We made our visit to St Anne’s the following week and stood in awe at the majesty of the ancient church. I was surprised that such an important church stood outside the walls of the town but according to the old man who showed us around this was because St Anne’s was once a stopping point on the road to the old Cluniac Priory. I enquired about the anchoress reputed to be walled into the building, another of Mrs Makepiece’s tales, but he was not inclined to tell me much, other than that she had existed and was thought to be buried there. Try as I might I could find no indication of where she had dwelled within the church. The old man accepted a small coin from Cecilia and left us to our own devices; we tiptoed towards the shrine where there were small offerings in the form of candles, ribbons and posies and both of us were quite overcome with the feeling that surrounded us as we prayed for our cause. I offered my prayer in thanks for the safe deliverance of Beth to me and for the wellbeing of her true mother who was hopefully united with her God in Heaven. I also prayed for a child to be born safely to Cecilia and her husband John. I told St Anne, in my prayers, what good people they were and how a child would bless their union.
As Cecilia rose from her knees she left her own token – a dried white rose. I had nothing to give but my thoughts. I hoped they were enough.