dead cow…" She shook her head, despairing. "It happened the same way with Mother Hilaria. So horrible! Where will all this end?"
"With a new abbess, unfortunately." The angularity of Miriam's face was matched by her thin voice. "Unless a miracle happens, we'll be voting before compline tomorrow."
"We should have prayed harder for Perpetua," Dominica muttered.
I seconded that. Maybe Perpetua couldn't have told me anything more than I already knew about the letter she'd received. On the other hand…
"There won't be an election tomorrow," Maggie said, buttering her roll.
"Oh, really?" Miriam asked dryly. "With Perpetua dead, the score is nineteen to twenty. Just in time, too. Olivia is getting tired of holding her breath."
Who would want to kill poor old Sister Perpetua?
Miriam had just given me an answer to Maggie's rhetorical
question. But that was ridiculous. Nuns only killed other nuns in murder mysteries.
"I'm afraid Olivia will have to hold her breath a little longer," Maggie said. "There are still twenty votes for Ga-briella." Everybody was looking at her, but she didn't seem to notice. "I asked Mother Winifred if I could come back to St. T's, and she said yes. It's up to the Council of Sisters, of course, and Reverend Mother General has to agree, but Mother says there won't be a problem."
Miriam didn't look overjoyed. "Reverend Mother will jump on the idea like a duck on a Junebug," she said, "even if it does put Olivia on hold a while longer. The order needs every vocation it can get."
Ignoring Miriam, Dominica clasped her hands, her round face shining. "Oh, Margaret Mary, I'm
so
glad! I've missed you so much. We've
all
missed you!"
Ruby was gaping. "But what about your restaurant? You've put two years of work into it, Maggie, You can't just turn your back and walk away!"
"Why not?" Maggie's face was sober but her blue eyes were twinkling. "It's just a restaurant. No big deal." She patted Ruby's hand. "This is right for me, Ruby. I belong here."
Ruby subsided, muttering. She enjoys an occasional retreat, but she also loves her fun. She would find life in a monastery unutterably boring.
I searched Maggie's face for a hint to how she was feeling, but all I could see was her normal serene calm. Her announcement wasn't totally unexpected, of course. She'd been telegraphing it all day. I hoped she was coming back for the right reasons, but I had to wonder.
"I don't suppose you're doing this to keep Olivia from being elected," Miriam remarked. She was watching Maggie obliquely, and I wondered how much she knew about the relationship between Maggie and Dominica. She herself was linked with Dominica, at least in the poison-pen
writer's imagination. I studied her more closely. Was there a hint of jealousy in her look?
I wasn't surprised when Maggie answered Miriam's question with a firm, clear "Of course not." If Maggie had another motive, she probably wouldn't share it-and certainly not in response to such an obvious challenge.
Sister Rachel cast innocent eyes around the table. ' 'Why in the world should anyone want to keep Olivia from being elected? She isn't my choice, but if she's elected, it will be God's will."
"Really, Rachel," Dominica said impatiently. "You know better than that. God doesn't will
everything
that happens. He wasn't responsible for the fire in the chapel, for instance. Some bad person did that."
Rachel was half-frowning. "But the person who set the fires… couldn't she-if it is a she, I mean-couldn't that person be carrying out God's will? There
is
a larger purpose in all things, even if we can't always see it." She paused, took a deep breath, and then plunged deeper into the muddy theological waters. "The person who is setting the fires could be an agent of God. Who are we to question? Who are we to
know?'
Miriam hadn't been paying any attention to Rachel. She leaned across the table toward Maggie. ' 'If you're coming back to keep Olivia from taking over, it won't do a dime's bit
"With a new abbess, unfortunately." The angularity of Miriam's face was matched by her thin voice. "Unless a miracle happens, we'll be voting before compline tomorrow."
"We should have prayed harder for Perpetua," Dominica muttered.
I seconded that. Maybe Perpetua couldn't have told me anything more than I already knew about the letter she'd received. On the other hand…
"There won't be an election tomorrow," Maggie said, buttering her roll.
"Oh, really?" Miriam asked dryly. "With Perpetua dead, the score is nineteen to twenty. Just in time, too. Olivia is getting tired of holding her breath."
Who would want to kill poor old Sister Perpetua?
Miriam had just given me an answer to Maggie's rhetorical
question. But that was ridiculous. Nuns only killed other nuns in murder mysteries.
"I'm afraid Olivia will have to hold her breath a little longer," Maggie said. "There are still twenty votes for Ga-briella." Everybody was looking at her, but she didn't seem to notice. "I asked Mother Winifred if I could come back to St. T's, and she said yes. It's up to the Council of Sisters, of course, and Reverend Mother General has to agree, but Mother says there won't be a problem."
Miriam didn't look overjoyed. "Reverend Mother will jump on the idea like a duck on a Junebug," she said, "even if it does put Olivia on hold a while longer. The order needs every vocation it can get."
Ignoring Miriam, Dominica clasped her hands, her round face shining. "Oh, Margaret Mary, I'm
so
glad! I've missed you so much. We've
all
missed you!"
Ruby was gaping. "But what about your restaurant? You've put two years of work into it, Maggie, You can't just turn your back and walk away!"
"Why not?" Maggie's face was sober but her blue eyes were twinkling. "It's just a restaurant. No big deal." She patted Ruby's hand. "This is right for me, Ruby. I belong here."
Ruby subsided, muttering. She enjoys an occasional retreat, but she also loves her fun. She would find life in a monastery unutterably boring.
I searched Maggie's face for a hint to how she was feeling, but all I could see was her normal serene calm. Her announcement wasn't totally unexpected, of course. She'd been telegraphing it all day. I hoped she was coming back for the right reasons, but I had to wonder.
"I don't suppose you're doing this to keep Olivia from being elected," Miriam remarked. She was watching Maggie obliquely, and I wondered how much she knew about the relationship between Maggie and Dominica. She herself was linked with Dominica, at least in the poison-pen
writer's imagination. I studied her more closely. Was there a hint of jealousy in her look?
I wasn't surprised when Maggie answered Miriam's question with a firm, clear "Of course not." If Maggie had another motive, she probably wouldn't share it-and certainly not in response to such an obvious challenge.
Sister Rachel cast innocent eyes around the table. ' 'Why in the world should anyone want to keep Olivia from being elected? She isn't my choice, but if she's elected, it will be God's will."
"Really, Rachel," Dominica said impatiently. "You know better than that. God doesn't will
everything
that happens. He wasn't responsible for the fire in the chapel, for instance. Some bad person did that."
Rachel was half-frowning. "But the person who set the fires… couldn't she-if it is a she, I mean-couldn't that person be carrying out God's will? There
is
a larger purpose in all things, even if we can't always see it." She paused, took a deep breath, and then plunged deeper into the muddy theological waters. "The person who is setting the fires could be an agent of God. Who are we to question? Who are we to
know?'
Miriam hadn't been paying any attention to Rachel. She leaned across the table toward Maggie. ' 'If you're coming back to keep Olivia from taking over, it won't do a dime's bit
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