He sat down on the ground next to her. "Breakfast. A nice,

plump chicken was available, but the fire we would have needed to cook it would have given us away. There is a farm just down the mountainside."

Lucia stared at the contents of the beret. "It looks great. I'm starving."

He handed her an apple. "Try this."

They had finished eating and Rubio was talking, but Lucia,

absorbed in her own thoughts, was not paying attention.

"Ten years, you said you were in the convent, Sister?"

Lucia was startled out of her reverie. "What?"

"You've been in the convent for ten years?"

"Oh. Yes."

He shook his head. "Then you have no idea what's been happening in all that time."

"Uh—no."

"In the last ten years the world has changed a great deal,

Sister."

"Has it?"

"Sí." Rubio said earnestly, "Franco has died."

"No!"

"Oh, yes. Last year."

And named Don Juan Carlos his heir, she thought.

"You may find this very hard to believe, but a man walked on the moon for the first time. That is the truth."

"Really?" Actually, two men, Lucia thought. What were their names? Neil Armstrong and Buzz Something.

"Oh, yes. North Americans. And there is now a plane for passengers that travels faster than sound."

"Incredible." I can't wait to ride the Concorde, Lucia thought.

Rubio was childlike, so pleased to be bringing her up to date on world events.

"There has been a revolution in Portugal, and in the

United States of America, their President Nixon was involved in a big scandal and had to resign."

Rubio is really sweet, Lucia decided.

He took out a pack of Ducados cigarettes, the heavy black tobacco of Spain. "I hope it won't offend you if I smoke,

Sister?"

"No," Lucia said. "Please go ahead."

She watched him light up, and the moment the smoke reached her nostrils she was desperate to have a cigarette.

"Do you mind if I try one?"

He looked at her in surprise. "You wish to try a cigarette?"

"Just to see what it's like," Lucia said quickly.

"Oh. Of course."

He held the pack toward her. She took out a cigarette, put it between her lips, and he lit the end of it. Lucia inhaled deeply, and as the smoke filled her lungs she felt wonderful.

Rubio was watching her, puzzled.

She coughed. "So that's what a cigarette tastes like."

"Do you like it?"

"Not really, but—"

Lucia took another deep, satisfying puff. God, how she had missed this. But she knew she had to be careful. She did not want to make him suspicious. So she put out the cigarette she held clumsily in her fingers. She had been in the convent for only a few months, and yet Rubio was right. It did seem strange to be out in the world again. She wondered how Megan and Graciela were doing. And what had happened to Sister

Teresa? Had she been captured by the soldiers?

Lucia's eyes were beginning to sting. It had been a long,

tension-filled night. "I think I may take a little nap."

"Don't worry. I will watch over you, Sister."

"Thank you," she said with a smile. Within moments she was asleep.

Rubio Arzano looked down at her and thought: I have never seen a woman like this one. She was spiritual, having dedicated her life to God, and yet at the same time there was an earthiness about her. And she had behaved this night as bravely as any man. You are a very special woman, Rubio

Arzano thought as he watched her sleep. Little sister of

Jesus.

Colonel Fal Sostelo was on his tenth cigarette. I can't put it off any longer, he decided. Bad news is best gotten out of the way quickly. He took several deep breaths to calm himself and then dialed a number. When he had Ramón Acoña on the telephone, he said,"Colonel, we raided a terrorist camp last night, where I was informed Jaime Miró was, and I thought you should know about it."

There was a dangerous silence.

"Did you catch him?"

"No."

"You undertook this operation without consulting me?"

"There was no time to—"

"But there was time to let Miró escape." Acoña's voice was filled with fury. "What led you to undertake this magnificently executed operation?"

Colonel Sostelo swallowed. "We caught one of the nuns from the convent. She led us to Miró and his men. We killed one of them in the attack."

"But the others all escaped?"

"Yes, Colonel."

"Where is the nun now? Or did you let her get away, too?"

His tone was scathing.

"No, Colonel," Sostelo said quickly. "She is here at the camp. We have been questioning her and—"

"Don't. I'll question her myself. I'll be there in one hour. See if you can manage to hang on to her until I get there." He slammed down the receiver.

Exactly one hour later, Colonel Ramón Acoña arrived at the camp where they were holding Sister Teresa. With him were a dozen of his men from the GOE.

"Bring the nun to me," Colonel Acoña ordered.

Sister Teresa was brought to the headquarters tent where

Acoña was waiting for her. He stood up politely when she entered the tent and smiled.

"I am Colonel Acoña."

At last! "I knew you would come. God told me."

He nodded pleasantly."Did He? Good. Please sit down,

Sister."

Sister Teresa was too nervous to sit. "You must help me."

"We're going to help each other," the colonel assured her.

"You escaped from the Cistercian convent at Ávila, is that correct?"

"Yes. It was terrible. All those men. They did godless things and—" Her voice faltered.

And stupid things. We let you and the others escape. "How did you get here, Sister?"

"God brought me here. He's testing me as He once tested—"

"Along with God, did some men also bring you here,

Sister?" Colonel Acoña asked patiently.

"Yes. They kidnapped me. I had to escape from them."

"You told Colonel Sostelo where he could find those men."

"Yes. The evil ones. Raoul is behind it all, you see. He sent me a letter and said—"

"Sister, the man we're looking for in particular is Jaime

Miró. Have you seen him?"

She shivered. "Yes. Oh, yes. He—"

The colonel leaned forward. "Excellent. Now, you must tell me where I can find him."

"He and the others are on their way to Иze."

He frowned, puzzled. "To Иze? To France?"

Her words were a wild babble. "Yes. Monique deserted

Raoul, and he sent the men to kidnap me because of the baby so—"

He tried to control his growing impatience. "Miró and his men are headed north. Иze is to the east."

"You must not let them take me back to Raoul. I don't want to see him ever again. You can understand that. I couldn't face him—"

Colonel Acoña said curtly, "I don't give a damn about this

Raoul. I want to know where I can find Jaime Miró."

"I told you. He is in Иze waiting for me. He wants to—"

"You're lying. I think you're trying to protect Miró. Now,

I don't want to hurt you, so I'm going to ask you once more.

Where is Jaime Miró?"

Sister Teresa stared at him helplessly. "I don't know."

she whispered. She looked around wildly. "I don't know."

"A moment ago you said he was in Иze." His voice was like a whiplash.

"Yes. God told me."

Colonel Acoña had had enough. The woman was either demented or a brilliant actress. Either way, she sickened him with all her talk of God.

He turned to Patricko Arrieta, his aide. "The Sister's memory needs prodding. Take her to the quartermaster's tent.

Perhaps you and your men can help her remember where Jaime

Miró is."

"Yes, Colonel."

Patricio Arrieta and the men with him had been part of the group that had attacked the convent at Ávila. They felt responsible for letting the four nuns escape. Well, we can make up for that now, Arrieta thought.