Mrs. Paine.

I will state again that she felt she was being sent back to stay back, that he would stay here, that this amounted to the end of the marriage for them, but not legally done.

Mr. Jenner.

I see. And did she express any opinion of opposition to that?

Mrs. Paine.

She particularly was opposed to going back. It was leaving the United States that she was opposed to.

Mr. Jenner.

She wanted to stay here, did she?

Mrs. Paine.

Yes; very much so.

Mr. Jenner.

I ask you this general question, then, Mrs. Paine: During all of your contact with Marina Oswald, did she ever express any view other than that one of wanting to remain in America?

Mrs. Paine.

No; she did not.

Mr. Jenner.

What did she? Was she affirmative about--

Mrs. Paine.

Very.

Mr. Jenner.

Of wanting to stay in this country?

Mrs. Paine.

Yes.

Mr. Jenner.

Now, what did you say when she related that her husband wanted her to return to Russia, and she thought to remain in Russia. Did it elicit some curiosity from you?

Mrs. Paine.

Curiosity? It elicited anger at Lee that he would presume to drop his responsibilities so preemptorily.

Mr. Jenner.

Did you discuss it with her?

Mrs. Paine.

I wrote a letter to her in an effort to gather my words. I couldn't just discuss it with her. My language was not that good. What I wanted to do was offer her an alternative to being sent back, an economic alternative, and I thought for some time and thought over a week about inviting her to live with me. I was alone with my two children at the time, as an alternative to being sent back. If he thought he couldn't support her or didn't care to or whatever reason he had, I simply wanted to say there was an alternative to her going back, that she could stay and live with me if she wanted to. I wrote such a letter, really, to gather--

Mr. Jenner.

Do you have it?

Mrs. Paine.

Yes; I do. This letter was never sent.

Mr. Jenner.

Is that also at the hotel?

Mrs. Paine.

I don't know. It may be here. I can look if you want. This letter was never sent and never mentioned to her. I wrote it so that I would have the words before me to use if it seemed appropriate to me to make the invitation, you see, a way of gathering enough of the language, enough Russian, and to say what I wanted to say. And this letter is dated the 7th of April.

Mr. Jenner.

The 7th of April?

Mrs. Paine.

And I know I spent at least a week thinking about it. I talked it over with Michael before I wrote it, and it is plainly marked "never sent" on the letter. I carried it with me, as I recall I carried it once to the apartment so that if--

Mr. Jenner.

To what apartment?

Mrs. Paine.

To their apartment on Neely Street, so that if it seemed appropriate I could hand it to her, you see. I could make this invitation at home with time and a dictionary in hand, and then let her read it. It was ever so much easier than just trying to say it.

Mr. Mccloy.

Though you never delivered it, did you ever speak from it to her?

Mrs. Paine.

When she was staying with me the last few days of April and the first week of May, I made, yes, a verbal invitation of that sort, and in the April 7 letter, I have just gone over this correspondence or I wouldn't recall what it said, but--

Mr. Jenner.

Excuse me, Mrs. Paine. I think we can take the time to see if you have the letter in your bag.

Mrs. Paine.

I am sorry that I feel precipitated into a discussion of this correspondence, and I would rather--no, it is not here go at it--there are several things I want to say about it. I began to mention it to Mr. Jenner this morning and thought we would have a whole afternoon to talk more.

Mr. Jenner.

We will have time tonight, Mrs. Paine.