Dear William,

Let me start by saying how deeply I value our friendship and your loyalty to me. I think you will agree that I have reciprocated this loyalty most obligingly, and that I have never betrayed your trust. When I refer to you as my protege, I mean it in earnest; I care about you as much as I would about my own son, if I had been blessed with one. And I trust that you feel an equal fondness for me.

I say all these things, William, because I have a matter of the strictest confidence about which I must inform you. I've tried for weeks, perhaps months to ignore it, but I cannot be silent any longer. I think I am falling in love with the slave girl. Since the moment she arrived at the Hotel de Langeac, I have not been able to remove her from my thoughts. Her demeanor is so pleasant, and her voice is equally sweet. I must also confess to you that she bares a striking resemblance to my beloved Martha, so much so that my heart sometimes beats for the slave girl in the same manner it used to for my wife.

As you can imagine, this puts me in a most difficult position. I wish to take the girl to bed, but doing so would require me to breach the natural laws that govern mankind. While she is undeniably beautiful, she is also undeniably a negress. I worry that my name would be ruined forever if anyone found out that I am infatuated with this slave girl. That is why I write to you, William. I must meet with you in order to discuss the matter further. I have kept my knowledge of your interactions with a certain French belle completely secret, and thus it is my hope that you can likewise return the favor in regard to the slave girl. I am in desperate need of your advice, but I first must have the unwavering promise of your faithfulness.

Respond to this letter with nothing more than a time and place at which you are available to meet, and do so promptly, if you are able. In the meantime, burn this letter as soon as you have finished reading it. It would ruin me if anyone but you came to know of my fondness for the slave girl.

Yours,
Thomas Jefferson

Questions:
1. What are we to make of Sally Hemings' acquiescence to Jefferson's desires in light of modern views of interracial relations? Can Hemings be viewed as a sort of pioneer in the realm of pursuing a relationship outside of racial boundaries? Or does the likelihood of her merely being submissive to -- or even raped by -- Jefferson make that an impossibility?
2. While Gordon-Reed informs readers that it was not uncommon for a middle-aged man to have a sexual relationship with a 14 or 15-year-old girl, one cannot help but be disturbed by the thought. Did young teenagers in the 18th century possess more maturity than their modern counterparts? Or was Hemings equally immature, and thus more susceptible to Jefferson's advances?