human
Why, Pulaski, what on earth is the matter? cried Miss Fanny, as he entered the room.
gpt
You look as if you had seen a ghost.
human
Go in, my dear, he said to Margaret.
gpt
The man has business with you. And then, when Margaret had gone out, he turned to Miss Fanny.
human
It is her father,
gpt
Well, I wonder what's he up to? remarked Miss Fanny. There was a touch of anger in her voice.
human
She shan't go a step away from here with such a creature as that.
gpt
She is her own mistress, sister. She is twenty years old,
human
Well, she'll be very ungrateful if she leaves us,
gpt
Don't, sister; never use that word again; to me it has an ugly sound. We have had no thought of gratitude in the matter. If there is any debt in the matter, we are the debtors. We have not been at all happy in the way we have managed things. I have seen for some time that Margaret is unhappy; and we have no business to permit unhappiness to creep into this house.
human
Well, I am sure I have done all I could to make the poor child happy,
gpt
I am sure of that, said Neighbour Tomlin.
human
If any mistake has been made it is mine. And yet I have never had any other thought than to make Margaret happy.
gpt
I know that well enough, Pulaski, Miss Fanny assented,
human
That is true, he replied. He was a merciless critic of himself in matters both great and small, and he had no concealments to make. He was open as the day, except where openness might render others unhappy or uncomfortable.
gpt
Yes, you are right, he insisted;
human
I have thought too much about her happiness for my own good, and now I see myself on the verge of great trouble.
gpt
If Margaret understood the situation, said Miss Fanny,
human
I think she would feel differently.
gpt
On the contrary, I think she understands the situation perfectly well; that is the only explanation of her troubles which she has not sought to conceal.