"If you thought that because you were slow in coming," retorted Père
Léonard, with undiminished good-humor, "you would catch my daughter
napping, you made a very great mistake, my boy. Catherine has something
to attract husbands with, and she'll have only too many to choose from.
But go into the house, I tell you, and don't lose courage. She's a woman
worth disputing for."

And, pushing Germain by the shoulders with rough good-humor, "Here,
Catherine," he cried, entering the house, "here's one more!"

This jovial but vulgar manner of being introduced to the widow, in the
presence of her other suitors, put the finishing touch to the
ploughman's confusion and annoyance. He felt ill at ease, and stood for
some moments without venturing to turn his eyes on the fair one and her
court.

The Widow Guérin was well made, and did not lack freshness. But the
expression of her face and her costume repelled Germain at the first
glance. She had a forward, self-satisfied air, and her mob-cap trimmed
with a triple row of lace, her silk apron, and her black lace fichu were
decidedly not in harmony with the idea he had conceived of a sedate,
serious-minded widow.

This elegance in dress and her free and easy manners made her appear
old and ugly to him, although she was neither. He thought that such
coquettish attire and such playful manners would be well suited to the
age and keen wit of little Marie, but that such pleasantry on the
widow's part was heavy and stale, and that there was no distinction in
the way she wore her fine clothes.