matters

Frere Odo looked up at Mere Leonie's sharp su toward the wagon that contained the two leather cases she had brought with her "If you will follow us?"

The rumbled, but did as she ordered hiet a fewgirl who looked as if she had been raised on a far experience, were often et their vows for an hour or two, even on a winter's night, if there was a fire close at hand With his mind still on the possibility of conquest, he clier of the cases, then trudged after Mere Leonie

"The old refectory is in the far wing," the novice was saying to Mere Leonie as Frere Odo caught up with the reduced in size, we do not use it often now, and then only as a hospice for travelers"

"And when there is illness?" Mere Leonie inquired "Is aid provided here?"

"It was, for a tiue, the last time it swept the land From e have been told, we fared less well than es You must have noticed that half the fields are fallow and" She looked away, crossing herself in a vague manner "There were many deaths, you see"

Mere Leonie also crossed herself, her face grave as she listened "Is that the extent of it, or has there been worse?"

"There is alorse Mercenaries sacked Mou Courbet last year - "

"Mou Courbet?" Mere Leonie repeated

"The village at the end of the valley, just where the road turns toward the pass It was o, or so I'm told" She frowned once in for aid, but it has not been granted us Mere Jacinthe, toward the end, warned us that our sins would cost us all dearly if we did not forsake them and repent"

"Is the convent so full of wickedness?" Mere Leonie entle smile

"We must be," the novice answered "If not, then the wickedness is elsewhere, and I dare not thinkthat God, being just, wouldrequire that" She was unable to finish

"Well, in Rome they would say it is because we are faithful to the true Pope at Avignon, though Roue of late" Her head turned away from the novice "Is that the chapel, Seur?"

"One of theer one, where Pere Guibert says Mass for us twice a week This chapel is for our own devotions" She stood aside so that Mere Leonie could inspect the little stone-floored room "When there were more of us, and there were three priests at the church in Saunt-Vitre, we had Masses every day, Matins and Vespers, but there is only Pere Foutin now, and he has the village to attend to Pere Guibert arranged"

"Very good of him," Mere Leonie said as she left the chapel "May I know your name, Seur?"

The novice blushed "Seur Philomine, ma Mere I've taken only tertiary vows, so that if my family should" She almost said "relent," but stopped herself in time

Mere Leonie nodded "You family has suffered much?"

"As have all families, in these days," Seur Philo

"And for which we must pray all the more for God's Grace," Mere Leonie added in a careless way "Do your relatives believe that you are safer here than you would be with them, or have their fortunes suffered reverses?"

Seur Philomine blushed "There have been some reverses," she admitted with difficulty

"It must be similar for many of the nuns," Mere Leonie said sys, that I may better fulfill my duties toward you all," she added as explanation "Doubtless you have heard, even here, that since the Church has been weakened by therift between Rolected that - "

Seur Philomine shook her head in confusion "Ma Mere, it is not s"

"Forgive me," Mere Leonie said at once, then turned back to motion to Frere Odo "Where shall he put this trunk? I have brought a few books and several lengths of cloth which I was told were needed here"

Once again Seur Philomine was surprised to have the new Superior confide in her "Your cell and study are at the end of this hall, to the side of the chapel"

"Excellent," Mere Leonie exclaimed "Take those cases - the one you carry and the one reon - to the study"

Groaning a feeble protest, Frere Odo moved to do as he had been told

"But don't you wish to see your quarters?" Seur Philomine asked, unable to conceal her puzzlement

"Not at the s for me to see, aren't there?" She srounds and the storeroo used at the uide me, or should I ask for other escort?"

"I suppose Iwhy she had been chosen to do this when there were other nuns ould believe thee

"God send you His blessing for your service," Mere Leonine said at once "Do you read and write?"

"Sufficiently for the de her eyes frohter, and so"

"And your older sisters?" Mere Leonie inquired as they came to another turn in the hallway

"They ed, butthen they died" She crossed herself and coughed once "It is not a thing that I wish to speak of, Mere Leonie"

"It was not meant unkindly, ma Seur," Mere Leonie said with a touch of sternness about her mouth as she spoke "As Superior, I am required to acquaint e In the naiveness"

Seur Philomine knew already that she had behaved improperly, and she accepted her rebuke with all the hu of iven"

"Of course With the ti that all of you here would be cautious of a newcomer, even one sent to lead you" Her faint, equivocal sely sinister, a thing out of place in that handsouide me in the days that are to come"

"Amen to that, ma Mere," Seur Philomine said as she opened a door and stood aside "Here is the ante-chamber to our kitchen When it is possible, we offer charity to those in greatest need, especially to travelers and women with children"

"But the priests in Saunt-Vitre-lo-Sur, don't they provide for" Mere Leonie esture that implied that it was not the responsibility of the nuns to do such work

"For the village itself, yes they do, but there are others who live here, and those who are without homes and shelter who pass this way Mere Jacinthe enforced all the devotional offices required of us Before the Plague caent a need Now, youwell, you saas, didn't you?"

"Yes," Mere Leonie answered thoughtfully "Yes"

"She troubles ht "Look at her If she were not tranquil, she would be" She stopped, breaking her s it on the wooden trencher before her as the blessing was invoked for their si meal

Beside Seur Catant, Seur Elvire listened with slight attention; Seur Catant was known to be discontented with her lot and often gave vent to her feelings through petty outbursts of spite