Summary

Florence nestles in the crook of a driftwood tree, watching Edward approach her. Formulating a proposal, she imagines what he will say to her and what she might say to him. Berating herself for behaving badly, thinking badly of HIM for behaving badly, she tries to imagine how things might resolve, but fails. When he reaches her, their conversation erupts into immediate, sarcastic anger from both of them, which leads to biting comments about the money Florence’s father left her and the job he offered Edward, both of which he now says he is going to reject. Florence moves through waves of feeling as Edward accuses her of trying to humiliate him, leading her to imagine a quick return, for her, to the work of the quartet. Edward speaks in the past tense of how he loved her, leading them both to acknowledge...