Дракула / Dracula - стр. 16

Lucy

P. S. Of course, this is a secret. Goodnight again.

24 May.

My dearest Mina,

Thanks, and thanks, and thanks again for your sweet letter. My dear, I shall be twenty in September, and yet I never had a proposal[62] till today, not a real proposal, and today I have had three. Three proposals in one day! Isn’t it awful! I feel sorry, really and truly sorry, for two of the poor fellows. Oh, Mina, I am so happy that I don’t know what to do with myself. And three proposals!

Well, my dear, number One came just before lunch. I told you of him, Dr. John Seward,[63] the lunatic-asylum man,[64] with the strong jaw and the good forehead. He was very cool outwardly, but was nervous all the same. He spoke to me, Mina, very straightforwardly.[65] He told me how dear I was to him. He said that he was my friend. My dear, I must stop here at present, I feel so miserable, though I am so happy.

24 May, evening.

Arthur has just gone, so I can go on. Well, my dear, number Two came after lunch. He is an American from Texas, and he looks young and fresh. Mr. Quincey P. Morris[66] telling us his stories, and Arthur never told any, and yet —

My dear, Mr. Morris is really well educated and has exquisite manners. He took my hand in his, and said ever so sweetly, “Miss Lucy, you are an honest hearted girl, I know. Tell me, is there any one else that you love? And if there is I’ll be just a very faithful friend.”

My dear Mina, why are men so noble when we women are so little worthy of them? I was able to look into Mr. Morris’s brave eyes, and I told him, “Yes, there is some one I love.”

Ever your loving

Lucy.

P. S. Oh, about number Three – I needn’t tell you of number Three, need I? Besides, it was all so confused. When he entered the room, he kissed me. I am very, very happy, and I don’t know what I have done to deserve it. God Himself sent me such a lover, such a husband, and such a friend.

Goodbye.

25 May. – No appetite today. I cannot eat, cannot rest. The only cure for this is work, so I went to the asylum. There is a patient there who is of great interest to me.

R. M. Renfield,[67] 59. Sanguine temperament;[68] great physical strength; morbidly excitable; periods of gloom, fixed ideas.[69]

24 July. Whitby.[70] – Lucy met me at the station, she looks sweeter and lovelier than ever. This is a lovely place. The little river, the Esk,[71] runs through a deep valley. The valley is beautifully green. The houses of the old town are all red-roofed; there is a legend that one can see a white lady in one of the windows. Between it and the town there is a church. This is the nicest spot in Whitby.