the friar and the heretic talk in prison

But it doesn't take very long for Brother Peire to realize that Rainaut won't be swayed - not by charity, not by kindness, and certainly not by Brother Peire's earnestness, which Rainaut seems to find funny.

"You really are here just to talk to me," he says on the fifth day of his imprisonment, after Brother Peire has just spent a good twenty minutes trying to explain why women priests run counter to the laws of God and nature.  "You have no agenda and no ulterior motive."

"Why do you think I would?" Brother Peire answers, confused.  He isn't here for politics.  He's just trying to help.

"Because I think your abbot and your order are trying to soften me up before the inquisitor gets here, because you want the credit for getting me to recant."

( But we do want you to recant. )

words: 1898
total words: 9227