* A Project Gutenberg Canada Ebook * This ebook is made available at no cost and with very few restrictions. These restrictions apply only if (1) you make a change in the ebook (other than alteration for different display devices), or (2) you are making commercial use of the ebook. If either of these conditions applies, please check gutenberg.ca/links/licence.html before proceeding. This work is in the Canadian public domain, but may be under copyright in some countries. If you live outside Canada, check your country's copyright laws. IF THE BOOK IS UNDER COPYRIGHT IN YOUR COUNTRY, DO NOT DOWNLOAD OR REDISTRIBUTE THIS FILE. Title: The Animal Kingdom. A Comedy. Author: Barry, Philip Jerome Quinn (1896-1949) Date of first publication: 1932 [copyright date 1931] Edition used as base for this ebook: New York and Los Angeles: Samuel French; London: Samuel French Ltd., 1932 Date first posted: 16 May 2011 Date last updated: 16 May 2011 Project Gutenberg Canada ebook #788 This ebook was produced by Barbara Watson, Mark Akrigg & the Online Distributed Proofreading Canada Team at http://www.pgdpcanada.net THE ANIMAL KINGDOM PLAYS BY PHILIP BARRY The Youngest You and I In a Garden White Wings John Paris Bound Holiday Hotel Universe Tomorrow and Tomorrow The Animal Kingdom THE ANIMAL KINGDOM _A Comedy_ BY PHILIP BARRY SAMUEL FRENCH NEW YORK LOS ANGELES SAMUEL FRENCH LTD. LONDON 1932 _ALL RIGHTS RESERVED_ Copyright, 1931, by Philip Barry _CAUTION: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that "THE ANIMAL KINGDOM," being fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, the British Empire, including the Dominion of Canada, and all other countries of the Copyright Union, is subject to a royalty. All rights, including professional, amateur, motion pictures, recitation, public reading, radio broadcasting, and the rights of translation into foreign languages are strictly reserved. In its present form the play is dedicated to the reading public only. All inquiries, regarding this play should be addressed to Samuel French, at 25 West 45th Street, New York, N. Y., or 811 West 7th Street, Los Angeles, Calif._ MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY THE VAIL-BALLOU PRESS, INC., BINGHAMTON, N. Y. TO GILBERT MILLER AND LESLIE HOWARD "THE ANIMAL KINGDOM" was first produced by Gilbert Miller and Leslie Howard at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York City on January 12, 1932. It was directed by Gilbert Miller and the settings were designed by Aline Bernstein. CHARACTERS RUFUS COLLIER TOM COLLIER CECELIA HENRY DAISY SAGE JOE FISK FRANC SCHMIDT OWEN ARTHUR GRACE MACOMBER RICHARD REGAN ACTION AND SCENE The action of the Play takes place in the course of about eighteen months, last year and this. The Scenes are as follows: ACT ONE Scene 1. At Tom Collier's, in Connecticut. An evening in April. Scene 2. At Daisy Sage's, on Thirty-eighth Street. Later the same evening. ACT TWO Scene 1. At Tom Collier's. An evening in January. Scene 2. At Daisy Sage's. An afternoon in May. ACT THREE Scene 1. At Tom Collier's. A Sunday morning in October. Scene 2. At Tom Collier's. Later the same evening. ACT ONE SCENE I _The library of_ TOM COLLIER'S _house in the country near New York. About seven o'clock on an April evening, two years ago_. _The library is a fair-sized, comfortable room in a small, partially converted farmhouse, situated in a countryside which is neither fashionable nor suburban. There is an entrance from the hall at Left and one into the dining-room through another hall at Back Right. In the center wall at Back, there is a fine old fire place, framed with pine panelling. The side walls are of white plaster, windows in the one at Right, with bookshelves around them. At Left, a small staircase leads to the upper floor. The furniture, of no particular period, is well chosen and, in the case of chairs and sofa, invitingly comfortable. It is a cheerful room, now filled with the late evening sun._ _Upon the sofa, sits_ OWEN ARTHUR. _In an easy chair, turned away from him, is_ RUFUS COLLIER. CECELIA HENRY _is seated in a straight chair beside a table at Right Center_. OWEN _is about thirty-five, well built, well dressed, agreeable looking_. RUFUS _is in his early fifties, small, slight and gray. He wears silver-rimmed spectacles, which add to his picture of himself as the man of decision_. CECELIA _is twenty-eight, lovely of figure, lovely of face, beautifully cared for, beautifully presented_. _For some moments, all sit staring in front of them, saying nothing. Finally_ OWEN _clears his throat, waits a moment, and without turning, ventures_: OWEN There's quite a fine view from the hill behind the house. (_A silence._)--Or did I tell you that? RUFUS Yes. OWEN Sorry. [_Another silence. Then_ CECELIA _speaks_. CECELIA You've really never been here before? RUFUS I? CECELIA Yes. RUFUS Never. CECELIA It seems a little strange. RUFUS I've never been asked before. (_He glances about him._) What anyone wants with a place at the end of the world like this, is beyond me anyhow. OWEN I make it in less than an hour, as a rule. RUFUS Oh, you come often, do you? OWEN Fairly. I find there's nothing like it after a stiff week in Court. I'm a new man since Friday. RUFUS You seem to be a fixture with him. I'm surprised he hasn't given you the go-by, as well. OWEN I'm too fond of him. I won't allow it. RUFUS But you're well-off, you work hard, you live like a gentleman--his natural enemy, I should say. OWEN We make few demands on each other. And he knows how I love this place. RUFUS But there's nothing _here_! No social life, no-- OWEN Exactly. CECELIA His press is in the Village, isn't it? RUFUS Press? What press? CECELIA The Bantam Press. (_He stares._) You know--for books. RUFUS Oh, so it's publishing now, is it? CECELIA I think it has been, for some time. RUFUS (_to_ OWEN) How's it going, do you know? OWEN Very well. Last year he only lost something like-- RUFUS --Don't tell me! [_He rises and goes to the window._ CECELIA You're not awfully fond of your son, are you, Mr. Collier? [RUFUS _turns to her_. RUFUS Miss--I beg your pardon--you said your name was--? CECELIA Henry. Cecelia Henry. RUFUS Miss Henry, if you had spent the time and money and effort I have to make that young man realize who he is and what he ought to be doing in the world--how long have you known him? CECELIA I'm comparatively new, I'm afraid. RUFUS (_to_ OWEN) Perhaps, from longer experience, you might enlighten her. OWEN I presume what Mr. Collier means is that on ordinary terms, Tom doesn't seem to have got very far. CECELIA There's still time, isn't there? RUFUS Thirty-one--thirty-two in October--and he's wasted his life from the cradle. CECELIA It must have been pathetic to see him wasting it at three. RUFUS I assure you, his genius for it showed even then. I send him to Harvard, and he lasts two years there. I send him to Oxford, and he commutes from Paris. I put him in the Bank, and he--(_He sighs profoundly._)--The world at the feet of that boy, the whole world. And all he's ever done is to run from it. OWEN Tom has his own ideas about what he wants to do with his life. (RICHARD REGAN _has come into the room. He is about thirty-two, with the figure of an athlete, red hair, and a genial, ugly Irish face that appears at some time to have been thoroughly mauled. He wears dark trousers and a white linen jacket, and carries a slip of paper in his hand._)--Yes, Regan? REGAN There's a radio-message came by phone for him. OWEN You can leave it here. I'll tell him. [REGAN _folds the message and places it upon the table_. REGAN Right. (_He turns and beams upon them._)--Everything satisfactory? OWEN Yes, thanks. REGAN Comfortable, Miss? CECELIA Quite, thank you. REGAN Like a drink, anyone? RUFUS (_exasperated_) No, no! Nothing! We were talking! REGAN (_with a wave of his hand_) Go right ahead. Make yourselves to home. He'll be along. [_He goes out._ CECELIA _laughs_. CECELIA --The butler? But he's charming! RUFUS He looks like a prize-fighter. OWEN He was. [RUFUS _begins to hover curiously about the radio-message, wanting to read it, not quite able to bring himself to_. RUFUS Why did he send me word to come out here tonight? Exceedingly important? Don't let anything interfere? OWEN I don't know. I found a message asking me to get Miss Henry at my Aunt's in New Canaan, and come back on the run. He had to go to town for something. RUFUS Well, I'll tell you what's in my mind--God knows I don't want it there.--That girl he's been living with for the last three years-- [OWEN _glances quickly at_ CECELIA. OWEN Just a minute, Sir. CECELIA It's all right, Owen. RUFUS Good Lord, it's no secret, is it? (_To_ CECELIA.)--You're not her, are you? CECELIA Not that I know of. RUFUS (_to_ OWEN) Who is she, anyhow? What is she? OWEN --An extremely nice girl--hard-working, talented. She draws for the fashion magazines, and very successfully. RUFUS Admirable.--Well, I believe he's got me out here to tell me he wants to marry her--or has already.--I've no doubt he'll bring her with him. OWEN Seriously--can you see Tom marrying anyone? RUFUS I can see her marrying him. It has happened before, and to better men. [_Again he hovers about the radio-message._ OWEN If it was going to them, it would have long before this. Besides, she left for her magazine's Paris office three months ago, for an indefinite stay. RUFUS Maybe she's coming back.--In fact, I'm certain that she's why we're here. It offers the perfect opportunity to cut himself off finally and completely from the life he was born to. I'm surprised he has missed it as long as he has. Well--I've stood for his rowdy friendships, I've put up with his idleness, his ill-mannered insolence, his-- [CECELIA _rises and faces him_. CECELIA I'm sorry, Mr. Collier, but I'll have to ask you to let it go at that. RUFUS Ah? Why so? CECELIA --Because it so happens that _I'm_ why we're here. RUFUS How's that? CECELIA It's me Tom's going to marry, and I've heard enough against him to last me quite a while. [RUFUS _stares_. OWEN _starts forward_. OWEN --You that Tom's--?!--Good Lord, C, what are you talking about? CECELIA Marrying. On May first, to be exact. (_To_ RUFUS.) He asked you out here to tell you, and, I imagine, to receive your good wishes. (RUFUS _still stares_.)--Thanks so much. [_She reseats herself_, OWEN _continues to gaze at her, speechless_. RUFUS What did you say your name was? I'm sorry, but I-- CECELIA Cecelia Henry. My mother was Cecelia Bond, of Baltimore. She married Stephen Henry, also of Baltimore. Except for a few distant cousins, such as Owen here, I'm alone now--poor, but quite respectable. Will it do? RUFUS Tom has very little of his own, you know. CECELIA It will be ample, thank you. RUFUS (_after a moment_) Miss Henry, I'm inclined to like you. I think you have what I call "character." CECELIA Really? You're too kind. RUFUS You'll need it with him. CECELIA I don't agree with you. Tom is the most interesting, most attractive man I've ever known. I consider myself shot with luck. And you make me a little tired with your abuse of him. RUFUS --Very loyal. CECELIA Not at all. I simply believe in him.--Not in his so-called "past" perhaps--I'm not quite a fool--but certainly in what's to be. RUFUS Faith is a beautiful thing. CECELIA _I_ think so. RUFUS Well, if you can make a respectable citizen of Tom Collier at this date, you'll have nothing but praise from me, my dear. [_He picks up the radio-message and draws it through his fingers._ CECELIA It seems not to occur to you that when Tom has someone who really understands him to work and care for-- OWEN Understands him! CECELIA Yes. Completely. (_Again to_ RUFUS.)--He'll make what you call "a citizen" of himself. [RUFUS _adjusts his spectacles and reads the message_. RUFUS You think? CECELIA I know.--And if what you laughingly refer to as my "faith" is of any use to him-- RUFUS "Love will conquer all." Yes, yes--of course--(_He sighs and refolds the message._)--But forgive me a few doubts. [OWEN _leans forward_. OWEN Oh? How's that, Sir? RUFUS "Darling. Am coming back. Arrive on 'Paris' at eight tonight. Much love. Daisy." [_He looks at_ CECELIA. _There is a slight pause. Then_: CECELIA Well? [RUFUS _rises, and regards her intently_. RUFUS --Yes, you seem to be a first-rate girl. CECELIA I've heard some rather agreeable things about _you_, now and then. It would be pleasant sometime to-- RUFUS (_smiling_) --To see one or two of them? Well, my dear, perhaps some day you shall.--And now if you'll let me have Mr.--er--Mr. Arthur to myself for a moment--(_He moves toward the doorway._)--There are a few dull but practical facts about--er--about your fiancé, I should like to--(_He turns to_ OWEN.)--Would you mind? [OWEN _moves to follow him_. RUFUS _goes out_. CECELIA Wait a minute, Owen, will you please? [OWEN _stops and turns_. OWEN Well? CECELIA I'm sorry you had to learn about it so--abruptly. OWEN It doesn't matter much, does it? CECELIA I don't know. OWEN Perhaps I was supposed to hear it with little cries of pleasure. CECELIA The point is, that I intended to tell you on the way over, but somehow couldn't. OWEN I'm touched by your reluctance to deliver the blow. CECELIA Don't be nasty, Owen. OWEN It was kind of me to bring you together, wasn't it? CECELIA An inspiration. I'm sure I'm most grateful. OWEN I can't make it out. You aren't in the least the sort of girl I'd expect Tom to be interested in. [_She laughs._ CECELIA Thanks! OWEN You know what I mean. CECELIA Perhaps it's the artist in him. You see, he has the charming illusion that I'm a real beauty. OWEN --And I can't make _you_ out, either. CECELIA It's quite simple: I'm in love at last. OWEN Have you the remotest idea of what you're letting yourself in for? CECELIA I think so. OWEN I'm the one friend you and Tom have in common. CECELIA --But such a lovely friend, Owen. Don't ever leave me--us. OWEN There's not a taste, not an attitude-- CECELIA Perhaps there will be. Give us time. OWEN C--how on earth did it happen? CECELIA Very suddenly, very sweetly.--Yesterday. (_He turns away._) I'm sorry. You asked. [_A moment. Then_: OWEN --I'll see what it is Mr. Collier wants, if you don't mind. [OWEN _goes out_. CECELIA _looks after him for a moment, then removes her hat, seats herself in a large chair, hidden from the doorway, and thoughtfully lights a cigarette. A moment, then_ TOM COLLIER _appears in the doorway_, REGAN _close behind him_. TOM _is in his early thirties, slim, youthful, with a fine, sensitive, humorous face. He carries several packages in his arms_. TOM Where are they? REGAN Well--they _were_. [CECELIA _rises and turns_. CECELIA Hello, Tom. TOM (_to_ REGAN) Take my hat. (REGAN _removes it from his head_.) Thanks. Now get out. REGAN I just wanted to tell you that-- TOM Later. [_He is gazing fondly at_ CECELIA. REGAN But there's a-- TOM Get, will you, Red? [REGAN _goes out, murmuring_: REGAN --Radio-message come for you. [_But_ TOM _scarcely hears him. Suddenly he drops his parcels upon the table, goes to_ CECELIA _and takes her in his arms_. TOM Darling, darling-- [_He is about to kiss her, but she averts her head._ CECELIA No. You're late. I'm furious with you. TOM (_blankly_) Late? [_She looks at him for a moment, then smiles and kisses him lightly._ CECELIA There.--All right? TOM Terrible. I've taken up with a thrifty spinster. CECELIA It's all you deserve. [_He laughs._ TOM How do you like it?--I mean the place. CECELIA I love it. TOM I call it "the house in bad taste."--Look out for taste, C. There's too much of it in the world. (_He goes to the packages on the table._) See here--what I fetched from town for you. CECELIA What are they? TOM A celebration: good things to eat and drink.