“That I must not say.”
“Oh, very good.... May we know what good comes of being ‘received into the Church?’”
“By being received into the Church, the soul is reconciled to God.”
“Oh! (Oliver, be quiet.) And how do you do it, Father Franklin?”
Percy stood up abruptly.
“This is no good, madam,” he said. “What is the use of these questions?”
The girl looked at him in open-eyed astonishment, still with her hand on her husband’s knee.
“The use, Father Franklin! Why, we want to know. There is no church law against your telling us, is there?”
Percy hesitated again. He did not understand in the least what she was after. Then he saw that he would give them an advantage if he lost his head at all: so he sat down again.
“Certainly not. I will tell you if you wish to know. I heard Mrs. Brand’s confession, and gave her absolution.”