«And they have had a worthy pupil», Sister Iris Althea said graciously. «I wonder if you would be willing to try your hand at some fine copy work for the library? We have several volumes that have become finger-soiled and difficult to read, despite the reminders I give our girls to take care in their handling, and I have been wishing to replace them for some time».
Alyce allowed herself a shy smile, unused to being acknowledged for an adult accomplishment.
«I hope that I may be of assistance, Sister — if you truly think my work is good enough».
«Oh, 'tis more than good enough, child — or, I should say 'Lady Alyce, for this is not a child's work. As you come to know our library, you will find many manuscripts in regular use that are not nearly so fine». She smiled and gently cupped Alyce's cheek, smiling with genuine warmth. «I shall speak to Mother Judiana about you, dear. It seems that Lady Jessamy has brought us yet another treasure».
The very next day, Alyce was given her own carrel in the scriptorium, close to one of the fireplaces and near to a glazed window, though the winter sun offered little in the way of illumination. Still, there were candles aplenty, as many as she needed, and the space became a favorite personal haven in the days and months ahead. In time, it also became a place to tutor other students of promise, including her friend Zoë Morgan, whose quick wit and sense of humor often brightened her day.
Half a dozen others gradually admitted Alyce to their circles of more particular friends. Marie likewise found a few special friends with whom to share girlish confidences.
As for the rest, those who were indifferent at least were not hostile, and soon allowed the newcomers to settle into quite tolerable anonymity. The two sisters found that the school habit helped a bit, since everyone looked more or less the same, differing largely in height and girth and the color of the braids hanging from beneath each shoulder-length veil or kerchief.
Among the sisters, Alyce found somewhat more ready acceptance. Sister Iris Rose shifted from mere acquaintance to actual friend, as did Iris Mary; and Jessilde MacAthan became a friend as well. And ruling them all, Mother Judiana showed herself unfailingly benevolent, wise, and fair-minded.
The sole note of discord that gradually arose was the antipathy that soon developed between Alyce and the chaplain of whom they had been warned. There were three priests responsible for the community's spiritual well-being — offering daily Mass, hearing confessions, and teaching the odd catechism class or bit of church history in the convent school — and with two of them, she had no problem. The eldest, called Father Deuel, was a semi-invalid, and could be crotchety when his arthritis was bothering him, but seemed to embody everyone's idea of what the perfect uncle or grandfather should be: genuinely fond of all his charges, and inclined to turn an indulgent eye on all but the most serious transgressions.
The next in seniority, Father Benroy, was equally indulgent, with a fine calligraphic hand and failing eyesight that kept him mostly confined to the very close work of the scriptorium. Over the first few weeks of Alyce's regular presence there, the pair of them developed a cordial working relationship based on mutual respect for one another's artistry, and Benroy soon began to offer her extra tutelage.
The third man had none of the positive qualities of the first two: Father Septimus de Nore, who taught catechism, prepared the girls for Confirmation, and was known to be an extremely punctilious confessor, especially of Deryni. Only a few days after their arrival, Jessilde repeated Sister Iris Rose's warning, and stressed the importance of absolutely avoiding him at confession.
«He abuses his office, if there's any whiff of a Deryni 'taint’ — and you and I and Marie are more than merely tainted», Jessilde confided, during the hour of recreation the girls were allowed with the community before evening prayers. «There's nothing to be done about the classes he gives. He'll try to bait you, but you mustn't let yourself be drawn into argument with him. Eventually he'll win, whether he's right or not — and as a priest, he has the authority to make life difficult for us».
«That hardly seems fair», Alyce muttered. «Who does he think he is?»
Jessilde gave her a sidelong glance. «"Fair" has nothing to do with it, Alyce. He's the brother of a bishop — and moreover, a bishop who hates our kind. There's been many a burning in Carthane attributed to Oliver de Nore — and the two brothers are cut from the same cloth. If Father Septimus chooses to enforce the letter of law — and he usually does — he can be extremely difficult».
«He couldn't burn anyone — could he?» Alyce asked, shocked.
«Not here — and certainly not without cause that absolutely couldn't be ignored», Jessilde replied, with a shake of her head. «I'm sure that you would never be so foolish as to give him such cause.
