“Have I not seen you before?” said the Bishop.
“I think not, Father,” said John.
“What is your name, and where did you live before you came here?”
John told him.
“Then I have both seen and heard you. But I perceive that the world has gone on a little since you left it—your canon is an archdeacon now, and one of the chaplains to the Queen as well. How long have you been in the Brotherhood?”
“Since the 14th of August.”
“And how long have you kept your cell?”
“Since the octave of Epiphany.”
“But this is Lent—rather a long penance, Father.”
“I have often urged our dear brother——” began the Father.