She was
now ten years old and very pretty, quite a plump little blonde, with wild
hair and black eyes which shone brightly. But she had a terribly
impulsive and wilful nature, and would run off and disappear for hours at
a time, beating the hedges and scouring the countryside in search of
birds'-nests and flowers and wild fruit. If her mother, however, made
such a display of alarm, darting hither and thither to find her, just as
the Froments passed by, it was because she had become aware of some
scandalous proceedings during the previous week. Therese's ardent dream
was to possess a bicycle, and she desired one the more since her parents
stubbornly refused to content her, declaring in fact that those machines
might do for bourgeois but were certainly not fit for well-behaved girls.
Well, one afternoon, when she had gone as usual into the fields, her
mother, returning from market, had perceived her on a deserted strip of
road, in company with little Gregoire Froment, another young wanderer
whom she often met in this wise, in spots known only to themselves. The
two made a very suitable pair, and were ever larking and rambling along
the paths, under the leaves, beside the ditches.
Pages:
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495