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Pierre came into the office the next morning to find one and only one piece of paper in the central part of his desk. It was a telex from the home office; rendered in English, it read as follows:

WLL RCVD YR SPCL TLX DTD 21 JAN 71. WLL CNTCT GVRNMT N RVRT ASAP.
TKS N RGDS.

“Beau Geste has begun,” he said to himself.

It seemed that divine impulse was percolating throughout the entire des Cieux family. Pierre got up early and, getting dressed, skipped his usual breakfast and went off to early morning Mass at the Cathedral.
This was a rushed affair, with no music. It took only thirty-five minutes from start to finish. The sacred mysteries for the jet age, Pierre thought to himself as he left. His thoughts were stopped as the Bishop’s secretary was waiting for him before he could walk down the front steps of the Cathedral.
“The Bishop would like to see you before you go on to your office,” she said. “It won’t take long.”
“Very well,” he muttered. Pierre followed the secretary around the building to the Bishop’s office. He was ushered in; Santini was waiting for him as promised They sat down, Santini at his desk and Pierre in one of Santini’s less than comfortable armchairs. He could feel one of the springs attempting to break through the thin veneer of the worn upholstery and impinge on his derrière. He tried to compensate for the painful seating by burrowing his pipe in his tobacco pouch and lighting up, placing his straw hat on Santini’s desk.
“I didn’t expect you at Mass this morning,” Santini began. “This is a pleasant surprise.”
“I didn’t expect myself here either,” Pierre replied. “So to what do I owe the honour of an audience with you?”
“Your daughter,” Santini replied.
“She seems to be the topic of interest these days,” Pierre observed.
“Well, yes, indeed. I think I should inform you that, in order for a miracle to be considered legitimate in the eyes of the Church, it has to be fully confirmed to the greatest extent possible.”
Pierre thought for a minute, puffing his pipe directly at Santini. “I was unaware that Madeleine was being considered for canonisation as a saint, but I am flattered by the suggestion. I cannot think of another more worthy candidate I have personal knowledge of, present company included.”
“Oh, no,” Santini quickly replied. “That is not under consideration, at least while Madeleine is living. But, since she is a practising Catholic, people obviously connect whatever ‘supernatural’ events that surround her life with the Church. So we must take an interest in these things.”
“You could ask the doctor yourself, if you like,” Pierre replied. “Or better still, ask Carol Yedd, or her mother. I have never known Claudia to be happier in her entire life. In fact, she told me that she has gone to one of Avalon’s meetings, so perhaps the Church will gain a communicant who was raised in the Lodge.”
“Yes, I understand that also,” Santini replied with a tinge of regret in his voice. “But we live in the modern world, where belief in such things is held in wide disrepute. So we must be careful.”
“Careful about what?” Pierre asked. “Carol Yedd was blind. Now she sees. Her mother is thinking about becoming a Christian. Madeleine has not broadcast the event; in fact, you can barely get her to discuss the issue, especially in light of the way her school is taking the news. There is no doubt that this has taken place. The doctors have no idea as to why. The Church has believed in the reality of miracles from the start. Didn’t Arnauld and Nicole say that Protestant churches could not be from God because they did not believe in the miracles?”
“Arnauld and Nicole did not have a proper understanding of the teaching of the Church,” Santini said. “In any case, Gallicanism died with the Revolution. We must be obedient to Rome now, no matter what you might say.”
“And what does Rome say about Madeleine’s miracles?”
“This is not a matter of interest to them. It is my responsibility as Bishop to insure that proper Catholic doctrine and practice is exercised in this diocese.”
“And what might that be in this case?”
Santini paused before his response. “Madeleine must recant of the idea that what took place was miraculous. It is your responsibility as her father to help her make this decision. It is for her good and the good of the Church. Additionally, she should be cautioned about her association with her Baptist friend—given its depth, it may not be helpful for her Catholic faith. I understand she missed Mass the Sunday before last.”
Pierre was generally unflappable, but Santini could see the rising anger in him. Pierre looked away from Santini for what seemed to the Bishop to be an eternity. Finally Pierre rose from his seat, giving his posterior relief. He took his pipe in his hand.
“Bishop Santini, do you remember the story about the Holy Father and St. Dominic?”
“Of course,” Santini replied. “They were standing outside of St. Peter’s. The Holy Father told St. Dominic, ‘Peter can no longer say, silver and gold have we none.’ St. Dominic replied, ‘Neither can he say, rise up and walk.’ In case you have not noticed, we are not an wealthy church here on the Island, exceptions notwithstanding.”
“Precisely my point,” Pierre said. “If you continue with requests such as this—and I suspect they are the idea of your new patron—you will find yourself with the worst of both worlds. You will be able to say, ‘silver and gold have I none,’ and you will still not be able to say, ‘rise up and walk.’ I will not ask my daughter to recant of what all the world knows to be a fact. And, if you lose her to the Baptists, I will hold you personally responsible. Good day, Bishop.” He replaced his straw hat, put his pipe back in his mouth, turned and walked out of the office, leaving Santini in stunned silence to admire the smoke trail Pierre left behind.

Getting to the office made little improvement in Pierre’s day. First, the Ministry of Education called, demanding an appointment for Tuesday afternoon regarding Madeleine. This made a mess of Pierre’s scheduled swing through Collina and Aloxa, which Claudia dutifully worked on rescheduling.
Shortly after Pierre returned from his ritual lunch trip to the Mangrove, a small vehicle pulled into the warehouse. About a minute later Claudia went into Pierre’s office and bowed.
“I think we’ve got trouble in the warehouse,” she informed her boss. “Luke’s got some government official who wants to see you.”
“Once more,” Pierre said to himself. He got up and walked out to the warehouse. When he arrived a short, brown-haired official in a uniform he didn’t recognise was talking with Luke.
“Are you the Managing Director?” the woman asked.
“The same,” Pierre replied. “Pierre des Cieux.”
“I am Cynthia Drummond,” she replied, not bothering to shake Pierre’s hand. “I am Deputy Minister of the Environment for the Republic of Verecunda.” She flashed her credentials. “I have come to discuss with you your solid waste disposal problem.”
“Problem?” Pierre asked. “We have very little rubbish at this facility. We are only a warehouse. The municipal sanitation service comes and picks it up once a week, most of the time.”
“I’m not referring to that,” Drummond snapped. “I am referring to all of the scrap tyres that you have not disposed of.”
“If I have not lost my reason, in this legal system title for these tyres passes at the time they are loaded on the truck at our facility. They are no longer our property after that. It is the end user’s responsibility to dispose of these. Many times, they are used for other applications, as a visit to any port or marina on the Island will attest. That is where the few used tyres from this facility end up.”
“You are obviously not familiar with our new laws and regulations,” Drummond replied. “The tyres come from here; thus, it is your responsibility to insure that there is a method of disposal. Scrap tyres are a serious problem in all industrialised countries; they swell our landfills, it is difficult to shred them and environmentally unacceptable to burn them. So you must take care of the problem. Failure to do so will result in your company being seized, at which point the taxing authorities will have direct access to your records. We find it hard to believe that you are in full compliance with these regulations any more than ours, and, as you know, tax evasion is a criminal offence.”
“So what are we supposed to do about the problem of tyre disposal?” Pierre asked.
“I will return 0930 Monday. You must have a plan in place to collect all scrap tyres in the Republic and dispose of them properly, and a plan to prevent this problem from recurring in the future. If you fail to do so, we will begin proceedings against your company immediately.”
“Immediately, that is, if we do not have beau geste in the slash pines.”
Drummond was caught off guard by Pierre’s imagery of the French Foreign Legion. “I cannot believe that your government would act in this way. We know the French Republic to be a responsible member of the world community.”
“I am not worried about la République Française in that regard,” Pierre agreed.
“Then I will return,” Drummond said. “I hope you have a suitable response.” She started to walk back to her vehicle. Pierre looked over her vehicle very carefully, something Drummond noticed.
“What are you looking at, Mr. des Cieux?” she asked.
“Your tyres, Madame,” he said. “They have only two millimetres of tread. It is dangerous to ride. You could be hurt or killed in an accident, especially if it rains again. You should visit one of our stockists to remedy this problem”
“We could even do it here,” Luke noted.
“Your concern for my welfare is commendable,” Drummond replied, “but it doesn’t change anything, does it?” She got in the vehicle, closed the door, finally got it started, backed out, and left.
By this time all of the employees had gathered around Pierre watching her departure.
“What are we going to do, Boss?” Luke asked.
“It is time for the coded telex,” Pierre answered. He turned and first went straight for the office safe, the staff following, where he retrieved the code book.
“That thing is probably out of date,” Claudia noted.
“It is not a problem,” Pierre said. “The authorities here never faced this code, let alone the newer ones.” After that Pierre locked himself in his office, refusing phone calls and coffee alike. It seemed like an eternity, but he emerged with a neatly printed piece of paper with a short message in what looked to the untrained eye to be an unintelligible collection of all capital letters and numbers. They also noticed some smoke in the office; the lighter that usually kept his pipe going had been put to another, more pressing use.
“Type this on the telex machine very carefully,” Pierre said to Claudia. “Give me the draft telex and the original.” Claudia dutifully complied; it took her longer than usual to type the telex, but she typed the draft on the telex machine, pulling the roll up and tearing if off. She returned with both his draft and the typed one. Pierre compared them.
“It is as usual, perfect,” Pierre said. “Send it on.”
Claudia had the good sense to make a paper tape of the draft she had made. All she had to do is to reload the paper tape in the machine, dial the telex number of the company headquarters, receive and send answerbacks, and she was connected. She then started the paper tape, which tapped out the letters as she had typed them to start with both in Verecunda and France. At the end of the tape, she rang the bell three times, exchanged answerbacks again, and the message was sent.
“The bells were probably unnecessary,” Pierre said. “They have doubtless gone home by this time. But I am sure they will respond—that is, when they find the old code book.”
“I hope they do,” Luke said.
“So do I,” Pierre concurred. “I burned ours.”

