The Queen of the Valley by Lorena Hughes

Author:Lorena Hughes [Hughes, Lorena]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2023-06-05T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 24

Puri

I didn’t know what time it was—or whether it was day or night—when Sor Camila woke me up. I sat up and looked about the room. A sliver of light was filtering through the gap in the curtains. Beside me were the two other nurses who worked the night shift.

Sor Camila stood by my bed, her hands crossed over her midsection.

“Padre José María is here,” she said.

I’d yet to meet the parish priest. Apparently, he’d been sick himself and hadn’t been able to come see us until he got better. So far, the religious aspect of my disguise had not been too complicated being that we’d been so busy and Sor Camila and I had different schedules, but I knew she expected me to pray and communicate with God at least once a day during the Grand Silence, as she called it, which I mostly used to sit in the small improvised chapel she called “oratory,” and analyze all the clues to the puzzle surrounding Martin’s disappearance. Good thing I’d been raised Catholic so some of these concepts were not completely foreign to me. Still, I was nervous to meet the priest. Did nuns confess the same way as other mortals did? Or was there some kind of code I needed to learn? I’d been taught some Latin during elementary school, but I’d barely paid any attention and my mother had practically dragged me to mass on Sundays as I’d rather stay home practicing my grandmother’s chocolate recipes.

Religion had always been too ethereal for me. For as long as I could remember, I wanted to experience life, not listen to a priest talk about it and then give me a set of rules to live by.

But now I was confronted with the realities of my farce.

I was pretending to be a nun, but I was expected to act like one.

“What time is it?” I said.

“Ten in the morning.”

I’d only slept three hours today, but I couldn’t complain. This mess was my own doing. I nodded and stood up.

“Sister . . .” Camila said. “I’d like to have a word with you first. I’ll wait outside for you to get ready.”

I didn’t like her tone. Perhaps she suspected I wasn’t a nun. Who knew how many mistakes I’d made along the way? There seemed to be so many codes of conduct and expectations. It wasn’t just about donning the habit.

Sor Camila was waiting for me in the hall, her expression unreadable.

“Sor Puri, it has come to my attention that you and Mr. Ferreira have been spending time together outside your regular nursing duties.” The light shone bright on her face, displaying a perfect complexion. What could have prompted such a beautiful woman to turn to God instead of a man? Perhaps her family had forced her. She might not have had enough of a dowry for a good marriage. “He said you shaved his beard. That is absolutely not in the scope of duties of a Sierva de María. Neither should you engage in idle chat with him.

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