She might never be able to marry a man of her choice, but she certainly never would become the wife of Tull.

Her churchmen might take her cattle and horses, ranges and fields, her corrals and stables, the house of Withersteen and the water that nourished the village of Cottonwoods; but they could not force her to marry Tull, they could not change her decision or break her spirit.

Once resigned to further loss, and sure of herself, Jane Withersteen attained a peace of mind that had not been hers for a year.
She forgave Tull, and felt a melancholy regret over what she knew he considered duty, irrespective of his personal feeling for her.

First of all, Tull, as he was a man, wanted her for himself; and secondly, he hoped to save her and her riches for his church.

She did not believe that Tull had been actuated solely by his minister's zeal to save her soul.