When you read this letter, all my prayers will have been answered. Countless times each day, I lift your name in prayer, beseeching the Lord to keep you alive and safe, and to allow my words to reach your eyes.I am thankful that you were with my brother when he died, that Ryan was not alone or without comfort. I regret that he died with a troubled heart, worrying needlessly for my happiness, and I doubly regret that I could have spared him this distress but chose not to.Ryan was right to fear that Father would forbid us to marry and that he would go to any length to destroy our happiness. Even so, he should not have asked you to break our engagement, but this I know he did out of love. What Ryan did not know was that our father passed away one month before you wrote to me of his death. I dared not inform Ryan of Father's death for fear he would return home out of concern for me. I would not risk him being hanged as a deserter for my sake.So, Matthew, please be comforted to know that nothing stands in the way of our happiness, and our engagement need not be broken. I will wait for you as long as necessary and look forward to the day we are reunited.