Early in the evening, Brooke set off to let off steam and relax at the gym. She was still all shaken up from her sulphurous moment shared with the priest a little earlier...
BROOKE'S THOUGHT : Even though I knew what game I was playing, it was so unexpected and intense. When I think about it, it almost seems unreal. I had already detected this part of virility, however well hidden under the decorum of his ecclesiastical uniform... But there... This power and this explosive, bestial even unleashing! It was incredible to offer him that...
These thoughts, quite exhilarating, were inevitably accompanied by an increasingly pronounced desire towards Lucas. She still wanted to taste all the pleasures that were offered to their unbridled and unruly bodies ... She was hungry for all these erotic follies to come ... This intoxication, this intense and almost insane vertigo. While she was walking quietly in the fresh air of the end of the day, her cell phone vibrated in her sports bag. She put it on the ground as quickly as possible, opened it and rushed to answer.
BROOKE : Hello?
OWEN : Hey babe...
BROOKE : Oh! Owen! How are you?
OWEN : Good. Listen to me, I have to hurry and I need your help. I've organized myself and I'll be in your village by the day after tomorrow or Tuesday I think...
BROOKE : Owen... I don't think it's wise. I saw the legal assistant and...
OWEN : And they're looking for me, I know it, you're not telling me anything new. Those bastards are trying to anticipate my movements! Besides, stay on your guard too... Because you must surely be watched without knowing it.
Brooke remained silent but his words did not reassure her at all. Quite the opposite. By reflex, she looked all around her ... Obviously, there was nothing suspicious.
OWEN : Brooke, can you hear me?
BROOKE : Oh yes, sorry! You were saying?
OWEN : I need a place to sleep, a discreet place, where no one would come looking for me ... Where you are, there must be farms or abandoned houses ... Find me one. Then, when it's done, you send me a message on this number to let me know. A simple "ok" will suffice.
BROOKE : ...
OWEN : Say something ... Do you understand, baby?
BROOKE : Uh ... Yes I understand but I don't know the area, Owen.
OWEN : That's why I'm warning you now... The sooner you find it, the sooner we'll be together. I can't wait to hold you in my arms, my dear.
Brooke wanted to tell her that she did too, but fear ate away at her enthusiasm even more.
OWEN : Once that's done, I'll send you a list of what I need before I arrive... A few things, some food, and water... I'll tell you in due time.
Owen didn't really give Brooke time to react. She understood that she didn't really have any other choice... Like the first time, he hurried to hang up... She knew he had to but it left a bitter taste in her mouth again. She was still shaking when she put her phone in her pocket before getting back on the road, completely disoriented. She realized that Owen's imminent arrival was risky for him but that she was also putting herself in danger... The idea that Owen was ready to take so much risk to come to her comforted her but also made her anxious. A strange feeling came over her when she realized that her desire to find his arms was no longer so pressing.
She continued walking towards the gym but Owen's words still echoed in her head.
BROOKE'S THOUGHT : Find a hideout... A discreet place... A farm or an abandoned house...
Brooke hesitated between going straight to explore the surroundings or first going to let off steam on the treadmill.
Finally, she decided that a good sweat session would do her the most good to see things more clearly. Once all this stress was gone, she would be in a better position to accomplish this mission.
Meanwhile, at the abbey...
Lucas was meeting the future Mrs. and Mr. Ledoux for a preparatory interview in one of the Community's lounges. A few weeks before their ceremony, the young couple was in their second meeting with the priest.
LUCAS : So, how are the wedding preparations going?
MRS LEDOUX : It's progressing... Slowly but surely! But there are so many things to do... I'm a little stressed!
LUCAS : Nothing more normal, it is therefore essential that we take this time to question the deep meaning of your union.
Lucas concentrated as best he could on this couple of lovers who were affectionately holding hands... And this, even if his thoughts, almost obsessive, continually brought him back to Brooke...
LUCAS : As you know, these times of reflection and discussion allow you to refocus...
LUCAS' THOUGHT : And me too at the same time... If that's possible.
LUCAS : We have already discussed the first two pillars of the sacrament of marriage, let's focus on the others, today. After freedom of choice and indissolubility, we will discuss fertility and fidelity...
