‘Who took him to the chapel?’ Sister Joan asked.
‘Daddy came down into the cellar,’ Samantha told her. ‘He said not to worry, that he’d see to everything. And he took him to the chapel. It was the best place for him. He hadn’t been spoilt, you see.’
‘That was where you wanted your daddy to take him, was it?’
‘Oh, Daddy usually does what I want,’ Samantha said. ‘He knows that I’d tell on him if he didn’t. About the photographs, I mean.’
‘And you put the rosary in his pocket.’
‘It slipped down on to the hall carpet from her belt when you came over that night. Jan picked it up and I took it. I thought it might come in useful. Jan is very stupid, you know. He doesn’t speak any English and he will drive me just anywhere I want to go. I guess it’s because he sleeps in the same bed as Mummy and he wants to keep me sweet.’
‘Kiki?’ Sister Joan said in a whisper.
‘Oh, she was more stupid,’ Samantha said contemptuously. ‘She saw the photographs and she got scared and ran off in the middle of the night. She walked off. I daresay she got a lift or something on the main road.’
‘You took the crucifix out of the chapel,’ Sister Joan said.
‘I got Jan to drive me over,’ Samantha told her. ‘He’s so stupid; you just point him in the right direction and tell him what place to stop in. I thought it would be very big protection to have the crucifix but it was terribly heavy and so I went and sat in that box—’
‘The confessional.’
‘When I heard someone coming. When you went out again I put it back and went back to the car. It was parked right by the wall but you never noticed it.’
‘And then you came back—’
‘I never came to hurt any of the sisters,’ Samantha broke in. ‘I thought it would be nice to have something really powerful from the chapel and the crucifix was too heavy. I got up terribly early and walked all the way there, but the door was locked. That’s a bad thing to do, to lock people out of a chapel. I started rattling at the door and suddenly Sister Margaret opened it. She started to ask me what I wanted but I ran past her and grabbed the candlestick. That was heavy too but not as heavy as the crucifix. I had to yank at her veil to get past her again, but she wouldn’t let me go. She grabbed at me and fell on her knees and that made me bigger than her so I turned round and hit her. I wanted her to let go, silly cow — oh, pardon me, Sister. That isn’t a very respectful way to talk about a nun.’
‘You picked up the candle‚’ Sister Joan said carefully.
‘And then I ran‚’ Samantha said simply. ‘I went by way of the camp and threw the candlestick there. I had my gloves on. You have to wear gloves when you’re taking things, you know. That’s very important, I kept the candle but it didn’t match the others so I put it in the furnace.’
‘You’re very bright for your age.’ She kept her voice level, mildly interested.
‘Yes, I have a very high IQ and I think that’s nice. It would make me very useful in a convent.’
‘So bright that I can’t understand why you didn’t ask someone for help if you were frightened about what was going on. People listen to children these days. There is a Help Line you can ring.’
‘But if I’d done that,’ Samantha said, ‘the welfare people would have taken me away. I like having pretty things and my own room and being able to wander about without people going on at me about where I get to and what I do. And it would be very wrong to tell on your parents. Only, sometimes—’ Her brow creased and she hugged herself as if an icy wind had ruffled the borders of her rose-patterned pyjamas. ‘Sometimes it’s like there’s another Samantha inside me that gets so frightened and wants to be safe. Isn’t it funny, Sister?’
‘No,’ said Sister Joan. ‘No — it isn’t very funny.’
‘The point is,’ Samantha said, ‘what are we going to do about it all. Was it you went into the cellar and dropped the photo album? I found it on the floor and I put it back. I didn’t tell on you, Sister. And of course you can’t tell on me.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You’re a nun and I just confessed to you. People can’t tell what they hear in confession if they’re nuns, can they? I heard that somewhere.’
‘Priests can’t tell, Samantha. Priests are bound by the seal of the confessional. Confessions made to anyone else, even nuns, don’t count. You’re not a Catholic or you would understand that. I can tell. It’s my duty to do so.’
‘But then I won’t be able to go into a convent when I’m eighteen.’ Panic flashed into the small face. I’ll be safe in a convent and my chastity won’t be spoilt. I can leave the other Samantha outside—’
‘The other?’
‘The one who goes out and picks the pretty children and invites them home for Daddy to play with while Mummy’s in bed with someone or other. She likes pleasing her daddy because then he leaves her alone. Nobody really loves him, you see, because he’s got a club foot just like the Devil. So the children have to be brought to him and then
