farther north or west, it was another story.
"A pity the wind is so chilly today," Mother Winifred remarked. "Perhaps tomorrow it will be comfortable enough to walk in the garden." She looked out the window. "It looks a bit bleak now, but in the summer, it is really quite beautiful."
"Even in the winter," I said. "The design is classic."
The walled square contained five gardens, one in each corner and one in the middle. The corner to the right was the kitchen garden, bordered by mounds of thyme, with clumps of marjoram and parsley and sage in the center and a handsome rosemary at the back. One of the back corners was a fragrance garden, with old roses climbing against the stone wall. The other was a dyers' garden, with teasel- not a dye plant, actually, but used by weavers to tease fibers-and madder and woad, a sprawling, noxious weed that has to be carefully contained.
"The apothecary garden interests me most." Mother Winifred pointed to the fourth corner. "We have quite a
few medicinals. Peppermint for an upset stomach, catnip and chamomile for a sound sleep. As well as sage, foxglove, rue, comfrey, pennyroyal, feverfew-"
"Mother also has a stillroom," Maggie said. "That's where the sisters make salves and lotions."
"A growing number are interested in herbal medicines," Mother Winifred said. "I try to keep up on current research, and several of the sisters enjoy trying out old recipes. We have quite an extensive shelf of reference books, if you'd care to see them."
"I would, thank you," I said. "I'd like to see your still-room, too." It was pleasant to sit here in the warmth, sipping tea and talking about gardens. But there was something else to be done, and we might as well get to it. I pushed my cup away. "We ran into Deputy Walters in town," I said. "He told us about the fires. He also said you wanted me to look into them. Is that right?''
A look of consternation crossed Mother Winifred's face. "Oh, dear," she said. "I wanted to be the first to tell you."
So it was true. I sighed. ' 'The fires are the 'minor mystery' you mentioned on the phone?''
Mother Winifred fixed her bright, birdlike eyes on me. "I hope you'll forgive me, China. I've been duplicitous."
"If you don't mind my saying so, Mother," I said, "arson isn't a minor matter. Especially in a place like this, with so many people living so close together."
"You're right, of course." She gestured at a telephone on the wall. "The difficulty is that we have only two phones here-this one and the one in the main office in Sophia. They're on the same line. I needed to let you know that I had a special reason for wanting you to come, but I was afraid our conversation might be overheard."
"You thought someone might be listening? Who?"
Mother Winifred shifted uncomfortably. "Something troublesome and dangerous is going on here. I understand that you have been helpful to the police on several different occasions, and that you have a background in criminal law.
And since you wanted to make a retreat here, I felt you were the right person to help us."
Ruby leaned forward. " China is
very
good at solving mysteries. And I'm always glad to help." She made a face. "It's really too bad that I can't stay. If I hadn't already made plans-"
I shook my head. "What Mother Winifred needs is a trained arson investigator, Ruby. Someone who-"
"But it's not just the fires, China," Maggie broke in. She folded her arms on the table. "Tell her about the letters, Mother."
Mother Winifred shifted nervously. ' 'Yes. Well, the letters are really quite distressing. They have the potential to make a difficult situation much worse."
I took a deep breath. The matter was obviously quite complicated, but we had to start somewhere. "Let's begin with the fires, shall we?" I said. "I know something about them already."
"Of course. The fire in the craft room in the barn-that was in October-started with an electrical short. Dwight said he thought it was accidental, so after he repaired
"A pity the wind is so chilly today," Mother Winifred remarked. "Perhaps tomorrow it will be comfortable enough to walk in the garden." She looked out the window. "It looks a bit bleak now, but in the summer, it is really quite beautiful."
"Even in the winter," I said. "The design is classic."
The walled square contained five gardens, one in each corner and one in the middle. The corner to the right was the kitchen garden, bordered by mounds of thyme, with clumps of marjoram and parsley and sage in the center and a handsome rosemary at the back. One of the back corners was a fragrance garden, with old roses climbing against the stone wall. The other was a dyers' garden, with teasel- not a dye plant, actually, but used by weavers to tease fibers-and madder and woad, a sprawling, noxious weed that has to be carefully contained.
"The apothecary garden interests me most." Mother Winifred pointed to the fourth corner. "We have quite a
few medicinals. Peppermint for an upset stomach, catnip and chamomile for a sound sleep. As well as sage, foxglove, rue, comfrey, pennyroyal, feverfew-"
"Mother also has a stillroom," Maggie said. "That's where the sisters make salves and lotions."
"A growing number are interested in herbal medicines," Mother Winifred said. "I try to keep up on current research, and several of the sisters enjoy trying out old recipes. We have quite an extensive shelf of reference books, if you'd care to see them."
"I would, thank you," I said. "I'd like to see your still-room, too." It was pleasant to sit here in the warmth, sipping tea and talking about gardens. But there was something else to be done, and we might as well get to it. I pushed my cup away. "We ran into Deputy Walters in town," I said. "He told us about the fires. He also said you wanted me to look into them. Is that right?''
A look of consternation crossed Mother Winifred's face. "Oh, dear," she said. "I wanted to be the first to tell you."
So it was true. I sighed. ' 'The fires are the 'minor mystery' you mentioned on the phone?''
Mother Winifred fixed her bright, birdlike eyes on me. "I hope you'll forgive me, China. I've been duplicitous."
"If you don't mind my saying so, Mother," I said, "arson isn't a minor matter. Especially in a place like this, with so many people living so close together."
"You're right, of course." She gestured at a telephone on the wall. "The difficulty is that we have only two phones here-this one and the one in the main office in Sophia. They're on the same line. I needed to let you know that I had a special reason for wanting you to come, but I was afraid our conversation might be overheard."
"You thought someone might be listening? Who?"
Mother Winifred shifted uncomfortably. "Something troublesome and dangerous is going on here. I understand that you have been helpful to the police on several different occasions, and that you have a background in criminal law.
And since you wanted to make a retreat here, I felt you were the right person to help us."
Ruby leaned forward. " China is
very
good at solving mysteries. And I'm always glad to help." She made a face. "It's really too bad that I can't stay. If I hadn't already made plans-"
I shook my head. "What Mother Winifred needs is a trained arson investigator, Ruby. Someone who-"
"But it's not just the fires, China," Maggie broke in. She folded her arms on the table. "Tell her about the letters, Mother."
Mother Winifred shifted nervously. ' 'Yes. Well, the letters are really quite distressing. They have the potential to make a difficult situation much worse."
I took a deep breath. The matter was obviously quite complicated, but we had to start somewhere. "Let's begin with the fires, shall we?" I said. "I know something about them already."
"Of course. The fire in the craft room in the barn-that was in October-started with an electrical short. Dwight said he thought it was accidental, so after he repaired
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