behaved like ‘unholy innocents,’ as Dame Agnes said, but she could not be annoyed because, by tradition, for this one day they were given the freedom of the house, rampaging into the workrooms, climbing up into the loft to raid the store of apples; they played the organ, drove the tractor – the Japanese novitiate looked on in astonishment – and ended up in the Abbess’s room where they roasted chestnuts on her fire, opened a box of chocolates left from Christmas and talked. ‘Even Sister Cecily lost her halo today,’ teased Hilary, ‘she took off a gatepost with the tractor.’
