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.“Do you think that he will make me with child? Do you think his seed grows in me already? Do you think that a child of his get will bruise me as much, kicking in my womb? Do you?""If that is what you want, then doubtless it will be what the Devil gives you,” Mère Léonie said harshly, starting away from the door.“You will be confined here until morning.You will come on your hands and knees, naked as you are, to beg a crust of bread and a cup of water from your Sisters, who will be told not to speak to you.That is how it will be until you confess.""Until I confess?” Seur Aungelique demanded with another burst of derision.“I do not confess anything.I take pride in being as God made me, and I will not defile His handiwork with false repentance.Surely God knew what He was doing when He brought me into the world.If I am to be the plaything of the Devil, it is His plan to make me such.Else why do I resist Him as I do? Well? Have you no answer to that, Mère Léonie?"The Superior studied Seur Aungelique, her face like a mask of saintly acceptance.“If Our Lord intends you to be an example to the Sisters here, then we must learn from you, I suppose.But that will not change anything I have ordered.You will have to learn to deal with this as best you can."As the door closed on her, Seur Aungelique called out, “If there is a demon here, if the Devil comes to me, there are no doors strong enough to keep him out, and I will not resist him, you may be sure of that!"Mère Léonie turned to the two nuns who had stood just out of sight.“Seur Adalin, Seur Morgance, guard her.If she harms herself, let me know of it at once.Otherwise ignore everything you hear.Think of the travail of Our Lord, if you find it difficult to shut out her ravings, but do not let yourselves be tempted by that.woman!"The two nuns bowed their heads in submission to Mère Léonie's commands, though both of them already listened to the cries that came from behind the bolted door.* * * *Pierre braced his feet apart and glared at Mère Léonie.“How could this happen? How could you let her.do such things?” He had been silent for the first part of Mère Léonie's explanation of the latest crisis Seur Aungelique had brought to the convent, but he had become more and more aggravated as the Superior spoke, and finally could contain himself no longer."I have little say in the matter,” Mère Léonie said, spreading her hands out to signify her helplessness.“You see that I am unable to stop these.events, do you not?""I see that Aungelique is writhing about like a gaffed fish and screaming like one demented, and you can do nothing but pray!” This outburst shamed him, but once started, he could not hold himself back.“What is wrong with you, woman, that you permitted this to get so far out of hand? Can you answer me? Do you know what her father would do if he saw her? She would be sent to a dungeon and chained to the wall, with the rest of the lunatics, and the Pope would withhold his permission for marriage dispensation for the whole family.They cannot have such a thing to happen to them, not after the Plague and war have brought so many of them low.You know that Aungelique had been his only hope, and now she is making love to the Devil!” He stared hard at her, then looked away quickly, thinking that he did not want to be attracted to the woman again.He had suffered enough from his obsession with her, and now he wished only to have her become less than a child to him."What should I do? Should I beat her? You have seen her body, and those dreadful bruises and cuts were left by the Devil, or so she claims.""Not the Devil.She says it was Thibault Col who came to her, and who will come again.” This was grudgingly said, as if he wanted to dispute everything Mère Léonie revealed."The Devil can take many forms, and the demons he sends are as likely to be women as men.Why would they be ugly, Sieur le Duc? Why would they not be comely, in the likeness of those who are good to look upon?"Pierre stared hard at her again.“God would not allow such treason,” he said, but was dissatisfied with his remark."Our Lord.” She stopped, smiling strangely.“Think of the treason that cast Our Lord down into Hell.And he was the most favored of all, was he not? God did not spare him.Why should He spare a vocationless nun?"There was nothing that Pierre could give to refute Mère Léonie, and it was infuriating for him.He came a few impetuous steps nearer.“I will say this once to you, Mère Léonie, and you had better listen to me.Aungelique's father intends that she will marry, and marry she shall, if she must be tied and gagged like a felon awaiting execution.But if she goes that way to the altar, you will be sent from here to the most remote part of France to say your prayers to rocks and snow.D'Ybert is a vidame and the Pope will listen to him, since his vidames are all that stand between him and the Deviltry of Rome."If this threat worried Mère Léonie, it was not apparent in her demeanor, which remained tranquil.“You must do as your oaths bind you to do, Sieur le Duc, as I must abide by mine.Our Lord will send me where I am wanted, and it matters not what vidame and Pope do, for they are in the hands of Our Lord, as is everyone in the earth."Pierre crossed himself and growled an “Amen,” before resuming his argument.“You have a little time, and you had best use it well.When I return for that girl, she must not be clinging to me and reaching for my balls.Is that plain?""Of course,” Mère Léonie said with the same calm tone she had used all through their conversation.“And if there is nothing I can do? If she is correct, and she was made wanton, then how do you wish me to treat her? Do you want us to find a village youth to indulge her, to sate her with the lust of his flesh so that she may be sent peaceably to her bridal bed? Or shall we keep her confined and raving? You have only to tell me what you require and it will be done.” She stood up, smoothing her habit.Pierre's eyes followed the paths of her hands over her small breasts and down her lithe body
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