Page 111 of Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure
Then, when Ellie had given up hope, she received a letter:
Dear Madame Ellie,
I’m sure you are surprised to hear from me, but I felt I had to write to you. It took a long while for me to realize how very kind you were to me, how you took me in, a complete stranger, and believed in me when I was lying to you all the time and using you for my own ends. Now I feel so bad. When you met me I was not running away from home. I was fleeing from the police. They rounded up our gang, but I managed to escape. I saw your face at that garage, and you looked kind. Without your help, I don’t know what would have happened to me. I would have had my baby in prison, and she would have been taken from me. So you saved both of us.
It has taken me all this time to see what a fool I was. I met Pierre. He was handsome, and he flashed money around. I was from a poor home with a dismal future ahead and was immediately seduced by him. When I found out that he was in with a group of badmen, it was too late. Ali came for me to make sure I did not talk to the police or give anyone away.
He was very evil. At last the police caught up with him, and he is now in jail for many years. So I had a chance to take Jojo and go to an aunt, where we live today. Jojo is a lovely little girl, so pretty, so clever. You would be proud of her. And I am working hard to give her a good life.
I said once that you were an angel, and it’s true. You were.
A thousand thanks,
Your Jeanne-Marie (not Yvette)
Chapter 45
Nico started fishing again. He told Ellie he wasn’t good at doing nothing and missed the sea. He also bought a new speedboat, expecting the return of summer visitors, and demonstrated it to Ellie. “What do you think? Better than the last one?”
“Do you think we could go over to the island?” she asked. “I wonder if the abbot is back there yet? Don’t you think he would have written to us? I do hope he survived and regained his strength.”
“At least the monks will know,” Nico said. He turned the boat towards the island, and they sped forward. As they came up the steps, a monk threw down his gardening rake and hurried towards them.
“What do you want here?” he called. “No visitors except on the first Sunday of the month.”
“We’ve come to see the abbot,” Ellie said. “Abbot Gerard?”
The monk shook his head. “It is now Abbot Bernard,” he said.
“What happened to your last abbot?” Nico asked.
“We heard he almost died and was very sick. Abbot Bernard will know more. Was Abbot Gerard a relative?”
“A dear friend,” Ellie said.
“Ah. I see. Please follow me.”
He hadn’t gone far when they saw a large man striding towards them. He had a round, bald head and an impressive paunch under his black habit. “What is this, Brother Matthieu? Who are these people?”
“Visitors asking about Abbot Gerard, Father Abbot.”
The big man reached them, staring at them with such dislike that Ellie shrank closer to Nico.
“We were good friends of Abbot Gerard,” she said. “My husband and Abbot Gerard were part of a team that transported Jewish men to safety. Nicolas and the abbot were both shot and left for dead, but Nicolas managed to bring them both to shore in Corsica, as I’m sure you’ve heard.”
“I did hear and do not approve. His reckless acts put the whole abbey at risk,” he said.
Ellie wanted to say that his acts saved some good men and she was sure Jesus would have approved, but she swallowed back the words. “Do you know where he is now?” Ellie asked. “We should like to write to him.”
“When I last heard, he had been transported to the motherhouse. They will know. Now, it is almost time for Compline. I bid you good day. Show these people back to their boat, brother, and please do not disturb our peace again.”
“I hope the monks appreciate what they have now,” Nico said as he helped Ellie back into the boat. Ellie looked back at the island as they sped away. She would now never need to go there again.
They returned home and Ellie wrote to the motherhouse. She received a reply almost immediately:
My dear Ellie,
I can’t tell you what a joy it was to receive your letter and to know that you and Nico are well and happy. He talked of you so frequently when we lay in hospital. I could see how fond he was of you. I, too, thought of you often and prayed for you daily. I have finally recovered enough to return to my order, although not to my former position. It is thought that I would lack the stamina to run the show, as they say. Instead they want me to stay on here as librarian, aquiet and peaceful existence until one day I am back to full strength.