--Where are they? Father? Owen? CECELIA In the other room. TOM What do you think of Father? CECELIA Well-- TOM Keep a civil tongue in your head. CECELIA It may take a little time. TOM You can learn to like him and beer together. Mother was the prize: you missed something, there. Father means well, but you have to stand him off. Give him an inch, and he takes you home in his pocket. Did you really say you'd marry me? [_He slips her arm through his and leads her to a chair._ CECELIA I'm afraid I did. TOM Heaven help us both.--Just this one marriage please, darling. I haven't been very good about marriage. I was exposed to a very bad case of it as a baby. We must make a grand go of it. CECELIA We shall, never you fear. [TOM _smiles_. CECELIA _seats herself in the chair_, TOM _upon the arm of it_. TOM --Just do everything I say, and it will be all right. CECELIA --With pleasure. [_He gazes at her._ TOM C, what a marvellous object you are. (_He picks up her hand, looks at it._) Look at those fine small bones in your wrist. CECELIA What about them? TOM This--(_He kisses the wrist._)--You're so cunningly contrived. CECELIA What? TOM I say, you're put together on the very best principles. CECELIA I don't see so many blunders in you either, Thomas. TOM No, mine is entirely beauty of soul. Shall I tell you about my soul, C?--With lantern-slides? CECELIA (_softly_) Put your arms around me, Tom. [_He draws her to him and kisses her. Then_: TOM --Oh God, I feel good! CECELIA (_in a breath_) --So do I. TOM --Let's have all our good things together. (_He turns and calls loudly_:) Red! Oh, Red! (_Then turns again to_ CECELIA.) That's a very good rule of life, darling: all one's good things together. CECELIA Is it, dear? [REGAN _appears beaming_. TOM _rises from the chair_. REGAN Hello. Not so loud. TOM --Glasses with ice, Red, and run all the way. REGAN O.K. [_He goes out._ TOM _calls again_: TOM Owen? Father! (_Then turns and regards_ CECELIA _once more_.) Oh, my lovely C--you lovely thing, you. CECELIA Stop it, Tom. You're really embarrassing me. I feel quite naked. TOM That's fine. (_He goes to her and draws two fingers gently across her cheek._) It's such a fine binding, darling--such a good book. (RUFUS _re-enters, followed by_ OWEN.) Hello, Father, hello, Owen--terribly nice you're here. You've met Miss Henry, Father? RUFUS I've had that pleasure, yes. TOM It is a pleasure.--How are the horses? RUFUS Do you care? [TOM _laughs_. TOM Not a bit. RUFUS Then why ask? TOM Politeness. RUFUS You said five o'clock. It's seven. TOM Did I? Is it?--Listen,--- you and Owen--I want to tell you what this is all about. RUFUS We know. We've heard. [TOM _looks to_ CECELIA. CECELIA He was abusing you so, I had to tell him. [TOM _laughs delightedly_. TOM And it didn't discourage you? CECELIA On the contrary. TOM Stout heart. (_Then, gravely, to_ RUFUS.) Why, thank you very much, Sir, but I think _I'm_ the one to be congratulated. Yes, indeed we are. Yes, I'm sure we shall be. (REGAN _comes in with a tray of glasses filled with ice_.) Oh--er--this is my father, Red. REGAN Glad to meet you, Sir. [RUFUS _bows slightly_. REGAN _undoes one of the packages and produces a bottle of champagne_. TOM --And my fiancée, Miss Henry. [_Bottle in hand_, REGAN _stares at him, puzzled_. REGAN Your--? [_Then goes to_ CECELIA, _seizes her hand, shakes it warmly and goes out_. CECELIA _laughs_. CECELIA He is priceless! TOM A magnificent fellow, Red. We box every morning. I gave him that ear--but you watch, I'll pay for it. (_To_ RUFUS.) _You_ keep pretty fit, don't you, Father? RUFUS Quite. Do you mind? TOM I'm delighted. My only wonder is that some designing woman doesn't snap you up. Look how C got me (_To_ CECELIA.)--Like rolling off a log, wasn't it? CECELIA Easier, much. RUFUS I keep my defenses well in line. [TOM _laughs, and turns to_ OWEN. TOM Did you hear what he said? (_To_ RUFUS.)--Millions for defense, eh, Sir?--But not one cent for cab-fare. (REGAN _has come in again with the bottle, now opened, and is filling the glasses_.) That's the boy, Red. Pass them, will you? Then get dinner going. I could eat an ox. (REGAN _passes the glasses_. TOM _turns to_ CECELIA.) Are you hungry too, Angel? CECELIA Simply famished. TOM Good. I like a girl who likes her food. Once I said to Daisy--(_He stops, waits a moment, then smiles and raises his glass._) Well--here's how and why and wherefore--and you know where marriages are made. (_All drink._ REGAN _has a glass of his own, which he downs at a gulp_.)--Speaking of eating, I ran into Jim Winter--you know Jim, Owen--in town today. He wants me to go salmon-fishing in Canada in June. I think I'll take him up on it. I've never done it.--It sounds like great sport, eh, Red? REGAN (_putting down his glass_.) Did you get your radio, Tom? TOM What radio's that? REGAN There on the table. [_He goes out._ CECELIA In June, did you say? TOM Yes. It won't be for long. (_He takes a swallow from his glass and puts it down._) My, what a noble wine. (_He picks up the radio-message._)--I'll be back in three weeks at the outside. CECELIA Then we'll be married in July. TOM (_turning_) July! You said May. CECELIA Not if you're going straight off on a trip. [_There is a silence. He regards her soberly._ TOM --That's easy, then. I won't go. CECELIA Perhaps you'd better think it over. TOM No, darling. I don't have to. CECELIA All right, Tom. (_She smiles and raises her glass to him._)--To May first. [_All drink._ TOM _opens the radio-message, reads it and refolds it carefully. All are watching him. He thinks a moment, frowning, then turns to_ OWEN. TOM Owen--would you like to show Father the new bantam-cock? [OWEN _rises and moves toward_ RUFUS. OWEN The red one?--Right.--Will you come along, Sir? [OWEN _goes out_. RUFUS _does not stir_. TOM _goes to him, and slips his arm through his_. TOM You must see him, Father. He's a beauty, that bird. He fights at the drop of a hat. (_He draws him toward the door_, OWEN _following_.)--Even if you don't drop it, he fights. I'm sure he'll be interested to meet you, too, Sir. [_He withdraws his arm, and_ RUFUS _goes out_. TOM _closes the door after him, hesitates a moment, then returns slowly to_ CECELIA. CECELIA Don't tell me if you don't want to, Tom. TOM But I do. I intended to at the first opportunity anyhow, and--(_He glances at the radio-message once again._)--And it seems that suddenly here it is. [_And puts it in his pocket._ CECELIA Am I to be a good soldier? TOM No. There's no need to be.--Though I'm sure you would be, if there were. CECELIA Thanks, dear. TOM C, for quite a long time I've known--known intimately--a girl who's been very important to me-- CECELIA Yes. TOM --Who always will be very important to me. CECELIA (_smiling_) --That's harder. TOM It shouldn't be. Because it has nothing to do with you and me, not possibly. CECELIA I'm relieved to hear that. TOM In fact, as it stands, I think she'll be glad for us. CECELIA I hope she will. TOM I'm sure of it.--C, Daisy has done more for me than anyone in this world. She's the best friend I've got. I believe she always will be. I'd hate terribly to lose her. It's been a queer sort of arrangement--no arrangement at all, really. There's never been any idea of marriage between us. It's hard to explain what there has been between us. I don't believe it's ever existed before on land or on sea. Well-- [_He hesitates again._ CECELIA Is she attractive, Tom? TOM To me, she is. She's about so high, and made of platinum wire and sand.--You wouldn't like me half so well, if Daisy hadn't knocked some good sense into me. CECELIA Well, someone's done a good job. [TOM _laughs_. TOM I'll tell her that. (_Then seriously._) I sent her a long cable about us this morning. She couldn't have got it, because this--(_He taps his pocket._) this is from the boat. She lands tonight. CECELIA I see. TOM I want to be sure that you understand it--understand it both ways. I'd rather not go--terribly deeply into it if you don't mind. CECELIA I don't, Tom. TOM We've been--everything possible to each other of course, and-- CECELIA Yes, Tom. TOM But at the same time, free as air. There's never been any responsibility to each other involved in it-- CECELIA I can understand that. TOM Can you, C? Because I never could.--Anyhow, that's the way it's been.--We haven't been what you'd call "in love," for quite a long time, now, so-- CECELIA (_smiling_) Does she know that? TOM She knew it first. Well--I don't know what more there is to say about it, except that there's no reason at all for you to worry, and--you won't, will you? CECELIA No, Tom. Not if you tell me I needn't. TOM I do.--And finally, that I think she ought to know the--news about us, pretty promptly. CECELIA Yes. Probably. TOM Is whatever I do about it all right with you? CECELIA Absolutely. TOM Thanks, C. CECELIA There's just one thing I'd like to ask. May I? TOM Why of course, darling. What? CECELIA Are you quite sure that--? (_She sees_ OWEN _and_ RUFUS _coming in_.)--Poor Mr. Collier. I'm sure you loathe chickens. I quite agree with you. RUFUS --Vicious little beast. [REGAN _comes in beaming_. REGAN Come on, everyone! Dinner! TOM You haven't put the car away, have you? REGAN Say, how many hands have I got? TOM Don't. I'll need it. [REGAN _goes out_. TOM _turns to his father_. TOM Father, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to do the honors at dinner. RUFUS The--? Why? How's that? TOM I find I've got to go straight back to town. [_A silence. Then_: OWEN But I thought this was to be a celebration. RUFUS I had the same impression. TOM I'm sorry: it can't be helped. OWEN Is it so important to go in just this minute, Tom? TOM Yes--unfortunately. [RUFUS _is eyeing him shrewdly_. RUFUS Why? What's wrong? TOM Nothing at all. It's simply that someone's arriving from Europe. I've missed the landing, as it is.--(_To_ OWEN.)--Someone I've known a long time, and am fond of. OWEN Oh, I see. TOM (_to_ RUFUS) I must--well, the fact is, I must tell her my--my good news. RUFUS Now you listen to me-- [TOM _confronts him_. TOM --And it seems to me extremely important that I should do it at once. In fact, I can't do otherwise. [RUFUS _bursts out_: RUFUS --You have the effrontery, the colossal bad taste, on the night of celebrating your engagement to a fine, trusting, loyal girl, to go from her--your fiancée--to your--to your-- [TOM _smiles_. TOM --The same old difficulty with words, eh, Sir?--Never mind. None of them would apply to Daisy. RUFUS It's beyond me. It's the confoundest impertinence I've ever known. TOM (_smiling_) But you see, for all your splendid moral judgments, you know so very little, Sir. RUFUS I suppose you know better.--If you leave here tonight-- [TOM'S _smile vanishes_. TOM --Yes. Much better. (_He returns to_ CECELIA, _lifts her hand and kisses it lightly_.)--Until tomorrow, my Angel. [_He nods Good-night to_ OWEN _and_ RUFUS, _and goes out_. CURTAIN ACT ONE SCENE II _The sitting-room of_ DAISY SAGE'S _flat, later the same night_. DAISY'S _flat occupies the top floor of an old house in the Murray Hill section of New York. The sitting-room also serves as a workroom for_ DAISY. _Victorian in atmosphere, it is light and cheerful and has been decorated and furnished with an original and unerring feeling for the period. There is a fire place of simple design at Left and above it, a door opening into the bedroom. The entrance from the hall is up Right, and into the pantry, down Right. The sofa and chairs are fine old Victorian pieces, but comfortable in spite of it. There are three large windows in the back wall. Below them stands_ DAISY'S _work-table, piled with old magazines and sketches, drawing-boards, crayons, pens and pencils_. _Opposite_ TOM, JOE FISK _is seated. Between them stands_ FRANC SCHMIDT, _violin under her chin, playing, and playing well, the concluding measures of a César Franck sonata. She is thirty, hard, rugged--in appearance more of a handsome farm-girl than musician._ JOE _is twenty-eight, fine Irish, nervous, intense, attractive_. FRANC _concludes the piece_. JOE Good!--You'll get there, Franc, if you work. [_She returns the violin to its case and seats herself near them. She speaks with a slight German accent._ FRANC --Only I played it much better, much. TOM He just wasn't impressed, eh? FRANC Oh, yes.--He could book me on the Big Time, he said. JOE (_incredulous_) Vaudeville? FRANC --That is, if I would learn to roller-skate. TOM He wanted you to play on skates? FRANC --A sensation, he said. [JOE _and_ TOM _laugh with delight_. JOE _goes to her, takes her face between his hands and kisses her resoundingly upon the brow_. JOE My darling. My Dutch darling. [_She brushes him aside._ FRANC Get away. [JOE _calls in the direction of the bedroom_: JOE Daisy!--Did you hear about Franc and the booking-agent? (_He turns to_ FRANC.) Where is she? FRANC --Probably taking another bath. It will be her third in six hours. That's what Europe does for you. TOM (_indicating the pantry_) --No. She's in there, I think. JOE (_incredulously_) Six hours! Two o'clock--? FRANC It's past it. TOM Will you two never go home? JOE (_calling in the direction of the pantry_) Daisy! We're going! (_To_ TOM _and_ FRANC.)--And I promised myself tomorrow I'd do a chapter or die. TOM How's it coming? JOE All right. At least it's begun to move. TOM What are you calling it? JOE "Easy Rider." TOM I like that. FRANC But what does it mean? JOE Good God, must it mean something? (_Again he calls._) Daisy! FRANC Yes. Your eyes have got smaller. You should get to bed. TOM Both of you should--go on, will you? JOE Why? TOM I want to talk to Daisy. JOE Look here, Tom, what _is_ on your mind? TOM I've got something to tell her. JOE News? TOM Yes. JOE Good news? TOM Very. FRANC Will she cheer? TOM I think so. FRANC Tell _us_, Tom! TOM No. JOE Why not? TOM I want to tell Daisy first. (_To_ FRANC.) You know, I've been thinking: Johnny Bristed might get a concert for you. FRANC I don't want it yet. I'm not ready yet. [_Again_ JOE _calls_. JOE Daisy! [DAISY SAGE _comes in from the pantry. She is twenty-six, slim, lithe, a stripling, but with dignity beyond her years and a rare grace to accompany it. In contrast to_ CECELIA'S _lush beauty, she is plain, but there is a certain style of her own, a presence, a manner that defies description. Instantly and lastingly attractive, like no one else one knows; in short "a person," an "original." She wears white pajamas that might as well be a dress, and carries a tray containing coffee and sandwiches._ DAISY --And furthermore, I don't believe I like France as much as I say I do. (_She puts down the tray._)--And I don't for a minute believe that you're leaving. FRANC Joe must. So must I. DAISY --You stay the night, if you like, Tom. You can have my room. I've got all the work in the world to do before morning. TOM Why, thanks, Daisy, but-- DAISY As you like. (_She seats herself, and gives them coffee and sandwiches._) I had thirty sketches to get through on the boat.--Oh, what lovely intentions. FRANC Was it rough? DAISY No, but Pilard was on board and we spent hours on end in the smoking-room--talk, talk, and more talk. JOE He's a fine painter, Pilard. TOM He's a good painter. JOE Fine, I said. TOM --And last week Henry Collins could write. Hold on to your standards, Joe. JOE You teach me, will you, Master? TOM Collins' life shows in his work. He can't make up his mind whether he wants to be a writer or a man-about-town. JOE Why not both? TOM --Because, little Joe, his work is the only true mistress a real artist ever had. When he takes on the world he takes on a whore. FRANC That goes for all good men, not only artists. DAISY --But all good men are, aren't they?