MR. LEDOUX : Vast subject!
LUCAS : Absolutely. Exactly, how do you position yourself in relation to these principles?
MR. LEDOUX : Personally, I know that this is one of my future wife's greatest fears... I would like to reassure her.
LUCAS : It is true that fidelity is a real bet on the future, a sometimes daily challenge, especially with the wear and tear of time. But it will be a matter of both of you being ready to fuel this fire that churns in each of you, one for the other... Fidelity, in all its complexity, should not be understood as immobility but rather as creativity. Fidelity is fidelity to the other, but also to oneself, to one's intuition, to one's freely chosen life project.
The priest's wise and comforting words sounded false and discordant to his own ears.
MRS LEDOUX : I know that well, father. But my future husband is a man! Well, you too, but he is a man who has sexual needs... What's more, quite pronounced ones.
As if Brooke wasn't already monopolizing all his thoughts enough, the subject of the conversation didn't help Lucas in any way.
MRS LEDOUX : For now, everything is magical, crazy, intense... But I can't help but think that it will only last for a while.
LUCAS : You will be able to count on the active presence of God throughout your path and your mutual commitment. Because God, too, has committed himself and will not weaken... Just like you because you will work in this direction.
As he approached resistance to infidelity, Lucas's unpleasant feeling of embarrassment and unworthiness had grown more and more pronounced.
LUCAS' THOUGHT : I who was unfaithful to my God in the most delicious way... What hypocrisy.
Far from regretting what he had experienced with Brooke a few hours earlier, Lucas felt, on the other hand, dishonest.
MR. LEDOUX : But my father, I love Claire and she is completely enough for me. I would like her to stop doubting it... Even if it is true that sexuality is important to me, essential even.
MRS. LEDOUX : For me too. We give, I think, the same importance to sexuality. For the moment at least... But I know that a man's sexual appetite is different from that of a woman, and that it sometimes leads to escapades.
Here Claire was evoking this sexual appetite that Lucas understood and now experienced so well too.
LUCAS : You will have to find the path that leads to mutual respect for the rhythms and desires of the other, and this at each stage.
MRS LEDOUX : I am not against a little erotic creativity, I just hope that it will always be enough to satisfy his desire...
MR LEDOUX : I'm sure of it, my darling. You're the only one I want, the only one I desire and that for the rest of my life. I'll prove it to you.
Faced with this complicit rapprochement of two lovers, Lucas would usually have remained impassive, if not touched. From now on, this vision inspired carnal images that awakened his barely buried desire and amplified his lack. This cruel lack of a woman he had just met but whom he dreamed of already possessing. Like a drug, the burning emotion caused by this recent adventure altered all his judgment skills... Reminding, at the same time, that the strength of feelings mattered much more than the longevity of the sentimental story...
Brooke's workout had been shorter than expected. Indeed, she hadn't managed to get Owen out of her head. Angry and anxious, she had decided to abandon her treadmill. She had left her things in her locker and had gone running in the village, determined to start her reconnaissance for Owen's hideout at the same time. Obviously, she quickly noticed that she was going to have to leave the village if she wanted to increase her chances...
She decided to follow the main road that crossed the village and head towards the fields and the more rural area. As she ran in the dark, she only came across a few cars and animals in their enclosures. She finally decided not to go too far and quickly turned around.
Arriving near the abbey grounds, she noticed a hidden path, unwelcoming but interesting. Even if she wasn't reassured, she encouraged herself by promising herself to return as soon as she had explored this area. Her instinct had guided her on a good track since she found, a little further, an abandoned farm. The state of the buildings really seemed to be left to be desired but that wasn't what mattered to her... She walked towards the entrance of an old shed whose decrepit door was already open. She first stuck her head in.
It was quiet inside and she decided to use the flashlight in her pants to illuminate the place. Although it was a very discreet hideout, its state of dilapidation and disrepair quickly made her disillusioned.
BROOKE'S THOUGHT : Everything is rotten inside ... A good cleaning would be necessary!
