The Shattered Rose Page 0,118

it held, and he braced his hips against the top. A glance showed him nuns milling in the cloister gardens, and no one in the herb garden.

He swung over and dropped, ducking immediately into a corner behind a fragrant bush.

Wailing pinpointed Aline on the other side of the cloister, and a burst of exclamations and chatter implied a large gathering. Raoul hoped that soon the matter would be taken inside one of the buildings. It was going to be a little difficult to sneak close to Jehanne's cell with the whole convent gathered in the cloister garden.

Then he realized that they might bring Aline into the infirmary. Time to get out of here. He followed the first part of their plan, slipping into the infirmarian's workroom, through the thankfully unused infirmary itself, toward the convent's chapel.

There was no way to know what was beyond the solid door, but he'd be surprised if the altar were left completely unattended. The door would probably open into the side of the altar so that the sick could see the Mass.

He could only hope it was far enough away from anyone keeping vigil there.

He took a deep breath, eased down the latch, and pulled it open a finger- length.

Two nuns knelt in prayer in front of the altar, but their heads were bowed and the door was slightly behind them and in shadow. Raoul didn't think they would notice him unless he made a noise. Thanking God that the door itself was silent, he opened it wide enough to slip through, closed it, then moved quickly down against the chapel wall to the main doors at the end.

This, however, was already farther than Aline's knowledge could guide him, and he hadn't seen the chapel door from the cloister. He might open it and be in full view of the community. He didn't think so, for even if they were still in the garden, they should be at the far side, but there was no guarantee.

Raoul shrugged. It had always been his way to make the best plan possible, then carry it through without further fretting. He carefully opened the door far enough to look.

Ah. God be praised. The chapel entrance was guarded by a deep porch set upon stone pillars. The space between the pillars provided excellent concealment from most directions. Raoul went through the door, again closing it neatly behind him, and moved between two pillars to consider his next move.

This was undoubtedly the tricky part.

Leaning out, he saw a cluster of black and white through the flowering bushes. That must be the nuns around Aline.

Why, by Saint Sever, didn't they take her inside somewhere?

He waited, counting slowly, but nothing changed. Oh, well, their attention seemed so focused on Aline, he'd have to take his chances.

The porch opened into the cloister walk, which went around all four sides of the garden. The walk itself was deep, roofed, and fronted by pillared arches so that in the sunlight it was deeply shadowed. With luck, even if one of the nuns saw him, they'd see just a shadowy figure and assume him to be one of the community.

Raoul walked normally, therefore, as he left the porch, turned right, and headed toward Jehanne's room. He wasn't actually intending to go to her door, since it was too close to the nuns and would be locked. He had his eye open for a passage through to the back of the rooms. He could talk to Jehanne through the small window.

Unfortunately, he didn't find any passageway at all.

It didn't seem right to curse in a religious house, but he did it anyway, silently. He couldn't go any farther, or he'd be too close to the chattering, exclaiming nuns. There didn't seem a lot of point in going back.

There had to be a way to other parts of the convent, but it must be through one of the many doors.

Which door?

He was trying to decide, when Jehanne took a hand. She suddenly started calling, "Someone! What is going on? Is that Aline? What's happened?"

Then she thumped on her door. Hastily moving back toward the bend of the cloister, Raoul judged her alarm to be genuine, and quite reasonable. All she would be able to hear would be her cousin's cries.

As Raoul watched, a figure emerged from the huddle. The mother superior stalked over to Jehanne's door, pulling a key out of a pouch on her belt.

Opening the door, she snapped, "Compose yourself, Lady Jehanne. Your foolish cousin has returned,