--Look at Tom.--You don't have to put marks on paper or dents in stone to qualify, do you? TOM (_to_ JOE) --Yes, and pays for her favors with something a lot more precious than twenty dollars left on the mantelpiece. [JOE _reflects_. JOE _I_ had twenty dollars once. Now, when was it? DAISY There's a statue in Florence that made me think of you, Tom. [TOM _laughs_. TOM Me! How? DAISY It's a David by Donatello. TOM You mean with the curls and the derby hat? DAISY That's right! [TOM _shakes his head_. TOM --No David, me. I'm just the no-account-boy. Ask Father--he'll tell you.--Hand me another sandwich, Joe. [JOE _gives him one_. JOE No-account, is it?--You've done more for people than any one man I know. TOM Why thanks, Joe.--It's not true, of course, but thanks. JOE And done it in the damndest, most unassuming way I've ever heard of. TOM Oh, go to hell, will you? JOE (_to_ FRANC) I could name a dozen first-class talents that, if _he_ hadn't nosed 'em out, would have-- TOM Say, are you two going to hang around here all night? JOE We haven't seen her either you know. [FRANC _puts down her cup_. FRANC I must teach you again how to make coffee, darling. DAISY Your country's the one, Franc. FRANC Ach! There is no more new music in Germany today than there is here. JOE I thought there was plenty here. FRANC Like what?--If someone goes--(_She hums the opening bar of the "Rhapsody in Blue."_)--at me again, I shall become mad. [DAISY _gazes at the bulging brief-case on the floor beside the work-table. Her smile fades._ DAISY Oh, that work!--Look at it. TOM Is there much of it? DAISY At least eight hours. JOE I wish we could help. TOM --You can. Good-night, Joe. DAISY --And Briggs was at the dock. TOM I didn't get your radio till seven. DAISY That didn't matter. Anyhow I hate being met. Anyhow, I tell myself I do. Briggs was frantic. Apparently they've held the presses for two days. TOM You're a bad girl. DAISY I'm a scoundrel. I swore it would be on his desk at nine. I'll be lucky if I'm through by noon. [JOE _laughs, and rises_. JOE Urge us to stay once more and we may give in.--Come along, Franc. I'll see you across the hall. [FRANC _rises and takes up her violin-case_. FRANC --It is good to have you back, too, Tom. You are better than all of us, but Daisy. She is better than best. Between you, you stir up our lazy bones, you hold us together, you bind our wounds. You two are the--ach!--my blood is turned to beer.--Auf wiedersehen. Good-night. [_She goes out._ JOE I'll drop in tomorrow afternoon about five, if I can. DAISY Fine. I ought to be up by then. [_She follows_ FRANC _into the hall_. JOE (_to_ TOM) Will you be here? TOM I'm afraid I'll have to go to the country. JOE Shun the country. Things come out of the ground there in Spring. [_He goes out._ TOM _is alone for a moment. Then_ DAISY _re-enters_. DAISY --Love them as I do, I thought they'd never go. TOM So did I. [_She puts her arms around him and looks up at him._ DAISY Hello, you dear Tom. TOM Hello, Daisy. [_She kisses him lightly._ DAISY Now it seems I haven't been away at all. (_And leaves his arms._) Oh, it's grand to be back! TOM It's grand having you.--Was the trip really all that you hoped it would be? DAISY It was better.--If only you'd been along. Oh Tom--the pictures! I got drunk on them every day, twice a day. TOM I was sure you would. DAISY And at night when the galleries were closed I sat around and dreamed of them.--The silly contempt I always pretended to have for painting--self-protection, of course--the stuff _I_ draw. TOM But some of it's good. DAISY You're right, my boy. Some of it is. (_She goes to the table and picks up a portfolio._) Look--full--sketches.--And not a dress, a hat, a pajama among them. A market-wagon--the angle of a doorway--an open trunk. A melon cut in half--three glasses and a corkscrew--all manner of funny objects. Oh Tom, two of the most exciting things have happened to me! Not one--two! (_She moves toward the sofa._) Come--sit down-- TOM What are they? DAISY I'm bursting with them. (_She makes room for him beside her on the sofa, looks at him lovingly, smiles contentedly, touches his arm._) Good, this--isn't it? TOM But what, Daisy? Did you fall in love with Pilard? DAISY Well I should say not! (_She laughs._) Pilard! (_Then._) What's that? (_From the distance the strains of a violin are heard, playing variations on the scales._) Oh--Franc. Still working.--Guess what I found in my room when I came in? (_He looks at her questioningly. She laughs._)--It seems the Swede maid Franc got me doesn't approve of you:--Four shirts, three socks, five ties and a razor, all done up in a great big white handkerchief. TOM You'd better go back to colored ones.--Maids, I mean.-- DAISY --Remember Gladys? TOM Remember Hannah? DAISY Remember Marietta? (_They laugh together happily. She slips her arm through his, and for a moment drops her head upon his shoulder._) Oh Tom, God love you. TOM God love you, my dear. (_For a moment there is silence, except for the sound of_ FRANC'S _violin. Then she raises her head and they speak simultaneously._) Daisy-- DAISY Darling--(_She laughs._) What? TOM No--you tell me-- DAISY Well, my heavy sledding ought to be over in a few weeks--by the first of May, anyway. What have you got on the fire--much? TOM Yes. A great deal. The fact is-- DAISY (_in a rush_) --Work night and day until May. Then come to Mexico for a month with Daisy. I'm dying to go. Pilard was full of it. I know it's what I need for awhile, because--well, first--oh, I feel like a fool. You mustn't breathe a word of it. (_He shakes his head._)--Tom, I think I can paint. TOM But that's no surprise. I've always thought if only you'd-- DAISY (_quickly_) Then you've always been wrong!--It's new. It's since these two months.--I believe that if I work my eyes out, and my fingers to the bone, someday I may paint.--You must be hard with me--no parties--no hell-raising--_work_.--And you mustn't let me show until you know I'm ready to. Is that agreed? TOM All right. DAISY You have a funny instinct about such things. I count on you.--As for the second thing--(_She hesitates._)--You know--suddenly I feel shy with you. (_She rises._) I don't like it. I don't like it a bit. TOM We've--it's been a long time. [DAISY _goes again to the work-table_. DAISY Too long.--Perhaps I'd better wait to tell you the second thing. TOM No. Tell me now. DAISY Oh, my dear--what's wrong with us? Come here to me. (_He goes to her, takes her hands in his._) That's better. Now I don't feel it so much. (_But still she looks at him anxiously. Finally she releases her hands, turns and fumbles among her work-materials, picks up a pencil._)--These are German pencils. They can't touch ours. You'd think they could, but they can't. Give me a "Venus-6B," every time. (_She stares fixedly at the pencil for another moment, then puts it down and turns to him._) You're a free man, Tommy. You always have been, with me. No questions asked. But please, Mexico in May together, because listen--No! Don't look at me. Look the other way--(_He averts his head. She goes on, rapidly._)--I stayed three days with the Allens at Vevey and they've got the sweetest small boy about two and I got crazy about him and I want one, I want one like the devil. I'm crazy for one, and would you please be good enough to marry me, and-- TOM Daisy, I--! DAISY Oh, it needn't be terribly serious!--It's not a life-sentence--just for a short while, if you like--it'd be such a dirty trick on him, if we didn't.--After I get my stuff through for the June issue--then Mexico for a month--I love you so much, I was a fool ever to think I didn't, and--ah, come on, Tom--be a sport--. (_She is breathless._)--Give me a cigarette-- [_But he does not._ TOM Daisy-- DAISY (_quickly_) All right. No go. Let's forget about it. What a foul necktie that is. The colors are awful. TOM Daisy, I--Oh God, God Almighty-- DAISY Well, what is it? (_He covers her hand with his._)--You're going to tell me something terrible.--What is it? TOM I'm going to be married. DAISY (_incredulously_) To be--?! [_Then silence. She averts her head._ TOM Listen to me, darling, listen: you don't really care so much. You can't. It's simply that we--you and I--after all this time, naturally we'd feel-- DAISY It must have happened pretty quickly. TOM It did. A month ago we hadn't even met. It was-- DAISY You can spare me the details, please. I don't even want to know who she is. [_He moves away from her._ FRANC'S _violin begins to be heard again_. TOM --Her name is Cecelia Henry. DAISY It sounds familiar. I've heard or read that somewhere. Where?--Well, well, will wonders never cease?--If I'd thought you were in a marrying mood, I might have thrown my own--(_She picks up a small, limp hat from the table._)--could you call it a hat?--in the ring a bit sooner. (_She drops the hat upon the table._)--Behold, the Bridegroom cometh--and no oil for my lamp, as usual.--A foolish virgin, me--well, foolish, anyway.--When's it to be? Soon? TOM --About the first of May, we planned. DAISY I see.--Of course, in that event Mexico _would_ be out, wouldn't it? TOM --But I never dreamed you'd--oh God, I feel so awful. DAISY Does she know about us? TOM Yes. DAISY Honest Tom. TOM Oh, shut up. DAISY Remember me, Tom. TOM Oh my dear--as if ever in this world I--(_Suddenly, fearfully._) Daisy!--There's to be no nonsense about not seeing each other as friends again, or any of that, you know-- DAISY No? TOM No. We're grown-up human beings. We're decent and we're civilized. We-- DAISY But there _will_ be that nonsense. Oh yes--there'll be that, all right.--"Cecelia Henry"--Now I know where it was! [_She picks up a magazine and begins to run through it._ TOM --But I don't understand it. I don't see why we shouldn't. I thought for a long time we'd been out of danger so far as--well, so far as-- [_He cannot finish it, but_ DAISY _can_. DAISY --Wanting each other goes? TOM But haven't we? DAISY Speak for yourself, Tom. [_He looks at her, waits a moment, then speaks._ TOM --You too, Daisy.--You first, I thought. DAISY (_slowly, thoughtfully_) It's true, that side of it was never so much to us, was it? Not in comparison--not after those first crazy months. But I thought that was natural. I was even glad of it--glad to find it was--other needs that held us together. (_She looks away._)--Closely--without claims--not a claim--but so closely. (_A moment. Then suddenly, sharply._) Tom--do you have to marry her? TOM I want to marry her. DAISY (_into the magazine_) I was just thinking--perhaps you simply want her--want her most awfully. TOM It's more than that, much more. DAISY I don't see how you can tell quite yet.--For all our big talk, we still belong to the animal kingd--(_She stops and looks closely at a photograph in the magazine._) Here she is!--Oh, these neat, protected women. I've drawn so many of them, dressed so many more. TOM If you knew her-- DAISY But I don't, you see.--(_She holds the magazine at arm's length, gazing at the photograph._) Such a pretty face--lovely eyes, Tom. She's a prize, my boy. (_She closes the magazine and replaces it upon the table._)--But look out for that chin. TOM Why? DAISY Just look out for it. (_She goes to him._)--Does she love you? _Will_ she love you, head over heels, regardless, as I--shall I say "as I once did"? Would you rather? TOM Daisy--don't-- DAISY I hold you dear, Tom--_you_--for what you are--just _as_ you are. I thought it was my special gift. But maybe she has it too. I hope, I hope-- [_He gropes for her hand, raises it to his lips kisses it._ TOM There's no one like you--never will be. _I_ know that.--But this--it's the damndest thing--I can't tell you-- DAISY Don't try.--I'll pray for you every night, Tom. I really shall, you know I do that. TOM Oh, my sweet dear-- DAISY Yes--be good enough to remember me kindly, if you will. [_She returns to the table._ TOM (_wretchedly_) Oh, don't _talk_ that stuff! [_He goes to the fire place. She takes up her work-board._ DAISY Now just stand like that a minute, will you? Erect!--Will you stand erect, please? [_He turns. She looks at him keenly._ TOM What's all this about "remembering"? You sound as if we were-- [_She draws one strong line upon the paper and lets the work-board drop._ DAISY There! That's all I want of you, all I shall keep of you. So goodbye, you Tom Collier. [_He looks at her, puzzled._ TOM "Goodbye"?--Until when--? DAISY (_so lightly_) Doomsday, my darling. TOM Daisy, what _are_ you talking about! DAISY Just that. [_He advances to her, takes her shoulders in his hands._ TOM Now you listen to me: If you think I'm going to allow two people as important to each other as you and I are, to be separated by any such false, ridiculous notion as this, you're mistaken. Just you try it. DAISY Tell me goodbye! TOM I'll do nothing of the sort. DAISY Yes! You have to.--Sharp, decent, clean--no loose ends between _us_ two! TOM But it's not decent!--It's soft. It's sentimental. It's the sort of thing you've never had any use for--taught _me_ never to. DAISY Goodbye! TOM I will not say it. DAISY Goodbye! TOM No. DAISY You must! TOM You'll never get me to. So give up. [DAISY _throws back her head and closes her eyes in pain_. DAISY Oh, sweet heaven, what a world! _I_ could do better by people than this-- TOM Daisy dear--listen to me-- DAISY --And I want you to take those things of yours--you hear? I don't want them hanging around the place, not me.--That new maid had a very fine hunch about us, didn't she?--Packed you all up, yes. Second sight--well, she gets the gate for it, the big Swede. [_He stands gazing at her._ TOM I don't believe in this. I don't believe in any of it. [_She indicates the bedroom._ DAISY --Go in and get them, will you? Fetch, Thomas. It's quite a neat, tidy little bundle. You won't be ashamed of it.--But if it stays around--well, I don't quite see myself crying into an old shirt, do you?--I have work to do, my son--a great deal of it. (_He does not move._) No? Won't fetch?--Then kindly permit me to--(_She moves toward the bedroom._)--And then you must say goodbye to me--you will, won't you? You've said it so many times, so brightly--Say it this time sadly.--We'll make it an _un_-marriage ceremony, to keep it all quite regular. You must grasp my hand in yours--one splendid gesture--and murmur "Goodbye, my Daisy. Thanks very much. A charming association." (_She goes into the bedroom._)--And may we never, never meet again so long as we two shall live.--You will, won't you? [_He has been staring fixedly after her. Suddenly he straightens._ TOM --No. [_He moves swiftly to the hall doorway, picks up his hat and goes out. A moment. Then_ DAISY _comes in again, with a small bundle tied up in a large white handkerchief_. DAISY --See?--The wash is back.--Now do as Daisy says, and say-- [_She sees that he has gone. She moves toward the_ _door, stops against the work-table. The bundle droops in her hand, drops upon the table. There she stands, staring at the door. Again_, FRANC'S _violin is heard, playing the scales_. CURTAIN ACT TWO SCENE I _At_ TOM COLLIER'S. _About half-past seven on a Saturday night the following January._ _The living-room has undergone a certain change. Small, feminine touches, such as new lamps, cretonne curtains at the windows and slip-covers of the same material on chairs and sofa, have made a woman's room of it._ CECELIA _and_ GRACE MACOMBER _are seated near the fire place having after-dinner coffee_. GRACE _is just over thirty. Without a single feature to remark upon except a slim and well-kept body, she manages, with the aid of coiffeurs, dressmakers and manicurists, to impress one as an attractive woman. She puts down her coffee-cup and moves closer to the fire._ GRACE My dear, I'm congealed. I can't say I envy you the trip into town. CECELIA It's not my idea. [_She takes up a piece of needlepoint and begins to work upon it._ GRACE But why do you do it? It's so grim. CECELIA Tom wants to. GRACE Such devotion. CECELIA It's her first big concert and he thinks for some reason we ought to be there. GRACE Who is she, anyway? CECELIA Schmidt, her name is. [GRACE _laughs_. GRACE My dear! Not really! CECELIA Franc Schmidt, at that.