These accomplishments, while acknowledged as commendable, were considered far less useful than the domestic skills that were the focal point of the curriculum at Arc-en-Cieclass="underline" household management, simple physicking, and even surgery, along with the regular regimen of devotion and religious instruction that one might expect in a religious establishment.
And of course, there was the ubiquitous needlework to occupy hands not busy with other tasks: sempstering and fine embroidery, mending, spinning and weaving — all reckoned to be essential skills in the repertoire of all gentlewomen, if only so that they might oversee such work by others when, eventually, they must run their own households. Music, drawing, and dance provided a further soupçon of gentler diversion. The purity of Marie's voice soon singled her out for extra tutelage in choir and musical ensemble. Alyce's fine calligraphic hand raised appreciative eyebrows in the convent's scriptorium.
«Your calligraphy is exceptionally clear, my dear», Sister Iris Althea told her, casting her gimlet glance over a fluent practice page. «Already, your work is more than good enough to serve in any lord's secretariat. If you continue to apply yourself, you could be a true artist».
«Thank you, Sister», Alyce murmured. «I have been fortunate enough to have excellent teachers».
«And they have had a worthy pupil», Sister Iris Althea said graciously. «I wonder if you would be willing to try your hand at some fine copy work for the library? We have several volumes that have become finger-soiled and difficult to read, despite the reminders I give our girls to take care in their handling, and I have been wishing to replace them for some time».
Alyce allowed herself a shy smile, unused to being acknowledged for an adult accomplishment.
«I hope that I may be of assistance, Sister — if you truly think my work is good enough».
«Oh, 'tis more than good enough, child — or, I should say 'Lady Alyce, for this is not a child's work. As you come to know our library, you will find many manuscripts in regular use that are not nearly so fine». She smiled and gently cupped Alyce's cheek, smiling with genuine warmth. «I shall speak to Mother Judiana about you, dear. It seems that Lady Jessamy has brought us yet another treasure».
The very next day, Alyce was given her own carrel in the scriptorium, close to one of the fireplaces and near to a glazed window, though the winter sun offered little in the way of illumination. Still, there were candles aplenty, as many as she needed, and the space became a favorite personal haven in the days and months ahead. In time, it also became a place to tutor other students of promise, including her friend Zoë Morgan, whose quick wit and sense of humor often brightened her day.
Half a dozen others gradually admitted Alyce to their circles of more particular friends. Marie likewise found a few special friends with whom to share girlish confidences.
As for the rest, those who were indifferent at least were not hostile, and soon allowed the newcomers to settle into quite tolerable anonymity. The two sisters found that the school habit helped a bit, since everyone looked more or less the same, differing largely in height and girth and the color of the braids hanging from beneath each shoulder-length veil or kerchief.
Among the sisters, Alyce found somewhat more ready acceptance. Sister Iris Rose shifted from mere acquaintance to actual friend, as did Iris Mary; and Jessilde MacAthan became a friend as well. And ruling them all, Mother Judiana showed herself unfailingly benevolent, wise, and fair-minded.
The sole note of discord that gradually arose was the antipathy that soon developed between Alyce and the chaplain of whom they had been warned. There were three priests responsible for the community's spiritual well-being — offering daily Mass, hearing confessions, and teaching the odd catechism class or bit of church history in the convent school — and with two of them, she had no problem. The eldest, called Father Deuel, was a semi-invalid, and could be crotchety when his arthritis was bothering him, but seemed to embody everyone's idea of what the perfect uncle or grandfather should be: genuinely fond of all his charges, and inclined to turn an indulgent eye on all but the most serious transgressions.
The next in seniority, Father Benroy, was equally indulgent, with a fine calligraphic hand and failing eyesight that kept him mostly confined to the very close work of the scriptorium. Over the first few weeks of Alyce's regular presence there, the pair of them developed a cordial working relationship based on mutual respect for one another's artistry, and Benroy soon began to offer her extra tutelage.
The third man had none of the positive qualities of the first two: Father Septimus de Nore, who taught catechism, prepared the girls for Confirmation, and was known to be an extremely punctilious confessor, especially of Deryni. Only a few days after their arrival, Jessilde repeated Sister Iris Rose's warning, and stressed the importance of absolutely avoiding him at confession.
«He abuses his office, if there's any whiff of a Deryni 'taint’ — and you and I and Marie are more than merely tainted», Jessilde confided, during the hour of recreation the girls were allowed with the community before evening prayers. «There's nothing to be done about the classes he gives. He'll try to bait you, but you mustn't let yourself be drawn into argument with him. Eventually he'll win, whether he's right or not — and as a priest, he has the authority to make life difficult for us».
«That hardly seems fair», Alyce muttered. «Who does he think he is?»
Jessilde gave her a sidelong glance. «"Fair" has nothing to do with it, Alyce. He's the brother of a bishop — and moreover, a bishop who hates our kind. There's been many a burning in Carthane attributed to Oliver de Nore — and the two brothers are cut from the same cloth. If Father Septimus chooses to enforce the letter of law — and he usually does — he can be extremely difficult».
«He couldn't burn anyone — could he?» Alyce asked, shocked.
«Not here — and certainly not without cause that absolutely couldn't be ignored», Jessilde replied, with a shake of her head. «I'm sure that you would never be so foolish as to give him such cause.
«As for lesser transgressions — well, fortunately, Mother Judiana has enough rank to protect us usually». She cast a fond glance toward one of the fireplaces in the common room, where Judiana sat laughing and smiling with two other sisters and several of the older students. «She's a duke's daughter by birth — and the superior of Arc-en-Ciel always ranks as a baroness in her own right: one of the perquisites of it being a royal convent. We were founded by a Bremagni princess, you know».
Alyce nodded thoughtfully. «I knew that», she said vaguely. «But — is she really the daughter of a duke? I wonder that she'd be allowed to take the veil».
Jessilde laughed gently. «You don't yet know Mother very well. She's a very strong-minded woman, and a very kind and good one. But she comes from a very large family — two brothers and four sisters — so I'm sure her father was happy enough to see her enter the convent. I know he sent her with a handsome dowry. She was the favorite of his daughters, and she found her vocation at a very early age».
Alyce guessed that such a background probably would make Mother Judiana a very formidable opponent, if crossed. Fortunately, she soon learned that this formidable nature was focused on being advocate and defender for those in her charge, whether sister or pupil. Though Father Septimus blustered a great deal, and settled into a pattern of confrontations with Alyce in catechism class, his frustration only mounted as he discovered himself unable to follow through on any of his veiled threats.