Page 64 of Love Set Apart
“Hopefully they dinna turn her into a nun overnight,” Edna said with a laugh.
Robert was a bit more serious. “Do ye believe they would?”
“Of course no’. She only just arrived,” Edna assured him.
They dismounted their horses, leaving them to graze on the lush grasses of the abbey.
Finding the gate latched from the inside, Angus rang a bell that was hung nearby. “Hello!”
A moment later the gate opened and they were greeted by a young nun. “Yes. What can I do for you?”
“We’re looking for a young lady who may have arrived here yesterday.”
“Just a moment please.” She disappeared through the gate, closing it behind her.
“They seem overly cautious, doona ye think?” Edna said.
The gate opened again and they were ushered in. “This way.”
The nun led them to an office where the abbess was seated behind her desk. “You are looking for Emilie Toussaint, is that correct?”
“Aye, that’s right,” Edna said.
"She is not here,” the abbess said.
“What do ye mean? She must have arrived yesterday.”
“She did, but she escaped through an unlocked gate.”
“How long ago was that?” Robert asked, his voice filled with worry.
“Sometime after evening prayers.”
“She couldnae have gone far,” Edna said. “She’s on foot.”
“Someone met her at the gate and took her away. One of our nuns was nearby at the time and saw them. I assumed it was the man she said she was to marry.”
“That isnae possible. I am the man she was to marry,” Robert said.
The abbess seemed quite confused by this, which made Edna more uneasy than she already was.
“Who could it be?” Angus asked. “She wouldnae ken anyone all the way out here.”
“May we speak with the nun who saw them?” Edna asked. Something was off here and she intended to get to the bottom of it.
“If you wait here, I’ll get her for you.” The abbess left them alone in her office.
“I doona like this,” Robert said, pacing the room. “She could be miles ahead of us by now.”
“I cannae imagine she would go with someone on her own. She would ken that to be dangerous,” Edna said.
“If she was desperate enough, she may have been willing to take the risk,” Angus added.
The abbess returned with a young nun who seemed determined to hide behind the abbess.
“This is Sister Therese,” the abbess introduced the nun to them, moving out of the way so she could be seen.
Edna immediately noticed that she was quite nervous and wondered if they’d get anything out of her with the abbess standing by.
