I must guard my thoughts. She is the bride of Jesus.
“Sister…”
“Yes?”
“I—I wonder if I could ask a favor of you.” He was almost blushing.
“Yes?”
“I—it’s been a long time since I prayed. But I was brought up a Catholic. Would you mind saying a prayer?”
That was the last thing Lucia had expected.
How long has it been since I said a prayer? she wondered. The convent did not count. While the others were praying, her mind had been busy with plans to escape.
“I—I don’t—”
“I’m sure it would make us both feel better.”
How could she explain that she did not remember any prayers? “I—er—” Yes. There was one she remembered. She had been a little girl kneeling at her bedside and her father had stood beside her, ready to tuck her into bed. Slowly, the words of the Twenty-third Psalm started to come back to her.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake…”
Memories came flooding back.
She and her father had owned the world. And he had been so proud of her.
You were born under a lucky star, faccia d’angelo.
And hearing that, Lucia had felt lucky and beautiful. Nothing could ever hurt her. Was she not the beautiful daughter of the great Angelo Carmine?
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…”
The evil ones were the enemies of her father and brothers. And she had made them pay.
“For thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me…”
Where was God when I needed comforting?
“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over…”
She was speaking more slowly now, her voice a whisper. What had happened, she wondered, to the little girl in the white communion dress? The future had been so golden. Somehow it had all gone wrong. Everything. I’ve lost my father and my brothers and myself.
In the convent she had not thought about God. But now, out here with this simple peasant…
Would you mind saying a prayer for us?
Lucia went on. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”
Rubio was watching her, moved.
“Thank you, Sister.”
Lucia nodded, unable to speak. What’s the matter with me? Lucia asked herself.
“Are you ready, Sister?”
She looked at Rubio Arzano and said, “Yes. I’m ready.”
Five minutes later they were on their way.
They were caught in a sudden downpour and took shelter in a deserted cabin. The rain beat against the roof and sides of the cabin like angry fists.
“Do you think the storm will ever let up?”
Rubio smiled. “It’s not a real storm, Sister. It’s what we Basques call a sirimiri. It will stop as quickly as it started. The earth is dry right now. It needs this rain.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I’m a farmer.”
It shows, Lucia thought.
“Forgive me for saying this, Sister, but you and I have a lot in common.”
Lucia looked over at the bumbling hayseed and thought: That will be the day. “We do?”
“Yes. I truly believe that in many ways being on a farm must be much like being in a convent.”
The connection eluded her. “I don’t understand.”
“Well, Sister, in a convent you think a lot about God and His miracles. Is that not true?”
“Yes.”
“In a sense a farm is God. One is surrounded by creation. All the things that grow from God’s earth, whether it’s wheat or olives or grapes—everything comes from God, does it not? These are all miracles, and you watch them happen every day, and because you help them grow, you are a part of the miracle.”
Lucia had to smile at the enthusiasm in his voice.
Suddenly the rain stopped.
“We can move on now, Sister.”
“We will be coming to the Duero River soon,” Rubio said. “The Peñafiel Falls is just ahead of us. We will go on to Aranda de Duero and then Logroño, where we will meet the others.”