"She seemed so determined, and all I could say only made her more so;
yet I told her I was very fond of her... and she always seemed to
like me. Why should she be so determined?"
"I should have thought you would have guessed, Teresa."
Evelyn begged Veronica to explain, but the girl hesitated, looking at
her curiously all the time saying at last:
"It seems to me there can be only one reason for her leaving, and
that was because she believed you to be her counterpart."
"Her counterpart--what's that?"
"Have you been so long in the convent without knowing what a
counterpart is, Teresa? The convent is full of counterparts. Did you
never see one in the garden, in a shady corner? You spent many hours
in the garden. I am surprised. Are you telling the truth, Sister?"
Evelyn opened her eyes.
"Telling the truth! But do they come in the summer-time in the
garden, while the sun is out?"
"Yes, they do; and very often they come to one in the evening... but
more often at night."
Evelyn stood looking into Veronica's face without speaking, and at
that moment the bell rang.
"We have only just got time," Veronica said, "to get into chapel."
"What can she mean? Counterparts visiting the nuns in the twilight.
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