World Without End Page 0,477

she looked at Philemon - "had fled like cowards?"

Henri held up a hand to stifle Philemon's indignant response. "We may be fallible but, all the same, it is only through the church and its priests that men and women may approach God."

"You would think that, of course," Caris said. "But that doesn't make it right."

"You're a devil!"

Canon Claude intervened. "All things considered, my lord bishop, a public quarrel between yourself and Caris would not be helpful." He gave her a friendly smile. He had been well disposed towards her ever since the day she had caught him and the bishop kissing and had said nothing about it. "Her present non-cooperation must be set against many years of dedicated, sometimes heroic service. And the people love her."

Henri said: "But what if we do release her from her vows? How would that solve the problem?"

At this point, Merthin spoke for the first time. "I have a suggestion," he said.

Everyone looked at him.

He said: "Let the town build a new hospital. I will donate a large site on Leper Island. Let it be staffed by a convent of nuns quite separate from the priory, a new group. They will be under the spiritual authority of the bishop of Shiring, of course, but have no connection with the prior of Kingsbridge or any of the physicians at the monastery. Let the new hospital have a lay patron, who would be a leading citizen of the town, chosen by the guild, and would appoint the prioress."

They were all quiet for a long moment, letting this radical proposal sink in. Caris was thunderstruck. A new hospital... on Leper Island... paid for by the townspeople... staffed by a new order of nuns... having no connection with the priory...

She looked around the group. Philemon and Sime clearly hated the idea. Henri, Claude and Lloyd just looked bemused.

At last the bishop said: "The patron will be very powerful - representing the townspeople, paying the bills and appointing the prioress. Whoever plays that role will control the hospital."

"Yes," said Merthin.

"If I authorize a new hospital, will the townspeople be willing to resume paying for the tower?"

Madge Webber spoke for the first time. "If the right patron is appointed, yes."

"And who should it be?" said Henri.

Caris realized that everyone was looking at her.

A few hours later, Caris and Merthin wrapped themselves in heavy cloaks, put on boots and walked through the snow to the island, where he showed her the site he had in mind. It was on the west side, not far from his house, overlooking the river.

She was still dizzy from the sudden change in her life. She was to be released from her vows as a nun. She would become a normal citizen again, after almost twelve years. She found she could contemplate leaving the priory without anguish. The people she had loved were all dead: Mother Cecilia, Old Julie, Mair, Tilly. She liked Sister Joan and Sister Oonagh well enough, but it was not the same.

And she would still be in charge of a hospital. Having the right to appoint and dismiss the prioress of the new institution, she would be able to run the place according to the new thinking that had grown out of the plague. The bishop had agreed to everything.

"I think we should use the cloister layout again," Merthin said. "It seemed to work really well for the short time you were in charge."

She stared at the sheet of unmarked snow and marvelled at his ability to imagine walls and rooms where she could see only whiteness. "The entrance arch was used almost like a hall," she said. "It was the place where people waited, and where the nuns first examined the patients before deciding what to do with them."

"You would like it larger?"

"I think it should be a real reception hall."

"All right."

She was bemused. "This is hard to believe. Everything has turned out just as I would have wanted it."

He nodded. "That's how I worked it out."

"Really?"

"I asked myself what you would wish for, then I figured out how to achieve it."

She stared at him. He had said it lightly, as if merely explaining the reasoning process that had led him to his conclusions. He seemed to have no idea how momentous it was to her that he should be thinking about her wishes and how to achieve them.

She said: "Has Philippa had the baby yet?"

"Yes, a week ago."

"What did she have?"

"A boy."

"Congratulations. Have you seen him?"

"No. As