Sister Ellie pressed a hand to her forehead. She looked to the doorway. “I worry that you’re the last person I should talk to about this.”

The last person? Worry prickled beneath Kate’s skin. It had something to do with her? “No, no,” Kate assured her. “You can always talk to me, you know that.” She paused. “What is it, Sister?”

Their eyes locked. “The vicar,” Sister Ellie started. “He’s asked me to go with him to Vanuatu next year. For eighteen months. Maybe longer.”

Disappointment gripped Kate. “Tilly’s going to Vanuatu?”

Sister Ellie shook her head. She leaned over the counter. “No,” she whispered. “He asked me not to tell Tilly. He’d like her to stay here—with his children.”

Kate’s eyes slipped closed. A flush of anger, red-hot and vile washed over her. Quickly, it was eclipsed, her heart aching for Tilly who was completely oblivious to his intentions. “But she already has a position lined up at St. Matthew’s in the city for next year. It’s a ninety-minute drive home to Mornington every night. And even if she moves the children to Melbourne, he can’t expect her to teach full-time and raise two kids alone.”

Sister Ellie swallowed. “From what I gather, he’s expecting her to give up that position at St. Matthew’s.”

Kate traced her finger along the chopping board. “He’s using her. He’s using her and she’s so good that she can’t see it.” She raised her gaze. “You can see it, can’t you? I’m not being paranoid?”

Sister Ellie sighed.

“And why does he want you there?” Kate pressed.

“Because I can speak French,” she said simply. “And I can cook. And I can do both very well. I suppose I have experience taking missions too.”

Kate swallowed. “But have you thought, I mean, you’re very young and very beautiful and he’s not asking Sister Mary Monica, is he? He could be a sleaze—”

“Yes. I’ve considered it. But I honestly don’t think so, Kate. If that were the case, wouldn’t he just stay a while longer with Tilly? What interest would he have in me when he has a new lovely wife?”

Kate’s stomach swooped unpleasantly.

Sister Ellie reached across the bench and took Kate’s hands in her own. She was quiet. Gently, she squeezed Kate’s fingers.

Like a dam opened, the confession spilled from Kate’s lips in a rush. “I don’t think I realised how much I missed her until she arrived. She was my best friend. I always knew I was going to lose her, that she’d never love me the way I wanted her to, but I was okay with that because I knew I was losing her to the sisterhood. She was hell-bent on choosing this life where she’d do wonderful things for people, important things, just like you do. And in truth, if I’m being really honest, I was bitter about it; that she was so damn compelled to save the world. It frustrated me that we wanted different things but I still understood it—why she needed to choose that life.” She paused. “But him? There’s something off about him, right? To know that she’s being taken advantage of just kills me, Sister. It does. I’m not…I’m not jealous. I’m livid.”