human
You are surprised to see me here, Miss Harmer; and you well may be; for myself--had it been to make me the richest woman in the world--would not have set foot as a petitioner within the walls; but on behalf of my sister, I would do this and much more.
gpt
What do you want, Miss Ashleigh? Angela Harmer said, in hurried, anxious tones.
human
You must not talk to me; you must see my sister; she is more able to talk upon business than I am.
gpt
I do not go to your sister, Miss Harmer, because I know my errand would then be a fruitless one. I come to you in her absence, because from what I know and have heard of you, I believe that your heart is accessible to impulses of kindness and pity; I come to you because I believe you to have been a mere passive participator in the wrong which others have committed.
human
What do you want?
gpt
I ask at your hands my sister's life--Miss Harmer, she is dying; do you know why? She was happy, she was loved; and was engaged to a man worthy of her, and they would before this have been married. But this man is dependent upon another, and that other's consent was only given for him to wed an heiress; my sister is an heiress no longer. This man would gladly take her penniless as she is, take her to the ruin of his worldly prospects, but she cannot accept the sacrifice; and she is dying--dying; do you hear that, Miss Harmer? And you are assuredly her murderess,--far, far more so than you allege Sophy to have been of your brother; for he was an old man, suffering from a deadly malady, by which he might at any moment have been carried off, while this is a fair, young, happy girl, whom you have struck down. She is dying;--Miss Harmer, I demand her life of you!