“Father Damien wants to see you. Get changed.” The woman never had anything positive to say. Fortunately, she kept the bad news short even if it did create anxious fear more than supply information. Sara had begun to make a study of how the woman inspired obedience with so little effort. Nora was positively terrified of her. Though the garden was walled in and had no real hiding places, whenever Mother Superior opened the massive church door, the area turned deserted in an instant. Every girl cowered down next to her work so far as to be invisible. But not Sara. Maybe it was arrogance or maybe defiance—it didn’t really matter. Sara would not be the scared, submissive girl the church expected. Mother Superior followed Sara like a demon shadow down the hallway. Girls scurried to the far side of their rooms as they passed. The old woman stood in the doorway as Sara pulled out her robe of punishment. This wasn’t the first time she’d been summoned and certainly wouldn’t be the last.
