The Devil’s Pool

The Pe Germain, his 28-year-old young son-in-law, and Maurice are having a conversation about Germaine taking a new wife. Since his wife abandoned him two years ago, Germain has been raising his three small children alone. (Pere means Old Man, but it also means Father.) Maurice requests that Germain travel to the farm of his friend Pere Leonard, which is approximately a half-ride day's away, to see Leonard's daughter, a wealthy widow who is seeking a second marriage. She goes by the name Catherine Guerin and seems to be a decent person. Germain is reluctant to be married again, but Maurice persuades him that two years is sufficient time to grieve, thanks Germain for being a wonderful father to his daughter, and that the kids need a mother.