The Right of Way, Volume 6

In the quiet river town of Chaudière, the arrival of summer stirs a flurry of preparation for a much‑anticipated Passion Play. Townsfolk—saddlers, notaries, and the local seigneur’s groom—debate casting, gossip about past sins, and the practicalities of hosting strangers. Their conversations reveal a community caught between pride in tradition and the uneasy undercurrents of personal scandal.

At the heart of the drama is Paulette Dubois, a woman whose reputation oscillates between whispered condemnation and quiet sympathy, especially after news of a hidden child surfaces. The notary spins grand sermons about forgiveness while the groom mutters dark jokes, exposing the clash of moral authority and human frailty. As a funeral cart rolls into view, carrying the somber weight of recent loss, the town’s fragile equilibrium is suddenly put to the test.