I don't want to change John.
LETITIA
Then why not tell him something about yourself?
NATHANIEL
It is none of John's affairs how or why I live. It is none of his affair how or why or when I shall marry Mlle. Perrault.
LETITIA
Perhaps not.
NATHANIEL
When I tell him anything, Aunt Letty, it will be one thing—I have stayed here because I love Jonathan, because he needs me. And I have listened to the boy's fears and to his hopes as they came out of his poor tortured little soul in his delirium. I have watched him during his convalescence, and I see in him a growing man in prison. John sees in him only the potential head of the family; but he is my flesh and blood as much as he is John's and I intend to set him free.
LETITIA