| Lucie was to be married the next day. She had saved this last night for her father, and they sat alone together under the plane tree. |
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 | Are you happy, father? | |
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| Very happy, my child. | |
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| I’m very happy tonight, too, father. But, if my life wasn’t still dedicated to you, or if my marriage pulled us apart, I would be more unhappy and disappointed in myself than I could tell you. Dear father! Can you tell me one last time that you are absolutely sure that no new feelings of mine, or responsibilities, will ever come between us? I am sure of it, but are you? Do you feel sure about it in your heart? | |
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| Quiet sure, my darling. You cannot understand how worried I have been that your life would be wasted. My future is much brighter, Lucie, now that you are getting married, than it could have been without it, or than it ever was before. How could I be completely happy if you were not... | |
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| This was the first time they talked about his unhappy past, this marked an important night for them. |
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| If I had never met Charles, father, I would have been happy being with you | |
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| You did see him, my child. Charles is the man you love. If it hadn’t been Charles, it would have been someone else. Or, if it hadn’t been someone else, it would have been my fault. Then my unhappy past would have spread beyond myself and would have made you unhappy too. | |
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