--Tom says she's supreme. GRACE Oh--she's a friend, then. CECELIA She used to be. GRACE (_with meaning_) I see. [CECELIA _smiles_. CECELIA No, Grace. I doubt if you do. GRACE I suppose publishers have to hobnob with all sorts of queer people. CECELIA We see very few people of any description any more. GRACE Don't tell me about the hermit life you live! I think the least you could do would be to come to my Sunday breakfasts now and then. Tomorrow's will be such fun. Do, C. CECELIA Perhaps we shall. GRACE --Not if you go in tonight. CECELIA Perhaps we shan't go in. GRACE (_knowingly_) Ah-ha! (_She looks about her._)--You know, you could do so much with this house. CECELIA --If we weren't so poor. GRACE Don't be funny. Your name's Collier, isn't it? CECELIA Somehow that doesn't seem to make the difference it might. GRACE Well, I think it's brutal the way old Rufus K. hangs onto it. CECELIA We seem to manage somehow. GRACE I'd take _knives_, my dear, and gouge it out. (_A moment. Then_)--What would he be doing now, for instance? Tom, I mean. CECELIA Didn't he say he had letters to write? [GRACE _seats herself again_. GRACE He's really extraordinary. He defeats me. [CECELIA _laughs_. CECELIA What's so extraordinary about writing letters? GRACE The minute dinner's finished? Before coffee, even?--I guess I'm just not familiar with publishers' eccentricities. [_Again_ CECELIA _laughs_. CECELIA He's a little worried tonight, poor dear.--Some more coffee?--(_She gives_ GRACE _a second cup_.)--He has a rather difficult ordeal to face. GRACE The concert? CECELIA No. Discharging Regan. GRACE Reg--? CECELIA --When, as and if he gets back from his weekly bat in town. GRACE You mean that desperate butler? Oh my dear, I'm so glad! He must have embarrassed you to death,--But how did you manage to persuade Tom to let him go? CECELIA I had nothing to do with it. GRACE No? (_She laughs gaily._) I believe that! (TOM _comes in from the other room, with two or three magazines, which he is unwrapping_.) Ah! With us again. TOM With you again. (_He looks at his watch._) Look here, C--hadn't we better be getting under way? CECELIA We've got hours. Let's not sit and wait in a stuffy theater. [_A silence. Then_: GRACE (_brightly_) I read the new book you published last week, Tom. TOM (_without interest_) Yes? What did you think of it? GRACE Superlative, my dear. I was simply ravished! TOM Well, that's something, isn't it? [GRACE _laughs_. GRACE --Isn't he beyond words? (_To_ TOM.) You're the world's funniest man. You couldn't possibly be funnier. TOM You don't know me. GRACE Oh yes I do! Don't _you_ adore it, C? The book, I mean-- CECELIA I like it very much. (_She glances at_ TOM.) In fact I'm afraid it was I who made Tom do it. TOM And I'm afraid I still think it's the worst tripe The Bantam ever published. GRACE --But my dear! Everyone's simply devouring it! TOM There'll be a lot of sickness this winter. CECELIA You're so foolish about it, Tom. (_To_ GRACE.)--He'll make enough on that one book to bring out ten he really cares for. [TOM _unwraps a second magazine_. TOM I suppose that's the way it works. CECELIA Of course it is. It's simply common sense. TOM I suppose so. CECELIA Besides, I don't care what you say, it really is amusing. TOM It's tripe. GRACE Isn't there such a thing as having too high a standard? TOM No, there's not. [_She looks at him, startled._ CECELIA What Grace means-- TOM (_more emphatically still_) No, C. There is not. CECELIA All right, darling. (_He looks over one of the magazines. A moment. Then._) Oh--I meant to tell you: your father wants us to dine with him Wednesday, and spend the night. [GRACE _pricks up her ears._ TOM Get us out of it, won't you? CECELIA Again? How can I? TOM Oh, say I'm up to my ears in work, or something else he won't believe. Say the old boat is frozen stiff. GRACE I could easily send you in, in the closed car. Sammy and I might even join you. TOM Thanks. We cannot accept your sacrifice. GRACE But this weather--in that _racer_! It couldn't be more sobbing. TOM Oh yes it could! [GRACE _rises_. GRACE Well, I guess I'd better be "barging along," as they say. I'm sure it's getting colder by the minute. TOM Yes--I think we'd best bring the brass monkeys in tonight. [_He returns to his magazine._ GRACE The--? Oh, by the way, do you happen to know a stage-director named Prentice Frith? TOM You know, I'm awfully afraid I don't? GRACE He's supposed to be the absolute top in amateur dramatics. TOM I can't imagine how I've missed him. GRACE He's coming out especially for my Sunday breakfast tomorrow-- TOM That's perfectly fine. That's just what Sunday breakfast needs, isn't it?--Of course the coffee must be very hot, as well. [GRACE _stares_. CECELIA _rises quickly. Finally_ GRACE _turns to her_. GRACE Good-night, C. CECELIA Good-night, Grace. Must you really? GRACE (_moving toward the hall door_.) Yes. I'm afraid I must. [_She goes out, followed by_ CECELIA. TOM _lights a cigarette, seats himself upon the stairs and continues to glance through the magazine. A door is heard to close in the hall. A moment, then_ REGAN _comes in and makes his way quietly, but only fairly steadily, toward the dining-room door. He has almost reached it, when_ TOM _turns_. TOM Hi, Red. REGAN 'Evening. TOM Did you have a good day in town? REGAN Fine, thanks. TOM Lots of beer? REGAN No. TOM No? REGAN --Ale. TOM Why ale? REGAN It's quicker. TOM It's bitter. REGAN It's bitter and quicker. TOM You don't seem to be in very good shape. REGAN I'm in awful shape. TOM You'd better get to bed. REGAN --Just where I'm headed. [_He moves toward the door again._ TOM --See here a minute first, Red-- [_He turns_, TOM _goes to him and confronts him sternly_. REGAN Yes? [TOM _hesitates. Then._ TOM The fact is, that--(_He stops, and concludes._)--Bring a couple of bottles of beer, will you? REGAN Right. [_He goes out._ TOM _draws a deep breath of smoke, sinks down upon the sofa, and exhales it slowly_. CECELIA _comes in from the hall_. CECELIA You ought to be ashamed, Tom. TOM Why? CECELIA You were terrible to Grace. TOM Why we should be exposed to a woman like that at all, is more than I can make out. CECELIA She's perfectly kind and friendly. TOM She's a silly, idle, empty, destructive woman. And the woods are full of her. CECELIA Grace destructive?--She doesn't know enough to be. TOM It's pure instinct with her. If she were malicious, that might be interesting.--Come on--it's nearly eight. CECELIA She thought you were trying to insult her. TOM Do you have to change or are you ready? CECELIA It seemed to _me_ you were unnecessarily rude.--I have to change. TOM (_rising_) I'll warm up the car. CECELIA Now we've simply got to go to her breakfast in the morning. TOM Not me. CECELIA But you'll have to make _some_ gesture toward her. TOM I only know one. CECELIA Tom--please be serious. TOM Darling, I've spent my life trying to get away from her kind of people. CECELIA Just what do you call her kind? TOM Well--people utterly without stature, without nobility of any sort. CECELIA It takes all kinds to make a world, doesn't it? TOM Yes--and then what have you got? (_He laughs, takes her face between his hands, and kisses her._) Go get dressed. CECELIA All the same, I insist that if--. What did you say to Regan? TOM Why, I--(_He stops and smiles._)--I told him to bring some beer, but I expect he's forgotten it. CECELIA Oh, I see. TOM --Anyhow, I've been thinking: He never drinks on duty. Why shouldn't he have a right to get slightly mellow on his one day off? CECELIA "Slightly mellow"!--When he came back last week, he could hardly stand. When I said "Good evening" to him he didn't even answer. TOM Maybe he couldn't speak. CECELIA Probably not.--I said "Don't forget the furnace, Regan," and all he did was to bow like this, with a foolish grin--so low he nearly toppled over. TOM It's pretty hard to gauge a bow under those conditions. CECELIA Of course _I_ think it's selfish of us to keep him. TOM Selfish? CECELIA We're certainly depriving him of any chance he ever had to make anything of himself. TOM But hang it, C--he broke his hand. He'll never fight again. CECELIA I don't mean fighting. TOM These are hard times: I don't know what else there is for him. [CECELIA _shrugs and rises_. CECELIA All right. Do as you like about him. I'll leave it to you. TOM --And anyhow, I feel for some reason that Red's good luck for me. He's--I don't know--we understand each other. I'm awfully fond of him. CECELIA You must be, to ruin whatever chance in life he might have. [_A moment. Then_: TOM I wouldn't do that, C. You know I wouldn't. CECELIA You're doing it, though. What possibly could be more degrading to a man than housework? TOM You're making a regular Simon Legree of me. Where's my whip? CECELIA No, it's simply that in your delightful, casual way, you've never thought of his side of it. TOM (_thoughtfully_) --I wouldn't do that to Red. I really wouldn't. (_A moment. Then_:) Ring for him, will you? CECELIA Not me. I have nothing to do with it. [TOM _stares in front of him for a moment, then goes to a bell in the wall, presses it and returns to the fire place_. TOM I don't know how I'll tell him. [_A silence. He ponders it. Then_: CECELIA I suppose you feel we really must go into town tonight-- TOM Why, yes. Why? CECELIA She'll play again, won't she? TOM I hope so--and often. But the first concert's an occasion, you know. CECELIA I suppose all your old friends will be there, en masse. TOM Without a doubt. (_Then, to himself._)--All week long I've been trying to tell Red-- CECELIA --The one you were so fond of--the Daisy something-- TOM --Daisy Sage. CECELIA What's _she_ doing now? TOM Painting, I believe. CECELIA Well? TOM I don't know. But I should imagine so.--I haven't seen her. CECELIA Don't you see any of them anymore? TOM No. CECELIA But why not, dearest? [_A moment. Then_: TOM They won't see me. CECELIA --Won't see _you_! TOM No.--Go on now, please, like a good girl, and get ready. (_She turns, passing her hand over her eyes, and moves toward the stairs._) What's the matter? CECELIA Nothing. TOM But dear--what is it? CECELIA Just this blasted headache, that's all. I've had it all day. TOM What a shame.--The cold air will fix you up. CECELIA It's that that gave it to me. I'm--honestly, Tom, I don't think I can face it. Why not telegraph, instead? Best wishes, and all that. TOM It wouldn't do. CECELIA I'm sure she'd be every bit as glad to have a telegram. TOM You don't understand, C. Franc has been working for years for this. She--(REGAN _comes in with bottles of beer and two glasses on a tray_.)--Just put them there, will you? (_He does so, and turns to go._)--And wait a minute. What's the rush? Stick around. REGAN Certainly. [_He waits, steadying himself in the doorway._ TOM _turns again to_ CECELIA. TOM --Sorry, darling, a telegram wouldn't do. I've got to be there. But there's no particular reason why you should come. I can go alone. CECELIA I'll come. TOM No, you hop into bed with a flock of aspirin. I'll be out again bright and early. CECELIA --I'll come, too. [_She goes out, up the stairs._ TOM _waits a moment, then turns to_ REGAN. TOM --Drag up a chair. [REGAN _brings a chair to the table_. REGAN One more's about all I need. (TOM _opens the beer and fills the glasses_.) This morning if all the bad heads in the world'd been put together in a row, my head would've got up and sneered at the rest of them. [TOM _laughs and raises his glass_. TOM Here's how. [REGAN _raises his_. REGAN How. (_He drinks, and beams._) That's the stuff. TOM It builds you up. REGAN Yo! (_He takes an old pack of cards from his pocket._)--Seen this one? TOM I don't think so. [REGAN _holds the pack up before him and releases one card after another with his thumb_. REGAN --Tell me where to stop, and remember the card. TOM All right. REGAN Got it? TOM I've got it. [REGAN _makes a concealed "pass," shuffles the pack rapidly and hands it to him_. REGAN Where is it? [TOM _looks through the pack_. TOM Gone, of course. REGAN Feel in your pocket. [TOM _feels in his breast-pocket_. TOM Not this time. REGAN No? (_He reaches into the pocket, draws out a card and shows it to him._) That it? TOM Marvellous. [REGAN _gloomily returns the pack to his pocket_. REGAN I paid five dollars for that one. I'll let it go for two ninety-eight. TOM Not interested. (_A moment._)--Was it cold in town, today? REGAN --I don't envy those guys selling apples on the corners. TOM (_soberly_) No.--Not much of a job, that. REGAN Women's work. TOM Pretty tough times, all right. REGAN --Some of 'em, by God, are down to selling those white flowers that stink so. (_Again he raises his glass._) Two hundred for steel! [_They drink._ TOM I'm feeling the pinch a bit myself. REGAN --Say, look here, Tom-- TOM What? REGAN If I--(_But he thinks better of it and concludes._)--nothing. [_They finish their glasses_, TOM _refills them_. TOM (_suddenly_) Red, I might as well tell you straight off-- REGAN What? TOM (_after a moment_) --Nothing. [_They drink._ REGAN --All goes to show you ought to put something by. TOM It certainly does. REGAN --Clean up while you're young and close your mitts on it. TOM That's it. [_A silence. Then_: REGAN How's your father these days? TOM Never better. [REGAN _shakes his head_. REGAN Tsch-tsch-tsch. TOM Red, do you ever think of your future? REGAN (_ruefully_) I guess I'll go to hell, all right, (TOM _laughs_.) Oh--you mean here.--Now that's a funny thing, because listen, Tom-- TOM What? REGAN I've been thinking: maybe I--(_He falters, and cannot go on._)--Oh, what the hell-- TOM But what? [REGAN _holds out his glass_. REGAN Fill her up, will you? [TOM _refills both glasses_. TOM Not much future in buttling, eh, Red? REGAN (_with a deprecatory gesture_) Oh, well-- TOM I'm--I'm certainly very grateful for all you've done. REGAN (_uncomfortably_) Ah!--Be still, will you? TOM I am, though. REGAN That's fine, from you.--I'll never forget, when I was--and you--(_He gulps._) I'll never forget it. [_He sniffs, and drinks._ TOM Put it there, old man. (_They clasp hands across the table._) You're a fine fellow. REGAN You're the top, boy. I don't know what you'll think of me, when I-- [_Again, he is unable to continue._ TOM When you what? REGAN When I--well, what would you say, for instance, if I--(_He looks at him, then looks away._) Nope, it's no good-- TOM (_anxiously_) You're not in trouble, are you? REGAN Trouble? Me? What trouble? [TOM _once more refills the glasses. Then, steeling himself_: TOM --Then look here, Regan-- REGAN Well, Chief? [TOM _looks at him. The steel melts._ TOM --Good old Red. [REGAN _raises his glass_. REGAN Tom Collier for President. The People's Choice. TOM Listen a minute-- REGAN Wait! (_He takes another deep draught._) Tom, I've just got to tell you. I've--I've--(_He grasps for_ TOM'S _hand and misses it_.)--Don't hold it against me, Tom, but I'm quitting you. I've took another job. [TOM _half-rises in astonishment_. TOM You've--?! REGAN Oh, I know what you'll say! [TOM _drops into his chair again, and stares_. TOM Holy cats, Red-- REGAN I couldn't stand it any longer. She don't like my ways. I mean the Missus. I get on her nerves.