«As for lesser transgressions — well, fortunately, Mother Judiana has enough rank to protect us usually». She cast a fond glance toward one of the fireplaces in the common room, where Judiana sat laughing and smiling with two other sisters and several of the older students. «She's a duke's daughter by birth — and the superior of Arc-en-Ciel always ranks as a baroness in her own right: one of the perquisites of it being a royal convent. We were founded by a Bremagni princess, you know».
Alyce nodded thoughtfully. «I knew that», she said vaguely. «But — is she really the daughter of a duke? I wonder that she'd be allowed to take the veil».
Jessilde laughed gently. «You don't yet know Mother very well. She's a very strong-minded woman, and a very kind and good one. But she comes from a very large family — two brothers and four sisters — so I'm sure her father was happy enough to see her enter the convent. I know he sent her with a handsome dowry. She was the favorite of his daughters, and she found her vocation at a very early age».
Alyce guessed that such a background probably would make Mother Judiana a very formidable opponent, if crossed. Fortunately, she soon learned that this formidable nature was focused on being advocate and defender for those in her charge, whether sister or pupil. Though Father Septimus blustered a great deal, and settled into a pattern of confrontations with Alyce in catechism class, his frustration only mounted as he discovered himself unable to follow through on any of his veiled threats.
«I don't expect that you are even capable of understanding the concept of redemption, Mistress de Corwyn», he muttered so that only Alyce could hear, one afternoon as she tried to slip out of his classroom after a particularly acrimonious class debate on salvation and redemption. «And I don't recall that I have ever seen you at confession. Of course, I would expect a soulless Deryni like yourself to avoid that sacrament whenever possible — and to lie, if you cannot. Your kind are damned anyway».
Alyce held her temper only with the greatest of effort. The rest of the class had already fled from the classroom, but the priest had moved between her and the doorway to block her escape. Beyond, she could see Zoë and Cerys lingering just outside the open door.
«With all respect, Father, you are, of course, entitled to your opinion», she said quietly. «However, Father Benroy is my confessor, not you, and will vouch for my faithfulness to my religious duties».
«You insolent hussy!» Septimus hissed, stepping closer and glaring down at her. «Pretending piety and innocence, when every word that passes your lips spreads corruption! I will check with him, you know».
«You are welcome to check with whomever you like», Alyce said evenly. «But the state of the soul you do not think I have is the affair of my confessor alone — and God, of course. But certainly not you. Good day to you, Father».
With that, she dropped him a curtsy — correct to the letter in technical exactitude but devoid of any genuine respect — and darted past him, seizing the arm of the astonished Zoë to propel her and Cerys on along the corridor. All three of them were shaking by the time they gained the safety of the cloister yard — though at least Father Septimus had not followed them.
«Alyce, you mustn't taunt him!» Cerys whispered, eyes wide. «He's a pompous idiot, and everyone here knows that, but his brother is a bishop».
«All true», Alyce agreed, «but he is not my confessor! And he can't excommunicate me just because I voiced an opinion differing from his».
«Don't be too certain of that», Zoë murmured.
But the matter seemed to drop there. There were no repercussions during the following week — and Father Septimus was coolly civil enough in class. Still, Alyce told Father Benroy about the incident, and Jessilde — and also Mother Judiana, when Jessilde urged her to go to the convent's superior.
Judiana heard the report in silence, making no pronouncement about the relative appropriateness of the behavior on both sides; but before summer's end, a new chaplain came to Arc-en-Ciel, a merry catechist called Father Malgar de Firenza, and Septimus de Nore found himself transferred to a prestigious parish in Cassan. Nothing was ever said of the circumstances behind this transfer, which had also been a promotion for Father Septimus, but all the community breathed a little easier for his departure.
That summer also brought a surprise visit of old friends from home: Sé Trelawney and Jovett Chandos, knighted the previous Twelfth Night in Rhemuth, who arrived bearing letters and gifts for the demoiselles de Corwyn from their brother and their father. With the two young knights came their old tutor from Castle Cynfyn, Father Paschal Didier.
