human
DEAREST RICHARD,--You shall have what you desire. I will _find_ an opportunity to-morrow; but do not try to force one. I grieve to have given you pain, and shall always grieve to do so.
gpt
But I _must_ do it!
human
Dearest Richard --gave me back at once to full hope and happiness. My love was not unreturned; her affection was not withdrawn from me. I was still dear to her--nay, _dearest_; and Bessy was too frank to write that which she did not mean. Yet what was I to infer from those mysterious words scratched out; if I read them rightly, they were--
gpt
But I _must_ do it! Do what? Give me pain? What earthly compulsion could force her to do so? She was free; her hand was at her own disposal. No one could dictate to her; no one could say,
human
You shall, or you shall not, wed him. Then came those last words,
gpt
I am ill and wretched.