The des Cieux home was in another one of those sombre moods that evening. Pierre was in his own world; now both of the women were at a loss to get him to communicate. Finally he mentioned in brief that he had sent an emergency telex back home to deal with an urgent problem presented by the Verecundan government.
“It is not the only communication we have had with the Verecundan government today,” Yveline admitted.
“Not now, Maman,” Madeleine protested.
“We must discuss this,” Yveline disagreed.
“What is this?” Pierre asked, putting his fork down and looking at his wife.
“Madeleine’s visa status has changed,” Yveline announced.
“How?” Pierre asked.
“I am only a student now,” Madeleine announced softly.
“You mean she is no longer a permanent resident of this place?” Pierre asked.
“Precisely,” Yveline answered. “The letter states she must leave within sixty days of the completion of her studies.” She began to sniffle. “It means that, unless you get transferred, I will have to leave each time I want to see my dear child.” She took her napkin and began to cry.
Pierre sat stunned, not as much by the government’s action—which he knew was completely in character—but by the way his wife took it. Madeleine for her part sat without showing emotion. He turned away from Yveline. “My dear daughter, there is something that I need to tell you but find it very difficult to do.”
“What is that, Papa?” she answered, puzzled. Yveline’s crying stopped; she sensed the special nature of the moment, and didn’t want to miss it.
“Today, after morning Mass, Bishop Santini called me back for a meeting in his office. It concerned you.”
“Me? Am I in trouble with the Church?”
“Maybe not the Church,” Pierre said. “Santini wants you to deny that you performed a miracle on Carol Yedd.”
Madeleine countenance turned to shock. “Why, Papa? How can I do this? Carol knows that it was a miracle, and her mother does too. The doctors have no answer. What other explanation is there?”
“There isn’t one,” Pierre confirmed. “That’s why I told him that you would not do it. Unless, of course, you yourself would change your mind.”
“She would have to deny that she prayed for the Marlowe girl to win as well,” Yveline said.
“Even Denise admits that was a miracle,” Madeleine said. “She just doesn’t know why.” She turned to her father. “But I cannot change what has happened. God has done these things. They are good. Why does everyone worry about this? What is wrong with me?” Her parents could tell that she was just about to go to pieces.
“There is nothing wrong with you, dearest Madeleine,” Pierre said. She stopped; when he used that expression “dearest,” she knew he was reaching to the bottom of his heart for his words.
“Our world would be much the poorer without you,” he continued, “but we have not always enriched yours.”
“How so?” she asked.
“We have literally taken you around the world. You have been shuffled from country to country, school to school. You have left friends behind—dear friends. You have done this without complaint. You have remained faithful to your church and your God through all of it. And, you have carried yourself with both elegance and chastity, something that is very difficult in this world, and especially here. We could not ask for a better child, and honestly I have never expressed my gratitude enough.” He stood up; Madeleine and Yveline followed suit, they could hear his voice quiver and see tears began to flow from his eyes. “I want you to know that I am proud of you, love you irrespective of the decisions you make, and believe that you, more than anyone else I know in fact or history, are Dieudonnée—a gift of God.”
He barely got out his speech when he broke down weeping, throwing his arms around Madeleine as she went to pieces and embraced him. Yveline followed suit and it was a long while before they separated and finished their meal.

Madeleine was decidedly nervous about returning to Bell’s Political Science class Wednesday morning, but return she did. She eased into her seat as Bell began to pontificate.
Towards the end of class, Bell got off the subject of the basic structure of the legislature and started talking about the nationalisation of health care in the Republic. He was obviously happy it took place, and added the comment, “And, of course, with socialised medicine, we don’t have to rely on miracle workers—such as we have here in class—of meeting our public health needs.”
Denise and Vannie giggled a bit; Madeleine began to squirm in her seat. Then Jack raised his hand.
“Yes, Mr. Arnold,” Bell said.
“I don’t get what the big deal is,” Jack said. “The little girl’s better off. Doctors never could fix the problem. Besides, man, it just saves the government a lot of money having to take care of her.”
Bell’s anger welled up very quickly; the veins around his temple bulged. “Get out!” he barked at Jack, pointing his finger at him and then sweeping it to the door. “I won’t have such a serious matter made light of!” He turned to Madeleine. “You get out too—you started all this!” making the same gesture to her as he did to Jack. Both of them got up and make their way to the door. It was all Denise and Vannie—and a few others—could do to keep from rolling in the floor laughing.
Jack made it to the door first, holding it as Madeleine went through. They both made it out to the hallway.
“I’m sorry I got you into trouble,” Jack said.
“It is not your fault,” she replied. “It is mine. I started all of this.”
“Everybody is sure making a big deal out of this.” They looked at each other for a second. “Can I ask you a question?” he finally came out with.
“Sure.”
“You’re from France, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Do you really know how to French kiss?”
She looked at him with a combination of astonishment and amusement. “It took you two and a half years to ask me this?”
“I’m kinda shy. . .” he replied, looking sheepish.
“How well did Denise ‘French kiss,’ as you say?”
“Oh, she was great, she had a lot of cool moves. . .oh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be talking to you like this.”
“It seems that Denise has many advantages over the both of us,” Madeleine finally stated.
“Looks that way. . .” Jack wasn’t the type to be at a loss for words when talking to a girl, but this time was exceptional.
“That was very kind, the way you held the door for me,” she said. “I see this up in Hallett when I visit Carla, but not here.”
“I guess we’re kinda rude. I’m glad you liked it. Maybe I should walk you to your next class.”
“Our next class?”
“Yeah. . .our next class.”
“Then let’s go.” They walked together down the hall.

Mark Arnold marched into his office to the clattering of Selectric and Executive typewriters. The firm of Arnold and Murchison was Verecunda’s most prestigious, able to navigate both Verecunda’s own legal system and that of the rest of the sovereign nations on the Island. Connections sufficed where laws failed, as Mark demonstrated in Serelia.
He was running a little late; he had been out entertaining a Canadian client the night before. The Canadians were leaving that morning, so Mark was able to get caught up on what was piling up on his desk while he had been tied up with his guests. His secretary brought in his coffee without being asked.
Near the top of the desk was an open letter with the letterhead of the Anglican Province of Verecunda. He scanned it, thinking at first it was routine, but quickly realising it was not:

18th January 1971

Mr. Mark R. Arnold, Jr.
Arnold and Murchison
312 Gerland Street Suite 600
Verecunda
Republic of Verecunda

Dear Mr. Arnold:

Pursuant to applicable canons, this letter is to inform you that your term as a member and Senior Warden of the Vestry of Christ Church in Point Collina is terminated by extraordinary diocesan action, effective immediately.

This termination is in response to your position regarding the institution of the new liturgies in the Parish, which is inconsistent with your duty of a cooperative attitude towards the Church as a member of the Vestry.

Thank you very much for your years of service.

