It was raining when Giovanni and Monsignor Saracinesca rang at the door of the Convent.

The Mother Superior had ordered two rush-bottomed chairs to be brought out of the hall and placed under the shelter of the cloister just on one side of the glass door; for Sister Giovanna was to receive a visit, as she explained, from an officer who had known her father and had business with her.

Such things had happened before in the community, and the lay sister was not surprised.

She carried the chairs out and set them in what she considered a proper position, about two yards apart and both facing the garden.

The rain fell softly and steadily, the sky was of an even dove-grey, and the smell of the damp earth and the early spring flowers filled the cloister.
Giovanni was a soldier and would impose his military punctuality upon the prelate, who, like most churchmen, had a clearer idea of eternity than of definite time.