27 November
To: Oliver Thornstead
Bree-town
Dear Uncle,
Firstly, let me apologize for the length of time that has passed since I last wrote to you. You will no doubt be able to guess the sorts of obstacles that have prevented me from doing so, though I will not take up your valuable time by detailing them here. Rest assured that I have not spent another day behind the righteous bars of the jail house, at least. Beyond that, I will say little to nothing of what has occupied my time these past months.
You are, no doubt, in receipt of certain bits of rumour regarding myself and a particular daughter of a mutual friend of ours, Uncle. While I have no wish to regale the entire story here on paper, let me defend myself here and now in the most firm manner, and impress upon you the truth that the entire ordeal has been greatly exaggerated in the grossest sense. I will never have the ability to claim myself as any sort of gentleman; this much I know, and I accept. But I am a fervent supporter of the Truth, and I will hold to the facts of this matter as I would any other.
I trust, therefore, Uncle, that you will believe me when I say I do not have the culpability that this young woman and her family would lay upon me. Am I wholly innocent of behavior that I regret? By no means. There may have been insult at the end of my dealings with her, but there was no injury.
You may think that I have avoided visiting you out of shame in regards to this matter. However, I intend to prove this wrong by, in fact, paying you a visit on Sunday next. There is another matter on which I would like to solicit your advice. Until then, I will be staying at a private, rented room in Bree, and while I give no promise that I will do nothing foolish during my time here (after all, what is a man's life worth if he cannot indulge in a bit of folly now and again?), I swear to you that I will avoid anything that might result in my incarceration.
Warm Regards,
Your Nephew, Westen