--Last week Moe Winters told me he wanted to open a country gym and would I run it with him, on the order of Muldoon's, but with a little bar attached and, well, God help me, I give him my word. TOM What's there in it for you? REGAN Don't put it that way, Tom. TOM But I really want to know. REGAN Two hundred a month, and a smell at the gate, if any. TOM It sounds like a good deal. REGAN Ah, the hell with it!--Let's let it go. I'll phone him. TOM (_alarmed_) No! (REGAN _looks at him_.) When do you start? REGAN He wanted me last Wednesday. I've been trying all week to get up the nerve to tell you. But-- TOM How long will it take you to pack? [REGAN _grins_. REGAN Well, there's my hat-trunk and my shoe-trunk, and the trunk for my fancy-dress ball-clothes-- TOM (_firmly_) You leave by noon tomorrow, you hear? Not a minute later. [REGAN'S _grin fades_. REGAN O.K., Chief.--I'm sorry you had to take it this way. TOM Don't be a fool. I'm overjoyed for you. REGAN (_uncertainly_) Fact? TOM Absolute. (_He raises his glass._) Here's to the new job. REGAN --Take it from me, boy, you're the goods. TOM You've got your points, too, you know. [REGAN _rises, swaying slightly, and raises his glass_. REGAN Anyhow-- [TOM _rises and raises his_. TOM Anyhow. [_They drain their glasses, put them down and again clasp hands._ REGAN You'll explain to the Missus? TOM Of course. REGAN Tell her I'm sorry--hope no inconvenience--but-- TOM I'll explain. REGAN So long, Tom. TOM Good-bye, Red. REGAN So long, Tom. TOM Good-bye, Red. REGAN I'll give you a ring how it goes. TOM Do that. REGAN Keep your bib clean. TOM I will, old boy. [_Suddenly_ REGAN _sobers, looks at him intently for a long moment, then touches him on the shoulder and says_: REGAN Good luck, Tom. [_Turns abruptly, and swiftly and steadily goes to the door and out._ TOM _takes a deep breath and seats himself at the table, with his back to the stairs, in utter dejection. He picks up_ REGAN'S _pack of cards and moodily glances through it_. CECELIA _comes down the stairs in a lovely negligee. A moment, then she speaks lowly._ CECELIA Tom-- TOM (_without turning_) Hello. Ready? CECELIA Did you tell him? TOM I'll miss that guy. I'll miss having him around. [_She goes to him._ CECELIA I know, dear. But it's for the best. I'm sure of it. [TOM _puts down the cards_. TOM I've got a feeling that my luck's going with him. CECELIA No, no!--I'm your luck. [_She draws him into her arms and takes his head against her breast. A moment. Then_: TOM You feel good, C. CECELIA Do I, dear? TOM You haven't any clothes on. Go on--dress--dress quickly--we've got to run. [_She moves from him toward the stairs, where she turns again._ CECELIA --Come and help me? (_He looks at her for an instant, then goes to her. She turns into his arms. He holds her to him for a moment, then she leans away from him, provocatively._) No, you'd better not. (_She glances down at the negligee, arms out._) Look--I came across it in the bottom drawer, and my spine simply melted.--Do you remember it? [_He picks up the edge of the loose sleeve and kisses it._ TOM --Quebec. CECELIA Then you do!--That funny little French hotel-- TOM (_gazing at her_) Yes. CECELIA --Darling place.--Wasn't it cold that morning?--Frost on the windows an inch thick.--Remember? TOM --We couldn't see out-- CECELIA We didn't want to. TOM No one else could see in. CECELIA Breakfast before the fire--shivering.--Remember--? TOM I remember. CECELIA We didn't finish it-- TOM No. CECELIA (_with a little laugh_) There was only one way to keep warm. [_He moves toward her._ TOM Oh C, darling-- [_She retreats, up one step of the stairs._ CECELIA No.--You'll make us late. TOM What of it? CECELIA It's late already. It's--we might miss the concert altogether. TOM What if we do? CECELIA Tom, you're the limit! Ten minutes ago you said--. (_A moment. Then, in another voice._) Tom-- TOM Oh yes, darling. What-- CECELIA You go in alone. I've decided to stay here. TOM You've--? CECELIA Yes. It's too cold. I'm going to tuck myself into my warm bed, and--you'll need your heavy coat, won't you? It's here--(_She goes into the hall, returning with an overcoat which she leaves upon a chair._) Good-night, love. I'll miss you--(_He is about to take her in his arms, but she retreats, with the same provocative smile and an admonitory gesture._) No, no!--Good-night, dear. Keep warm. [_He turns from her. She mounts the stairs, turns once, smiles down upon him curiously, and goes out leaving the door open. A moment. Then he takes up his coat, crosses the room, puts out the lights, and is returning to the hall doorway, when he hears_ CECELIA _singing lowly to herself from upstairs. He stops, listens a moment, then moves slowly to the side table, where he leaves his coat upon a chair and takes up the telephone._ TOM Western Union, please. (_A moment._) Western Union? (_The curtain begins to fall._) I want to send a telegram. CURTAIN ACT TWO SCENE II _At_ DAISY SAGE'S. _Late afternoon on a fine bright day the following May. The sitting-room is as before, except for the painting-materials upon the work-table, and a large easel, turned away from the front, at the window._ JOE _is seated upon the sofa, smoking_. FRANC _stands at the window, looking out. A moment, then she turns abruptly to_ JOE. FRANC --But what if _she_ doesn't come? JOE She'll come. [FRANC _leaves the window and seats herself, tense, upon a chair near him_. FRANC My nerves are like that. JOE Have a cigarette? FRANC No. JOE It ought to be quite a meeting. Only that once, months ago--think of it. FRANC And in a speakeasy! JOE --Like old times, though, like a reunion. That is, until _they_ came for him.--You know, I think the last thing he wanted to do was to go on to that party with them. FRANC She is a pretty, the wife.--But did you notice? In his top hat, when he put it on, suddenly he looked like only anybody. JOE Domestication works fast, when it works. FRANC --Well, Daisy has not spoke of him one time since. Never, never will she forgive us this.--Give me a cigarette. What did he say to you? [_He gives her a cigarette and lights it for her._ JOE He just telephoned that he wanted to see me, said it seemed years.--Your hand's shaking. FRANC I know it.--What did you tell him?--Why shouldn't it shake? JOE I said I'd be back at five. Then I left a note on the door: "Had to go to Daisy's. Come there."--It wouldn't if you smoked less. FRANC At five. (_She looks at her watch._) Ach, Gott! JOE You're getting emotional in your old age, Frankie. FRANC --But why did you do it? It was well enough left alone. JOE I like Tom, and he sounded pathetic. I imagine he saw her exhibition, and-- FRANC What makes you think he did? JOE He said he was telephoning from the Overton Gallery.--I wonder what he thought of it. FRANC What did you? JOE I know so damn little about painting. FRANC I know less.--But it all seemed to me so fresh--done with such spirit. JOE That's it! FRANC --Bold--what-you-call it--un--in--without compromising. JOE Yes.--And the real stuff. No fakiness. FRANC --Every one of them Daisy. No little Matisses or Picassos. [_A moment._ JOE But Franc-- FRANC (_nerves again_) Yes? All right. What? JOE What really did you think of them? [_She shrugs._ FRANC I tell you I am not--what-you-say--competent to judge. JOE What did they do to you, Franc? [_She looks at him sharply, hesitates. Then_: FRANC --Nothing. I am sorry. But nothing-- JOE Nor to me. [_She grasps his arm._ FRANC --But we must believe in her, Joe! JOE (_in pain_) We do, don't we?--Oh Lord, if only all my friends made shirts for a living. FRANC Yes. You could say "That is not a good shirt" quite easily. JOE This afternoon--after a few minutes we duck out on them, understand? FRANC Joe, I don't like it. I am afraid of this. I think it is not wise. JOE --If only they'd have one of their good old-time rows. I'll bet he and that wife of his never had a decent scrap in their lives. FRANC (_thoughtfully_) --And still, maybe seeing him, Daisy finds it is all over--finished--cold. Sometimes that is so. I hope for her it will be so. JOE Listen, child: it's May, and the trees are in bloom. FRANC (_scornfully_) You should write in German. JOE Poor Tom. Poor guy. He's up against it for fair now, Franc. FRANC Why now more than usual? JOE Well, I ran into Hal Foster today, and-- FRANC Foster--?--The one who did those stories? JOE That's the boy. He's finished a new novel that's even better, they say. Apparently Tom thinks he can grab it for The Bantam, and stage a comeback on the strength of it. A sort of a last straw. He's to meet him this afternoon. FRANC Oh, good! [JOE _shakes his head_. JOE No, not so: Foster told me that hard up as he is, he'd be damned before he'd go with a house that was responsible for "Young Ecstasy" and-- FRANC But you should have talked to him, Joe! JOE I did, till I was blue in the face. He just kept saying "Then how about _you_?" It was no use explaining how Tom thought I'd do better with--(JOE _glances quickly at the door, and rises_.) Look out! FRANC Him? JOE Yes, or--(DAISY _comes in_.) Oh, hello, Daisy! [DAISY _pulls off her hat and gloves and looks at them_. DAISY My, you're hearty. (_To_ FRANC.) What's the matter? FRANC With me? DAISY Yes. You look queer. FRANC I don't like the Spring. I don't like May and the trees in bloom. DAISY No? Nor do I. I say it's maple-syrup, and I say the hell with it. (_She seats herself near them._) Well, the show's over. It's been a fine week. I've learned a lot about new painters, the so-called Public and the so-called Press. FRANC There are no judges of one's work but oneself, Daisy. DAISY Then you don't by any chance agree with them? FRANC I would sooner sleep with an art critic than agree with him. DAISY It's touching the way my friends have rallied round. Stout hearts. Thanks, thanks.--But oh heaven!--If only someone I love and trust would be honest with me! JOE And what do you call what we've been? DAISY Friendly, Joe, very friendly. JOE _I_ tell you: let's all get drunk. DAISY No thanks. (_For a brief moment she covers her face with her hands, then looks up again._) It's all right. It's over. Let's talk about something. Who knows anything? [_A silence._ DAISY'S _head sinks again. Finally_ FRANC _ventures_: FRANC Jim and Nancy Peters are going to have a baby. DAISY (_absently_) A boy? FRANC I think so. DAISY Good for them. [_Another silence. Then_: JOE --Er--Tom Collier rang me up this afternoon. [_A moment. Then_: DAISY Oh? How is he? JOE He sounded sunk. DAISY That's too bad. (_She cools her wrists. Then, to_ FRANC.)--You know, it's _hot_. FRANC It _is_ hot.--Don't be bitter, Daisy. DAISY I heard grand things about Nova Scotia yesterday.--Why should I be bitter? FRANC You shouldn't.--About what? Where is it? DAISY North, way north.--Bitter! Me!--They say it's beautiful beyond words, and you can live there on oh, so little. JOE He said--I mean Tom did--that-- DAISY Joe, you seem to have an idea that I might be interested in what he'd say-- JOE Well-- DAISY But as it happens, I'm not. (_To_ FRANC.) There are miles of green meadows and a seacoast that's nobody's business. Woods, as well. (_To_ JOE.)--I suppose he was full of explanations about those choice eggs The Bantam Press has been laying lately. JOE No, he didn't mention them. He only said-- DAISY Why tell _me_? (_To_ FRANC.) The only out's the swimming. It's too cold. But other things make up for it. (_To_ JOE.)--He always gets colds in the Spring--I suppose his voice was gone entirely-- JOE It didn't seem to be. DAISY (_to_ FRANC) It's like Maine, they say. Only better, much. FRANC Not too many people? [DAISY _closes her eyes_. DAISY No people. Gloriously, happily, mercifully, no people. (_The buzzer at the door sounds._) Joe--will you? (_To_ FRANC.)--Speaking of no people. (JOE _presses a button to open the door_. DAISY _continues to_ FRANC.) Imagine Joe thinking that at this date _I_ should give a damn what-- [TOM _comes in with a brief-case in his hand_. TOM Joey! How are you? (_He drops the brief-case upon the work-table._) Franc! FRANC Tom, you look fine. [_He turns to_ DAISY. TOM Hello, Daisy. DAISY (_so coolly_) Hello. How have you been? TOM In rude health, thanks.--And you? DAISY Never better. TOM Oh, it's fine to see you! I've been starving for you--all of you. DAISY Thanks. TOM How's the job? DAISY The magazine job? TOM Yes. DAISY I gave it up last winter.--A trifle--shall we say "quixotic"?--of me? TOM Shall we? (_He looks from one to the other of them._) Listen: I love you three, I love you. (_He takes_ FRANC'S _head in his hands and kisses her brow_.) Oh Lord! (_Gives_ JOE _a friendly shove_.) Lord Almighty--(_Laughs joyfully, seats himself and gazes fondly at them. There is a long silence. Finally_:) Holy cats! Talk to me, will you?--Am I a leper? (_Silence. He leans forward._) Now listen, the lot of you: I've had enough of this nonsense. For months you've been avoiding me like the plague and I won't stand for it. You're important to me and by heaven, I'm going to hang onto your coat-tails, dog your footsteps, sit on your doorsteps, until you're ready to grant that a man can marry, and go on being a friend.--Is that understood?--Well, then: who's seen Sandy Patch? [_Then, in a rush_: JOE I have. FRANC So have I. DAISY We all have. TOM What's he doing? JOE A war group in bronze for some town in Texas. He's making them look like sheep. TOM Good boy! DAISY --Except that they'll probably throw it back at him. JOE He'll get paid, though. Sam Frankl sees to that for him now. TOM How's your book doing? JOE Fair.--Of course nothing like The Bantam's "Indian Summer" or "Young Ecstasy." TOM Ouch. JOE What the devil made you take them on? TOM Money.--Ah, but Joey, I'm reforming! Did you know it? JOE In time, I hope.--How? TOM Williamson, Warren can have those bright boys now, and welcome. JOE It's about where they belong. TOM Wait till you see The Bantam's new list. JOE I'm waiting. TOM --That was certainly a foul format Brandon gave your book. JOE The words are there. TOM If you can read them. What's the stock they printed it on--paper-towelling?--I hear you're a hit, Franc. FRANC It has gone well enough. [_He looks at_ DAISY, _hesitates. Then_: TOM I--I saw your exhibition today. DAISY Oh really?--Funny I missed you. What did you think of it? TOM Well-- DAISY (_suddenly, eagerly_) Tell me! TOM I don't think you were ready to show yet. How did it happen? DAISY Saunders and Munn arranged it. TOM Your old editors? The fashion boys? DAISY What about it? [TOM _shakes his head_. TOM Daisy, Daisy.--How were the notices? DAISY Appalling. TOM I suppose their reasons were all wrong-- DAISY Of course.--What are yours? [_A moment. Then_: TOM Well, you've been painting less than a year-- DAISY Yes. TOM --And yet you had about thirty canvases to show. [_Now_ DAISY _is well on her mettle_. DAISY Thirty-two. TOM It's a lot, Daisy. DAISY So you didn't care for any of them. TOM Oh yes!--One I loved particularly: the one of the doorstep, with the milk-bottles. I'd like to own that one. DAISY --Number Seven.--Sorry, it's not for sale. TOM Two hundred--? DAISY Nope. TOM Two-fifty! DAISY Nope. TOM Seventy-five-- DAISY Nope. TOM Four hundred and one-- DAISY Nope. TOM I wouldn't take it as a gift. DAISY That's all right, then. TOM Of course your drawing's a marvel. Lord, how that's come along! DAISY --Only what? TOM Good draughtsmanship's not to be sneezed at, is it? DAISY Certainly not. Look at Belcher. TOM No--at Goya. DAISY Thanks so much. TOM Of course it depends on what you want to be. I thought it was a painter. [FRANC _rises_. DAISY So did I.