Yours faithfully,

CHURCH OF VERECUNDA

/s/
+L. Dionysius Farnsworth
Bishop and Primate

cc: Dr. James Woolsey, Christ Church

Mark slammed the letter down on the desk, then slammed his hand on the pager. “Why was this letter from the Diocese opened?” he angrily asked.
“It wasn’t marked confidential,” his secretary responded. “It looked rather routine.”
“It wasn’t!” he snapped. He thought for a minute. “Get me Bishop Farnsworth!”
“Yes, sir.” It wasn’t too long until his secretary came back on the line. “He is off the Island, sir,” she informed him.
Mark fumed for a second. “Then call Dr. Langley!” She managed to get the Rector on the line.
“What’s going on here! I’ve been fired from the Vestry by the Bishop! He can’t do that!” he barked at Langley on the other end.
There was a short silence. “Can you meet me at the Men’s Grille for an early lunch, in thirty minutes, say?”
“Yes, I can.”
“Thank you,” Langley replied and hung up. Mark hung his phone up. What’s going on here, he thought to himself.
“Do I have any appointments later in the morning?” he asked his secretary over the ‘squawk box’ again.”
“No, sir,” she responded. “Your next appointment—with the Minister of Finance—is at 1400.”
Stupid 24-hour clock, he thought to himself, realising that it was the law now, as it had been on the rest of the Island for a long time. “I’m leaving shortly, but will be back for that.” He riffled through his papers to make sure there wasn’t anything that required immediate attention, then left the office without saying a word to anyone.
He found his car in the space just as he left it. Taking it out of the car park, he turned left onto Gerland Street, then left again at Central Avenue, then right at Meeting Street before going onto the Dahlia Bridge. On the Point, the bridge went straight into Melaleuca Street, which led him gently up and across the Point and down to the east side entrance of the Point Collina Resort and Country Club.
Another Gerland creation, the club was a strange institution in that it was both a country club for the nation’s elites and a resort for its tourists, which meant that the latter subsidised the former. The side entrance, just before the beach, led to the golf club house, which was detached from the hotel. There was the Men’s Grille, that venerable institution that had a spectacular view of the beach and ocean in front of it. Turning right and driving upward to the club house, Mark parked his car and got out. It had turned cold and he shivered a bit as the ocean breeze cut through his suit. He finally reached the entrance to the Men’s Grille.
“Dr. Langley is over there in the corner, waiting for you,” the Aloxan maître d’ informed him. In polite conversation, Verecundans routinely referred to all black people as Aloxans, whether they still lived in the Kingdom or were Verecundan citizens.
Paul Langley shook Mark’s right hand with both of his. “I am grateful that you came to see me,” Paul said. They sat down. The waiter, who had also been the maître d’, came out.
“Usual drinks today for the both of you?” he asked.
“For me,” Mark agreed.
“No, just get me a ginger ale,” Paul said.
“Not imbibing today, Reverend?” Mark asked, surprised.
“Not this time,” Paul replied. Mark could tell it was serious.
“Make that a double,” Mark said.
“Your usual orders otherwise?” the Aloxan asked.
“Yes,” they responded in unison.
“Thank you,” the Aloxan said, and disappeared.
“So what’s going on here?” Mark asked urgently. “Can’t you do something about this?”
“Before we continue, there’s something you need to know,” Paul said. He handed Mark an envelope. Mark removed a shiny, waxy-surface photocopy, unfolded it and read it. His countenance, if anything, deteriorated as he held the A4 trifolded piece of paper in his hand.
“That’s your copy,” Paul informed him. Mark returned it to the envelope and put it in his suit pocket.
“So it’s all up for you?” Mark said.
“Afraid so, old boy,” Paul said. “As soon as we’re done, I’m returning to the Rectory to continue to help Mrs. Langley pack. That should be complete tomorrow.”
“So where is Farnsworth sending you?” Paul asked. “It seems he’s playing chess with us.”
“I’m going off the board,” Paul replied. “I’m moving to Serelia.”
“Serelia? What parish?”
“St. Mark’s in Drago. I’ll be Assistant Rector.”
“Isn’t that a demotion?”
“It’s only temporary. The Rector will retire after Easter. It will give him time to ‘show me the ropes.’ They’ve assured me that the position is mine, and Tanger is a man of his word. So for that matter is King Adam.”
The waiter served their drinks. “Maybe I should have had my usual,” Mark said.
“We need a clear head to discuss these matters,” Paul observed. “After this, you’ll have plenty of time for drinking.”
“I still don’t understand how Farnsworth can remove me from the Vestry,” Mark declared.
“It goes back to your own father,” Paul replied. “As you remember, he became Bishop after coming back from Serelia and building Christ Church with his and other family funds. The rest of the diocese was jealous; they felt that he bought the position. But he was clever; he put into the canon a provision that the Bishop can remove a vestryman under extraordinary conditions. That was to keep the parishes in Collina and Uranus quiet. But, of course, it’s never been used—until now.”
“But. . .I just told Woolsey what I thought. Why is that extraordinary? And how did he get the authority to pull the prayer books.”
“We live in different times, Mark,” Paul answered. “I never wanted Farnsworth as Bishop. I don’t want to sound sour grapes since I lost the election at Convention, but I’ve always felt that he was the wrong man for the job.” He paused and looked around, then turned back to Mark. “He is too weak to stand up to the forces that want to take over this church and everything else in this country.”
“You mean the government’s involved in this.”
“Yes. A month or two after he was elected Bishop—and note that we didn’t even bother with a co-adjutor this time—there was a meeting between Farnsworth, Santini. . .”
“The Catholic bishop?”
“Yes, Methodist Bishop Gregg, and a couple of general presbyters from their church, with our new Minister of Culture, Jacqueline Todd. The Ministry of Culture has as part of its ‘hidden’ portfolio the management of religion in this country.”
“Managing religion? We’ve never managed religion in Verecunda. That’s the East Island way.”
“We’re managing a lot of things we didn’t used to,” Paul noted. “In any case, Mrs. Todd basically stated to the four churches represented, to wit, that certain religions posed a threat to national unity and integrity, which necessitated the government’s involvement. She went on to state that, while the churches at the meeting were, in the government’s opinion, helpful to the needs of the nation, they would have to make some commitments in order to help the government deal with those which were not. In return, the government would basically allow the churches represented to proceed as they had.”
“So what did the government want out of the churches?”
“Specifically, that they wouldn’t say anything while the rest of them are being suppressed. Their specific target is the Baptist church, although there are others.”
“A good number of Baptist people up in Uranus voted for Kendall.”
“But now they’re unhappy because of his social and taxation policies. They went the other way in the local elections last year. Kendall isn’t one to take chances. In any case, as I understand it, another part of Todd’s appeal is based on the fact that the churches she called into the room have very little sympathy for groups such as the Baptists.”
“So it’s safe to assume she got a warm reception.”
“Not entirely,” Paul corrected. “The Presbyterians wouldn’t go along with it. But they’re not numerous enough to be a problem to Kendall, and I’m certain he has a plan for them.
“The most enthusiastic respondent was Santini. He’s worried that the government will take revenge on the Catholic Church after Lucian Gerland dies. So he’s positioning the church as a friend of the government. And, of course, he’s hoping they’ll deal with Father Avalon and his protests so he won’t have to deal with him as a rebel in his own church.”
“He hasn’t gotten a payout on that.”
“The government needs Avalon.”
“Needs him? He’s a big thorn in their side.”
“He’s proof there’s still ‘democracy’ here. He doesn’t have a following outside of his enthusiasts in the Charismatic movement. So he’s only a gadfly to Kendall. To Santini, he’s heart trouble.”
“So that leaves us and the Methodists.”
“Farnsworth is using the present situation to advance his liberal agenda for the church. He claims that, if we don’t ‘move the church forward,’ as he says, it will become irrelevant.”
“I’ve heard him on that subject.”
“What he means is that, if he doesn’t do liberal things in the church, the government will lump us with the Baptists and other fundamentalist groups. This is absurd, but it’s classic Farnsworth for you. That’s why he brought Woolsey in, over my objections. That’s why he’s pushing this new Prayer Book.”
“New Prayer Book? These are only trial liturgies in the U.S. Why are we trying to get ahead of the Americans?”
“It’s something of a sham in the U.S.,” Paul noted. “They’ll officially have a new Prayer Book before the decade is out, no matter who says what. And, of course, that opens the door to women ministers and the other things that the likes of James Pike was pushing before he vanished in the desert.”
Mark was silent at the end of this speech. “So I guess you’re going where the church will remain the same.”
“Exactly,” Paul confirmed. “The Church of Serelia will never have a ‘new’ Prayer Book and they will never have women ministers. And the Church there moulds the government, and not the other way round, as we have it here now.”
Mark was silent again for a bit. “We’ll miss you very much,” he said. “And I know that Jack will miss Rick.”
“It’s his last week in school here,” Paul said. “He’s very let down at this, but I have no choice. I start at St. Mark’s Parish Sunday, and he starts at St. Mark’s School on Monday.”
“Perhaps Jack will come and see him—I think he plays at Alemara Academy in a little over two weeks. Maybe he can come up and see him after that.”
“Rick will be looking forward to that.”

Dinner at the Arnold House was never the cheeriest of affairs, but that evening it was less cheery than usual. The Arnold house was unique on the Point in that it was a true creation of modern architecture. The front door opened up into a sunken atrium which reached up through both floors of the house to the skylit ceiling. Around the atrium on the first floor were the dining room, kitchen, master bedroom and an opening to the patio and pool. The second floor contained the children’s and guest bedrooms, which opened to a balcony that wrapped around the atrium on three sides, much like a hotel.
Mark generally stopped by the club on the way home for a drink or two; he obviously made up for lost time at lunch, as his surly mood dampened any hope of a decent conversation. He groused endlessly about being kicked off of the Vestry, about Paul Langley’s departure, and cut off Jack’s comments about Rick at every corner. He blasted Cathy’s suggestion that she might join the Catholic Church, saying that they were even worse and kicking in that he wouldn’t stand for a “mackerel-snapper” under his roof.
Needless to say, the children fled at the first opportunity, leaving Helen to supervise the help in getting things cleaned up while Mark had another stiff after-dinner drink. Both of them ended up in their rooms, under cover of doing homework.
Jack’s room included an outside balcony that overlooked the pool. He closed the door and tried to do some homework, but couldn’t. He went out on the balcony, bundling up but glad to be outside. The night was cold. The breeze that came from onshore blew through the palms, which reached up past the roof crowns of the houses around them. They were silhouetted only by the city lights, as the moon was absent that night.
He went back into his room to put on an album. He thumbed through the album rack. He pulled the album that Terry had given to his sister. Lunatic’s Lament, he thought to himself. Nice idea, but. . .not in the mood. He put it back and continued his search. Finally he found the album whose title at least matched his state of mind: Blood, Sweat and Tears. He put in on the changer and started it, which dropped the album on the platter with a satisfying thud, moved the tone arm over and set it down on the lead-in groove. Assured that all was well, he went back out on the balcony, only cracking the sliding glass door as the temperature was down to near freezing.
Having made sure the coast was clear, he sat down and lit up a conventional cigarette. After a bit it didn’t seem enough, so he reached in his pocket for a silver cigarette holder, a family heirloom that he used to store his best smoking material, his joints. His habit was to roll them ahead so he would be ready when the occasion called for it. He took one out and looked at it very hard. By this time the stereo was playing “Sometimes in Winter,” a mellow lament of lost love. The Island was a place which redefined winter for many of those who came there, but tonight it was cold enough to awake both ancestral memories and present, passionless fact. Jack really wanted to cry but wouldn’t let himself, even when alone. Finally, he carefully replaced the joint in the cigarette holder, closed it and shoved it into his pocket.
“I’m going to get her,” he said. “I’m going to get her.” He took his ashtray back into the house, cleaned the butt and ashes back into the commode, flushed it all down to make sure the evidence was gone, and set himself to do his homework and more.