The arrival of two handsome young men at Arc-en-Ciel set many a heart aflutter, even though the pair were allowed no farther than the guest parlor and chapel. The bearded Father Paschal inspired more thoughtful contemplation, elegant and somewhat exotic in his flowing black robes and the black, flat-topped cap of the R'Kassan clergy, with knotted prayer beads wrapped around one wrist.
The priest's visit came as something of a surprise, albeit a most welcome one. For while his previous remit ostensibly had been the religious and secular education of Corwyn's heirs, it also had included instruction in other disciplines apt to raise eyebrows in his charges' present circumstances — a resumption of which their father now proposed.
«The choice is yours, child, if you would rather I not proceed», Paschal told Alyce, when she and Marie had read the pertinent letter from their father and passed it on to Jessilde, who had brought them to this meeting in the guest parlor. Sir Se was standing with his back against the door, head bowed; Sir Jovett remained in the corridor outside the room, as further security against interruption.
«I will not deny that there is some small risk in what your father has asked», Paschal went on, «but both he and I believe the risk is acceptable. And Lady Jessilde, I have permission from your mother to include you in the instruction I give to Lady Alyce and Lady Marie, if you wish it».
«I don't understand», Jessilde murmured, her face pale beneath the white of her novice veil as she looked up from the letter. «How is this possible?»
«That one of our blood may validly wear this?» Paschal replied, briefly lifting the plain wooden priest's cross that hung against the breast of his black robes. «Let us merely observe that not all the world is like Gwynedd. I am Bremagni-born, though I was educated at Nur Sayyid and the R'Kassan seminary at Rhanamé. It is true that, even there, our kind must go warily, but perhaps because of the Torenthi royal house, the Eastern Patriarchate of Holy Mother Church has always been… 'flexible' regarding holy orders».
«Flexible?» Alyce said.
Paschal shrugged and smiled faintly. «One of the privileges — and duties — of the Patriarch of Torenth is to preside at the empowering of Torenthi kings», he said. «This requires certain… skills… that are nowhere to be found among Gwynedd's clergy.
«The Eastern Hierarchy acknowledges the usefulness of such skills, at least in moderation, but also recognizes the potential for much abuse, should their number come to be dominated by men who can wield such powers. To minimize this danger, Eastern canon law stipulates that human bishops must always constitute a majority within the hierarchy. Thus far, the measure has proven effective».
«A practical resolution of a very real human fear», Jessilde said thoughtfully, nodding agreement.
«Father Paschal, I can tell her about this later», Alyce said impatiently, finally daring to interrupt. «Are we to have a session today? How long can you stay?»
«Patience, child!» Paschal said with a laugh. «We have leave from your father to abide here for several days, and I have already explained to Mother Judiana concerning your father's wish that I brief you regularly about the state of affairs in Corwyn and Lendour. She has agreed. In return, I have offered to celebrate Mass tomorrow morning, to give respite to the chaplains of this house. But we shall need to be both concise and circumspect about your 'briefings, as you can imagine».
Marie, hitherto largely silent, glanced at Jessilde, concerned. «Is it safe for him to do this in a religious house?» she whispered, wide-eyed.
«So long as we exercise due caution, there should be little danger», Jessilde replied.
«Precisely», Paschal said. «To that end, I have been obliged to somewhat restructure my methods of instruction — and the presence of Sir Se and his companion should ensure that we are not disturbed without due warning. In the future, should they not be able to accompany me, I shall ask the three of you to keep watch, each in turn, while I work with the other — assuming, of course, that Sister Jessilde wishes to avail herself of my instruction», he added, with a glance at the young religious, who nodded.
«Excellent. In a moment, then, dear Sister, I shall need leave to probe behind your shields, so that I may assess your present level of ability. You will kindly prepare yourself. And Lady Alyce, you will come and sit beside me, please», he added, seating himself near the window and parting the bench beside him. «With your permission I should like to resume your training by imprinting a set of 'lessons' for you to contemplate until my next visit. Then I shall do the same for your sister — and also give you the 'briefing' that Mother Judiana expects you to receive, if not in the manner she expects».
Alyce smiled as she came and sat beside him as instructed, seizing his hand to kiss it in affection and respect.