--Goya painted pretty well, too, I thought. TOM In the first year? I doubt it. DAISY I wasn't aware it took a definite length of time. TOM --And living in cities all your life, you know. DAISY Perhaps I'd better hie me to some sylvan dell. TOM I don't think it would hurt a bit. DAISY --Listen, you: if you can show me a purer cobalt than the winter sky over the East River any afternoon at four-- TOM That's not the point. [DAISY'S _voice is higher_. DAISY What is? TOM Fever--rush--hysteria--all day, every day. [DAISY _turns away_. DAISY Oh, go to hell, will you? [FRANC _moves toward the door_. TOM Sure. When do we start? FRANC Come along, Joe. [JOE _follows her_. DAISY --And leave me with this mossback? This--(_Again she turns upon_ TOM.)--So I'm to sit under a parasol and paint tight little cows in streams, am I? TOM That's not what I said. [_Unnoticed by_ DAISY, JOE _and_ FRANC _have gone out_. DAISY --Something suitable as an over-mantel for the Home of Her Dreams, I suppose. TOM Now you're being bull-headed. DAISY (_turning_) Bull-headed!--He calls me bull--(_She sees that_ FRANC _and_ JOE _are no longer there_.) Oh, you snakes-- TOM (_with a gesture_) Well-- DAISY Well? What more, Teacher? TOM All I said and all I'm saying is, you can't expect, the first crack out of the box, to--_you've_ got to _work_, Daisy. DAISY Sweet heaven! What else have I been doing? What have I done but? TOM --But differently--with such pains. You're turning out too much, you know it. [_Suddenly the fight goes out of her._ DAISY Maybe, maybe.--Anything's too much. TOM Ah, darling-- DAISY No!--Don't soften on me. Stay tough! TOM I do believe that's it, though. I believe it's the whole story: still hung over from the old job. Pressure, pressure all the time. Still rushing countless sketches through against a magazine's deadline. [_She looks away from him. Her hand gropes blindly for his and finds it._ DAISY --Anyway, against some deadline-- TOM Daisy--darling-- DAISY You're cruel, inhuman. You're a brute. TOM Oh Daisy-- DAISY Thanks for being. TOM If you mean it-- DAISY From my heart--(_She looks at him, smiling now._) Oh, you skunk-- [_He laughs, relieved._ TOM Worse. Much worse. DAISY (_serious again_) Who but you, Tom? (_She points her finger at him._) Look: only you and strangers honest with me ever. [_He draws her down beside him on the sofa._ TOM --The country's the place to work, Daisy. Listen: There's a grand little house about six miles from us. Woods, hills, meadows--you can get it for almost nothing. DAISY That's about my price. TOM It could easily be painted up. What about a white roof for it? DAISY Oh, lovely idea! TOM C discovered it. She can find out all about it. I'll tell her who it's for. [_But at this_, DAISY'S _mood changes_. DAISY Don't dream of it. TOM Why not? DAISY I've got other places in mind. TOM Anyhow, go somewhere. DAISY Sure--somewhere. TOM You're going to be good, Daisy. Don't think I don't think you're good. DAISY I won't. I won't think anything. TOM This is a big day for me, do you know it? DAISY How? TOM Well, I've been seeing the folly of my ways here lately. Poor C--I must have been sweet to live with this past week. She's been grand about it, though. DAISY I'm sure she has. TOM I--suddenly, for some reason, I saw that I'd got off the track--my track. It was pretty painful-- But I'm getting back on, I think. DAISY I'm glad, Tom. You must, you know. TOM Did you ever hear of a fellow named Hal Foster? DAISY No. What does he do? TOM Writes. My God, how he writes!--And nobody knows it--not yet-- DAISY Have you got him? TOM I'm getting him. He's done a fine, poisonous short novel that makes Candide look sick. (_In growing excitement._) I'm going to make a grand type-job of it, advertise it all over the place, and sell it at two bucks. I don't care if I lose my shirt on it.--I'm to meet him at six this afternoon, to make arrangements. DAISY It must be nearly that now. You'd better go. TOM --Daisy.--Have you missed me, Daisy? DAISY You? Well, I'll tell you, it's this way: I-- [_But she stops and looks at him, drops her bantering tone, and nods, dumbly._ TOM Much? [_Again she nods, and adds, under her breath_: DAISY --Skunk, skunk. TOM Oh, and I you!--It's a lot of nonsense, this. It's ridiculous. [_She looks at her watch._ DAISY It _is_ six. TOM Hell. DAISY You'd better run. TOM We need each other, we two do. DAISY You think? TOM Most terribly. I'm convinced of it. There never were such friends as you and me. It's wicked to give that up, to lose anything so fine for no good reason.--Why you, of all people, for a shabby, lowdown question of convention, fit only to be considered by shabby, lowdown-- DAISY Wait a minute! TOM A hundred times I'd have given my eyes to see you, to talk to you-- DAISY Well--here I am-- TOM (_eagerly_) Daisy--may I come again?--Just now and then, you know? DAISY (_after a moment_) --If you like--just now and then. TOM Oh my sweet dear--thanks! DAISY But don't say "sweet dear." That belongs to another life, years ago. TOM Oh--there are to be rules, are there? DAISY One or two. One strict one-- [_She hesitates._ TOM What? DAISY Never secret. Never hidden. TOM No, no! DAISY --Always open, as before. TOM But of course, of course! DAISY I couldn't go it otherwise. TOM Why should a friendship be hidden? What's there to hide? DAISY It gets misunderstood. TOM It won't, it can't, or the whole world's rotten. DAISY It's been pretty ripe for a long time, Tommy. TOM "Tommy"! (_He laughs exultantly and draws her into his arms. They stand rocking back and forth, laughing in delight._) Oh my darling, how grand this is! DAISY I see you run to tweeds this season. TOM I even have a horse now--practically a county squire. DAISY Look out for it. TOM Oh, it's tame. DAISY I mean going county. TOM Never you fear! I wouldn't be let. I'm a terribly queer duck to them. DAISY "Lit'ry," I suppose. TOM "Very artistic." DAISY Are they good and dull? TOM Crashing. DAISY --And respectable. TOM My God, how! DAISY _We_ aren't respectable. TOM Not a bit. Never shall be. DAISY For which, praise heaven. TOM Heaven, I praise you that Daisy and I are not--. Kiss the boy, Daisy. DAISY No.--You've got to go. TOM Why? Would it take long? [_She laughs, and pecks his cheek._ DAISY There. TOM Ask me am I happy-- DAISY It's all right, isn't it? TOM Magnificent.--All as before. DAISY Yes.--But for one thing. TOM What? [_She leaves his arms._ DAISY We aren't in love any more.--Now run. You might miss what's-his-name. TOM How about lunch tomorrow? DAISY It's fine with me. TOM The old place? DAISY I'd love it. TOM One o'clock? DAISY One o'clock. TOM --And we'll dine at John Donovan's. He's opened a new place on Forty-eighth Street. DAISY Dine? TOM Why not? DAISY All right. TOM The next day's Wednesday, isn't it? I said I'd drive out in the morning to see Pat Atkins. He's been sick again. DAISY Poor dear. I'm sorry. TOM He's better now.--Come along with me, Daisy. DAISY Wednesday? No--Wednesday, I-- TOM If it's a good day we'll take a picnic. What do you say? DAISY I--I guess so. TOM Fine!--We'll get back in time to--let's see, can I stay in town Wednesday night? Yes, of course, I can. I want to see that black woman dance. DAISY Which one? TOM Down on Grand Street. DAISY Oh yes, I've heard about her! TOM We can look in, anyway.--Thursday I'm at the Press all day. But Friday-- DAISY Wait a minute, Tom.--You said only now and-- TOM I'll bring Hal Foster in about four on Friday. Will you be here? DAISY I--I think so. TOM Good-bye then, darling. Till tomorrow! DAISY Good-bye, Tom. [_He takes her face in his hands, kisses it several times, then her mouth, briefly_: TOM Sweet dear, sweet dear--. (_He releases her._) One o'clock? DAISY One o'clock. [_He goes swiftly to the door, where he turns once more._ TOM --_Ten minutes_ to one! [_He is gone, his footsteps heard upon the stairs. She stands rigid, exalted, her eyes shining. Then she sees his brief-case, left behind him upon the work-table. She stares at it for a long time, apprehension growing in her eyes. Then she murmurs "Franc," runs to the door, flings it open and calls in terror_: DAISY Franc! [_Then returns, puts_ TOM's _brief-case upon a chair, then places a work-box upon her table and begins filling it with tools and materials_. FRANC _comes in_. FRANC Daisy?--What is it? Your voice frightened me. DAISY Franc, you're the one woman I know who can hold her tongue. [FRANC _shrugs_. FRANC What is not my business--(_She sees what_ DAISY _is doing, and her casual air is replaced by a real anxiety_.) Packing? What's this? What for? You and--? Oh, Daisy, hold on a minute. Wait, Liebchen. Think, are you wise, Daisy-- DAISY I'm going alone--a long way, for a long time. FRANC To that place you said? DAISY (_a sudden idea_) Yes! FRANC Wait! I come with you-- DAISY No, I don't want anyone now. Later, maybe. FRANC But what is it, dear? DAISY I guess I'm running for my life, Franc. FRANC --Tom again. DAISY --Still. FRANC It's no better-- DAISY (_packing furiously_) --It's worse. FRANC Poor child. DAISY No, no! I'm glad.--But I've got to get out. FRANC Yes, that is wise. DAISY No one's to know where I've gone to. FRANC No. DAISY No mess--it's to avoid one I'm going. FRANC --But compose yourself, Daisy. Be calm. DAISY I can't! Look--(_She points to the brief-case._) He went without it. He'll come back for it. And if I see him again for one more minute I'll die. FRANC He loves you, Daisy? DAISY I don't know. I don't believe _he_ knows. But--(_She looks up from her packing._) Oh Franc--he's so young!--Did you notice how young he looked? FRANC Yes, like a child. DAISY All slim and brown and sandy. FRANC Quick, Daisy! DAISY (_far away_) He'll always be like that--even when he's old. I know!--And the way he stands--that funny way--stiff--with his feet out-- FRANC --What they call duck-footed, eh? DAISY (_indignantly_) Not at all. It's a perfectly natural way to stand. It's a fine, strong way to stand. FRANC Hurry, darling. Run quick! DAISY Yes, yes, I must. [_She resumes her packing._ FRANC Will you take a trunk? DAISY The small one. FRANC How do you go--by train? DAISY I don't know. Boat, I think. FRANC But when? From where? DAISY I guess Boston. (_A moment._) Perhaps I'd better see him just once more. Maybe if I can explain to him how impossible it is for us to-- FRANC No!--And you go to Boston tonight. DAISY Yes. Yes, that's right, (FRANC _goes into the bedroom_. DAISY _continues to pack for a moment, then calls_:) Franc! FRANC What now? DAISY When those things come back from the Gallery, cover them, will you? FRANC Yes, dear. DAISY --Number Seven--do you hear me, Franc? FRANC I hear. DAISY Pack Number Seven and send it to him at the Press. [FRANC _re-enters_. FRANC All right, dear. DAISY You're lunching with him tomorrow. FRANC So? DAISY At the old place, at one o'clock. FRANC One o'clock. DAISY Franc-- FRANC Yes, darling? [DAISY _gathers up some paint-tubes_. DAISY When you see him-- FRANC Yes, darling-- DAISY Kiss him for me. (_She realizes what she has said, and murmurs_:) Kiss him for me--(_Then hurls a tube into the box, in fury._) _Kiss_ him for me! [_The buzzer sounds imperatively._ DAISY _starts in alarm_. FRANC _takes her arm_. FRANC Come--and don't speak-- [_She leads her toward the bedroom, stopping to press the button at the fire place. They go out._ TOM _is heard running up the stairs. He hurries in, calling_: TOM Daisy--? (_There is no answer. He goes to the table, and calls again_:) Daisy! [_A moment. Then_ DAISY'S _voice is heard faintly from the next room_. DAISY Hello-- TOM I forgot my case. (_He finds it upon the chair and picks it up._) It's all right. I've got it. (_At the door he turns once more and calls_:) Don't be late tomorrow! Remember! Twelve-thirty! [_And goes out. Again footsteps are heard upon the stairs, and a door slams below._ CURTAIN ACT THREE SCENE I _At_ TOM COLLIER'S, _six months later. Ten o'clock of a bright Sunday morning. Alterations have been made, and the old library has become a chaste dining-room. Now, at last_, TOM'S _house is_ CECELIA'S _house, which is to say, The House in Good Taste_. _The door beside the fire place at Right opens, through the hall, upon a large new living-room. The library furniture has been replaced with a dining-room table, sideboard, serving-table and chairs. The large table is set for breakfast and there are various breakfast dishes being kept hot upon the serving-table._ CECELIA _and_ OWEN _are at breakfast_, CECELIA _seated and_ OWEN _standing, napkin in hand, half turned in the direction of the serving-table, toward which_ GRACE _is moving with a coffee-cup_. GRACE Oh no, thanks! I love to serve myself. It's so English. [OWEN _reseats himself_. GRACE _refills her cup and returns to the table with it_. CECELIA _presses a button upon the table_. CECELIA I'll order some more hot. [OWEN _takes a swallow of water, puts down his napkin and pushes back his chair_. OWEN Well, for the morning after a party, I feel pretty good. Where's the birthday-boy? CECELIA Still recovering upstairs. GRACE He was never more amusing. Honestly, when he did that skit from his new magazine, I thought I couldn't stand it. I was in stitches. OWEN --What's happened to the artistic element? Still asleep? CECELIA Miss Sage and Fisk insisted upon walking to the station with La Schmidt. It turned out that she had to take an early train. GRACE I've never known a musician to make such difficulties about playing. CECELIA She's used to her own violin. GRACE But is there any differ--? (_Then, thoughtfully._) Yes--I suppose there is.--The Sage is rather a number, isn't she? Do you know she actually spent six months in Tierra del Fuego? OWEN Nova Scotia. GRACE I mean Nova Scotia. CECELIA Yes, I'd heard. GRACE The places they go!--C, I wish I knew how you get hold of such interesting people. CECELIA I asked them as a particular favor, for Tom's birthday. I insisted on it. It was part of the surprise party. [GRACE _sighs_. GRACE --They invariably _say_ they'll come to me, and then at the last minute something always happens. CECELIA --Besides they're very old friends of his. I said he was longing to see them.--I think he really has missed them a little. OWEN Clever Cecelia. CECELIA Why? OWEN Real security at last, eh? CECELIA Do you object? [GRACE _looks at them suspiciously_. GRACE What are you talking about? (_There is no answer. She rises._) Oh, you subtle people! I wish I were subtle. [CECELIA _presses the bell again_. CECELIA I wish someone would answer this bell. [GRACE _looks about her_. GRACE Darling, you _have_ done wonders with this house. It's all in such perfect taste, now. CECELIA I wish Tom was as enthusiastic about it as you are. GRACE Oh, men never like changes. CECELIA Unless they think of them themselves.--We're having a charming time about the roof. OWEN The roof? CECELIA It's got to be fixed--and ever since he came back from Bermuda last winter he's been saying he wanted a white roof--been wanting to whitewash it white. GRACE What!? OWEN (_simultaneously_) The roof here? CECELIA Yes. They're all white in Bermuda. OWEN But this isn't Bermuda. CECELIA I've tried to explain that to him. OWEN (_to_ GRACE) But I don't think I've ever seen a white roof around here, have you? GRACE Let me think. (_She thinks, painfully. Then_:)--No. CECELIA He says, What does that matter? He wants one. He thinks they're pretty. He thinks--(_In sudden irritation._) Oh, he can be exasperating! (_To_ OWEN.) His father sent him a check for his birthday: he may accept it, he may not. GRACE Not accept a _check_? CECELIA --Because it's from him. GRACE Well, I'm amazed.