Banfield Convent is the religious house in which Alice Pagett stays under the care of Mother Marie-Claire and the sisters. Its courtyard, dim upper corridor, tiny chapel, and sparse private cells give the convent an atmosphere of disciplined quiet; within that quiet, the sisters’ ordinary care for Alice becomes a means of noticing things that do not fit what they know about her.

Setting and Layout

Monsignor Delgard approaches across the courtyard and climbs three steps to the main door. The cold reaches him as he waits, while the nun who opens the door is initially cautious, her face difficult to discern against the light behind her. Once she recognizes him, she lets him in: Mother Marie-Claire is expecting him.

The hallway leads toward a tiny chapel where Mother Marie-Claire had been deep in prayer. A staircase rises to an upper corridor lined with doorways, each opening onto a nun’s private, sparse cell. Alice’s room is among them. After Delgard enters, the doorkeeper locks the convent door, hangs his overcoat on a hook beneath the stairs, and returns to her work in the kitchen. These practical details place the convent’s religious life within a routine of prayer and household duties.

Delgard’s Visit

Mother Marie-Claire’s meeting with Delgard brings him from the public threshold of the convent into its quieter interior. He climbs slowly, and she fingers the silver cross hanging from her neck before returning toward the chapel. At the top of the stairs, Delgard pauses to adjust to the poor light, then walks down the corridor to the room where she is waiting to speak with him. He wonders why she needs to see him so urgently that night, but the visit soon turns to Alice.

Alice’s Stay and the Sisters’ Observations

Every night since Alice has been at the convent, Mother Marie-Claire or one of the sisters has stopped by her room to check that she is sleeping soundly. Mother Marie-Claire reports hearing Alice’s voice beyond the door on two occasions; Sister Theodore has heard it as well. The observation is striking in light of Alice’s condition, though the passage does not explain what she says or who she is addressing. Mother Marie-Claire adds that Alice has no difficulty sleeping and, in fact, sleeps excessively. The doctor considers the extra sleep beneficial given the stress Alice is under.

Alice’s drawings provide another point of concern. Before his death, Father Hagan showed Delgard pictures that Alice’s mother had allowed him to take from the family home. They all depicted one person, whom the adults understood to be the Virgin Mary. Mother Marie-Claire considers Alice unskilled as an artist but intensely devoted to her subject, to the point of obsession. The convent is therefore not only Alice’s place of care: its observant community is where her unusual speech and concentrated religious imagery become part of the evidence Delgard is trying to understand.