“That’s good. The Abbess said so.”
Freya snorted. “Shedoes not likeme.Ye should have heard the lecture she gave me when I came back two days ago. I’ve never had such a scolding in my life.”
Kyla gave a peal of laughter. “Oh, aye, she’s stern, all right. Stern but fair. She always says that life is not fair, and so it’s up to us to make it so. And shedoeslike ye.”
“How can ye tell?”
“Oh, I just can. Now, let’s get going, or we’ll be on this all day.”
Obediently, Freya picked up the scrubbing brush and got back to work. It was difficult work, hard on the hands and back, but she copied the way Kyla knelt, and it eased the discomfort a little.
They’d been provided with thick, padded floor pads to kneel upon, to prevent aching, damaged knees over time. They progressed across the floor, the stone flags left shiny and damp in their wake. Freya began to lose herself in the rhythmic sameness of the work, mind wandering wherever it wanted.
Brendan came to mind.
This wasn’t the first time she’d found herself thinking of him for no reason. Her chest clenched, as always, in mingled excitement and humiliation at their kiss, and the rejection which had followed.
But he kissedme,she thought, a little petulantly.And then rejected me straight after. That can’t be fair.
What was it the Abbess told Kyla? That if life isn’t fair, we should make it so?
Freya sat back on her heels again, back aching, and wiped a film of sweat from her forehead.
At that moment, footsteps sounded, along with muffled voices. The Abbess appeared, followed by a cluster of nuns, all talking quietly and urgently. The Abbess led them carefully around the edges of the room, taking care not to walk on the freshly cleaned floor.
“Hold on a moment,” Freya whispered to Kyla. “I have to talk to her.”
“Freya, wait, no?—”
She didn’t listen. Abandoning her scrubbing brush and bucket, Freya scurried across the floor, feet skidding on the smooth flags.
“Abbess, can I speak with ye?”
The cluster of nuns came to a halt, some of them staring disapprovingly at her. Freya spotted Sister Rosemary among them.
“I should have known,” Sister Rosemary said, resigned. “Ever since ye fell in with Senga, Kyla, and Astrid, she’s been a pure menace.”
There was a murmuring of agreement, and a few smothered smiles. Freya bit back a sigh. Already, it was clear that the three girls were the pets and babies of the convent, loved by all the exasperated nuns. It felt… well, it felt like a family. A real family.
“Ye cannot talk with the Abbess now,” Sister Rosemary said, probably more kindly than Freya deserved. “We have business. Make an appointment to see her later, eh, lass?”
“It’s all right,” the Abbess spoke up, eyes fixed shrewdly on Freya. “Ye all go on ahead, and I’ll meet ye in my study. Freya and I will walk behind, and talk about whatever’s on her mind.”
There was a murmuring of agreement, and the nuns glided away without another word.
Silence fell over the hall. The Abbess folded her hands, gesturing with her head for Freya to follow her into a nearby corridor.
“What worries ye, daughter?” she asked, not unkindly. “I’ve heard that ye are not happy with yer chores, or being kept in the convent. I hope ye understand that it is for yer own safety. If ye insist on leaving, we will not stop ye, no matter what danger it would bring to us.”
Freya flushed. “No, it’s… it’s not that. I know why I’m being kept inside, and I would do nothing to bring danger here. As to the chores, I did complain a wee bit, but Iamdoing it.”
The Abbess chuckled. “I can’t ask for more than that, can I? There’s a passage in the bible about that, ye know.”
“Oh?”
“Aye. Two sons, each asked to work in the fields by their father. One son promised his father that he would do it, but then stayed inside and never kept his word. The second son refused to do what his father asked, but later felt guilt and went out into thefields anyway, and worked all day. Which one do ye think did the right thing?”
“The second, I suppose.”
