The Father Superior gave Mark his blessing and dismissed him.  Nothing had been said about the dispute between the Prior and the Chaplain, and Mark began to wonder if Father Burrowes thought the results of it would tell more surely in favour of his own influence if he did not allude to it nor make any attempt to adjudicate upon the point at issue.  Now that he was leaving Malford in little more than a week, Mark felt that he was completely relieved of the necessity of assisting at any conventual legislation, and he would gladly have absented himself from the Easter Chapter, which was held on the Saturday within the Octave, had not Father Burrowes told him that so long as he wore the habit of a novice of the Order he was expected to share in every side of the Community’s life.

“Brethren,” said the Father Superior, “I have brought you back news that will gladden your hearts, news that will show I you how by the Grace of God your confidence in my judgment was not misplaced.  Some kind friends have taken for us the long lease of a splendid house in Soho Square, so that we may have our priory in London, and resume the active work that was abandoned temporarily last Christmas.  Not only have these kind friends taken for us this splendid house, but other kind friends have come forward to guarantee the working expenses up to L20 a week.  God is indeed good to us, brethren, and when I remember that next Thursday is the Feast of our great Patron Saint, my heart is too full for words.  During the last three or four months there have been unhappy differences of opinion in our beloved Order.  Do let me entreat you to forget all these in gratitude for God’s bountiful mercies.  Do let us, with the arrival once more of our patronal festival, resolve to forget our doubts and our hesitations, our timidity and our rashness, our suspicions and our jealousies.  I blame myself for much that has happened, because I have been far away from you, dear brethren, in moments of great spiritual distress.  But this year I hope by God’s mercy to be with you more.  I hope that you will never again spend such an Easter as this.  I have only one more announcement to make, which is that I have appointed Brother Dominic to be Prior of St. George’s Priory, Soho Square, and Brother Chad and Brother Dunstan to work with him for God and our soldiers.”

In the morning, Brother Simon, whose duty it was nowadays to knock with the hammer upon the doors of the cells and rouse the brethren from sleep with the customary salutation, went running from the dormitory to the Prior’s cell, his hair standing even more on end than it usually did at such an hour.

“Reverend Brother, Reverend Brother,” he cried.  “I’ve knocked and knocked on Brother Anselm’s door, and I’ve said ‘The Lord be with you’ nine times and shouted ‘The Lord be with you’ twice, but there’s no answer, and at last I opened the door, though I know it’s against the Rule to open the door of a brother’s cell, but I thought he might be dead, and he isn’t dead, but he isn’t there.  He isn’t there, Reverend Brother, and he isn’t anywhere.  He’s nowhere, Reverend Brother, and shall I go and ring the fire-alarm?”