Chloe. [Timidly] Let her.  I don’t care; I can’t bear feeling enemies about, Charlie, I—­get nervous—­I——­

Charles.  My dear girl!  What is it?

     [He looks at her intently.]

Chloe.  I suppose it’s—­being like this. [Suddenly] But, Charlie, do stop it for my sake.  Do, do!

Charles. [Patting her arm] Come, come; I say, Chloe!  You’re making mountains.  See things in proportion.  Father’s paid nine thousand five hundred to get the better of those people, and you want him to chuck it away to save a woman who’s insulted you.  That’s not sense, and it’s not business.  Have some pride.

Chloe. [Breathless] I’ve got no pride, Charlie.  I want to be quiet—­that’s all.

Charles.  Well, if the row gets on your nerves, I can take you to the sea.  But you ought to enjoy a fight with people like that.

Chloe. [With calculated bitterness] No, it’s nothing, of course—­ what I want.

Charles.  Hello!  Hello!  You are on the jump!

Chloe.  If you want me to be a good wife to you, make father stop it.

Charles. [Standing up] Now, look here, Chloe, what’s behind this?

Chloe. [Faintly] Behind?

Charles.  You’re carrying on as if—­as if you were really scared!  We’ve got these people:  We’ll have them out of Deepwater in six months.  It’s absolute ruination to their beastly old house; we’ll put the chimneys on the very edge, not three hundred yards off, and our smoke’ll be drifting over them half the time.  You won’t have this confounded stuck-up woman here much longer.  And then we can really go ahead and take our proper place.  So long as she’s here, we shall never do that.  We’ve only to drive on now as fast as we can.

Chloe. [With a gesture] I see.

Charles. [Again looking at her] If you go on like this, you know,
I shall begin to think there’s something you——­

Chloe [softly] Charlie! [He comes to her.] Love me!

Charles. [Embracing her] There, old girl!  I know women are funny at these times.  You want a good night, that’s all.

Chloe.  You haven’t finished dinner, have you?  Go back, and I’ll go to bed quite soon.  Charlie, don’t stop loving me.

Charles.  Stop?  Not much.

     [While he is again embracing her, Anna steals from behind the
     screen to the door, opens it noiselessly, and passes through,
     but it clicks as she shuts it.]

Chloe. [Starting violently] Oh-h!

     [He comes to her.]

Charles.  What is it?  What is it?  You are nervy, my dear.

Chloe. [Looking round with a little laugh] I don’t know.  Go on, Charlie.  I’ll be all right when this head’s gone.