The Corner That Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner

Author:Sylvia Townsend Warner [Warner, Sylvia Townsend]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Historical, Medieval, Women, Religious
ISBN: 9781681373881
Google: _eF_DwAAQBAJ
Publisher: New York Review of Books
Published: 2019-09-10T07:00:00+00:00

IX

THE FISH-POND

(July 1374–September 1374)

Sooner or later, everyone has his turn. During that spring and summer the nuns of Oby noticed that the prioress was making a favourite of Dame Alice. Dame Alice noticed it herself: she had sharp eyes. There was a certain sharpness in her gratification too. She had been a nun of Oby since 1358, always cheerful, always obliging, and bringing in a tidy little profit by her marzipan: it seemed to her high time that her merits should be acknowledged. Perhaps the merits might have been acknowledged more flatteringly. However much one may boast oneself as being just practical and sensible, one would like (if only for a change) to be commended for something more celestial. But the prioress continued to express pleasure in Dame Alice’s common sense, candour, and lack of imagination, so Dame Alice continued to manifest common sense and lack of imagination.

Dame Alice was the first nun to be told that the bishop had fixed on the second week in September for the date of his Visitation.

‘Which gives us nine weeks to prepare in, dear Mother.’

‘I think we will entertain him quite modestly. He is said to be very austere. If he seems vexed we can always explain that we are living in a poor way because of our debt.’

Dame Alice said concurringly: ‘Goose?’

‘Goose, I suppose. Goose with forcemeat. And some fish, something out of our own fish-pond. And some sweet eggs with whipped cream. And your marzipan, of course. If he says it is too much we can explain that it is only what the manor provides. In fact, we had better say at the start that it is all home-grown, no bought dainties. And the quire must concentrate on singing loudly and pronouncing the words plainly, for they say he is rather deaf.’

‘And Sir Ralph?’

‘Yes, he must be tidied up. But he looks more creditable now that his hair is so grey.’

After a pause Dame Alice said: ‘And the Widow Figg?’

Though she kept her voice level, and said no more than any of the others might have said, a View-Halloo sounded through the words. The prioress coloured angrily, but she said with a laugh: ‘The Widow Figg is a corrodian, so we can keep her in a cupboard till he’s gone.’

She began to speak of their debts again – more philosophically than she was wont to do – saying that they were no worse than anyone else’s, and that they had the spire to show for it, which was more than most houses could put forth in extenuation. They walked up and down in the sunshine, dashed by the shadows of the martins hawking round the spire, and nothing more was said of Sir Ralph and the Widow Figg. But as the bell sounded and they turned towards the quire door Dame Alice exclaimed: ‘Do not say I have not warned you, dear Mother!’

It was plain enough what the woman meant. A new-broom bishop who slept on a mat would certainly take exception to a convent priest living in fornication with the convent’s corrodian.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.