It was n't for my own sake , though -- it was for my wife 's . However , that 's all over and done with and I 'll do the best I can to atone for it . So you wo n't marry your minister because your father was not a good man , Lynde ? Well , I do n't suppose he was a very good man -- a man who makes his wife 's life a hell , even in a refined way , is n't exactly a saint , to my way of thinking . But that 's the worst that could be said of him and it does n't entail any indelible disgrace on his family , I suppose . I am not your father , Lynde . '' `` Not my father ? '' Lynde echoed the words blankly . `` No . Your father was your mother 's first husband . She never told you of him . When I said he made her life a hell , I said the truth , no more , no less . I had loved your mother ever since I was a boy , Lynde . But she was far above me in station and I never dreamed it was possible to win her love . She married James Ashley . He was a gentleman , so called -- and he did n't kick or beat her . Oh no , he just tormented her refined womanhood to the verge of frenzy , that was all . He died when you were a baby . And a year later I found out your mother could love me , rough sailor and all as I was . I married her and brought her here .
We had fifteen years XXXXX happiness together .
So above as because of on over since to with