Virgin Quartet

Episode 44

Natasha arose alone and abandoned in her cell late on the following morning. She quickly slipped on her crumpled panties and clumsily fastened the clasp of her bra, recalling in her mind’s eye the painting of a young Santa Agüeda offering her own severed breasts to the viewer on a silver platter.

She quickly donned the snow white nun’s habit with its braided waist cord that lay carefully folded on a wooden chair and slipped a matching white cord with a dangling silver crucifix over her head. She splashed cold water from the washstand onto her puffy cheeks and stooped to wash out her mouth with the same water, scrubbing her teeth with one finger then spitting back into the floral-patterned enameled basin. Lastly, she lowered the coal black veil onto her head like a princess with her crown.

The Cardinal’s limousine was ready and waiting inside the courtyard to carry them post haste back to Aguafria as planned. There was no time for breakfast in the commissary and she’d already missed Matins that today was conducted in the side chapel attached to the Abadesa’s office. Sister Encarna had placed a ‘Closed for Renovations’ sign on the main chapel entrance along with an extra strong iron chain and padlock, then advised her flock that the area was temporarily off-limits.

The nuns were by now scurrying about the convent engaged in their routine daily tasks of cleaning and purifying, sweeping and mopping, replenishing the torches in the corridors and alcoves, or tilling the black earth and tugging at weeds in the communal garden.

The season for harvesting honey was approaching and the sisters would soon busy themselves cranking the centrifuge that extracted the sweet, gooey syrup from the purloined combs. Later, they would cast the recovered beeswax into tall pale candles for the chapel. Sister Encarna had announced to the assembled women at breakfast that the visiting Cardinal was feeling a bit under the weather and would be remaining with them for a few days of isolation, fasting and silent meditation in the guest cell. He was not to be disturbed under any circumstances. She implored the congregation to pray for God’s guidance.

With Natasha herself decked out in full ecclesiastical regalia and riding shotgun, Sister Encarna steered the shining black limousine…

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