The next day was moving from classroom to athletic field as Madame Seignet sat in the faculty lounge, looking at the Paris-Match she had extracted from her box.
“Classes going well?” a voice asked. She turned up from her reading to find it was Hancock.
“Very,” she replied. He sat down next to her. “And yours?”
“They’re okay. Hopefully the guys are warming up for tennis practice. We’re travelling to Dillman-Arnold this Friday with the girls.”
“That shouldn’t be much of a challenge for either team,” Seignet observed.
“After our performance against University, I’m not so sure about the guys. But we’ll see. . .does Madeleine des Cieux still help you with your elementary—excuse me, primary school students?”
“Oh, yes,” Seignet replied. “She is very dependable. I know she takes a lot of kidding from her fellow students about her costumes, but the children enjoy it. And they learn French much more easily.”
“Have you ever discussed with her the incident last week?”
“You mean concerning the blind girl?”
“Yeah.”
“Very little,” Seignet replied. “I know she is very distressed about the whole thing. Not about the girl—evidently she and her mother are very happy, along with Madeleine’s father—but about the difficulties she has experienced here. Her visit to the Headmaster was very hard—there are many things about it I do not understand.”
“Do you believe that Madeleine actually healed the girl?”
Seignet gave Hancock a long, stern look. “Monsieur Hancock, there are many complexities in this situation that you, being an American, cannot understand.”
“You’re a Communist, aren’t you?”
“That’s one of those complexities,” Seignet came back. “I am a Socialist. My husband is a Communist. Both of our families were active in these parties. That is why they did not approve of our marriage. That is one reason why we are here—it is easier when no one knows, and obviously you are one of those that do not.”
“So what is Madeleine? And her family?” Hancock asked, ploughing on.
“Frankly, I think that her father is a monarchist. His family was ruined during the Revolution. I think that it is entrenched in his family tradition. Had his ancestors been in power in the last century, Dreyfus would have died on Devil’s Island rather than return. That is why Pierre’s father—and Pierre—lived so long outside the country—they are, in reality, emigrés rather than simply expatriates. You only need to visit his office to see the reality of this.
“As for Madeleine, she is in reality a rather naïve young woman. Sometimes it bothers me to think of her trying to live in this world, but I have also learned that she is very stubborn and strong willed when it is important to her, and that is very significant for her survival. She has been a delight to have as as student and as a assistant. I could not ask for better. So we do not discuss things such as this, but we work together on what we can and enjoy life in the meanwhile.”
“But. . .you surely don’t believe in this healing thing, do you?” Hancock asked.
“I do not believe in God,” Seignet replied. “My husband does not either. Madeleine is very different; her Catholic faith is very important to her. I do not understand this. However, I have not heard a reasonable explanation of what happened this time last week other than that whatever Madeleine did to the girl made it possible for her to see. And, honestly, the more our school direction attempts to punish Madeleine for it, the stupider they will look. They do not understand that Monsieur des Cieux’s office is not Port-Royal. Madeleine will be gone in a few months and, unless they continue to discuss the matter, it will be forgotten.”
“Do you think she’s been influenced by that Stanley girl?”
Seignet thought for a second. “In some ways, perhaps. That relationship has always bothered me.”
“So you knew about it all along?” Hancock asked, surprised.
“Of course,” Seignet replied.
“But you knew it compromised her position on the tennis team.”
“I am not the tennis police. That is a job for others. Madeleine should be allowed to choose her friends. And there is a positive side to this—her friendship with Carla has enabled her to see a different world than the one she inhabits in this school. It is more than many of our students experience—it would do them good.”
“But. . .she is so withdrawn. And she totally lacks any relationship with the opposite sex, at least this year. That’s unhealthy.”
“Madeleine’s idea about this is conditioned by her church,” Seignet explained. “Moreover she is thinking about making a profession, so perhaps she wants to remain unencumbered.”
“What kind of profession?” Hancock queried in a puzzled way.
Seignet sighed in desperation. “She has considered becoming a nun, as you would say.”
“You’re kidding? I’m surprised that the kids don’t hassle her about that.”
“She doesn’t discuss it much. I’m not sure how serious she is. Personally I can’t see her doing that, even with her moral sensibilities. However, no matter what her intentions are, I do not feel it is good for me to attempt to change her mind. Besides, there is too much of an obsession—even for a modern person—in sex in this school. It is the difference between Communism and the left in Verecunda.”
“And how is that?” Hancock asked.
“Marx and Engels wrote that the workers had nothing to lose but their chains,” Seignet said. “Here, they—and the elites—lose their clothes.”
Hancock was put to silence for a few seconds. “Then I suppose you wouldn’t suggest to her that she join the new Life Identification Society being organised at Point Collina.”
“Of course not,” Seignet abruptly replied. “Besides, what is the need for it here?”
“I’m late for tennis,” Hancock said, arose, and walked out of the lounge, while Seignet gazed at his departure with amusement. That amusement increased when she heard a roaring sound from outside and turned to the window.
It is raining very hard outside, she said to herself, looking at the deluge fill the streets and tennis courts.

Madeleine’s first period class was Political Science, a one semester adventure taught by a young Brown graduate born and raised in Collina named William Bell. About half way through the class, the Headmaster’s secretary crept in, came up the side of the classroom, handed Bell a note, and left as quickly as she came. He read it, looked at Madeleine, and said, “Miss des Cieux?”
“Yes, sir?” she replied.
“The Headmaster needs to see you now.”
“Immediately?”
“Yes.”
Madeleine piled her books together, eased up from her desk, and almost slinked out of class, her face turning red. All eyes were on her as she opened the door and walked out into the hallway.
“You behind this too?” Vannie whispered to Denise as she opened the door.
“Of course—you don’t think beating University was the only victory I had, do you?”
Madeleine went down the hall and stairs to the Headmaster’s office. The secretary was at her desk, and ushered her into his office.
Point Collina’s Headmaster was another American, Thomas Bartow. In his mid-fifties with short grey hair and well tanned, the school was his first position outside the U.S. after several successful prep schools in the North-east.
“You wanted to see me?” Madeleine asked.
“Yes, I did,” Bartow replied. “Please sit down.” She complied with his request. “I understand that you—and your father as well—are interfering in the academic affairs of another child.”
“I don’t understand,” Madeleine replied with a puzzled look.
“I think you do,” Bartow rebutted. “I received a phone call this morning from the Ministry of Education about Miss Carol Yedd. I understand that, as a result of your actions, she is in difficulty with the Verecundan School for the Blind and Deaf.”
“Difficulty? She no longer needs this school,” Madeleine observed.
“That is not for you to decide, Miss des Cieux,” Bartow insisted. “One would think that the curriculum of this institution is sufficiently difficult not to take on the problems of another person whose condition you know nothing about.”
“My father’s company is concerned with the welfare of its employees,” Madeleine replied. “It hired Carol’s mother at a time when it was very difficult for an unmarried mother to obtain employment in this country. Papa and his predecessor have made many accommodations so that Miss Yedd can properly take care of her daughter’s condition.”
“That’s very commendable,” Bartow agreed, “but it wasn’t an employee of the company that precipitated this crisis. It was you.”
“I did not know that restoring her sight was a crisis.”
“It has created serious dislocations in her educational process,” Bartow asserted. “And, of course, we don’t know whether her change of condition is permanent.”
“Which is why the Dillman-Arnold School agreed to take her on a provisional basis,” Madeleine observed.
“Look,” Bartow said angrily, “I’m not going to waste my time arguing with you on this matter. Point Collina is the best primary and secondary school on the Island, and compares very favourably with schools in the U.S. where I have been headmaster. Our reputation is based on our ability to challenge and allow to excel the best students so they can do the same in the modern world. I am not going to allow this school’s reputation to become a laughingstock on or off the Island just because one of its students insists on employing snake-oil manipulation that one associates with ignorant people and their religion.
“Frankly, I am disappointed in you. You have been an excellent pupil the two and a half years you have been at this school. You were on your way to be your class’ valedictorian, even with your grave illness, but after this, I can’t see it happening.”
“And why should that depend upon what I do outside of the school?” Madeleine protested.
“We’ve been through this. If you do this again, I can assure you will be removed from this school, and given where you live, I don’t think you want the alternative. I believe I have made myself clear.”
“Yes, sir, you have,” Madeleine replied sadly.
“That will be all. You may return to class.”
Madeleine got up, collected her books, and walked out of his office as she would from a funeral. She walked up the stairs again, as her next class was upstairs. Right after she got to the top, she stopped and leaned against the wall. She was almost in tears, but she was too angry to start. About that time Mr. Scott walked up to her.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in class, Mademoiselle des Cieux?” he asked.
“I was called to the Headmaster’s office,” she explained. “I can’t bring myself to return.”
“What’s the problem?” he asked.
“I prayed for my father’s secretary’s daughter to be healed from blindness,” Madeleine explained. “I used the aloe vera ointment, just like you said the Church of Serelia ministers did. Now she can see and is changing schools. He is very angry about this. I don’t understand why.”
Scott stood and thought for a minute. “Madeleine, frankly I don’t either. If the ministers of the Church of Serelia could do with the nard what you did, I would still be one. Don’t take it too hard—these people can be very philistine when given the opportunity.” He turned and walked away. Madeleine progressed down the hallway very slowly until the bell rung, by which time she was at her next class.
She was the first into class, and sat down. The rest of the class came in behind her.
“Bell gave a pop quiz at the end,” Vannie whispered to her as she moved to her seat. I guess I won’t be valedictorian after all, Madeleine thought to herself.
Just before the teacher rose to begin, she felt a tapping on her left shoulder. She turned to see Jack, extending to her a piece of paper.
“That’s Bell’s assignment,” he said in a low voice. “Copy it and give it back.”
“Thank you,” Madeleine replied, taking it.
“Looks like she’s got a new boyfriend,” Vannie said to Denise.
“Not a chance,” Denise replied. “She’s won’t give him what he wants.”
You can’t always get what you want, Vannie mused, singing to herself very softly.

