I shall not leave Sylvia exposed to your cruel attacks,--attacks
which I believe will come in every practical form that your ingenuity
can devise. It was my example that brought that girl into the House of
Martha, and now that she has vowed to devote her life and her work to
its service I shall not desert her. I will not have her pure purpose
shaken and weakened, little by little, day by day, until it falls
listless and deadened, with nothing to take its place. Therefore, until
I know that you are no longer a source of danger to her, I shall remain
Mother Superior of the House of Martha, and rest assured that while I am
in that position Sylvia shall be safe from you." And with that she rose
and walked out of the room.
XLIII.
WAS HIS HEART TRUE TO POLL?
Never before had any one spoken to me as Mother Anastasia had just
spoken. Never before had I felt as I felt in leaving the house where she
had spoken to me. I did not admit all that she had said; and yet not
even to myself could I gainsay her statements. I was not convinced that
I had been wrong, but I could not help feeling that she was right. I was
angry, I was mortified, I was grieved. The world seemed cold and dark,
and the coldest and darkest thing in it was the figure of Mother
Anastasia, as she rose to leave me.
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