He felt a strange wish to hear more, although he believed the wish to be sin, and strove against it might and main.

Some of the passages clung tenaciously to his memory, and he fell asleep repeating them.

When he woke the words were yet in his mind, and they seemed to get between him and the words of his task that day when the boys went to their tutor for daily instruction.
Brother Emmanuel had never found Edred so inattentive and absent before.

He divined that the boy must have something on his mind, and let him alone.

He was not surprised that he lingered when the others had gone, and then in a low voice asked his preceptor if he would meet him in the chantry, as he felt he could not be happy till he had made confession of a certain matter, done penance, and received absolution.
A request of that sort never met a denial from the monk.