“What I’m afeared thou wilt never have, thou sinful heretic child—the call to become a holy Sister.”
“Who is to call me? I am a sister now; I’m Will’s and Baby’s sister. Nobody can’t call me to be a sister to nobody else,” said Cissy, getting very negative in her earnestness.
Sister Joan rose from her seat. “The time is up,” said she. “Say farewell to thy friend.”
“Farewell, Dorothy dear,” said Cissy, clinging to the one person she knew, who seemed to belong to her past, as she never would have thought of doing to Dorothy Denny in bygone days. “Please give Mistress Wade my duty, when she comes home, and say I’m trying to do as Father bade me, and I’ll never, never believe nothing he told me not. You see they couldn’t do nothing to me save burn me, as they did Father, and then I should go to Father, and all would be right directly. It’s much better for them all that they are safe there, and I’ll try to be glad—thought here’s nobody left for me. Father’ll have company: I must try and think of that. I thought he’d find nobody he knew but Mother, but if they’ve all gone too, there’ll be plenty. And I suppose there’ll be some holy angels to look after us, because God isn’t gone away, you see: He’s there and here too. He’ll help me still to look after Will and Baby, now I haven’t”—a sob interrupted the words—“haven’t got Father. Good-bye, Dolly! Kiss me, please. Nobody never kisses me now.”
“Thou poor little dear!” cried Dorothy, fairly melted, and sobbing over Cissy as she gave her half-a-dozen kisses at least. “The Lord bless thee, and be good to thee! I’m sure He’ll take proper vengeance on every body as isn’t. I wouldn’t like to be them as ill-used thee. They’ll have a proper bill to pay in the next world, if they don’t get it in this. Poor little pretty dear!”
“You will drink a cup of ale and eat a manchet?” asked Sister Joan of Dorothy.
A manchet was a cake of the best bread.
“No, I thank you, Sister, I am not a-hungered,” was the answer.
“But, Dolly, you did not come all the way from Colchester?” said Cissy.
“Ay, I did so, my dear, in the miller’s cart, and I’m journeying back in the same. I covenanted to meet him down at the end of yonder lane at three o’clock, and methinks I had best be on my way.”