Chapter Twenty-ThreeIt was regrettable, certainly. But Achille had thought and thought and could see no other way.
He had plans for next Monday market day in Salliac. He hoped to make a giant step of progress with the girl. He didn’t know her name, but he had firmly decided that she was the one, she would be his. Not next week—no, it was going to take patience. This time, he didn’t want to force her, he wanted the girl to climb up on the tractor of her own free choice. He was ready to invest some time getting to know her and smoothing the way. As much time as it took, he wasn’t afraid of running out of patience.
But he couldn’t manage it with this new fear blossoming in his chest. Thanks to that meddling woman, that Molly Sutton, the gendarmes from Castillac were about to descend on his
