Some minutes later, the Mother Superior joined him in the large parlour.
"Monsieur," she began, "I must apologise for having sent for you, but I wished to have a necessary talk with you."
Fandor interrupted the saintly nun.
"And I must apologise, reverend Mother, for not having come to pay my respects to you before leaving. Had I not been much troubled, I should never have dreamt of leaving without thanking you for the help you have been good enough to give me."
The nun looked at him questioningly. Fandor continued:
"In agreeing to receive Mademoiselle Elizabeth Dollon as a boarder, you have done a deed of true charity: this poor girl is so unhappy, so tried, so unfortunate, that I really do not know where she could have found a better refuge than in this convent under your sheltering care.... I ..."
But the nun would not allow Fandor to continue.
"It is precisely about Mademoiselle Dollon that I wish to speak to you.... Of course, I should be glad to help and comfort one suffering from a real misfortune; but I must confess, that when Mademoiselle Dollon presented herself here as a boarder, I was ignorant of the exact nature of the scandal in which she is involved."
Fandor was taken aback at the harsh tone of the nun's speech.
"Good Heavens, madame, what do you mean to insinuate?"