‘Where vocations are concerned it’s quality not quantity,’ Sister Joan quoted. ‘You’re sure about this?’
‘Very sure. I was engaged, you know,’ Bernadette said, lowering her voice. ‘He was such a nice person and I was very fond of him but being with him wasn’t enough.’
‘Was his name Julian?’
‘Yes, it is! How did you guess?’ Bernadette looked at her in surprise.
‘I’m psychic,’ Sister Joan said bluntly, thinking of the two young men who had travelled down to the area. Had they hoped to see Bernadette and persuade her out of her resolution? And had they changed their minds and gone away, leaving the girl to live her life as she wished? Then young Julian must have loved greatly. Sister Joan reminded herself to include young Julian in her prayers and turned to Bernadette again.
‘Go upstairs and have some refreshments. I have a task to perform before I join you,’ she said.
Sister Teresa’s bouquet lay on the bench by the chapel door. She picked up the sheaf of lilies and tiny, creamy rosebuds and carried them outside into the spring sunshine. Sister Elizabeth’s grave had a coating of short grass starred with daisies. She laid the flowers on it as Sister Teresa had requested and stood with bent head.
‘Sister Joan?’
‘Detective Sergeant Mill, how good to see you! Did you come to the ceremony?’ Turning at the sound of his voice she smiled at him.
‘I didn’t come to the ceremony. Not much in my line.’ He spoke almost curtly.
‘You’d look silly in a white dress,’ she said mildly.
‘Indeed I would! I wish Sister Teresa all the best, however. I came over to tell you that I’ve had a letter from Sylvia Dacre.’
‘How is she?’
‘Trying to rebuild her life. She really loved that nasty little piece of work.’
‘Yes, I know,’ Sister Joan said soberly. ‘What happens now?’
‘Magdalen Cole is trying to convince everybody she’s insane. It won’t wash, you know. She’ll get a hefty prison term, the longer the better as far as I’m concerned. You’ll have to give evidence but we’ll make it as low key as possible. That won’t be for months yet. Sylvia Dacre didn’t realize how dangerous Magdalen was until she got on her bike and came up to deliver that letter — well, rose, to the young woman. Magdalen told her that she’d killed Sister Elizabeth and Miss Dacre rode off in a blind panic. That must have been hard for her. Finding out that the person you’ve been wooing back with roses is a killer. I’ve a lot of sympathy for her.’
‘So have I,’ Sister Joan said. ‘Poor lady.’
‘So!’ He stood back a little, frowning slightly, then said abruptly, ‘What I really came to say was that my wife and I — well, we’ve decided to try to have another go at the marriage for the sake of the boys. I haven’t very high hopes but I’ll be doing my best. I wanted you to know.’
‘I’m truly delighted!’ Sister Joan’s face lit up. ‘Oh, I know you’re both doing the right thing. I do wish you both every happiness.’
‘Happiness? Well, maybe there’s a spark still to blow on. I’m grateful for your friendship, Sister.’
‘And I for yours, Detective Sergeant Mill. If you’ll excuse me now I have to get back to the celebrations. My best wishes.’
She had taken a couple of steps as he bent to the flowers and broke off a short-stemmed white rosebud.
‘Flowers for a nun?’ she said lightly as he handed her the bloom.
‘A rosebud for a pretty woman,’ he said. ‘It’s a shame it won’t ever grow into a full petalled rose.’
‘I’ll put it on the altar,’ Sister Joan said. ‘It’ll bloom there. God bless.’ And turning again, her step light, she went swiftly towards the chapel.
THE END
ALSO BY VERONICA BLACK
SISTER JOAN MYSTERY SERIES
Book 1: A Vow of Silence
Book 2: A Vow of Chastity
Book 3: A Vow of Sanctity
Book 4: A Vow of Obedience
Book 5: A Vow of Devotion
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GLOSSARY OF ENGLISH USAGE FOR US READERS
A & E: accident and emergency department in a hospital
Aggro: violent behaviour, aggression
Air raid: an attack in which bombs are dropped from aircraft on ground targets
Allotment: a plot of land rented by an individual for growing fruit, vegetable or flowers
Anorak: nerd (it also means a waterproof jacket)
Artex: textured plaster finish for walls and ceilings
A level: exams taken between 16 and 18
Auld Reekie: Edinburgh
Au pair: live-in childcare helper. Often a young woman.
