After so many years at the convent, Dafne felt she had finally found someone with whom she had truly fallen in love. Her heart told her it was not wrong to prefer the love of another woman over a man, men were disgusting foul creatures. Dafne had experienced the physical love of many women. She seemed to have had her pick of the young novices here at the Abbey.
Genevieve was different, though. She was young and beautiful, so beautiful it took Dafne’s breath away. She was without guile and she did not look to Dafne for anything self-serving. Dafne was her trusted friend and she was determined to take this relationship slowly. Dafne did not want to scare Genevieve away.
There was a time when Dafne thought Dominique might have been “the” one. She had made a couple of physical overtures towards Dominique, but she had made it clear she was not interested. Dominique could not hold a candle to Genevieve, in Dafne’s estimation. Dominique was not the sweet innocent she pretended to be. She had thrown herself at the Abbot and then flaunted herself in front of the Confraternity. After getting pregnant with his bastard child, Dominique used the Abbot to leave the convent—with him paying for it, continued to support the charade of the Confraternity, and convinced both royal court and villagers that she was so admirable. She was detestable—how could Dafne have been so wrong about her.
But Dafne had a problem. Genevieve had been sent to the convent by her father, basically as punishment, for falling in love with a young farm hand of absolutely no social standing. At fifteen, Genevieve thought she should be able to make her own decisions about who she wanted to marry, but her father thought differently. He had chosen a suitable husband for her, someone of good standing in the community, someone with some wealth and prospects. That she was refusing his choice of partner infuriated him. He decided that a dose of religious zeal just might be the medicine that would change her tune.
Genevieve was desolate; miserable because she had disappointed her father and heart-broken at the loss of her love. Her father was unshaken in his stance that she would stay at the Abbey until she acquiesced to marry his choice for her. But Genevieve was a stubborn young woman and could think of nothing worse than marrying the wealthy gentleman—even if it meant spending the rest of her life in the convent.
Dafne, knowing that Dominique’s background was similar to Genevieve’s in that her mother’s rejection left her to spend her life at the convent of the Carmelites, decided to enlist Dominique’s help. Dominique had made a good start at the convent and was happy before becoming involved with men. Dafne knew if she was not successful in changing Genevieve’s heart with regards to the convent, then she would never change her heart when it came to being open to a loving relationship with another woman. Dafne would have to just swallow her pride and ask for some help from Dominique.
Wandering down the path towards Dominique’s cottage, Dafne employed her most charming attitude as she spied Dominique in her garden. Dafne had seen her only a handful of times since Dominique had left the convent.
“Dominique, my dear friend,” Dafne called out, sounding as sincere as she could. “You look so well, it has been far too long since I have seen my old friend.” Dominique looked up to see Dafne walking down towards her. Well, this is unexpected. Dominique thought to herself. “Good morning, Dafne.” She called out, waving. “What brings you to my little corner of the world on this beautiful day?”
“Are you going to invite me in for a cup of tea, so we can talk in private?” Dafne invited herself. “Of course, come in. It has truly been a very long time since we’ve talked.” Curious as to the reason for this unexpected visit, Dominique welcomed Dafne into her kitchen and put a pot of water to boil on the fire.
“Well,” Dafne began, “I have a little problem with one of my novices that I believe you could help me with. Her name is Genevieve and she is a sweet girl. Her father has disowned her and sent her to the convent. She is miserable—just heartsick.” Dafne explained, “I know that your experience was so similar, perhaps you could speak with her and give her some encouragement. Having for all intents and purposes lost both parents, maybe you could share with her some wisdom as to accepting the convent as the best place for her. It would be in her best interest to fully embrace all that the convent has to offer her. Genevieve would be the perfect addition to our little order and would serve our community well. She could make a wonderful life for herself, as you could have had it not been for that unfortunate pregnancy. Oh and feel free to throw in a remedy or two—if you’ve got one for just such an occasion.” Hoping that last comment hadn’t sounded too mocking, Dafne continued in a more sincere tone. “I care very much about her and would appreciate any help you could give.”
Dominique softened a little towards Dafne. Maybe she was not playing her usual games, and really did just want this girl to be happy. “Of course, I will try to help. I would be pleased to speak with her, but I don’t know what I could possibly say to convince her to embrace the convent. But you are correct, had it not been for Nicole’s birth, I probably would still be there at the Abbey.”
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Dominique went the following morning to meet and speak with Genevieve. She was a lovely young girl, with long, bright, blond hair that fell in tendrils down her back. She was soft-spoken and Dominique knew instantly how the disagreement with her father had broken both her heart and spirit.
Genevieve explained that her mother had passed and that her father had done his best to raise his children. But he was a stubborn man and when she had announced her intention to marry Marcel, he was furious. Marcel was a farmer’s son and certainly not a wealthy one. He feared for his daughter’s financial welfare and had promised her to someone more suitable. But Genevieve told her father she would rather die than marry a man just for money and not love. Having reached stalemate in their disagreement, he sent her to the convent as punishment.
Genevieve was heart-broken, not just at the loss of her sweet Marcel, but the loss of her father’s good graces. She adored him and missed him but would not budge when it came to marrying his choice for her. She found she was just as stubborn as her father.
Dominique listened carefully and promised to do what she could to help Genevieve. She had a good heart but Dominique knew the convent would destroy her and turn her into a bitter, resentful woman.
Leaving the convent, Dominique set out to find Genevieve’s father. As it turned out, Genevieve’s father lived just outside the village and was relatively easy for Dominique to walk to his cottage. Taking winding paths that cut through farmer’s fields, Dominique wrestled with how she would approach Monsieur Marchand. If he was too angry, he might not hear all that she had to say.
Knocking softly on his door, Dominique called out an introduction, “Monsieur Marchand, I am Dominique Collier, I’ve come to speak with you about your daughter.” He opened the door with a look of worry, “Is my Genevieve alright? Is something wrong with her?” He knew of Dominique’s reputation as a healer and immediately assumed the worst.
“Oh, nothing like that sir, do not be concerned about her health.” Dominique reassured him. She introduced herself formally and explained how she had come to meet Genevieve. “Forgive me, if this is an intrusion on your privacy but I feel compelled to speak with you on Genevieve’s behalf. I understand that you only wish the very best for your child. I am a parent also and struggle with how best to provide for my child every day. Perhaps I have no business, whatsoever, questioning how you choose to deal with your daughter but I am concerned about her. Genevieve has a wonderful spirit, she is strong and caring but I fear that her sadness will eventually destroy her at the convent. For her, it is not a God-centered sanctuary but a prison with every aspect of that except the bars.”
Dominique took a breath and continued, “Genevieve truly loves Marcel with her whole heart. It is so evident when she speaks of him. Her whole face lights up. But she loves you, too, and is ashamed that she has so disappointed you. Genevieve feels she cannot waver in her conviction that it would be wrong to marry someone for anything but love. She had the love of you and your wife as example and would rather spend a miserable life locked in a cell than give up her ideal of true love.”
Pausing to allow Monsieur Marchand to think about this, Dominique reached out and took his hand. The warmth and energy from her touch made him soften, “sometimes we need to lessen our hold on our loved ones, in order for them to grow and become who they are meant to be. God has a plan for each of us. If Marcel is as good a man as Genevieve believes then she will be in loving, protective hands. To love and be loved—I believe that is what God wants for each of his children.”
Looking up and meeting his eyes, Dominique saw the glisten of tears. She knew that her words had reached his heart and that Genevieve would soon be reunited with both her father and Marcel.