--A whopper, too, I'll bet. CECELIA I don't know. I didn't see it. OWEN I thought he'd got over the nonsense about his father. CECELIA So did I. Everything has been simply beautiful for months. He's been so pleased with Tom, and the way business has been going. Apparently someone told him about it. OWEN Williamson, probably. CECELIA --Or Warren. I don't know which. GRACE Are they the ones that want to buy The Bantam Press? CECELIA --To buy into it, yes. GRACE How does Tom feel about that? [CECELIA _shrugs_. OWEN He's made the price so high they'll have to refuse it. CECELIA Not if _you_ tell them not to, Owen! OWEN I thought I'd explained all that to you. [_A moment. Then_: CECELIA --I suppose I'll have to get the coffee myself. (_She rings again._) I told Tom that with _him_ back, the maids would do nothing. OWEN It does seem funny, seeing him around again. GRACE I was overcome last night.--How did it happen, C? CECELIA The new job didn't pan out. Tom ran into him somewhere and telephoned to ask if he could bring him out for a day or two, he'd been ill. There was nothing to do but say yes. Now, of course, he wants to keep him. GRACE Why not--you know--just give him something, and--? CECELIA He won't take anything without earning it. Tom swears he'll teach him manners--at least to the extent of calling us "Sir" and "Madam." He said it was the one birthday-present he really--(_She sees_ REGAN _standing, beaming, in the doorway_.) Oh. REGAN Did someone ring? CECELIA Several times. Will you bring some hot coffee, please? REGAN Sure thing. [_He takes the coffee-pot and goes out with it._ [GRACE _laughs_. GRACE Manners! CECELIA I'm afraid he's hopeless. GRACE You know, I can't get over old Rufus K. actually sending checks. He can be nice, can't he? CECELIA Extremely. Did I tell you? He's invited us to spend the winter with him in town. GRACE Not in the big house? CECELIA Yes. GRACE But it's the most unheard-of thing I've ever heard of! CECELIA We may not go. Tom's not too keen for that, either. GRACE He's mad!--Of course you can persuade him. It will _be such_--(TOM _comes down the stairs, a trifle white and wan_.) Ah! Good morning, host! TOM Is it?--How are you, Grace? Hello, Owen. (_He seats himself and eyes the food distrustfully._) Did Franc get her train? CECELIA I imagine so. TOM I meant to get up. Where are Joe and Daisy? CECELIA They went walking. [TOM _settles back painfully in his chair_. GRACE Oh come now! It's not as bad as that. TOM Lady, you don't know. (_To_ CECELIA.) Was I dreadful? CECELIA You were delightful. TOM Oh, don't say that!--That means I put on an act. GRACE You were the life of the party. [TOM _cringes_. TOM Good Grace. [REGAN _comes in with the coffee-pot and a glass of what appears to be milk_. REGAN (_heartily_) How're'ye, Tom, my boy! TOM --'Morning, Red. [REGAN _puts the coffee-pot upon the serving-table_. TOM _looks guiltily at_ CECELIA, _who turns away_. REGAN _comes beaming from the serving-table, the glass in hand_. REGAN Look what Baby brought you-- [TOM _rises and goes to him_. TOM --Just a minute. (_He puts his arm through his, turns him away from the others and low enough to be heard by no one but him, murmurs_:) Look, Red--if you don't mind, I think you'd better be "Regan" from now on, and us "Sir" and "Madam."--You're a pretty good actor. [REGAN _stiffens into the Perfect Butler_. REGAN (_audibly_) Right, Sir. H'I knows me place, Sir. [TOM _laughs, and returns to the table_. TOM Don't lay it on. REGAN Oh no, Sir. [_He offers the glass obsequiously._ TOM _takes it_. GRACE Milk?! TOM --Punch. (_He makes a face over it and returns it to_ REGAN.) Could you possibly brush the nutmeg off? REGAN I think so, Sir. TOM Try. Move heaven and earth. [REGAN _returns to the serving-table with the glass and removes the nutmeg_. DAISY _comes in from the hall_. GRACE Oh, hello! DAISY Good morning. CECELIA How was the walk? DAISY Very pleasant, thanks. We went miles. It's a lovely village. CECELIA It is nice. DAISY Whose house is the pretty white one on the Square? CECELIA Near the Post Office? (_To_ GRACE.) Isn't that Judge Evans's? GRACE Yes. DAISY (_to_ TOM) I hope you remembered to find the new magazine-proofs for me. [TOM _takes some folded proof-sheets from his pocket_. TOM Right here. [DAISY _extends her hand_. DAISY Please-- TOM If you'd really like to-- DAISY I should, very much. [_She takes the proofs and goes to the stairs, where she seats herself upon the bottom step._ REGAN _returns the glass of punch to_ TOM. TOM That's better. [JOE _comes in from the hall_. REGAN _coughs discreetly behind his hand_. REGAN (_not presuming to look directly at his master_) Beg pardon, Sir-- TOM Yes? REGAN --If I may say so, Sir--it has always seemed to me that life is like a sailboat-- TOM (_smiling_) Ah? REGAN In good weather, no better ridin' anywhere--but the very deuce, Sir, in a storm, Sir. [TOM _laughs and waves him away_. TOM Get out! [REGAN _bows gravely_. REGAN Very good, Sir. [_And goes out._ CECELIA'S _fixed smile leaves her face. She takes a deep breath._ DAISY _laughs softly_, JOE _loudly_. GRACE _turns to_ JOE. GRACE Oh hello! [JOE _recovers himself and advances into the room_. JOE How are you? GRACE Pleasant walk? JOE If you like the country. GRACE I'll bet you made a good plot, too. JOE A good--? GRACE I know you writer-men! DAISY (_from the stairs_) --Remember your prescription for me, Tom? TOM Prescription? DAISY "The country's the place to work," you said. JOE Something did it for you, Daisy. TOM --Daisy herself.--You can spend the night, can't you, Joe? JOE It's up to Daisy. DAISY I'm not certain, yet. Must we say straight off? CECELIA Of course not.--Do, though. We'd so love having you. TOM I've got to run over to Greenwich to see one C. B. Williamson, but I'll be back this evening. JOE The publisher? TOM Yes. Why? JOE What have _you_ got to do with that old pirate? [TOM _smiles_. TOM Shh!--It's a secret. [JOE _stares_. JOE My God! GRACE You're coming to my house for Sunday breakfast, you know. JOE Thanks, we've had it. GRACE Oh, but mine is a very special breakfast!-- JOE (_to_ TOM) --I liked the old Press building better. TOM We needed more room. CECELIA (_to_ TOM) Don't you want some coffee or something? TOM This is fine. Will you join me in a milk-punch, Daisy? DAISY Would you mind awfully if I didn't? TOM I'm not sure. GRACE Not disapproving, is she? [DAISY _laughs pleasantly_. DAISY Not in the least. TOM (_to_ JOE) --You couldn't publish a magazine in that old shack. JOE Don't tell me it's that smart. GRACE _I_ think it's going to be a sensation. I'm practically a collaborator, aren't I, Tom? [TOM _laughs_. TOM Grace is my reaction-agent. She submits to tests. [DAISY _stares at the proofs_. DAISY Is this all of it? TOM --The dummy for the first number. DAISY No name yet-- TOM No. JOE --Any Sunday papers, by any chance? TOM --In the living-room. I'll send for them. JOE It's all right. I'll read them there. [_He goes out._ TOM _looks after him_. GRACE _rises_. TOM Extraordinary fellow, Fisk. GRACE My people will be arriving. Who's going to run me home? [_She holds out her hand to_ TOM. _He takes it and rises._ TOM We'll go in Joe's Ford, and shock the village. GRACE Divine! DAISY Bring it back, Tom. TOM You bet.--How about your coming with us? [DAISY _rises upon the stairs_. DAISY Thanks, but I want to finish this. TOM Be sure to like it. DAISY I'm afraid I'm no judge. GRACE Tom, I've got to tell you: _I_ think the idea of a white roof in this country is idiotic. [_She tucks his hand under her arm and they move toward the door._ TOM (_as they go out_) So do I. It's insane. Whatever made you think of it? [DAISY _mounts the stairs and goes out_, CECELIA _watching her_. OWEN _moves toward the living-room_. CECELIA'S _low voice stops him_. CECELIA Owen-- OWEN What, C? CECELIA Why did she come? OWEN Daisy? I thought you wanted her, for all those highly special reasons. CECELIA --First she said she couldn't. Then she telephoned back she would. OWEN Well? CECELIA I believe she came for some special reason of her own. OWEN Quite possibly. CECELIA What, though? OWEN Search me. CECELIA Twice last night I caught her watching me in the most curious way. Once when I was with Fisk, once with you.--But you know, I'm not the least bit jealous any more. I'm even inclined to like her. OWEN That's big of you. CECELIA I suppose Fisk is one of hers, too. OWEN (_frowning_) How do you mean? CECELIA Sweet innocent! OWEN How's that? CECELIA I should think by this time you'd know a promiscuous little--(_She sees his frown deepen, and with a gesture, concludes_:)--Oh, well-- OWEN You're a strange girl, C.--And a pretty cruel one. CECELIA --Not at all. I tell you I don't mind in the least. In fact I really don't see why Tom and she shouldn't be as good friends now as--well, as you and I are. OWEN Their history is a little different. CECELIA Why? Don't you like our history? OWEN What there is of it.--A trifle uneventful, don't you think?--Or shall we simply call it lacking in excitement? [_A moment. Then_: CECELIA --You've been so strange, lately. So remote, Owen. OWEN I wasn't aware of it. CECELIA --Refusing to help us one bit with Mr. Williamson. OWEN But Tom doesn't want to be helped! CECELIA I do. OWEN C, I've told you. I simply can't do it. [CECELIA _turns from him coldly_. CECELIA Very well. OWEN Certainly, you must realize-- CECELIA Of course. (_She moves toward the living-room_) Come on--shall we? OWEN I've told you a dozen times, I'm counsel for Williamson's, and-- [CECELIA _stops and turns to him_. CECELIA Exactly.--And so they do whatever you tell them to. OWEN Tom's price is out of all reason. CECELIA Not if they really want it. OWEN But hang it, he made it that to stand them off! He doesn't want them to have it. CECELIA Tom doesn't know what he wants. (_Coaxing._)--Just one little word to them from you--on the telephone--before he goes over this afternoon--now--before he gets back from Grace's. OWEN There's something called legal ethics you seem not to understand, C. CECELIA And something called friendship? (_He turns away. A moment. Then she looks at him sideways._) Owen--(_He gestures "What?"_) "Lacking in excitement," you said.--For you? OWEN For you, I meant. CECELIA I suppose you're the judge of that, too. OWEN I don't know who else. CECELIA Of course you couldn't possibly be wrong. OWEN Could I? CECELIA (_softly_) --And I'm not a human being at all, of course. [_He advances toward her._ OWEN C--! CECELIA (_quickly_) Do one thing for me: just tell them it _might_ be a good thing for them.--It might, mightn't it? OWEN But even so, I--don't think I can. CECELIA --That it is high--admit that--but it might be a good thing. (_He ponders it, frowning._)--Owen--telephone him--just one little word, Owen--(_He is about to protest again, but is stopped by her even gaze and her hand upon his arm. Finally he nods assent. She breathes_:) You darling--(_He inclines toward her, but she leans away from him. Suddenly he glances up at the staircase. She senses that someone is coming, and begins to talk rapidly, in a different voice_:)--And of course it will be the most marvellous thing for Tom if Williamson agrees. You can imagine what it will mean to him. OWEN Yes, of course. [DAISY _comes down the stairs, the magazine-proofs still in hand_. CECELIA His father will be pleased as Punch, too, but the main thing is--(_She looks at_ DAISY _in pretended surprise_.) Oh, hello! Owen and I were just talking about The Bantam Press combining with Williamson's. Owen engineered it. OWEN Oh no, C. If there's any credit due-- [CECELIA _laughs, and exclaims_: CECELIA Never mind! (_Then again, to_ DAISY.)--I'm so excited about it, I can hardly speak. (_Then, to_ OWEN.)--Why, Owen--do you realize?--But you wanted to telephone, didn't you? OWEN Why, er--why--yes, yes, I did. [CECELIA _moves toward the living-room_. CECELIA It's in here, now. (_He follows. She speaks over her shoulder to_ DAISY.) Coming along? DAISY In just a moment. [OWEN _and_ CECELIA _go out, encountering_ JOE _coming in_. DAISY _gazes after them_. JOE (_to_ CECELIA) I thought I'd get ready for breakfast--lunch--whatever it is. CECELIA But you look lovely! [_She follows_ OWEN _out, into the living-room_, DAISY _moves to the table, where she sits, staring in front of her, slowly comprehending_. JOE _approaches her, as_ REGAN _comes in_. JOE (_to_ DAISY) What do you say we--(REGAN _clears his throat portentously_.)--God, Red, get that fixed, will you? [REGAN _lifts a lemon in two fingers_. REGAN Have you seen this one? JOE I had grapefruit. REGAN Give me a five-dollar bill. (JOE _finds one for him_. REGAN _folds it and closes his hand upon it_.) Which hand? JOE That one. (REGAN _opens both hands_. DAISY _is still staring, wrapt in thought_.) Good!--Only where does the lemon come in? [REGAN _beckons him nearer, cuts the lemon with a_ _fruit-knife, extracts a five-dollar bill from it, shows it to him, picks up a tray, and moves toward the door_. REGAN Thank you, sir. [_He goes out with the tray and_ JOE'S _five dollars_. JOE _turns to_ DAISY _about to speak, but she speaks first_. DAISY Are you packed, Joe? JOE Not yet. Why? DAISY I want to go. JOE What's the rush? DAISY I want to get out of this house. JOE But why all of a sudden? DAISY I want to get out, that's all. JOE Tom? DAISY Yes. JOE Poor devil-- DAISY Yes. JOE Of course he's terribly on the defensive: you can see that. DAISY (_dully_) Can you? JOE Of course. He felt us disapproving, and simply gave us the works. DAISY Maybe. JOE He was awful last night, all right. DAISY Go and pack, Joe. JOE And what an outfit they were!--I give you Grace Macomber in your Christmas stocking. DAISY Thanks. JOE I'll even throw her husband in, for good measure. DAISY That would be too divine. JOE And all those pitiful second-hand opinions of Tom's! What's happened to him? What do you suppose has done it, for God's sake-- DAISY That's what I came to find out. JOE Have you? DAISY Yes. JOE What? DAISY The most pitiful thing that can happen to any man. JOE But what? DAISY Go and pack, Joe. JOE It won't take a minute.--It certainly can't be C. _I_ think she's a fine girl, don't you? I talked with her for quite awhile last night. She made great sense. I think she's a damned nice, attractive woman. [DAISY _moves away from him_. DAISY So was Delilah. JOE Deli--? Oh come on, Daisy! DAISY --And bring my bag down with yours. JOE But I don't get you at all. DAISY (_turning_) Will you go and pack? JOE Honestly, Daisy, you're the damndest girl. [TOM _comes in from the pantry, a whisky-and-soda in hand_. TOM A drink anyone? JOE At this hour? I should say not. [TOM _seats himself at the end of the table, facing them_. TOM Too bad. JOE Besides, we've got to go. TOM So soon? Too bad. (_He takes a swallow of his drink, and smiles at them._) Godspeed-- JOE (_After a moment_) --There was a fellow once told me drink was in a way to becoming my own personal Hollywood-- TOM Really? How amusing. JOE You, by a strange coincidence. TOM Oh not possibly! JOE --And it was you, incidentally, who taught me how to drink moderately. TOM No mean feat, I'm sure. JOE (_With a gesture_) Well, physician-- [TOM _raises his glass again, still smiling_. TOM Similia similibus curantur. Translated, the hair of the dog that-- DAISY Go get ready, will you, Joe? [JOE _stares at_ TOM _a moment, then mounts the stairs and goes out_. TOM --So solemn--all so solemn. (_He puts down his glass, unfinished._) I'm sorry you don't like my friends. DAISY Your--? TOM They are, however.--Did you read the magazine? DAISY Most of it. TOM Couldn't finish it, eh? DAISY No. I didn't care for it. TOM Why not? DAISY It seemed to me that one oh-so-bright weekly was enough, without more of the same. TOM --Not sufficiently solemn. I see. DAISY Not half!