One of the brothers took us aside, and started to confide in us. It turned out that one of the brothers was being badly mistreated at the monastery, and in the privacy of the guest kitchen, once everyone had gone to bed, showed us the lash marks from the whip on his back. We were naturally appalled. Without thinking of the consequences, we both offered him refuge here at the mansion. We took him back with us that same night, since he had already the foresight of packing himself a bag that he had brought with him.
"The outrage from the abbey was swift and sudden. Robert went into negotiations with them, and the agreement being that they would leave everything alone, since otherwise we were going to go public about this brother's mistreatment. We all made nice, they left Brother Laurence alone and in our safekeeping, and we were still welcome to visit, anytime we wanted, which turned into rather a regular occurrence, given how many brothers ended up returning home with us."
"and that was the beginning of the community here?" Carol asks.
"Yes it was, indeed", concurs Carl. "But carol, I'm so sorry, I appear to be stealing all your oxygen."
"You are not off the hook, brother dearest," parses Melissa.
"Yes, she who must be obeyed", says Carl with a helpless little smile adorning his face.
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