Unto my ryght welebelovyd Voluntyn, John Paston, Squyer, be this bill delyvered, &c.
Ryght reverent and wurschypfull, and my ryght welebeloved Voluntyne I recomande me unto yowe, ffull hertely desyring to here of yowr welefare, whech I beseche Almyghty God long for to preserve un to Hys plesur, and yowr herts desyre. And yf it please yowe to here of my welefar, I am not in good heele of body, nor of herte, nor schall be tyll I her ffrom yowe
'For there wottys no creature what peyn that I endure,
And for to be deede, I dare it not dyscure'
And my lady my moder hath labored the mater to my ffadur full delygently, but sche can no mor gete then ye knowe of, for the whech God knowyth I am full sory. But yf that ye loffe me, as I tryste verely that ye do, ye will not leffe me therefor; for if that ye hade not halfe the lyvelode that ye hafe, for to do the grettest labur that any woman on lyve myght, I wold not forsake yowe.
'And yf ye commande me to kepe me true wherever I go,
I wyse I will do all my myght yowe to love and never no mo.
And yf my freends say, that I do amys,
Thei schal not me let so for to do,
Myne herte me bydds ever more to love yowe
Truly over all erthely thing,
And yf thei be never so wroth,
I tryst it schall be better in tyme commyng'.
No more to yowe at this tyme, but the Holy Trinite hafe yowe in kepyng.And I besech yowe that this bill be not seyn of none erthely creatur safe only your selffe, &c.
And thys letter was indyte at Topcroft, with full hevy herte, &c
By your own,
Margery Brews
Unto my ryght welebelovyd Voluntyn, John Paston, Squyer, be this bill delyvered, &c.
Ryght reverent and wurschypfull, and my ryght welebeloved Voluntyne I recomande me unto yowe, ffull hertely desyring to here of yowr welefare, whech I beseche Almyghty God long for to preserve un to Hys plesur, and yowr herts desyre. And yf it please yowe to here of my welefar, I am not in good heele of body, nor of herte, nor schall be tyll I her ffrom yowe
'For there wottys no creature what peyn that I endure,
And for to be deede, I dare it not dyscure'
And my lady my moder hath labored the mater to my ffadur full delygently, but sche can no mor gete then ye knowe of, for the whech God knowyth I am full sory. But yf that ye loffe me, as I tryste verely that ye do, ye will not leffe me therefor; for if that ye hade not halfe the lyvelode that ye hafe, for to do the grettest labur that any woman on lyve myght, I wold not forsake yowe.
'And yf ye commande me to kepe me true wherever I go,
I wyse I will do all my myght yowe to love and never no mo.
And yf my freends say, that I do amys,
Thei schal not me let so for to do,
Myne herte me bydds ever more to love yowe
Truly over all erthely thing,
And yf thei be never so wroth,
I tryst it schall be better in tyme commyng'.
No more to yowe at this tyme, but the Holy Trinite hafe yowe in kepyng.And I besech yowe that this bill be not seyn of none erthely creatur safe only your selffe, &c.
And thys letter was indyte at Topcroft, with full hevy herte, &c
By your own,
Margery Brews
Unto my ryght welebelovyd Voluntyn, John Paston, Squyer, be this bill delyvered, &c.
Ryght reverent and wurschypfull, and my ryght welebeloved Voluntyne I recomande me unto yowe, ffull hertely desyring to here of yowr welefare, whech I beseche Almyghty God long for to preserve un to Hys plesur, and yowr herts desyre. And yf it please yowe to here of my welefar, I am not in good heele of body, nor of herte, nor schall be tyll I her ffrom yowe
'For there wottys no creature what peyn that I endure,
And for to be deede, I dare it not dyscure'
And my lady my moder hath labored the mater to my ffadur full delygently, but sche can no mor gete then ye knowe of, for the whech God knowyth I am full sory. But yf that ye loffe me, as I tryste verely that ye do, ye will not leffe me therefor; for if that ye hade not halfe the lyvelode that ye hafe, for to do the grettest labur that any woman on lyve myght, I wold not forsake yowe.
'And yf ye commande me to kepe me true wherever I go,
I wyse I will do all my myght yowe to love and never no mo.
And yf my freends say, that I do amys,
Thei schal not me let so for to do,
Myne herte me bydds ever more to love yowe
Truly over all erthely thing,
And yf thei be never so wroth,
I tryst it schall be better in tyme commyng'.
No more to yowe at this tyme, but the Holy Trinite hafe yowe in kepyng.And I besech yowe that this bill be not seyn of none erthely creatur safe only your selffe, &c.
And thys letter was indyte at Topcroft, with full hevy herte, &c
By your own,
Margery Brews
Unto my right welebelovyd Voluntyn, John Paston, Squyer, be this bill delivered, etc..
Right reverent and wurschypfull, and my right welebeloved Voluntyne I recomande me unto yowe, ffull hertely desyring to [here/her] of your welefare, whech I beseech Almighty God long for to preserve un to His plesur, and your herts desyre. And yf it please yowe to [here/her] of my welefar, I am not in good heele of body, nor of heart, nor schall be until I her ffrom yowe
'For there wottys no creature what peyn that I endure,
And for to be deede, I dare it not dyscure'
And my lady my mother has labored the matter to my ffadur full delygently, but sche can no more gete then you knowe of, for the whech God knows I am full sorry. But yf that you loffe me, as I tryste verely that you do, you will not leffe me therefor; for if that you had not halfe the lyvelode that you have, for to do the greatest labur that any woman on life might, I would not forsake yowe.
'And yf you commande me to keep me true wherever I go,
I wise I will do all my might yowe to love and never no mo.
And yf my freends say, that I do amiss,
They schal not me let so for to do,
Myne heart me bydds ever more to love yowe
Truly over all erthely thing,
And yf they be never so wroth,
I tryst it schall be better in time commyng'.
No more to yowe at this time, but the Holy Trinity have yowe in keeping.And I beseech yowe that this bill be not say of none erthely creatur safe only your selffe, etc..
And thys letter was indyte at Topcroft, with full hevy heart, etc.
By your own,
Margery Brews
My dear beloved Valentine, I commit myself to you again and look forward to hearing how you are. I pray that God will keep you well and give you your heart's desire. If you want to know how I am, I can say that neither my body nor my heart will be in good health until I hear from you.
For no-one knows what pain I endure
And I would rather die than let it be known.
My mother has tried very hard to win my father round, but I am sorry to say she has made no more progress than you know of already. But if you love me, as I hope very much you do, you will not leave me because of it. I can say that even if you were half as wealthy as you are, and I had to work twice as hard as any woman alive to help support us, I would not forsake you.
My heart tells me more and more to love you
Truly, above all earthly things,
And however badly they go
I trust everything will work out well for us.
I have no time to write more, but I pray that the Holy Trinity will protect you. Please do not show this letter to anyone. It is for your eyes only.
Written at Topcroft with a heavy heart by your own
Margery Brews
