Don't, I beseech you, begin your new life in this
slavery. But whatever the outcome, take him into
your confidence. Better have him leave you now
than after you are married. Remember, too, that
if by this declaration you should lose his love you
will at least gain his respect. Perhaps, if his heart
is tender and he feels for the suffering and wronged,
you may keep both. Forgive me, dear, but I have
only your happiness at heart, and I love you too
dearly not to warn you against any danger which
would threaten you. Martha agrees with me in the
above, and knows you will do right by him."
When Lucy's answer arrived weeks afterward--
after her marriage, in fact--Jane read it with a
clutching at her throat she had not known since that
fatal afternoon when Martha returned from Trenton.
"You dear, foolish sister," Lucy's letter began,
"what should I tell him for? He loves me devotedly
and we are very happy together, and I am not going
to cause him any pain by bringing any disagreeable
thing into his life. People don't do those wild, old-fashioned
things over here. And then, again, there
is no possibility of his finding out. Maria agrees
with me thoroughly, and says in her funny way that
men nowadays know too much already.
Pages:
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225