human
You are right, he said,
gpt
Sir, said Charlotte, and her voice grew steadier and braver as she spoke,
human
I am in perfect health, and my father is ill. I have come here to-day to learn from your lips the exact truth as to his case.
gpt
The exact truth? said the doctor.
human
Does your father know you have come here, Miss--Miss Harman?
gpt
He does not, Sir George. My father is a widower, and I am his only child. He has endeavored to keep this thing from me, and hitherto has partially succeeded. Yesterday, through another source, I learned that he is very seriously ill. I have come to you to know the truth. You will tell it to me, will you not?
human
I certainly _can_ tell it to you.
gpt
And you will?
human
Well, the fact is, Miss Harman, he is anxious that you should not know. I am scarcely prepared to fathom your strength of character. Any shock will be of serious consequence to him. How can I tell how you will act when you know all?
gpt
You are preparing me for the worst now, Sir George. I solemnly promise you in no way to use my knowledge so as to give my father the slightest shock.
human
I believe you, answered the doctor.
gpt
A brave woman can do wonders. Women are unselfish; they can hide their own feelings to comfort and succor another. Miss Harman, I am sorry for you, I have bad news for you.
human
I know it, Sir George. My father is very ill.
gpt
Your father is as seriously ill as a man can be to be alive; in short, he is--dying.
human
Is there no hope?
gpt
None.
human
Must he die soon?
gpt
That depends. His malady is of such a nature that any sudden shock, any sudden grief will probably kill him instantly. If his mind is kept perfectly calm, and all shocks are kept from him, he may live for many months.
human
Oh! terrible!
gpt
Sir George, she said,
human
I do not doubt that in your position as a doctor you have come across some secrets. I am going to confide in you, to confide in you to a certain measure.
gpt
Your confidence shall be sacred, my dear young lady.
human
Yesterday, Sir George, I learned something, something which concerns my father. It concerns him most nearly and most painfully. It relates to an old and buried wrong. This wrong relates to others; it relates to those now living most nearly and most painfully.
gpt
Is it a money matter?
human
It is a money matter. My father alone can set it right. I mean that during his lifetime it cannot possibly in any way be set right without his knowledge. Almost all my life, he has kept this thing a secret from me and--and--from the world. For three and twenty years it has lain in a grave. If he is told now, and the wrong cannot be repaired without his knowledge, it will come on him as a--disgrace. The question I ask of you is this: can he bear the disgrace?
gpt
And my answer to you, Miss Harman, is, that in his state of health the knowledge you speak of will instantly kill him.
human
Then--then--God help me! what am I to do? Can the wrong never be righted?
gpt
My dear young lady, I am sincerely sorry for you. I cannot enter into the moral question, I can only state a fact. As your father's physician I forbid you to tell him.
human
You forbid me to tell him? said Charlotte. She got up and pulled down her veil.
gpt
Thank you, she said, holding out her hand.
human
I have that to go on--as my father's physician you forbid him to know?
gpt
I forbid it absolutely. Such a knowledge would cause instant death.