Santini sat nervously in the empty Theatre of the Muses. Verecunda’s only theatre for live stage performances and the occasional “art” movie, it was the country’s answer to Manaus’ opera house: a European cultural artefact in a decidedly non-European kind of environment. It was also one of the few edifices of its kind without Lucian Gerland’s stamp. The theatre, built just before World War I, was the result of the efforts—and in part the funding—of Maximilian Herver. Now that his granddaughter was married to the President of the Republic and her sister Minister of Culture, the Theatre got better treatment than many public buildings in the country, in addition to being the central office for the newly-spawned Culture ministry. Santini tried to distract himself by looking around at the ornamented interior of the theatre, noting that the national flag draped the “Presidential Box” now as it always had.
While doing this, he heard the resolute gait of a woman entering the theatre. He turned and saw that it was indeed whom he expected: the Minister of Culture herself, Jacqueline Todd. A plain looking, brown haired woman in her forties, she was more casual than Santini anticipated she would be for such an occasion, with striped slacks and turtleneck top. With her was her portfolio, an inseparable companion. He rose to greet her.
“Your Excellency,” he said, offering his hand.
“Bishop,” she replied, actually shaking it. They sat down with one seat between them.
“I trust that all is well,” he said.
She thought for a second. “Very. Actually, we are beyond expectations for such a new ministry.”
“Obviously due to your leadership,” Santini said.
“With a little help from my friends,” she replied, coyly.
“So, what is the occasion for this meeting? Your secretary said it was urgent.”
“It is,” Todd answered. “One of your faithful is causing us some difficulties. We need your help.”
“And who might this be? I thought things were going well.”
“Madeleine des Cieux,” she answered.
“How is this possible?” Santini asked. “Her health is not good. She nearly died from encephalitis. It takes someone with great energy to be a threat to this Republic.”
“Like Avalon?”
“Yes, like Avalon,” Santini sighed, reminded of a problem to them both.
“We’ll leave that nuisance for another time,” Todd assured him. “Our problem today is that Miss des Cieux is going about claiming that she healed a girl of blindness.”
“Claiming?” Santini challenged her. “She’s said nothing about it to me. Neither has her father, or her mother. I have only heard the rumours from others.”
“And that’s precisely the problem,” Todd asserted. “It’s all over town. Even the Alemaran paper has picked up on it.”
“Surely there must be some mistake. I have never known her to act in this way. She is very shy, unlike her father.”
“How good of a Catholic is she?” Todd asked bluntly.
“She is a very conscientious, observant Catholic,” Santini replied. “Very regular in making Mass, confession, etc. In many ways, she is more so than her parents, and that of course is rare with young people these days.”
“So she is thinking about becoming a nun?”
“We have discussed this from time to time, but I have cautioned her not to be hasty in this. Sometimes I think she is moved in this direction by her disillusionment with the boyfriends she has had, and that is not motivation enough to enter religious life.”
“Certainly isn’t,” Todd agreed. “Did you know that she is close friends with a Baptist?”
“A Baptist?” Santini replied with feigned surprise. “I was unaware that there were any Baptists or other kinds of cult adherents in her school.”
“There are a couple,” Todd confirmed, “but they are very low keyed. The one I had in mind is anything but.”
“And who is it?”
“Carla Stanley,” Todd informed him.
“The tennis player from Hallett.”
“The same. Madeleine has been a kind of tennis instructor for her. Evidently, however, their relationship is closer than we would have thought. The Sunday before last, Madeleine was seen at Carla’s church.”
“She never said anything about that.”
“You didn’t miss her?”
“I was in Collina that Sunday,” Santini confessed. “Since I lost my two Irish priests, it has been difficult.”
“Perhaps you will learn to import priests who will keep their feudal opinions about women and their bodies to themselves. But Carla Stanley is far more trouble than your foreign priests. She made herself a real pain last year about our efforts to laicise the curriculum and student life programme while on Student Council, which is why we excluded her from it this year. Now she refuses to join her school’s new Life Identification group. So you see what kind of influence she has had on Madeleine.”
“I had no idea. . .but her church does not believe in miracles at all. So how could she inspire Madeleine to try such things?”
“I’ll leave the matter of petty creeds to you,” Todd answered. “But you remember our agreement, don’t you?”
“Yes, Your Excellency,” Santini sighed.
“Then you must do what you have to to fulfil your end of the bargain.”
Santini looked at Todd in stony silence, something he was not generally associated with.
“So what specifically do you want, Your Excellency?”
“You must persuade her to say that she did not heal anyone.”
“But isn’t the girl with sight now? And she is not a Christian.”
“That just the problem!” Todd snapped. “No one—not you, not these silly schoolgirls we’re stuck with, no one—seems to understand what’s really important here. I’m not going to debate this with you. Either you force this pseudo-saint of yours to deny this, or you’re going to get the same treatment that Miss Stanley’s church is starting to get. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Your Excellency,” Santini replied.
“Good!” Todd exclaimed. She got up. “I eagerly await the results of your efforts.” She turned and walked out of the theatre, leaving Santini to contemplate his next move.

