揑 need not be reminded of your concerns,?the abbess interrupted and said. 揂 majority wanted the panel destroyed.?
揘o one wanted anyone to die,?another said.
Claire faced the older woman. 揙f course not. Sister Rachel sacrificed herself to ensure those images came into our possession. I doubt she thought the police would kill her. Merely arrest her. What happened was their fault, not hers, or ours.?
Her voice stayed firm, the tone certain, and she meant every word.
揥e are not here to re-debate our previous decision,?the abbess made clear. 揟he Vestal and I have already had that discussion earlier. I am well aware how you, and she, feel. So please focus on the issue at hand.?
To be abbess was to be absolute ruler. That person could appoint and depose any of those beneath her. She decided if novices were to take their final vows and if maidens would continue in the order抯 service. She made every decision within the convent and was their mother in a great many ways, treated with the greatest reverence, the person they all turned to in time of trouble. The current abbess was regarded as a mild disciplinarian, refined, courteous, but firm almost to obstinacy. A lady of pleasant and easy speech, with a memory stored with anecdotes. She was university-educated and a competent manager of the order抯 affairs. Long ago it was learned that if a leader was capable, conscientious, and devoted, the collective prospered. Thankfully, the Maidens of Saint-Michael had always been blessed with competent leadership. And though Claire disagreed with the course taken, she抎 never doubted the abbess. Good thing. As this place harbored a great secret. And, when it came to that, no amount of clever scheming or economy of thought could counterbalance a bad leader. All who rose to be abbess had been the best of the best.
Herself included.
揊orgive us,?one of the women said. 揃ut it is hard to focus with Rachel dead.?
揥hat would you have had us do??the abbess said to the group, and seemingly straight to those who抎 voted no a month ago. 揝it back and allow the panel to be revealed? To be studied by every art expert in the world, including the Vatican? And not with a steady eye and a magnifying glass. But with the clarity of electronic high resolution. Nothing would have escaped detection. All its secrets would have been revealed. Is that what you wanted??
揥e are dealing with a work of art that was created six hundred years ago,?one of the maidens said. 揥hatever secrets existed within it are long forgotten. Meaningless. To everyone.?
揘ot everyone,?the abbess said. 揟he Vatican is always watching.?
揥e don抰 know that,?came the challenge. 揥hat we guard, what we protect, could well be one nobody cares about anymore.?
Exactly what Claire believed too, and a sizable portion of the women staring at her felt the same way. Not quite a majority, as yet. But a surprising number. She抎 long wondered if what they did still made sense, and Rachel抯 untimely death had brought her doubts into clearer focus. But she swept those doubts aside and, acting like the Vestal, said, 揥hether the Vatican or anyone else cares is irrelevant. What we all swore to do is the important matter. The vow we took before God. That is what we are obligated to follow. Perhaps I missed something, but the last I looked none of us have been released from that duty. The Just Judges was gone. Now it抯 back. The threat was gone. Now it抯 back. Whether we personally agree or not, we must deal with that.?
Her gaze bore in.
揑 do not dispute you,?one of the women said. 揃ut I do dispute the necessity for us to have acted in the manner in which we did. Patience was the better course.?
Many heads nodded in agreement.
And Claire did not disagree.
揥hat of our exposure??one of the others asked. 揝ister Rachel抯 body is within police jurisdiction. She can be identified.?
揟hankfully, nothing came of their search of the convent in Ghent,?the abbess said. 揧es, there is now a connection between the panel抯 destruction and us, but it抯 a tenuous one. Let抯 hope that the trail goes cold. All they have is the word of one man, as to what he may or may not have seen. And, yes, Rachel抯 identity could be learned, but that will take time.?
揥e have never been this vulnerable,?one of the women noted. 揑t is quite disconcerting.?
She agreed. And it was her fault.
揥e can only hope that the Vatican is not vigilant,?she said. 揃ut, as the abbess has said before, we have to assume, whether we personally agree or not, that they are.?
揂re we going to bring Rachel back??one of the women asked. 揝he is a maiden and we have never abandoned anyone.?
That duty traced itself all the way back to Joan of Arc, a maiden herself, whose remains were snatched from the smoldering pyre and brought back to the mountains where they抎 remained since 1431.