Alice knelt before the altar, her head bowed, her palms pressed together beneath her chin.
She didn't hear the approach of soft footsteps, her only warning that she was no longer alone was the light scent of lily water.
Her head rose in time to catch a fleeting smile on Beth's face as she kneeled beside Alice and crossed herself before the statute of the virgin Mary.
"You have been praying for hours, Alice, long past the time for bed," Beth murmured, smoothing a chestnut tendril behind Alice‘s ear and brushing the backs of her fingers over the soft skin of her cheek. "Tell me what it is that torments you so."
"Oh, Beth…," Alice began, feeling the tears she had tried so hard to keep at bay begin to well up. "I've been truly wicked."
"Alice, I find it hard to believe that you are eve