The Arnolds’ Daimler Majestic Major was the appropriate car for them to arrive at Christ Church on Point Collina for Morning Prayer at 1100. Although not the cathedral church for the Anglican Church of Verecunda, Christ Church was certainly its flagship parish, and being its Rector was a plum appointment. The only two churches on the Island to compare architecturally were St. Sebastian’s Catholic Church, which Anglicans generally regarded as the product of a hopelessly tasteless nouveaux riche Lucian Gerland, and of course the Church of Serelia’s Cathedral of St. Thomas.
Mark Arnold Jr. and his wife Helen generally came to church by themselves. The boys hadn’t darkened the door of the place much past confirmation and Cathy went to Mass every now and then with Terry Marlowe and her father. The latter was a fearful proposition for the Arnolds, compounded by the fact that Cathy’s best friend was the granddaughter of the man who “took Verecunda away” from them. Cathy had promised that she would emigrate if she converted to Roman Catholicism, and in any case they sensed that the only reason Cathy went there is because Terry did.
The church was across the street from Point Collina school; the spacious front lawn of the church gave one a nice view of Verecunda city across the bay from the narthex. For a number of those in the parish—and that included the Arnolds—it allowed them to view the city they felt they had built as they left proper Anglican worship each Sunday.
As Mark and Helen came in, they took a copy of the bulletin, walked down the centre aisle to their appointed pew, made one of two bows he would make the whole week, and sat down. The memorialisations of the various items in the church—some subtle, some rather conspicuous—were reminders of those who had contributed to the church, many the Arnolds’ ancestors and relatives.
But, after they knelt and prayed, Mark’s attention was taken far away from the reminders of greatness past. As the organist played the prelude, he looked down in to the rack affixed to the pew in front of his. He realised that the cloth hardbound Prayer Book usually in place there—a slight modification of the 1928 one the Episcopalians used in the U.S.—was missing. In its place was a ungainly collection of mimeographed papers stapled together. He picked it up and looked at it.
“Trial liturgies,” he said to himself. “What is this? Where is our Prayer Book?”
“Don’t make a scene,” Helen whispered to him.
“But I wasn’t told about this,” he whispered, almost breaking into normal speech.
“You can ask Dr. Langley after church,” she scolded him, almost as if she was scolding Jack or Cat.
Mark settled back into his pew. It wasn’t long before the prelude stopped and the pause that did not refresh turned into the processional hymn. The acolytes entered first, followed by the choir and the celebrant. Mark realised that part of the problem was trailing the choir: Dr. James Woolsey, the new Assistant Rector. Mark had come to despise him in the few months since he had come to Christ Church. Almost fresh out of seminary in the U.S., his decidedly “Roman” insistance upon being addressed as “Father” was just the beginning of Mark’s gripe list about him. As he processed, he had the odd habit—odd, at least, to the older parishioners—of looking up at the ceiling in a silly way, as if there was a bird overhead on the verge of unloading its guano on him. The silly way continued through Morning Prayer; he had a decidedly shmaltzy delivery that Mark found especially irritating.
Woolsey began the announcements by informing everyone that the Rector had been called away on an unexpected visit to Serelia and would be back next week. He then showcased the new Morning Prayer liturgy. He promised that more suitable books would be arriving from the mainland shortly, but that it was necessary to inaugurate the trial liturgies at the proper time. He also announced that, beginning the First Sunday in Lent, that all Sunday services would be Holy Communion, and that Morning and Evening Prayer would be relegated to the weekday services. He apologised that this could not have been instituted at the beginning of the liturgical year six weeks earlier, but that other exigencies had arisen and the delay was unavoidable.
Mark’s recital of the General Confession and his reception of the Absolution was pretty much of no effect by the end of the service. When Woolsey gave the ceiling another inspection as he followed the choir and acolytes out in the recessional, Mark almost drug his wife down the aisle and into the narthex.
“Good morning, Mr. Arnold,” Woolsey said as Mark and Helen came up. “And Mrs. Arnold.”
“What’s good about it?” Mark barked. “Where are our prayer books?”
“They have been retired,” Woolsey replied.
“And why wasn’t I told about this? I am the Senior Warden on the Vestry here, in case you have forgotten.”
“You must have been somewhere else when this change was announced at Christmastime.”
“We were in Serelia on necessary business,” Mark informed Woolsey. “Using a proper prayer book, I might add. I heard the rumours upon my return, but our Rector informed me that this would be discussed at our next meeting of the Vestry before it was implemented. You know my opposition to this.”
“The Bishop ordered its immediate implementation,” Woolsey replied. “I would suggest that you take this matter up with him.”
“I certainly will,” Mark thundered. “Our prayer books will be restored, I can assure you. They haven’t even been removed like this in the U.S., from what I understand.”
“There’s no reason for us to wait for the Americans to institute progress,” Woolsey answered. “Good day.” With that he abruptly turned to greet another parishioner, leaving Mark fuming and Helen embarrassed.
Mark resumed dragging Helen towards the car, but there was no need for coercion: she was glad to get away from the church. “You didn’t need to be so rude to Dr. Wooley,” she said as he opened the car door for her.
“He’s usurped the authority of the Vestry and the Convention,” Mark replied. “I’m tired of high handed know-it-alls coming from the mainland and telling us what to do. We’ve governed our own affairs for a hundred and forty years. I’m going straight to Farnsworth about this. My father is rolling over in his grave, along with the rest of our forbears.”
“Maybe he should have stayed in Serelia like Bishop Cord did,” Helen observed, finally being seated in the car.
“Maybe she’s right,” he muttered to himself as he went around the front of the car to get in on the driver’s side. They went back to the house, picked up Jack and Cat, and went on to the Yacht Club for lunch.
Mark’s mood became more sullen with each scotch and water. The rest of the family knew not to say anything when this happened; Helen had the advantage of being able to consume a few vermouth martinis. Although the children certainly drank, they did so away from their parents, who still believed that they weren’t ready to drink until they got out of secondary school.
“I’m going to check on the boat,” Jack said after inhaling his dessert.
“Go ahead,” Mark replied.
“I’ll go help him,” Cathy said. The two went out to the boat, a small, fibreglass hulled powerboat about eight metres long.
“I hate it when he gets off on this Prayer Book thing,” Jack said as he pulled the canvas cover off of the boat to go aboard and look things over.
“Me too,” Cathy said as she helped him pull the cover onto the dock. They got on board and stood on the stern. The boat was facing north-east; from the stern they could see the sweep of the Point Collinan coastline as it curved rightward towards the Dahlia Bridge’s south approach.
“Hey, Cat, when you go to church with Terry, do they use a Prayer Book?”
“No, they have these chintzy little missalettes, booklets made out of newsprint, with all of the Mass and the readings.”
“Didn’t they change over from Latin last year?”
“Not last year,” Cathy informed him. “But they do have a ‘new order of the Mass,’ I think they call it. They’ve been through a lot of changes in their service, from what Terry and her dad tell me.”
“They didn’t go whining to their bishop, like Dad wants to, did they?”
“Catholics are different,” Cathy answered. “They were told what to do and they did it. That was it.”
“Kinda like the East Islanders,” Jack added. “You don’t do what you’re told, you get hung from the palace gate. Glad our grandfather didn’t stay there.”
“Well, let’s check this thing out, our parents are probably watching us from the shore to make sure we’re inspecting the boat,” Cathy warned. They went below and looked around. They came up. Cathy stood on the stern and looked over the starboard across the bay in silence.
“What’s wrong, Cat?”
“Grandpa,” she replied mournfully. “I miss him. Remember when he took us up in the belfry when we were little? We thought that was so cool.”
“Yeah, we did. And when he took us to the club. . .come to think of it, he gave me my first tennis lessons. You’re right, Cat. . .and he wouldn’t put up with what Dr. Woolsey’s doing. He was ‘old school,’ as Dad would say. Just seems like yesterday when he was still here.”
“He only died last year,” Cathy observed. “He didn’t like it when I sneaked off with Terry to St. Sebastian’s. But he didn’t gripe like our father does.”
“Wait a minute. . .St. Sebastian’s. . .what did you say about how they did.”
“They were told to change the Mass. They did it. That was it.”
“You think that someone’s telling our church what to do?”
“Now who would do that?”
Jack shrugged. “Denise’s dad, maybe?”
“Now why would he care about what prayer book we use?”
“Denise cared about everything. You had to do everything her way. Even make love. Maybe it runs in the family.”
“That’s stupid.”
“Maybe not. . .we’d better get this canvas back on before they figure out we came out here just to get away from them.” Cathy complied and they wrestled the canvas cover back on and secured it. They walked back to the club house. Mark and Helen were already in the lobby, waiting for their children.
“Now how come it took so long to inspect a twenty-six foot long boat?”
“Eight metres, Dad,” Cathy corrected him. “They make you do it.”
“You’ve been spending too much time with Terry,” Helen observed. “Let’s go home.”

The next day Claudia came in excited. “She’s going to Dillman-Arnold the first of February!” she exclaimed. “I can’t believe it! Thank you so much.”
“Just don’t forget my coffee again,” Pierre reminded her.
“Yes, Monsieur,” she replied. She left and returned with the usual service. Pierre gulped down his first cup and went out in the warehouse.
“So how did you get the system to change Carol’s school?” Pierre asked his warehouse manager.
“It was easy,” Luke replied. “My wife’s sister is assistant headmistress at D-A. She issued a letter admitting Carol provisionally, the same thing they do for people from the East Island, where the schools aren’t so hot. That means that, if it doesn’t work out, there’s no blame. In the meanwhile the Blind and Deaf school’s going to prepare her. She’s a smart kid, she’ll do okay.”
“I am glad this system still respects family connections,” Pierre said. “Thank you very much.” Pierre returned to his office to find the Verecundan newspaper on his desk, folded to a very small story buried in the back of the paper about Carol Yedd having an “unexplained” acquisition of sight, and that the school had “no comment” on her future.
“I wonder what Kendall will do with this,” he muttered to himself. But he found it easier to deal with the incoming telexes rather than to contemplate this knotty problem.

