No single parishioner dreamed of calling her friend.

But when they referred to her, it was always with a cautious and respectful reticence.

For one thing, she was the daughter of their chief man, the man they most esteemed and loved.

For another, reservations they may have had in their souls about her touched close upon a delicately sore spot.

It could not escape their notice that their Protestant neighbors were watching her with vigilant curiosity, and with a certain tendency to wink when her name came into conversation along with that of Father Forbes.