Donnet stood slowly and crossed to the center of the room. He would have to have the heat turned up a bit. In his age he was starting to get cold far more easy. Mumbling slowly died away as the Cardinals stopped talking to each other. He slowly turned until the silence was deafening. "Brother Cardinals. We will vote in a preliminary procedure to determine where we stand. This vote may or may non conclude our conclave. I trust you will all pray on your vote" he said as he picked up a basket of parchment papers. "The attendants will pass around to each of you one piece of parchment paper and one pen" he said. "Two scrutineer priests of different orders await at the altar" he said, gesturing to the altar which had been established in a corner. "As is tradition, the votes will be brought up in order of precedence. The first scrutineer will mix the votes once all Cardinals have voted. The second will count them only when all Cardinals have both voted and taken their respective seats. I will then be motioned to the altar where I will be informed of the results. I will announce the results. After which we will adjourn for 10 minutes. You will find the brothers will then hand out fruit, snacks, and water. Regrettably, no coffee or tea is available. You may leave your seats if you wish but I ask you remain prepared to take them again. This time is encouraged for prayer but is not mandatory. I also wish to remind us of the tradition that no Cardinal may approach the scrutineers nor the brothers once they have passed out refreshments" he concluded. The two attendants, both Franciscan brothers rose to pass out parchment. Donnet returned to his seat to vote himself. The room was washed in silence aside from the sound of parchment being passed out. Only a cough from the scrutineers broke the silence.
One by one, the Cardinals approached the scrutineers and placed their votes in silver basin atop the altar. Most eyes were fixed on the scrutineers who betrayed nothing in their expressions as the first thoroughly mixed the votes and handed them one by one to the second. It was a full several minutes before the first scrutineer also counted the votes and motioned to Donnet with a curt nod. Donnet rose, stumbling but catching himself on his chair. He smirked and quipped quietly "How this cold can cause one to stumble". He walked slowly to the altar where the scrutineers both exclaimed the results. He nodded and crossed himself before the altar, forgetting to do so on his approach.
"Brother Cardinals, we seem to have several whom choose to abstain in this preliminary vote. Four for Taft. Four for Meyer. One for Stewart. One for myself. We will now adjourn for 10 minutes of prayer or respite. After the 10 minutes, we will resume with speeches and vote again. If the vote is not conclusive we will adjourn until tomorrow so we may pray and contemplate. May the Lord guide us in our mission" he said, crossing himself.
One by one, the Cardinals approached the scrutineers and placed their votes in silver basin atop the altar. Most eyes were fixed on the scrutineers who betrayed nothing in their expressions as the first thoroughly mixed the votes and handed them one by one to the second. It was a full several minutes before the first scrutineer also counted the votes and motioned to Donnet with a curt nod. Donnet rose, stumbling but catching himself on his chair. He smirked and quipped quietly "How this cold can cause one to stumble". He walked slowly to the altar where the scrutineers both exclaimed the results. He nodded and crossed himself before the altar, forgetting to do so on his approach.
"Brother Cardinals, we seem to have several whom choose to abstain in this preliminary vote. Four for Taft. Four for Meyer. One for Stewart. One for myself. We will now adjourn for 10 minutes of prayer or respite. After the 10 minutes, we will resume with speeches and vote again. If the vote is not conclusive we will adjourn until tomorrow so we may pray and contemplate. May the Lord guide us in our mission" he said, crossing himself.