Events played out pretty much as Pierre said they would. The ophthalmologist reported that Carol was capable of sight, although he prescribed corrective lenses for near-sightedness. He gave no explanation for her sudden change, although he heard Claudia’s story, as did just about everyone else she encountered. Less able to come up with a response was the school, which insisted that she remain there. This threw Claudia into a depressed state, which she carried with her when she came to work on Thursday.
She came into Pierre’s office and bowed. “May I speak with you for a minute, Monsieur des Cieux?” she asked him as he sat at his desk, puffing his pipe.
“Of course,” he replied, having a good idea of what she was about to say.
“I talked with the headmaster yesterday at school. She won’t even discuss transferring her out. Her teachers don’t know what to do either, although they’re starting to teach her to read.” She was on the verge of tears. “She wants to go to Dillman-Arnold so bad, like her neighbours. I want her to have a normal life. Why are they treating her this way? Do they hate her? Do they hate me? Is it still a crime because I had her on my own?”
“Actually, it is no longer a crime to have a child without a husband in Verecunda,” he replied calmly. “It is one of Kendall’s achievements. Honestly, I don’t think that they hate either one of you. They just don’t know what to do. This has never happened to them before. Did they state that she might have a relapse into blindness?”
“Yes, they did,” Claudia replied. “They said this may be temporary. But it can’t be. Madeleine prayed for her. She used to be blind, but now she sees. How can it change?”
Pierre thought for a minute. “Bureaucrats find it easier to retreat into the mediocre rather than take the risks of progress. I will see what I can do.”
“Thank you, Monsieur des Cieux,” Claudia said. Bowing again, she turned and began to leave the office. Verecundans frequently made fun of East Islanders for their formality and attention to rank, but Pierre said that his predecessor gave Claudia the job more for her bow than for her secretarial skills.
“There is one more thing, Mademoiselle Yedd,” Pierre said. She stopped and turned around.
“What is it, Monsieur?” she asked.
“My desk is still without my coffee,” he observed.
“Oh, I am sorry,” she said, beating a hasty retreat. She returned with the coffee shortly, the service arranged exactly as he always insisted.
Pierre sipped his coffee, realising that he had no plan at all to solve Claudia’s problem. His experience with bureaucrats all over the Island was extensive; he sold tyres to all seven sovereign nations, to say nothing of the municipal entities, state and district governments, and of course Serelia’s free cities. His experience with Verecundan bureaucrats told him that they were getting harder to deal with than their counterparts further east as the government expanded its regulatory maze.
He finished his coffee and decided to take a stroll in the warehouse to see what was going on. Luke had just finished sending off a shipment to the Grand Tyler of Claudia when he came up to his superior, who was standing watching the proceedings.
“Going to the port?” Pierre asked.
“They’re transshipping it through Vidamera,” Luke said. “Used to be able to sneak through Aloxa, but they’ve stopped that.” He looked at Pierre. “Something eating at you, Boss?”
“It concerns Claudia,” Pierre confessed. “Carol’s school will not permit her to transfer out to a normal school. She asked me to help her. Frankly, I don’t know how.”
Luke thought for a minute. “You mind if I make a few phone calls?”
“To whom?” Pierre asked.
“I’ll tell you when I’m done.”
“Go ahead,” Pierre said. “It would be tragic if my daughter’s miracle would be spoilt by a group of stupid functionaries.”

Dinner at the des Cieux was a strange affair that night. Yveline found both her husband and daughter totally uncommunicative from the time they entered the door onward. They passed the food and poured the wine—and little of that—in complete silence. Attempts by Yveline to make conversation met with one dead end after another. Finally she had had enough.
“I do not understand this silence,” she finally declared. She looked at Madeleine. “I know that you act this way when you break up with a boyfriend, but I was unaware you had one.” She turned to Pierre. “And, of course, you act this way when you lose a major client, but you have not had this experience the entire time you have been on this Island.” She addressed them both. “And these events never have happened at the same time. So why are you two acting this way?”
Pierre brought himself to answer first. “I think Madeleine is the one who should explain this situation.”
Madeleine realised that her father had pulled rank on her, so she went through the whole story of her prayer for Carol and the aftermath.
Now it was Yveline that was a loss for words. They all finished the meal quietly, Pierre retreated to read and watch a little television, Madeleine disappeared to do her homework, and Yveline cleaned up the dishes and table the best she could. After this she quietly stole away to Madeleine’s room. She sat down next to Madeleine, who was obviously struggling to concentrate on her homework.
“Are you well?” Yveline asked.
“I am frightened, Maman,” Madeleine replied. “I do not understand why God is asking me to do these things. And I don’t know what will happen next.”
“Things? What other things have you done?”
“When I went to Beran, I got the same kind of message I got this afternoon, to pray for Terry Marlowe to win her match. And she did—I have never seen her play that way, she is usually rather clumsy.”
“It is hard to understand,” Yveline agreed. “In our church, we read the lives of the saints, and how they performed miracles. In our country, we have many stories from the past about these miracles. But now my own precious child is doing these things, in a place like this. But, perhaps, it is not the first miracle.”
“What do you mean, Maman?”
“When I first met your father, it was during the war. I was a simple Norman girl, he was such a handsome soldier. He said he would come back for me. I did not believe it. I thought he would be killed, or find someone else. But he came back and took me away as his wife.
“He began work for the same company his father worked for. We wanted very much to have a child. But it did not happen for a long time. We thought we would never have children. But then, we were in Saigon, and I found out I was pregnant with you. We could not believe it, and when you were born we were very happy. Your father wanted to wait until we returned to France to have you baptised, but I would not hear of it. So we went to the church and had a Vietnamese priest baptise you. As he did it, I prayed to God that your life would be a very special one, that you would be an extraordinary girl. And you have been, although our moves have made it very difficult for you.
“You are a miracle, Madeleine. The fact that you are here is a miracle—and one that took place away from France, come to think of it. So perhaps we should put our doubts aside and realise that our prayers are being answered, although it is never easy to be different. Today you have opened up a new life for someone who really did not have much hope. Last weekend you gave confidence to someone who honestly is in a difficult situation in this country. Who knows whose life God will enable you to enrich? Only God knows the answer to that. But you must not deny others the benefits of the gifts from the heavens because the consequences are too frightening.
“You are a strong girl, Madeleine. You have already come through many things. You can do what you must do. I know you can.”
“Thank you, Maman,” Madeleine replied, hugging her mother.
“Now you must perform the miracle of doing your homework under difficult conditions,” Yveline said, and they both got a laugh out of that.

