Would show the reason of it all
And tell you to go ahead
And work it out your own way.
The Sealed Package
I will make it all into a package and put a heavy seal upon it, and label it “To be destroyed unopened when I am dead.”
These nine black months. These memories that must be cut away—like a cancer from the breast but without anaesthetics to deaden the pain. Cut away altogether lest they threaten life and reputation and the honor of the family.
Here is the signature of the man who caused it all, and the letter he wrote when he knew the terrible truth.
It includes a perfunctory offer of marriage which I was too proud to accept.
It also proves that I was virgin when he seduced me and protests that had he believed in my virtue he never would have touched me.
Here is the paper from the registry office recording the birth of a male child:—mother unmarried—father’s name withheld.