Under yonder trees the three Mothers were walking, looking towards
Evelyn now and then; she was the subject of their conversation, the
Prioress maintaining it would be a great benefit to her to take the
veil.
"But, dear Mother, do you think she will ever recover her health sufficiently for her to decide, and for us to decide, whether she has a vocation?" Mother Hilda asked.
"It seems to me that Evelyn is recovering every day. Do you remember at first whole days passed without her speaking? Now there are times when she joins in the conversation."
Mother Mary Hilda did not answer, and a little aggressive glance shot out of the Prioress's eyes.
"You don't like to have her in the novitiate. I remember when she returned from Rome—"
"It seems to me that it would be just as well for her to live in the convent as an oblate, occupying the guest-room as before."
"Now, why do you think that, Hilda? Let us have things precise."
"Her life as an opera singer clings about her."
"On the contrary, I cannot discover any trace of her past life in her. In the chapel she seems very often overcome, and for piety seems to set an example to us all."
"You see, dear Mother, I am responsible for the religious education of some half-dozen young and innocent girls, and, though I like Evelyn herself very much, her influence—"