She left the place, telling herself that she could come back tomorrow to continue her investigations. As she left, her gaze was drawn to the metallic reflection of a padlock on a door on her left. She went forward to see that it was indeed a padlock, quite modern, unlike the rest. Access to the main door was indeed sealed, which meant that at least one person frequented the place from time to time. Disappointed, she quickly understood that discretion and solitude would not be assured here for a fugitive on the run. Then following the section of road that led to the entrance of the abbey, Brooke decided to go back... Worried and gloomy, she would not be against a little comfort from a familiar and benevolent face...
She wandered for several minutes in the gardens and paths of the estate, unconsciously hoping to meet Lucas there..
Lucas had barely accompanied the couple to the door when he left for the garden, hoping to meet Brooke there. Unable to enter the part reserved for the nuns, he wandered and paced in the main courtyard... No sign. He then resigned himself to going back to join his companions for prayer time.
Half an hour later, he decided to go to the port room, still hoping to run into Brooke. She was nowhere to be found. Disappointed, Lucas was unaware that he had just missed her...
LUCAS' THOUGHT : I would even regret not having a cell phone for once...
Brooke felt more and more exhausted, tormented and even if she had trouble admitting it, quite anxious too. Reluctantly, she decided to go back because the fatigue mixed with the anxiety even made her feel a little cold all of a sudden. She went back to her room and the first thing she wanted to do was take a hot shower. She undressed and left her clothes lying on the floor of her room. She ran some scalding water.
On her skin, the sensation of heat brought her a parenthesis of comfort and appreciable relaxation. She closed her eyes under the hot water that flowed over her skin and gently relaxed the tensions. Once out of the cabin, she put on her outfit for the night ...
Lying on her bed, she ruminated on all the emotions of this intense day ... Her shower, a little too hot, surely had something to do with it and she fell asleep very quickly.
Lucas had gone out immediately after the collective prayer and was going around in circles in the abbey garden again.
LUCAS' THOUGHT : But damn, where is she?
He even surprised himself now by swearing. He was definitely not the same man he was a few days ago.
LUCAS' THOUGHT : She ... Would she have left with Nathan? Would she have really dared to do that? No! I refuse to believe it. She can't be a girl ... like that ... Or maybe I was completely wrong. Yet that's the only explanation I can find at the moment ... Unless ... Unless she's been in his room all this time!
Worried and suspicious at the same time, Lucas turned back towards the monastery. He entered through the main entrance and pretended to go back upstairs to his room. With a determined step, discreet but fast, he checked that no one was around before entering the kitchen. He advanced in the dark, scrutinizing the slightest noise and on the lookout for any sign indicating an unexpected presence.
Arriving in the back kitchen, he entered the storeroom and moved the shelf that hid a discreet door ... He entered through the small door that creaked when he pushed it with all his strength and replaced the shelf behind him. He turned on the switch of the generator of the construction site currently underway in the underground passages of the abbey. He went down the stone stairs leading to the galleries that were being condemned by Abbot Luc.
Fortunately for Lucas, the discovery of some antiquities had slowed down the work and the Commune had blocked the site. He got his bearings as best he could by imagining what was above him at each new turn. He went deeper. Once he had arrived with certainty under the convent building, Lucas looked for the first exit he could find. He advanced in the slight silent echo of the meanders of the underground gallery dug at the time ... He took the staircase that went up from the basement to the ground floor, not yet knowing exactly where he would end up.
The underground gallery led into the nuns' back kitchen and Lucas understood that the two kitchens were connected. He went out to enter the room intended for storing and preserving food from the second building. He understood that this tunnel, several centuries old, was used to facilitate the daily stewardship of the time. He crossed the kitchen as silently as that of the Monks and stopped before entering the corridor. The place was deserted but the nuns were upstairs and given the time, they were certainly not all asleep...
Lucas only had to cross the corridor and then follow the stairs to arrive in the part reserved for visitors. After several minutes which confirmed to him that the way was indeed clear, he hurried to reach the landing. He arrived in the corridor serving the rooms without knowing in which Brooke was staying. His heart was beating so hard.
One by one, he opened the doors of each of them, hoping that no retreatant or pilgrim had arrived in the meantime. As he secretly spied on the different rooms, Lucas felt both confused and guilty. He found his behavior and actions scandalous but it was stronger than him ... The door opened.