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III . A Letter from Abbey - Mill Farm The very next morning Harriet came to Hartfield in a state of great excitement , with a letter in her hand . It was from Mr Martin , and it was an offer of marriage . Emma read it with real surprise . She had expected something low and badly written , but the letter was plain , strong and honest , and it spoke of true feeling in good , clear words . For a moment she wondered whether one of his sisters had helped him with it , but she soon decided that no woman had written a word of it . It was too strong and too short for a woman’s style . “ Well ? ” said Harriet anxiously , watching her face . “ What shall I do ? Is it a good letter , or is it too short ? ” “ It is a very good letter , Harriet , a better one than I expected . But what are you going to say to him ? ” “ I do not know . What would you advise ? Pray , dear Miss Woodhouse , tell me what I ought to do . ” “ Oh no , I shall not advise you at all . This is a question that you must decide for yourself , because it is a question of your own feelings . ” Then she went on talking very gently , as if she were not giving any advice of any kind . “ I lay it down as a general rule , Harriet , that if a woman doubts whether she should accept a man or not , she ought to refuse him . If she can hesitate about saying yes , she ought to say no at once . I thought that it was my duty as your friend to tell you this much , but please do not imagine that I want to guide you . ” Harriet looked at the letter for a long time without speaking . “ You think that I ought to refuse him , ” she said at last in a small voice . “ Not at all . I do not want you to do anything that you would not choose . If you prefer Mr Martin to every other person you have ever met , then of course you should accept him at once . ” Harriet looked down , and she thought of somebody whose manners were far more gentle , somebody who had stood beside the drawing and sighed over her picture . She blushed , and then she made up her mind . “ I think that I shall refuse him . Do you think that I am right ? ” “ Perfectly right , my dearest Harriet , and now I can tell you what I could not say before . If you had married Mr Martin , I should have lost a friend , because I could never have visited Mrs Robert Martin of Abbey - Mill Farm . It would have been quite out of the question . ”
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