Letter from Roman Dryden
Harcourt House, Newark-on-Trent
To Miss Lydia Barrow
Wansdyke
Somerset
My dear Lydia,
I am aware that I have no right to be addressing you thus—please forgive me! This is the last letter you will receive from me, so I beg your indulgence. As I told you in London, you and your name are both beautiful, and I always think of you as Lydia. The sound of your name on my lips and in my mind gives me the strength to write to you one last time.
I have returned from London. My doctor assured me that the risk presented by travel was modest, as long as I was examined by my Yorkshire doctor promptly, which I was. All was well when I arrived back at Harcourt. I am blessed to have a devoted staff, many of whom are from families that have served mine for generations.
I do
