'Tis not the note alone — although I dare say it hath acted as something of a catalyst. It is the doubt that weighs on me so; thou speakest of potential outcomes with such ease, as though they are obvious to thee, and yet—

Thou must be aware that no one has thought of me in such a way before — beyond, perhaps, the woman whose affections I was too foolish to see while she yet lived. I find it ... difficult, to imagine that such a thing could change.