MRS. KNOWLE (in a soft gentle voice).  Where is your father, dear?  In the library with Mr. Mallory? . . .  I want to speak to him.  Just on a little matter of business. . . .  Dear child!

    [She goes to the library.

MELISANDE.  Oh!  How horrible!

(She walks about, pulling at her handkerchief and telling herself that she won’t cry.  But she feels that she is going to, and she goes to the open windows, and stands for a moment looking out, trying to recover herself)

(GERVASE comes in.)

GERVASE (gently).  Princess! (She hears; her hand closes and tightens; but she says nothing.) Princess!

(With an effort she controls herself, turns round and speaks coldly)

MELISANDE.  Please don’t call me by that ridiculous name.

GERVASE.  Melisande!

MELISANDE.  Nor by that one.

GERVASE.  Miss Knowle.

MELISANDE.  Yes?  What do you want, Mr. Mallory?

GERVASE.  I want to marry you.

MELISANDE (taken by surprise).  Oh! . . .  How dare you!

GERVASE.  But I told you this morning.

MELISANDE.  I think you had better leave this morning out of it.

GERVASE.  But if I leave this morning out of it, then I have only just met you.

MELISANDE.  That is what I would prefer.

GERVASE.  Oh! . . .  Then if I have only just met you, perhaps I oughtn’t to have said straight off that I want to marry you.

MELISANDE.  It is unusual.

GERVASE.  Yes.  But not unusual to want to marry you.

MELISANDE.  I am not interested in your wants.

GERVASE.  Oh! (Gently) I’m sorry that we’ve got to forget about this morning. (Going closer to her) Is it so easy to forget, Melisande?

MELISANDE.  Very easy for you, I should think.

GERVASE.  But not for you?

MELISANDE (bitterly).  You dress up and amuse yourself, and then laugh and go back to your ordinary life again—­you don’t want to remember that, do you, every time you do it?

GERVASE.  You let your hair down and flirt with me and laugh and go home again, but you can’t forget.  Why should I?

MELISANDE (furiously).  How dare you say I flirted with you?

GERVASE.  How dare you say I laughed at you?

MELISANDE.  Do you think I knew you would be there when I went up to the wood?

GERVASE.  Do you think I knew you would be there when I went up?

MELISANDE.  Then why were you there all dressed up like that?

GERVASE.  My car broke down and I spent the night in it.  I went up the hill to look for breakfast.

MELISANDE.  Breakfast!  That’s all you think about.

GERVASE (cheerfully).  Well, it’s always cropping up.

MELISANDE (in disgust).  Oh! (She moves away from him and then turns round holding out her hand) Good-bye, Mr. Mallory.