“But do you not regret the trees?” She took pleasure in reminding every nun that they sacrificed the beauty of the garden in the hope of making a little money; and these remarks, though they annoyed Mother Winifred, did not prevent her from speaking with pride of the school, now rapidly advancing towards completion, nor did Evelyn’s criticism check her admiration of Evelyn herself.  It seemed to Evelyn that Mother Winifred was always paying her compliments, or if she were not doing that, she would seek opportunities to take Evelyn into her confidence, telling her of the many pupils they had been promised, and of the conversions that would follow their teaching.  The girls would be impressed by the quiet beauty of the nun’s life; some of them would discover in themselves vocations for the religious life, and a great many would certainly go away anxious for conversion; and, even if their conversions did not happen at once, though they might be delayed for years, sooner or later many conversions would be the result of this school.  And the result of all this flummery was: 

“Now, why should you not stay with us, dear, only a little while longer?  It would be such a sad thing if you were to go away, and find that, after all, you had a vocation for the religious life, for if you return to us you will have to go through the novitiate again.”

“But, Mother Winifred, you always begin upon the supposition that I have a vocation.  Now, supposing you begin upon the other supposition —­that I have not one.”

Mother Winifred hesitated, and looked sharply at Evelyn; but, unable to take her advice, on the very next opportunity she spoke to Evelyn of the vocation which she might discover in herself when it was too late.

“You have forgotten what I said, Mother Winifred.”

Mother Winifred laughed, but, undaunted, she soon returned with some new argument, which had occurred to her in the interval, as she prayed in church, or in her cell at night, and the temptation to try the effect of the new argument on Evelyn was irresistible.

“Dear Sister Teresa—­you see the familiar name comes to my tongue though you have put off the habit—­we shall be a long time in straitened circumstances.  A new mortgage has had, as you know, to be placed on the property in order to get money to build the school; the school will pay, but not at once.”

Evelyn protested she was not responsible for this new debt.  She had advised the Prioress and Mother Winifred against it, warning them that she did not intend to remain in the convent.

“But we always expected that you would remain.”