Caris flushed not knowing what was so funny.

Caris flushed not knowing what was so funny.
Papa took pity and said ’Only men can be doctors. Didn’t you know that buttercup ?’
Caris was bewildered. She turned to Cecilia. ‘But what about you ?’
‘I’m not a physician,’ Cecilia said. ‘We nuns care for the sick, of course, but we follow the instructions of trained men. The monks who had studied under the masters understand the humours of the body, the way they go out of the balance in sickness, and how to bring them back to their correct proportions for good health. They know which vein to bleed for migraine, leprosy, or breathlessness: where to cup or cauterise, whether to poultice or bathe.’
‘Couldn’t a woman learn those things ?’
‘Perhaps, but God has ordained it otherwise.’
Caris felt frustrated with the way adults trotted out this truism every time they were stuck for an answer. Before she could say anything. Brother Saul came downstairs with a bowl of blood, and went through the kitchen to the back yard to get rid of it. The sight made Caris feel weepy. All doctors used bloodletting as a cure, so it must be effective, she supposed, but all the same she hated to see mother’s life force in a bowl to be thrown away.
Saul returned to the sick room, and a few moments later he and Joseph came down. ‘I’ve done what I can for her,’ Joseph said solemnly to Papa. ‘And she has confessed her sins.’
Confessed her sins! Caris knew what that meant. She began to cry.
Papa took six silver pennies from his purse and gave them to the monk. ‘Thank you, brother,’ he said, His voice was hoarse.
As the monks left, the two nuns went back upstairs. Alice sat on Papa’s lap and buried her face in his neck, Caris cried and hugged Scrap. Petronilla ordered Tutty to clear the table. Gwenda watched everything with wide eyes. They sat around the table in silence, waiting.
From the book ‘World without end’ by Ken Follet