"Very well, then."
"But you are not my mistress."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean there are some things I must decide for myself."
"I've ceased to trouble myself for the moment about your decisions."
"That letter of yours to Ethan is to take something that concerns me more than anybody here—to take it out of my hands."
"If you can't manage your own concerns with propriety, your family must help you."
"No, I won't be helped." They looked at each other. "I must make my own mistakes. It's I who have to live with them; I've a right to choose which they shall be."
"As your natural guardian, it is well within my province to write to my grandson about your unheard-of conduct."