Redemption of a Fallen Woman Read Online Free PDF Page A

along for now.
    ‘Very well,’ she replied. ‘I will come.’ Turning to her companion she added, ‘I hope you will excuse me, Lord Henry.’
    ‘Of course.’ He bowed politely, then watched the two women walk away. More than ever he felt sorry for Elena’s predicament, but unfortunately there was nothing he could do about it.
    Elena maintained her impassive expression for the next hour as the two elderly nuns schooled her in preparation for entry into the convent. She kept her gaze lowered lest they should read the anger in her eyes. This wasn’t going to happen. Concha was right. Somehow they would find a way out.
    Meanwhile, the nuns would almost certainly report back to her aunt so a meek and quiet demeanour seemed the best policy for now. If everyone thought she was becoming resigned to her fate, so much the better. Thus she sat without comment through a homily about the sins of pride and disobedience and the need for repentance and reparation through a life of abstinence and prayer. When at length it ended there was a detailed explanation of what would be required on admission to the holy order. That was followed by a period of compulsory prayer in which the nuns expressed the hope that she might be guided back to the path of righteousness for the salvation of her immortal soul. Elena bit her tongue. They knew, because her aunt had evidently told them, that her niece had no vocation for the religious life, but it seemed not to trouble them a whit. So far as they were concerned Elena was a fallen woman. All that mattered now was that she should comply with the wishes of her family and quietly disappear from public view. If they ever got her within the convent gates that would most assuredly happen. She gritted her teeth. Over her dead body...
    When eventually it ended and she returned to her room she sent for Concha. The maid eyed her sympathetically.
    ‘I thought they’d never let you go. What could the old crones find to say that took so long?’
    ‘Don’t ask. I don’t want to insult your intelligence by repeating it.’
    ‘What now, Doña Elena?’
    ‘Can you get out of the house on some pretext or other?’
    ‘Of course.’
    ‘We need to purchase horses and have them in readiness somewhere close at hand. When we make our escape it will have to be fast and we daren’t risk taking the animals from my uncle’s stable.’
    Concha grinned. ‘Leave it to me.’
    ‘All that remains, then, is to choose the hour. By the time these pious hypocrites realise what has happened we will be long gone.’
    When Don Manuel returned home later that afternoon he sought Harry at once and found him ensconced in the library. On seeing his host enter, Harry laid aside the book he had been reading and got to his feet. Don Manuel smiled.
    ‘I have news which I hope will help you, Lord Henry.’
    ‘You have word of my brother?’
    ‘His name was indeed known to the Intelligence Service here. It seems that he was highly regarded by those with whom he had contact.’
    Harry was quite able to believe it. Whatever Jamie had done, he had done well. ‘Did your contact know anything about my brother’s mission?’
    ‘Only that it was highly sensitive. However, I did discover that the Spanish cell at that time was run by a man called Pablo Garrido. Among those who worked for him was Xavier Sanchez.’
    ‘The person who was with my brother when the accident occurred. He must know exactly what happened. I should like above all things to speak with him and Garrido.’
    ‘The whereabouts of Sanchez are not known,’ replied Don Manuel. ‘As for Garrido, he retired from the service after the war and returned to his home in Seville. If you seek him you will have a long and dangerous journey.’
    ‘No matter. It’s a chance and I must follow it.’
    ‘Then I think you will wish to depart quite soon.’
    ‘Tomorrow,’ said Harry. ‘The sooner I set off, the sooner I may learn what happened to my brother and obtain the proof