His too expressive face must have betrayed some of his thoughts, for the Prioress said, 'I suspect, Inspector, that you, like so many people, share the belief that to enter the Cloister is to waste one's life. To run away from it, even. Am I right?'
Rafferty didn't attempt to deny it. It was what he had always thought.
The Prioress didn't appear offended by his antagonism to the lifestyle. On the contrary, she admitted that it was a common response.
'Common, but misconceived. I've always felt that the general public's conception of nuns as 'running away' from life is a strange notion in many ways. Especially when you think that, unlike in the world, a nun has no chance to avoid facing up to her own weaknesses and problems.' She paused briefly, as though seeking examples.
But Rafferty t
