(Exit L.)

REMBRANDT TEMPENNY (springing up).

You mischief-making little beast—­what have you done?

ROSALINE.

Don’t you talk to me like that—­I won’t have it!

REMBRANDT TEMPENNY (furiously).

You won’t have it!

ROSALINE.

No, I won’t.

REMBRANDT TEMPENNY.

You—­you—!  You smacked my face!

ROSALINE.

And I’ll smack it again if you aggravate me.  If it weren’t that he will be here later on, I’d walk straight out of the studio, and never come into it again.

REMBRANDT TEMPENNY.

I’ve a good mind to bundle you out neck and crop, I can tell you.  That woman has gone off to complain to my wife.  Here, get me out of these things. (He divests himself of the Chinese wig and costume.) I think I had better go.  I don’t know how I’ll do the picture—­I’ll never do the picture.  I think you had better go—­if Charlie Sylvester finds you here after this, he will murder you.

CHARLES SYLVESTER (off).

Tempenny!—­Tempenny—­are you upstairs?

REMBRANDT TEMPENNY (agitated).

He!  Oh, I say, you know—­don’t yer know—­this is awful!

ROSALINE (rapturously).

I know his voice.

REMBRANDT TEMPENNY (dancing with terror).

Yes, so do I!  He’ll kill you—­I warn you he will make a corse of you—­or me.  I won’t meet him.  I can’t.  Get rid of him for the Lord’s sake—­I’ll hide in there till he has gone.

(Exit R.)

ROSALINE (taking out powder puff).

After years we meet again!

(Enter SYLVESTER L.)

CHARLES SYLVESTER.

Why the devil couldn’t you answer, Tempenny, I say—­

ROSALINE (turning).

Charles!  Ah! once more!

CHARLES SYLVESTER.

Great Scott!  My dear girl, what on earth are you here for?

ROSALINE.

It is like that you greet me?

CHARLES SYLVESTER.

“Greet” you?  Well, upon my word I don’t quite know what you expect.  I thought it was understood between us last time we met that—­that—­we weren’t to meet?  You see I’ve got a wife, and—­

ROSALINE.

I know.  I have just seen her.

CHARLES SYLVESTER.

What’s that you say?  You have just seen my wife?

ROSALINE (nodding).

She has been here.  She has only just gone.

CHARLES SYLVESTER.

The devil!  What did she say to you—­what did she think?

ROSALINE.

She thought you knew about it—­she was angry!

CHARLES SYLVESTER (furiously).

And very rightly too.  You have no business here—­why did you come?

ROSALINE.

Mr. Tempenny brought me.