Miss L,

I found true passion in my first marriage and dear companionship in all subsequent. Romantic love is most assuredly ideal, but blissful happiness can be found even in its absence. If you take nothing else away from this interlude, I encourage you to remember that in going forward, or else you risk indeed a very lonely life. I would not have any but the eldest of my children had I sought in a second wife what I had found in the first, a fact that I, as a father, cannot fathom.

I have placed no undue hope in our immediate nuptials, rest assured of that, nor have I considered this a waste of time. At this point in my life I look only for a companion, even if that is simply a companion in the writing of letters. You do me wrong, though, to suggest that I might think of myself above my children—for it is truly only a selfish man who would remarry before his children were ready to accept such a drastic change. Any man who claims to be acting in the best interests of his children in that regard while blatantly disregarding their feelings does not deserve them.

This, I hope, will be another (unsolicited) piece of advice that you take with you through the years.

Yours sincerely,