"Esther," Richard resumed, "you are not to suppose that I have come here to make underhanded charges against John Jarndyce. I have only come to justify myself. What I say is, it was all very well and we got on very well while I was a boy, utterly regardless of this same suit; but as soon as I began to take an interest in it and to look into it, then it was quite another thing. Then John Jarndyce discovers that Ada and I must break off and that if I don't amend that very objectionable course, I am not fit for her. Now, Esther, I don't mean to amend that very objectionable course: I will not hold John Jarndyce's favour on those unfair terms of compromise, which he has no right to dictate. Whether it pleases him or displeases him, I must maintain my rights and Ada's. I have been thinking about it a good deal, and this is the conclusion I have come to."

"Esther," Richard resumed, "I have not come here to make underhanded charges against John Jarndyce, but only to justify myself. We got on very well while I was a boy, utterly regardless of this suit; but as soon as I began to take an interest in it, then it was quite another thing. Then John Jarndyce decides that Ada and I must break off and that if I don't amend that course, I am not fit for her. Now, Esther, I don't mean to amend that course: John Jarndyce has no right to dictate those terms. Whether it pleases him or not, I must maintain my rights and Ada's. I have been thinking about it a good deal, and this is the conclusion I have come to."