The buzz about Terry’s beating Elisabeth Cassidy—balanced to some extent by her loss—resonated through the hallways and cafeteria at Point Collina. The main result of this was additional jealousy by the Fourth Form girls, although Cathy was certainly impressed by Jack’s account of the victory.
For her part Madeleine’s mind was still full the images of the unique weekend she had experienced, although she had the good sense to keep all of this to herself. It wasn’t difficult; in Sixth Form, Madeleine had earned the reputation as something of an isolationist. Losing her place on the tennis team only deprived her of another outlet of social contact.
Although her social life was limited, this didn’t mean that Madeleine wasn’t occupied. One of those occupations was her work with Madame Seignet’s primary school French classes, and part of that was going in costume to help teach them different topics of the French language and the French-speaking world. Her costume today was that of a traditional French schoolgirl, one which she wore well, although at her age she looked outsized for the part.
Madeleine hadn’t bothered to take off her little hat as she sat in Hancock’s English class. Madeleine’s approach to literary analysis was different than Hancock’s because of her background and inspiration from her father, and Hancock wasn’t always sure she was wrong. But he was loathe to admit that, so they sparred often.
It was no surprise then, at the end of class, when Hancock said, “Miss des Cieux, I need to see you after class.” Denise was sitting next to Vannie. They gave each other that look as they made their exit along with everyone else.
“You think this will stop her?” Vannie asked Denise as they walked down the hall.
“She’s already stopped,” Denise observed. “We just need to kill the moral support.”
Hancock sat down at his desk; Madeleine went forward and stood in front of it.
“Is there something wrong now with my work? I believe I have turned everything in,” Madeleine said.
“Not at all,” Hancock responded. “In fact, I am amazed that you have carried on as you have after your illness. Enough, I might observe, to attend the Beran Invitational with an opposing team.”
“It was difficult. I was very tired when I returned to my home.”
“So why did you travel with another school?”
“They invited me to go. Our team bus was restricted to those playing, you and Mademoiselle Dorr. It is a long way from here.”
“So how did you get to be so chummy with the Hallett team?”
Madeleine knew he had asked the leading question. “Carla Stanley and I are friends. She invited me.”
“Just friends?”
“What are you saying?”
“Let me be frank with you. We—and when I say we, I mean both myself and Coach Dorr—have come to realise that you are, for all intents and purposes, Miss Stanley’s coach, and that you have been working with her for at least a year and a half. We also have reason to believe that you were at her church Sunday morning, and even stayed at her home over the weekend.”
Madeleine knew she was on the spot. “I thought that this was a free country, as you say.”
“Ah yes, a free country. Let me talk with you as one expatriate to another. I have come to know you as a very sophisticated and cultured young woman. You come from a fine background and have lived in many places in the world. That being the case, I cannot understand why you would associate with a person who is a product of a narrow-minded, backward religion whose only experience outside of her own little agrarian world is to visit her relatives in America, and I can assure you from experience that they are, if anything, more backward and narrow-minded than she is. Your parents had the wisdom to send you to the best school on the Island and to associate with people as sophisticated and cultured as you are. I would hope that you, in the time you have remaining here, would spend time with your peers here at Point Collina and leave the ‘hicks in the sticks’ to their own devices.”
“Perhaps I have not found the ‘peers’ you are speaking about,” Madeleine replied, more quickly than Hancock expected.
“Perhaps you have not tried hard enough,” Hancock replied, arising from his desk and attempting to clench his teeth as he spoke. He attempted to regain his cool. “Look, I have found my time here in Verecunda to be very rewarding. But this Island has many unusual social customs. What I have found here is that, if you don’t make friends, you will have enemies, and serious enemies at that. I would hate to see you fall victim to that.”
Madeleine was silent for a moment. “Is that all?”
“That’s all,” Hancock replied, realising the conversation was really over.
“Thank you, Monsieur Hancock,” she answered, turned and left the room.
She barely made it in time for her next class, Advanced World History. About to begin his lecture was Ethelred Scott. Originally a Church of Serelia minister, he was defrocked when he abandoned his wife and four children—two of which were still in diapers—for a University of Verecunda English professor, who promptly bore him two more. He was most famous for his “bull sessions” on the Church of Serelia, which he invariably portrayed in a negative light.
He was deep into one of these when he made an offhand remark: “You know, it always amused me that, when most churches sent out their ministers to administer last rites with olive oil or some such similar concoction, the Serelians always used that aloe vera nard, not dissimilar to what a few of you young ladies use for your ‘alligator’ skin, as you like to put it.” He went on, but Madeleine started to feel her hands were getting pretty dry just from the thought of it.
Fortunately Scott was the last class she had to endure. Being with a medical excuse meant that she could leave school right after class and skip the athletics, a privilege she relished as she got into the Dyane and headed out. The day was beautiful and reaching its peak at 27°C. Madeleine was especially exhilarated by the nearly 5 kilometre drive across the Dahlia Bridge. Many Verecundan youth looked at the bridge as an extended over water drag strip. Although Madeleine’s Dyane’s capabilities in this regard were limited, it still felt nice to stash her hat and let the breeze to blow through her hair. As she took the straight shot back across the bay, she looked out to see the port, marina and ultimately the Verecundan skyline over the right guardrail.
Pierre’s office wasn’t too far beyond where the Dahlia Bridge’s northern approach met ground level at Meeting Street. On an Island where foreign businesses generally used local agents or joint ventures, Pierre’s company opted for a wholly owned subsidiary. Their decision had paid off: through a series of able managing directors such as Pierre, they held 80% of the tyre market on the Island, and continued to do so with a staff of just six full time people.
Madeleine parked the car in the warehouse, waving at a busy Luke Allen, and walked over to the adjacent office. It was her day to be her father’s chauffeuse so that Yveline could get some shopping done. She was buzzed in by the receptionist and went back to the office of Claudia Yedd, Pierre’s secretary.
“Papa is in, isn’t he?” Madeleine asked, noting her father’s closed office door.
“He’s in a long call with the American office,” Claudia replied. A brunette in her late 20’s who tended to wear clothing that held her close, her life had already been a challenge. Raised in the southern part of the country whose name she bore, her move to the “big city” started off disastrously when her boyfriend raped her, leaving her alone and shortly with a blind girl to raise. Verecunda in those days was a place where unwed mothers had a hard time of it, but Pierre’s predecessor hired her pregnant as a receptionist (“we do not have picture phones just yet,” he noted) and made the necessary accommodations, which were helped by relatives Claudia already had there. This made Claudia the most deeply loyal employee the company had, a loyalty rewarded when Pierre came and the existing secretary retired, allowing Claudia a promotion.
The promotion made a few things easier, such as running a block over and picking Claudia’s ten year old daughter Carol up from the Verecunda School for the Blind and Deaf, a small institution in the run down industrial part of town. Carol was sitting in the office when Madeleine arrived; she knew who it was from her gait.
“Hi, Madeleine,” Carol said, her cane at her side.
“Hello, chérie,” Madeleine responded, holding her cheeks and kissing her on the forehead. Madeleine had helped Carol some with her school work; the two were fond of each other.
“I need to step out,” Claudia told Madeleine as she got up from her desk. Claudia’s office doubled as the waiting room for those wishing an audience with Pierre, so it had three chairs around her desk. Carol and Madeleine were facing each other quietly.
Madeleine suddenly felt the same urge she had when Terry Marlowe was about to start her match. She heard the same kind of command: You must pray for Carol today so she can see. But how? Her mind was flooded with possible solutions, but she suddenly settled on one.
She reached into her purse and, after some riffling about, extracted a metal tube of aloe vera which she carried for her dry skin. Works for the Serelians, she said to herself. She put her purse down, took the top off of the tube and set it aside also, got up, and walked over to Carol. For her part Carol sat contentedly and in silence, following with her ears Madeleine’s movement around the room.
Madeleine stopped in front of Carol and leaned over. “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” she said, crossing herself. She took the tube and squeezed a little of the ointment on her right thumb. “In the name of Jesus Christ, be healed,” she said, first applying the ointment on the upper part of her right eyelid, then squeezing more ointment on her thumb, then applying it again to her left eyelid in the same place. Satisfied that the ointment was properly rubbed in, she went back to her seat, replaced the cap on the tube, put the tube back in her purse, and breathed a deep sigh of relief.
Carol had been dutiful throughout the entire process. She said nothing; she even lifted her head as Madeleine prepared to apply the ointment, as if she expected it. Claudia walked back into the office and returned to her seat. Carol’s eyes followed her mother’s return without her moving her head, but neither Claudia nor Madeleine noticed it.
“You’re very pretty today, Madeleine,” Carol said.
“She is very pretty,” Claudia agreed. “Did you feel of her dress? It’s her French schoolgirl outfit.”
“No, Mother, I didn’t feel of it.”
“Then how did you know?” Claudia asked.
“Because. . .because. . .I can see,” Carol replied. The reality of her transformation was just sinking in; her eyes were wide open as they scanned the new world that had just been opened to her.
“You can what?” Claudia asked. She jumped up and ran over to her daughter. She waved her hand in front of her face; Carol’s eyes followed it perfectly. Now Claudia’s excitement was zooming past her daughter’s, she turned to Madeleine. “What’s going on here? When did this happen?”
“It is my fault,” Madeleine finally confessed. “I prayed for her, and applied this aloe vera to her eyes.”
“And now I can see!” Carol exclaimed.
With that, Claudia let out a scream of joy that echoed in every direction, turned to Carol, and said, “Let’s go see if you can get around the warehouse!” With that the two bounded out of the office, leaving Madeleine in shock.
Shortly Pierre opened his door. “What is going on here?” He turned to Madeleine. “Where is Claudia? And where is Carol?” Madeleine was speechless. “Come into my office,” he ordered his daughter. Madeleine complied.
Pierre retreated behind his desk and stood. Madeleine stood in front of it like an employee facing discipline.
“Now, young lady, can you bring yourself to explain what has happened in my office?”
“Carol Yedd is no longer blind,” Madeleine replied.
“And how did this happen?”
“I. . .I prayed to Jesus Christ that she would be healed, applied some aloe vera to her eyelids, and then she began to see.”
“Let me take a look at this aloe vera of yours,” Pierre said. He walked around the desk while she re-excavated the tube from her purse. She handed the tube to him. Pierre inspected it, then handed it back to her.
“‘Man clothed in the omnipotence of God,’” he quoted, looking at her. “It seems that schoolgirls are as well.”
“I am not just a schoolgirl!” Madeleine protested. Pierre looked over his daughter’s outfit from head to toe. When Madeleine looked down at it and realised what she looked like, she giggled.
“I suppose I am, at least for today.” By this time Claudia and Carol bounded back into Pierre’s office, with Luke behind them. Claudia, in good East Island fashion, fell at Madeleine’s feet prostrate, sobbing and thanking her for what she had done. This was made easier by the fact that the floor was dominated by a Persian rug, the only form of rug or carpet in the entire facility.
“She navigates the shop pretty good,” Luke observed. While the women engaged in an outpouring of emotion and Luke stood in disbelief, Pierre took Carol and stood her in front of him while he sat down and did some simple vision tests. The employees found that Pierre had a soft spot for little girls; Carol had always been a favourite. While verifying the event for himself, he held Carol’s attention through all of the commotion. Finally he stood up and everyone regained their composure enough to stand in front of the desk in silence.
“I believe that you are correct, she can see,” Pierre declared. “However, first, it is necessary for a physician to examine her and verify this, and of course determine the quality of her sight. Assuming the outcome of these tests is satisfactory, the next step is for the Verecundan school system to figure out a method of teaching her some basic things—principally how to read—and prepare her for a normal school. I say ‘figure out’ because my experience tells me that they are not prepared for an event such as this. Miss Yedd, you need to call the ophthalmologist immediately to schedule an appointment—if you have trouble, let me know, their appointments can be rather slow these days. I think now that we can resume our work.”
“Thank you, Monsieur des Cieux,” Claudia said. With that the Yedds and Luke dispersed, leaving Madeleine and her father alone in his office.
“I hope I have not caused too much trouble,” she said, not sure what else to say.
“Miss Yedd has had a difficult life,” Pierre observed. “It seems that God’s providence has extended to someone who richly deserves it. You have done well. How we will explain this to all the world is difficult to understand at this point.”
Claudia managed to make an appointment with the ophthalmologist for the next morning. Further work was futile, as she was having too much fun being with a daughter with sight for the first time in her life. Madeleine usually did homework before the end of the work day, but she ended up joining in Claudia and Carol’s joy. At last 1700 came, Luke closed the warehouse, Claudia and Carol went to catch the bus for their trip back to the Dillman-Arnold district, and Madeleine and Pierre got in the Dyane for the brief journey back to their home.