Sister Mary takes them to the convent.

The girls turned to see a young nun striding towards them, a welcoming smile on her face. She hugged each one in turn, getting their names as she talked, telling them that she had a van that would take them and their luggage up to the convent. Cassie and Amber were sullen, Danni was shy, and Wanda, Elsa and Belinda put **** smiles on their faces and tried to make the best of it.

With a little help from some locals, the luggage was loaded into a van, and Sister Mary chivvied the girls in before climbing behind the wheel.

"Settle in girls," she said. "It's not a long trip but it's a bit of a bumpy road."

"So the convent isn't in town?" Cassie asked with a whine of complaint in her voice.

"Oh my no! It's up the hills there. A nice view of the town though." Cassie heaved a long suffering sigh of complaint and folded her arms across her chest.

The road out of town quickly started to wind as it climbed the hill. It was narrow, and as Sister Mary had warned, more than a bit bumpy. She drove slowly, chattering as she pointed out various things and trying to draw the girls into conversation. None of them answered in more than monosyllables, each of them sunk into their own reverie.

Sister Mary told them that she had taken holy orders two years before and joined the convent then. She said she came from Dublin, and that she found the peace of the convent and the countryside refreshing compared to the fast pace of the city.

"The convent is lovely," she said. "And it's ever so old. Centuries and centuries they say. I feel like I'm surrounded by all the sisters who ever lived there."

Amber rolled her eyes and shook her head in disgust, while the other girls stared out the van windows and stayed silent until they stopped at a wooden gate.

"Now one of you girls go out and open the gate and I'll drive through," Sister Mary said. Grumbling slightly Wanda got out and clumsily fiddled with the gate, finally pushing it open. She looked at her hands in disgust as she got back in the van, trying to wipe the dirt off on the seats.

Sister Mary pulled the van to a stop in front of a large low stone building. A middle aged man, an obvious labourer came up to help unload the luggage.

"Thank you Liam," Sister Mary said. "You're a treasure as always. If you can help the girls take the luggage into the hall that would be wonderful. Quickly now girls, the Mother Superior is waiting for us."