Annie.  Oh! thank you, Miss.  I’m very sorry.  Of course if you was to change your mind—­[She stops, embarrassed].

Athene.  I don’t think—­

Guy. [Abruptly] Good-bye, Annie.  Here’s five bob for the movies.

Annie.  Oh! good-bye, sir, and thank you.  I was goin’ there now with my young man.  He’s just round the corner.

Guy.  Be very careful of him.

Annie.  Oh! yes, sir, I will.  Good-bye, sir.  Goodbye, Miss.

     She goes.

Guy.  So her father has a firm hand too.  But it takes her back to the nest.  How’s that, Athene?

Athene. [Playing with a leathern button on his coat] If you’d watched it ever since you could watch anything, seen it kill out all—­It’s having power that does it.  I know Father’s got awfully good points.

Guy.  Well, they don’t stick out.

Athene.  He works fearfully hard; he’s upright, and plucky.  He’s not stingy.  But he’s smothered his animal nature-and that’s done it.  I don’t want to see you smother anything, Guy.

Guy. [Gloomily] I suppose one never knows what one’s got under the lid.  If he hadn’t come here to-day—­[He spins the wedding ring] He certainly gives one pause.  Used he to whack you?

Athene.  Yes.

Guy.  Brute!

Athene.  With the best intentions.  You see, he’s a Town Councillor, and a magistrate.  I suppose they have to be “firm.”  Maud and I sneaked in once to listen to him.  There was a woman who came for protection from her husband.  If he’d known we were there, he’d have had a fit.

Guy.  Did he give her the protection?

Athene.  Yes; he gave her back to the husband.  Wasn’t it—­English?

Guy. [With a grunt] Hang it!  We’re not all like that.

Athene. [Twisting his button] I think it’s really a sense of property so deep that they don’t know they’ve got it.  Father can talk about freedom like a—­politician.

Guy. [Fitting the wedding ring on her finger] Well!  Let’s see how it looks, anyway.

Athene.  Don’t play with fire, Guy.

Guy.  There’s something in atavism, darling; there really is.  I like it
—­I do.

     A knock on the door.

Athene.  That sounds like Annie again.  Just see.

Guy. [Opening the door] It is.  Come in, Annie.  What’s wrong now?

Annie. [Entering in confusion] Oh! sir, please, sir—­I’ve told my young man.

Athene.  Well, what does he say?

Annie.  ’E was ’orrified, Miss.

Guy.  The deuce he was!  At our conduct?

Annie.  Oh! no, sir—­at mine.

Athene.  But you did your best; you left us.