"I remember she punished me once, when I was about seven and persisted in talking about the convent--I suppose I had forgotten it for a time in the new life, and something brought it back to me.

But it is the most vivid memory of my childhood.

Do you think I could have been one of those uncanny children that live in a dream world?
I hope not.

I like to think I am quite normal and full to the brim of common sense." He had laughed and told her not to worry.

He had lived in a dream world himself when he was little.
The conviction grew upon him as he sat there that Helene had spent the first five years of her life at the Ursuline Convent in St.Peter.