[RECAP: Leonie has got herself stranded in a storm, in the dark, on a lonely hillside]
Sister Barbara did a headcount as she hurried the girls into the warmth and dry of the school. Leonie's absence was noticed almost immediately.
"Who is missing? Where is Leonie Wilson?" she asked them.
There was an uneasy look among the students. Figgy and Mai had to confess. They were both getting very worried about Leonie due to the worsening weather. "She forgot her camera at the well. She was worried about it getting damaged by the rain."
Sister Barbara was exasperated. "She went back for a camera? Alone, in this terrible weather?"
"It was only just raining when she started. She thought that she could get back while it was still light," Figgy said.
The storm was battering the window panes, causing the evening to be prematurely dark. To think of anyone out there on this wild night was troubling. Sister Barbara went immediately to Mother Benedict. Her footsteps echoed down the stone floor of the corridor as she strode purposefully to the headmistress's study.
She knocked and entered before waiting for a reply. There she found Mother Benedict, in conference with the two priests. They were discussing the order of service to commemorate St Winifred's Day, and some other ecclesiastical matters.
"Mother Superior, may I have a word with you? In private," Sister Barbara asked. She judged it best not to inform the two priests just yet about the missing girl.
"Of course." Mother Benedict rose, seeing the urgency on the nun's face. "You will excuse me." She stepped outside into the corridor where Sister Barbara told her what had happened.
"I can't imagine what she was thinking. I expect she wasn't thinking at all," Sister Barbara said.
The headmistress's face grew grave. "Foolish girls. I suppose the storm was not forecast, but one would think with the rain... Still, what's done is done. We must send out a search party. I am not sure that we ought not to call the police."
"I had thought of that, Mother, but by the time they are here..."
"Indeed. There is no time to be lost." She went back into the office to inform the two priests. "Sister Barbara brings troubling news. One of the girls on the excursion to the holy well has not returned. She went back for a lost camera, shortly before the storm broke out."
Without even being told the name, Gabriel felt a cold fear creep through him. "Which girl?" he asked.
"Leonie Wilson. The American student."
Leonie. If anything happened to her... Gabriel tried to put the thought out of his mind. "I'll go and find her."
Mother Superior frowned. "We had thought, of course, to put together a search party, and to call the police."
Gabriel interrupted her. "There isn't time for all that. With the very greatest respect, I have the best chance of getting there quickly among all of us. There's no need for several people to get drenched in the storm." He turned to Sister Barbara. "It's not far, is it? I should be able to make it in forty minutes or less?"
"Not much more, at a good pace," Sister Barbara agreed.
"Great. If you can fetch me a torch, some waterproofs and a couple of flares, I'll head out straight away. I'll send one flare if I find her. Two if I don't, or we need the emergency services. Give me an hour."
"What about a Thermos of hot tea?" Mother Superior suggested.
Every minute it took to boil a kettle would be a minute that Leonie was alone out there, but Gabriel nodded. "I'll grab my coat." He hastened to the presbytery, threw on a waterproof jacket and swapped his regular shoes for hiking boots. Mother Superior met him back at the front door holding some emergency supplies, including a storm lantern.
"God go with you, Father. We shall all pray for you," she told him. She repeated the basic directions to the well.
Gabriel thanked her and strode off. His one thought was that with every one of his heartbeats, Leonie was lost somewhere, cold and alone.
He hiked and ran up the hillside. He felt as thought someone were guiding him. He hadn't visited the well himself yet: it was one of those things he kept putting off. Despite never having travelled this way, his feet found the path.
The storm was at its blackest, the wind howling. His jacket kept most of the water off him, but it still got under the hood and drenched his face and the front of his hair. The rain was blinding.
Storm flakes were scroll-leaved flowers, lily showers—sweet heaven was astrew in them
Hopkins' verse rang through Gabriel's head. The thought of Leonie ending up as a sacrifice to the storm was unthinkable.
He forged ahead. In his haste he hadn't really considered the consequences of what would happen if he didn't find her. Temperatures weren't yet falling to zero at night. But hypothermia was still possible, particularly with the rain. He said a silent prayer. He could not lose her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The wait for the next update will be worth it, I promise...