“The lady is in the parlour.  Mother Hilda is with her”

“But her name?”

Sister Agnes could not give Evelyn her visitor’s name; but on the way to the parlour they were met by the Prioress, who told Evelyn that the lady who had come to see her was a French lady, Mademoiselle Helbrun.

“Louise!  Dear Mother, she is an actress, one of the women I used to sing with.”

“Perhaps you had better not see her, and you may count upon me not to offend her; she will understand that on the day of your clothing—­”

“No, no, dear Mother, I must see her.”

“Teresa, one never uses the word ‘must’ to the Prioress, nor to any one in the convent; and on the day of your clothing it seems to me you might have remembered this first rule of our life.”

“Of course I am very sorry, Mother; but now that she has come I am afraid it would agitate me more not to see her than to see her.  It was the surprise of hearing her name after such a long while—­there is no reason I can think of—­”

“Teresa, it is for me to think, it is for you to obey.”

“Well, Mother, if you will allow me.”

“Ah, that is better.  Of course she has come here to oppose your being here.  How will you answer her?”

“Louise is an old friend, and knows me well, and will not argue with me, so it seems to me; and if she should ask me why I’m here and if I intend to remain, it will be easy for me to answer her, “I am here because I am not safe in the world.”

“But she’ll not understand.”

“Yes she will, Mother.  Let me see her.”

“Perhaps you are fight, Teresa; it will be better for you to see her.  But it is strange she should have come this afternoon.”

“Some intuition, some voice must have told her.”

“Teresa, those are fancies; you mustn’t let your mind run on such things.”

They were at the door of the parlour.  Evelyn opened it for the Prioress, allowing her to pass in first.

“Louise, how good of you to come to see me.  How did you find my address?  Did Merat give it to you?”

“No, but I have heard—­we all know you are thinking of becoming a nun.”

“If you had been here a little earlier,” the Prioress said, “you would have been in time for Teresa’s clothing.”  And there was an appeal in the Prioress’s voice, the appeal that one Catholic makes to another.  The Prioress, of course, assumed that Louise had been brought up a Catholic, though very likely she did not practise her religion; few actresses did.  So did the Prioress’s thoughts run as she leaned forward; her voice became winning, and she led Louise to ask her questions regarding the Order.  And she told Louise that it was a French Order originally, wearying her with the story of the arrival of the first nuns.  “How can Evelyn stop here listening to such nonsense?” she thought.  And then Mother Hilda told Louise about Evelyn’s singing at Benediction, and the number of converts she had won to the Church of Rome.