Act II.
Scene I. The
Card Room of a London Club between four and five in
the
afternoon, three weeks later.
Scene II.
The Sitting-room of the Dancys’ Flat, the
following
morning.
Act III.
Scene I. Old
Mr Jacob Twisden’s Room at Twisden
& Graviter’s in
Lincoln’s
Inn Fields, at four in the afternoon, three
months
later.
Scene II.
The same, next morning at half-past ten.
Scene III.
The Sitting-room of the Dancys’ Flat, an
hour later.
ACT I
SCENE I
The dressing-room of Charles Winsor, owner of Meldon Court, near Newmarket; about eleven-thirty at night. The room has pale grey walls, unadorned; the curtains are drawn over a window Back Left Centre. A bed lies along the wall, Left. An open door, Right Back, leads into lady ADELA’s bedroom; a door, Right Forward, into a long corridor, on to which abut rooms in a row, the whole length of the house’s left wing. WINSOR’s dressing-table, with a light over it, is Stage Right of the curtained window. Pyjamas are laid out on the bed, which is turned back. Slippers are handy, and all the usual gear of a well-appointed bed-dressing-room. Charles Winsor, a tall, fair, good-looking man about thirty-eight, is taking off a smoking jacket.
Winsor. Hallo! Adela!
V. Of lady A. [From her bedroom] Hallo!
Winsor. In bed?
V. Of lady A. No.
She appears in the doorway
in under-garment and a wrapper. She,
too, is fair, about
thirty-five, rather delicious, and suggestive
of porcelain.
Winsor. Win at Bridge?
Lady A. No fear.
Winsor. Who did?
Lady A. Lord St Erth and Ferdy De Levis.
Winsor. That young man has too much luck—the young bounder won two races to-day; and he’s as rich as Croesus.
Lady A. Oh! Charlie, he did look so exactly as if he’d sold me a carpet when I was paying him.
Winsor. [Changing into slippers] His father did sell carpets, wholesale, in the City.
Lady A. Really? And you say I haven’t intuition! [With a finger on her lips] Morison’s in there.
Winsor. [Motioning towards the door, which she shuts] Ronny Dancy took a tenner off him, anyway, before dinner.
Lady A. No! How?
Winsor. Standing jump on to a bookcase four feet high. De Levis had to pay up, and sneered at him for making money by parlour tricks. That young Jew gets himself disliked.