He would have preferred another aspect in his foe.
"We have brought all things needful for a rigorous search," answered the prior.

"We hope and trust nothing will be needed.

Is it true that there are secret hiding places in the house, my son?
It would be well, perhaps, to visit any such first." "There be two," answered Sir Oliver quietly, though his heart beat rather fast.

What if Brother Emmanuel had learned the secret of either of those places, and had sought refuge in one?
True, it would have been worse than useless to deny their existence.

Many in the household knew of them and how they might be entered.
Probably the prior or some of his monks had the trick of those chambers by heart.