Act V - Scene I

MOTHER MARGUERITE, SISTER MARTHA, SISTER CLAIRE, and other SISTERS.

[They go out. DE GUICHE and ROXANE come forward in silence, and stop close to the embroidery frame.]

SISTER MARTHA:
[to MOTHER MARGUERITE] Sister Claire has looked in the mirror not just once but twice today to see how her head-dress looks on her!
MOTHER MARGUERITE:
[to SISTER CLAIRE] That's not good.
SISTER CLAIRE:
But I saw Sister Martha steal a plum out of the tart!
MOTHER MARGUERITE:
[to SISTER MARTHA] That was a bad deed, my sister.
SISTER CLAIRE:
Just a little glance!
SISTER MARTHA:
And just a little plum!
MOTHER MARGUERITE:
I'll tell this to Monsieur Cyrano.
SISTER CLAIRE:
Oh, please don't! He'll make fun of us!
SISTER MARTHA:
He'll say that we nuns are vain!
SISTER CLAIRE:
And greedy!
MOTHER MARGUERITE:
[smiling] Yes, and kind!
SISTER CLAIRE:
Is it not true, Mother Marguerite, that he has come to the convent every Saturday for ten years?
MOTHER MARGUERITE: Yes, and even longer than that. Ever since the day his cousin was brought here, wearing her widow's veil among our white habits and looking like a blackbird among a flock of white doves. That was fourteen years ago now.
SISTER MARTHA:
He's the only one who can distract her from the terrible grief she still feels every day.
ALL THE SISTERS:
He's so funny!—It's cheerful when he comes!—He teases us!—We like him so much!—He enjoys our pastries!
SISTER MARTHA:
But he is not a faithful Catholic!
SISTER CLAIRE:
We will convert him!
THE SISTERS:
Yes! Yes!
MOTHER MARGUERITE:
I forbid you to attempt that, my daughters. He might grow tired of it and come here less often.
SISTER MARTHA:
But God—
MOTHER MARGUERITE:
Do not fear! God knows him well!
SISTER MARTHA:
But, every Saturday, when he arrives, he tells me, “Sister, I ate meat on Friday!”
MOTHER MARGUERITE:
Oh, is that what he says? Well, the last time he came, he hadn't eaten for two whole days!
SISTER MARTHA:
Mother!
MOTHER MARGUERITE:
He's poor.
SISTER MARTHA:
Who told you that, dear Mother?
MOTHER MARGUERITE:
Monsieur Le Bret.
SISTER MARTHA:
No one helps him?
MOTHER MARGUERITE:
He won't permit anyone to help him. [In an alley at the back ROXANE appears, dressed in black, with a widow's coif and veil. DE GUICHE, imposing-looking and visible aged, walks by her side. They saunter slowly. MOTHER MARGUERITE rises.] It's time we go in. Madame Madeleine walks in the garden with a visitor.
SISTER MARTHA:
[to SISTER CLAIRE, in a low voice] It's the Marshal of Grammont, isn't it?
SISTER CLAIRE:
[looking at him] Yes, I think so.
SISTER MARTHA:
It's been many months since he came to see her.
THE SISTERS:
He's so busy! What with the Court, the Army—
SISTER CLAIRE:
His worldly concerns!

Footnotes

  1. The word "habits" refers to the distinctive attire worn by members of religious orders or by members of a congregation.

    — Owl Eyes Reader