“Yes, madame.”
“In love with you? Answer me that truthfully!” she asked sternly.
“I—I—I really don’t know,” was the reply, and a hot flush came to her pale cheeks.
The questioner’s lips grew harder.
“But it is plain,” she said. “That man was in love with you! Did he ever suggest that you should leave your husband?”
“No—never—never!” she declared very emphatically. “He never made such a suggestion.”
“He did not know your intention of leaving your home?”
“No. He knew nothing.”
The Mother Superior was silent for a few moments, surveying the pale, despairing little figure in the huge carved chair; then, with a woman’s sympathy, she advanced towards her and, placing her hand upon her shoulder, said:
“My child, I believe your story. I feel that it is true. The man who was a criminal deceived you, and you were right to leave him to his own devices, if he refused to listen to your appeal to him to walk in the path of honesty. To such as you our Order extends its protection. Remain here with us, child, and your home in future shall be a home of peace, and your life shall be spent in doing good to others, according to the Divine command.”