Barm: bread roll
Barney: argument
Beaker: glass or cup for holding liquids
Beemer: BMW car or motorcycle
Benefits: social security
Bent: corrupt
Bin: wastebasket (noun), or throw in rubbish (verb)
Biscuit: cookie
Blackpool Lights: gaudy illuminations in seaside town
Bloke: guy
Blow: cocaine
Blower: telephone
Blues and twos: emergency vehicles
Bob: money
Bobby: policeman
Broadsheet: quality newspaper (New York Times would be a US example)
Brown bread: rhyming slang for dead
Bun: small cake
Bunk: escape, i.e. ‘do a bunk’
Burger bar: hamburger fast-food restaurant
Buy-to-let: buying a house/apartment to rent it out for profit
Charity shop: thrift store
Carrier bag: plastic bag from supermarket
Care home: an institution where old people are cared for
Car park: parking lot
CBeebies: kids TV
Chat-up: flirt, trying to pick up someone with witty banter or compliments
Chemist: pharmacy
Chinwag: conversation
Chippie: fast-food place selling chips and other fried food
Chips: French fries but thicker
CID: Criminal Investigation Department
Civvy Street: civilian life (as opposed to army)
Clock: punch
Cock-up: mess up, make a mistake
Cockney: a native of East London
Common: an area of park land or lower class
Comprehensive school (Comp.): high school
Cop hold of: grab
Copper: police officer
Coverall: coveralls, or boiler suit
CPS: Crown Prosecution Service, decide whether police cases go forward
Childminder: someone who looks after children for money
Council: local government
Dan Dare: hero from Eagle comic
DC: detective constable
Deck: one of the landings on a floor of a tower block
Deck: hit (verb)
Desperate Dan: very strong comic book character
DI: detective inspector
Digestive biscuit: plain cookie
Digs: student lodgings
Do a runner: disappear
Do one: go away
Doc Martens: heavy boots with an air-cushioned sole
Donkey’s years: long time
Drum: house
DS: detective sergeant
ED: emergency department of a hospital
Eagle: boys’ comic
Early dart: to leave work early
Eggy soldiers: strips of toast with a boiled egg
Enforcer: police battering ram
Estate: public/social housing estate (similar to housing projects)
Estate agent: realtor (US)
Falklands War: war between Britain and Argentina in 1982
Fag: cigarette
Father Christmas: Santa Claus
Filth: police (insulting)
Forces: army, navy and air force
FMO: force medical officer
Fried slice: fried bread
Fuzz: police
Garda: Irish police
Gendarmerie: French national police force
Geordie: from Newcastle
Garden centre: a business where plants and gardening equipment are sold
Gob: mouth, can also mean phlegm or spit
GP: general practitioner, a doctor based in the community
Graft: hard work
Gran: grandmother
Hancock: Tony Hancock, English comedian popular in 1950s
Hard nut: tough person
HGV: heavy goods vehicle, truck
HOLMES: UK police computer system used during investigation of major incidents
Home: care home for elderly or sick people
Hoover: vacuum cleaner
I’ll be blowed: expression of surprise
Inne: isn’t he
Interpol: international police organisation
Into care: a child taken away from their family by the social services
Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, applied to any strong woman
ITU: intensive therapy unit in hospital
Jane Doe: a person whose identity is unknown/anonymous
JCB: a mechanical excavator
Jerry-built: badly made
Jungle: nickname given to migrant camp near Calais
Lad: young man
Lass: young woman
Lift: elevator
Lord Lucan: famous aristocrat who allegedly killed his children’s nanny and disappeared in 1974. Has never been found.
Lorry: truck
Lovely jubbly: said when someone is pleased
Luftwaffe: German air force
M&S: Marks and Spencer, a food and clothes shop
Miss Marple: detective in a series of books by Agatha Christie
MOD: Ministry of Defence
Mobile phone: cell phone
MP: Member of Parliament, politician representing an area
MRSA: A strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Myra Hindley: famous British serial killer
Naff: lame, not good
Naff all: none
National Service: compulsory UK military service, ended in 60s
Net curtains: a type of semi-transparent curtain
NHS: National Health Service, public health service of UK
Nick: police station (as verb: to arrest)
Nowt: nothing
Nutter: insane person
Nursery: a place which grows plants, shrubs and trees for sale (often wholesale)
O level: exams taken between 14 and 16
Old bag: old woman (insulting)
Old Bill: police
OTT: over the top
Owt: anything
Pants: noun: underwear adjective: bad/rubbish/terrible
Para: paratrooper
Pay-as-you-go: a cell phone you pay for calls in advance
PC: police constable
Pear-shaped: gone wrong
Petrol: gasoline
Pictures: movie
Pillbox: a concrete building, partly underground, used as an outpost defence
Pillock: fool
Pips: police insignia indicating rank
Piss off: as exclamation, go away (rude), can also mean annoy.
Pissing down: raining
Playing field: sports field
Pleb: ordinary person (often insulting)
Portakabin: portable building used as temporary office etc.
Post: mail
Planning Department: the local authority department which issues licences t
o build and develop property
PNC: police national computer
PSNI: Police Service of Northern Ireland
Prat: silly idiot
Premier League: top English soccer division
Proms: annual concerts held at the Albert Hall
Public analyst: scientists who perform chemical analysis for public protection purposes
RAF: Royal Air Force
Rag: newspaper
Ram-raiding: robbery where a vehicle is rammed through a shop window
Randy: horny
Recce: reconnaissance
Red Adair: famous oil well firefighter
Resus: resuscitation room
Right state: messy
Ring: telephone (verb)
Roadworks: repairs done to roads
Rozzers: police
RSPB: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
RTC: road traffic collision
RV: rendezvous point
Royal Engineers: British army corps dealing with military engineering etc.
Rugger: rugby (posh American football)
Sarge: sergeant
SCO19: Specialist Crime and Operations Specialist Firearms Command
Scrote: low life
Section: to have someone committed to a mental hospital under UK mental health laws
Semi: semi-detached house, a house with another house joined to it on one side only
Shedload: a large amount
Shop: store
Shout the odds: talk in a loud bossy way
Sickie: day off work pretending to be ill
Sixth-form college: school for high school students in final two years
SIO: senior investigating officer
Skell: tramp or homeless person
Skip: a large open container used for building waste
Slapper: slag
Smackhead: heroin addict
Snout: police informer