Olivier de la Beauregard

Lost in love with Olivier, Françoise seeks him in New France, 1669. King Louis XV pays the passage and the dowry for young women to come and marry. She employs this method to search for him. She searches in all the right places: Tadousac, Quebec City, Montreal. She seeks employment with Paul Chalifou, a contractor, who had formerly converted from being a Huguenot in France to a Catholic.
At about the time that she arrived, Pierre Baudin had completed his indenture as a servant of Paul's. With Paul's help he had obtained feudal rights to a property on the Isle of Orleans, across the river from Quebec. Paul had given Pierre an open invitation to pass every festive season with him, an invitation which the bachelor did. I was on such an occassion that he met Françoise. As much as he wished, there were no sparks for him in her heart. The authorities discover her single state and advise her that she would soon be deported back to France, creating her indebtedness to the KIng - equal to about seven years of good salary. Paul is sent to ask Pierre to marry her.