Page 73 of The Herald's Heart
“Does she know this?”
“I’ve told her until my voice is sore.”
“Knowing is much more than being told. Look at all those who do not believe in God’s goodness despite hearing His word nearly every day.”
“So how do I make the lady trust me?”
“You cannot.”
The response took him aback. “What do you mean?”
“Even God cannot force faith from men. Belief must come willingly, without coercion, or ’tis worthless.”
“Lady Larkin said much the same.”
“Then she is wise beyond her years.”
“I want to earn her trust, Mother Clement.”
“Why?”
“I ... I need her.”
“The flowers need the rain, my son. Do they strive to earn the blessing of its fall?”
“You speak in riddles, madam.” They neared the gate, and Talon remained uneasy.
“No doubt it seems so to you. Think on what I have said. When you understand, you will have the answers you seek. Until then, be as the lilies of the field.”
She held out her hand for his kiss.
Talon knelt and made his obeisance, then stood.
“Before we part, Mother Clement, tell me about the anchoress.”
“What would you know, my son?”
“Who it is that she fears. And why does she believe herself the instrument of God’s justice?”
The abbess was silent for several moments. Just as Talon decided she would not answer, she spoke.
“Years ago, when she was a novice at the abbey—not an anchoress—the earl was one of several men who found her alone in the woods.”
“They hurt her?”
“Deeply. Her mind was so damaged that only intense prayer saved her from death at her own hand.”
Talon sucked in his breath. “Surely no woman of faith would commit so grievous a sin?”
“We cannot know. But I have seen sorrow and shame turn strong men to self-murder.”
The mention of murder made him pause. “No doubt she is right in believing herself to be God’s instrument, but do you think she did so deliberately?”
Mother Clement jerked to a stop, as if suffering a great shock. “You cannot think that she intentionally created those poisonous candles.”
Talon braced his legs and clasped his hands behind his back. “I don’t know what to think, Mother Clement. The earl was murdered. We know the instrument of his death. Of the people who had access to those candles, two, Father Timoras and Lady Larkin, have been proven innocent. I had not considered the anchoress, because, locked away as she is, I could not imagine how she would have gotten the itchweed.”
“And now you think she somehow escaped her anchorage to gather poisonous weeds with which to murder a man she had good reason to hate.”
