‘Bye, Daddy, thank you for everything. I’ll be the best nun I can be,’ she said, muffled against his shoulder. She would have liked to tell him that she loved him, but they didn’t do that sort of thing in the family, and he might have been embarrassed. ‘You’re a great father,’ she said instead, and his arms tightened around her and then he let her go, nodded to the nun and followed her out to the great wooden doors. When Brigid heard them clang shut, she knew she was on her own.

She waited until the nun came back, taking deep breaths to steady herself. Walking out of the visitors’ parlour and passing beyond the white doors that led to the silent convent beyond, Brigid acknowledged that her past was now behind her, and her family no longer her concern. She was God’s property now. The lay sister gave her a sympathetic glance from under her veil as Brigid wiped the tears from her eyes, but no words were spoken.

The Mistress of Novices, Mother Agnes, a tall, angular woman from Cork, informed her that she would be leaving all her worldly goods behind, except for the rosary beads and missal her parents had given her. ‘You have a new life to learn now, Brigid. You must plant your feet firmly on your chosen path and devote every thought to self-improvement. You must give of yourself to the Merciful Works of God.’ When Mother Agnes spoke the words ‘the Merciful Works of God’, her voice took on a most reverential tone.

Would she, Brigid wondered with a despairing heart, ever speak of, or think of the Merciful Works of God with such fervour? She’d entered the convent under false pretences; she would have to work even harder than her fellow postulants, whoever they were, to convince the Soeurs du Secours Miséricordieux that she’d heard the call from God, just like they had.