--And so _cheap_, Tom! Oh, how can you? [_A moment. Then_: TOM You can't please everybody. DAISY Never mind. It doesn't matter. [TOM _drops his cynical tone and speaks genuinely_: TOM Doesn't it, Daisy? DAISY Tom, ever since I got home I've heard from all sides how you've changed. I came here to find out if it was true, and if so why. TOM Well, is it? DAISY Tom-- TOM And if so why? Why? DAISY (_a sudden cry_) Oh, Tom--I pity you with all my heart! [_He is at her side in an instant, her wrists in his hands._ TOM Pity me! What are you talking about? DAISY I came to find out. I've found out. Now I'm going. (_She calls._) Joe! TOM Found out what? Pity me why? [DAISY _looks down at her wrists_. DAISY Would you mind? (_He releases her. A moment. They gaze at each other. Her eyes soften._)--And love you, Tom--love you with all my heart, as well. Remember that. TOM (_brokenly_) Daisy, I--(_He recovers himself, and with the recovery the cynical smile returns. He advances, one hand out, his voice coaxing._) Give us a kiss, Daisy. [_She takes a step back from him, in horror. Her call is almost a scream_: DAISY Joe! Are you ready? [JOE'S _voice is heard from the stairs_. JOE Coming! [JOE _comes down the stairs with the bags_. CECELIA _comes in from the living-room_. CECELIA Did someone call? (_She sees the bags._) Why, what's all this? DAISY I'm sorry, but we've got to leave. CECELIA But what's happened? DAISY I suddenly remembered something. Please don't bother--- CECELIA But I never heard of such a-- DAISY I'm terribly sorry, but it can't be helped. CECELIA But can't you at least wait until after luncheon? DAISY I'm afraid not. [_She turns to_ JOE. JOE (_to_ CECELIA) Good-bye. Thanks very much. CECELIA Good-bye. I must say it all seems very strange. (_Then to_ DAISY.)--And when we've so loved having you. DAISY You were kind to ask us. CECELIA Well, if you insist, I suppose there's no help for it. Good-bye. Do come again when you can really stay.--Your coat's here, isn't it? [_She goes out into the hall._ JOE Give me a ring sometime, Tom. TOM Right. [JOE _looks at_ DAISY. _She nods her head in the direction of the door. He goes out._ DAISY Good-bye, Tom. TOM --Once I wouldn't say it, would I? DAISY Once you wouldn't-- TOM Well, good-bye. DAISY --This time you do.-- TOM Good-bye. [_She gestures helplessly, turns and goes out. For a moment he is alone. A door is heard to close, then_ CECELIA _re-enters_. CECELIA Honestly! If that wasn't the rudest thing! (_He is silent._)--I presume you agree, don't you? TOM I don't know what it was. [_He stares in front of him, unseeing. She looks at him intently for a moment. Then_: CECELIA Well--if we're going to Grace's-- TOM I'll get my hat. [_He moves toward the hall. She follows._ CURTAIN ACT THREE SCENE II _At_ TOM COLLIER'S. _Ten o'clock the same night._ _The dining-room is dimly lighted from the hall and living-room. There is a small fire burning in the fire place. Leaves have been removed from the table, which is now at its smallest. Two chairs are at the table, the others against the wall._ REGAN _comes in from the hall with an armful of wood, some of which he places upon the fire, making it burn brighter. This done, he lights a small candle-lamp upon the table. Two places have been set and a light supper prepared: a platter of cold meat, a bowl of salad, sandwiches, fruit. There is a champagne glass at each place. A moment, then_ CECELIA _calls from upstairs_: CECELIA Regan? REGAN --Right here, Ma'am. CECELIA I thought I heard a car. REGAN Yes, Madam. CECELIA Is Mr. Collier's supper ready? REGAN Yes, Madam. [_He lights a small lamp on the serving-table, pokes the fire again, and goes out into the hall. A moment, then_ CECELIA _comes down the stairs, in another charming negligee, this time more severe in cut and somber in color. She examines the table, rearranges a few things and puts out the lamp upon the serving-table. Now the room is lit only by the candle-lamp and the fire upon the hearth. A door closes in the hall. She turns toward it, calling_: CECELIA Tom? [TOM _comes in_. TOM Hello. (_He looks at the table._) What's all this? CECELIA I thought you might be hungry. I know what you think of Williamson's food. (_He looks at the fire, then around him, curiously._) What's the matter? TOM --Lighted this way, it reminds me of some place. CECELIA Where? TOM I don't know. [_His voice is strange, as if speaking from a distance._ CECELIA Do eat something, dear. [_Again he looks about him, puzzled._ TOM --I came back the long way, over the Pound Ridge road, through Middle Patent. CECELIA What made you do that, Silly-- TOM I don't know, I wanted to drive. [_Now it is her he looks at curiously._ CECELIA Tom--what _is_ the matter? [_He shakes his head, as if to shake something out of it, and laughs shortly._ TOM Sorry! CECELIA (_anxiously_) Everything went all right, didn't it? TOM Oh yes, perfectly. (_A moment. Then_:) In fact, it's settled. CECELIA Not already! TOM Yes. They've signed. All I have to do is to dig up a notary in the Village and write my name under theirs. CECELIA Oh, Tom! TOM Are you pleased? CECELIA Aren't you? TOM I think something's happened to my nervous system. I feel awfully light. CECELIA You're famished. Come and sit down and eat--(_She draws him to the table. He seats himself there, and for a moment drops his head in his hands._)--And tired, too, poor darling. TOM No--just light. So awfully light.--Thinking too much. [_She puts meat and salad upon a plate and sets it before him._ CECELIA Here. TOM C-- CECELIA Yes, dear? TOM I think it's time we had a child or two, C. [_A moment. Then_: CECELIA We'll talk about that. TOM Yes. We must. (_Another moment._)--The trees along the road stood out like--(_He rubs his eyes and looks up again._)--like whatever it is trees stand out like. CECELIA You've been going much too hard, you know. TOM It's good for me. I'm having visions. (_Again he looks around him._)--What _is_ it it reminds me of? [_She seats herself near him at the table._ CECELIA --Nothing. You're just tired and hungry. TOM Please let me have my visions. (REGAN _comes in with a pint of champagne_.) Good evening, Mr. Regan. REGAN Good evening, Sir. TOM --Those buttons on your coat--you know, they're terribly bright. REGAN I'll try to bring 'em down. TOM Do. It's essential.--Champagne, is it? CECELIA I thought you might feel like celebrating. TOM Well-- CECELIA A little wine won't hurt you, Tom. TOM (_to himself_) --The little more, and how much it is--(_Rousing himself._)--Fill them, Mr. Regan, (REGAN _looks at him oddly, then fills the glasses_. TOM _raises his and squints at it_.)--Infinite riches, in a little room. [CECELIA _laughs_. CECELIA You've got the quotes badly. TOM Little lamb, who made thee?--Regan--dost thou know who made thee? (_He holds out the glass to him._)--And a little more, old son. (REGAN _refills the glass and goes out_. TOM _watches him, curiously_.)--The discreet withdrawal--I've seen that before, too. (_Looks around him again, then cries, suddenly_:) I know! The Florentine!--A private room at the Florentine. CECELIA What's that? TOM A kind of a hotel. Flora Conover's place. CECELIA It sounds wicked. TOM It used to be the best twenty-guinea house in London. CECELIA Twenty-guinea? What are you talking about? TOM In advance, at that. [CECELIA _glances at him_. CECELIA Rather expensive, wasn't it? TOM But one went to Flora's to celebrate.--And the food was good, the waiter discreet, the wines excellent, the lady most artful. CECELIA Tom! How revolting-- TOM But we must send the boys back happy, you know. CECELIA I don't care to hear about it, thank you. TOM Very well, my dear. [_A moment. He stares at his glass. Then_: CECELIA Weren't they difficult at all, Tom? TOM Who? Williamson's?--Easy. CECELIA And you actually got your own terms? TOM Except for their right to pass on my selections. CECELIA That's probably just a form. TOM Probably. CECELIA They want to feel they have _some_ say. TOM That's all.--C, what have you done to your hair? CECELIA Why, nothing, why? TOM It looks lighter. CECELIA It isn't. [_He gazes at it for a moment longer, then eats a little, disinterestedly._ TOM I quashed the announcement they'd prepared for the papers. CECELIA Why? What was it? TOM "Williamson, Warren and Company have absorbed The Bantam Press, formerly owned by--" CECELIA "Absorbed"! TOM Yes. Like a sponge. I quashed it. For "absorbed" read "bought a controlling interest in." CECELIA Well--that's more like it. TOM --Poor little Bantam.--For "Bantam" read small little, plucked little capon. CECELIA Oh, don't, Tom! You know it's a good thing for you--it's a grand thing for you. TOM --Increased scope. CECELIA Of course. TOM --Perfect distribution facilities. CECELIA But aren't they? TOM Williamson, Warren Books Girdle the Globe. Hear the eagle scream.--Poor little Bantam--peep, peep-- CECELIA --And I thought you'd be beside yourself for joy. [_He gazes at her. She is._ TOM C, your eyes are so bright. [_She laughs shortly._ CECELIA Eat, you. You're seeing things. [_He looks at his plate._ TOM C-- CECELIA Yes, dear? TOM --Little love is no love. CECELIA --Meaning what, precisely? TOM It wasn't necessary to lock your door against me last night. [_A moment. Then_: CECELIA But I didn't.--I mean--not against-- TOM Then why? CECELIA I'm--it's just that sometimes I'm afraid, alone at night. [_He is watching her._ TOM I don't believe you. [_She laughs nervously._ CECELIA Well, really! TOM I don't believe you, C. (_She averts her head._)--Only I'd like you to know that that isn't necessary, ever. CECELIA Very well. [_Suddenly he reaches for her hand and takes it._ TOM Why was it? Tell me instantly why it was. CECELIA Is that an order? TOM Tell me. [_She tries to meet his gaze, but cannot._ CECELIA (_with difficulty_) You mean--why I--why I didn't want you near me-- TOM Yes. CECELIA --And you don't know-- TOM No. CECELIA Well, if you don't, you ought to. TOM Tell me, I say. CECELIA You'd been so--consistently disagreeable, that's all. TOM About what?--Wanting Regan back? CECELIA No. TOM What, then? CECELIA Your father, chiefly. (_She rises and goes to the serving-table._) He telephoned this afternoon. (_A moment._) He wanted to know if you'd got the birthdays-check. (_Another moment._) I told him that you had, and had tried to call him. (_He turns away._) Well, I had to say something! [_She reseats herself at the table with a plate for herself._ TOM I don't know whether to send it back, or just not to cash it. [_He finds a check among the letters in his pocket, and looks at it, frowning._ CECELIA --Of course, you simply can't allow yourself to show any kind of graciousness toward him. TOM No. CECELIA --As a way of telling you how pleased with you he is, he sends you a small check,--and you have the extraordinary bad taste to--(_He holds the check out for her to see. Her eyes widen._) What!--Good heavens--I don't believe it! TOM There it is. CECELIA But there isn't that much money in the world! TOM In Father's world there is. He feels he can afford it, to get us to come and live with him. CECELIA Of course, I don't understand your attitude about that, either. TOM Don't you, C? CECELIA He knows how inconvenient it is here in winter,--and having that great, huge, lovely house in town, it's perfectly sweet and natural of him to--to, well to ask-- TOM Yes--you, to preside night after night at his deadly dinners, me to listen eternally to his delphic advice on what to do and how to live--in short, to allow him to own us. Of course, he's willing to pay. He always is. CECELIA Oh, how ridiculous you are, really!--His whole life long he's tried to help you, to do things for you-- TOM --In order to own me. I tell you I know him. CECELIA You're the only child he's got, and he's an old man and a very lonely man. I think it's horrible beyond belief, the way you treat him. How you can be so hard, I don't know. TOM Hard!--I'm not hard enough. All my life I've been trying to harden. I was born soft, that's the trouble with me. CECELIA You soft! TOM Yes. Born it.--And then brought up to refuse to face any truth that was an unpleasant truth, in myself or anyone else--always be the little gentleman, Tommy--charming and agreeable at all costs--give no pain, Tommy. CECELIA You seem to have outgrown it nicely. TOM Not yet, I haven't. No, not by a long shot. The inclination's still there, all right. Still going strong. CECELIA But don't be discouraged. TOM (_wearily_) All right, C. CECELIA --It's nothing but your old self-consciousness about money, again. It simply defeats me.--Honestly, has everyone who lives well sold his soul to the devil? TOM (_rising_) "Lives well"!--I'd give my eyes to live well. That's all I want for us. [_He goes to a chair at the window._ CECELIA Oh--definitions again.--We being so weak, of course, that a little luxury would completely ruin us. TOM --Little--little--everything's so little. Add it up, though. (_His head sinks upon his breast._)--Add it up. CECELIA To my way of thinking, if a person can't stand-- TOM Let's drop it. CECELIA (_coldly_) Very well. We shall. [_He looks up again._ TOM --Now you've gone from me again-- CECELIA A lot you care. TOM Oh C--my lovely C--Where are you? What's become of you? CECELIA There's something you call your damned integrity-- [TOM _rises from his chair_. TOM (_suddenly, sharply_) That's the word! [CECELIA _rises also_. CECELIA I see it's no use talking. [_A silence. He looks at her intently._ TOM --This is what you call "being disagreeable." CECELIA Yes. Very. [_He returns to her._ TOM --But how to be otherwise, when-- CECELIA (_in a burst_) Possibly by being the fine, kind, generous man you ought to be! TOM To Father? CECELIA You might begin there. TOM --Accept the check with thanks--and go to live with him-- CECELIA It's only for a few months--and I think to refuse his present would be extremely bad manners--just about in a class with those of your little lady of easy virtue, this morning. If--(_She sees she has gone too far._) I'm sorry to have said that about her. I didn't mean-- TOM Never mind. (_A long moment. Then_:)--Suppose I should do as you say about Father-- CECELIA Oh, Tom--do be the darling I know you are! TOM Would you like me better? CECELIA Much. TOM How much? CECELIA Oh--very much. [_He leans forward, watching her, hardly believing it possible._ TOM No locked doors, anymore? CECELIA (_lowly_) Not one--ever-- TOM That sounds--most inviting. [_She smiles._ CECELIA Does it? [_Again he seats himself at the table._ TOM --And suddenly I'm beginning to see with an awful clearness-- [_He stops._ CECELIA (_smiling_) What? How stupid you've been?--And what I am to you? TOM (_after a moment_) Yes. CECELIA --And so you _are_ going to be nice again? TOM You'll see. [_Again_ CECELIA'S _smile_. CECELIA --But how am I to be sure? TOM You've told me ways to convince you. CECELIA I do so hate us not to agree, Tom. TOM I know. [_She brings her chair closer and sits at his side._ CECELIA I want so to feel--I don't know--together again, as we used to be. [_Once more_, TOM _looks incredulously around him, at the room. Then_: TOM You're very pretty, you know-- CECELIA Why, thank you, Sir. TOM --Very exciting, too. [His manner has changed. From now on, he is no longer the husband sitting before the fire with his wife, but a host at supper with a pretty girl, whom later he will know better. CECELIA I don't know whether it's you or the wine speaking. TOM --Me. CECELIA Shall we have a little more? TOM Why not? [_She presses the button._ CECELIA It's a party, then. TOM It's a party. CECELIA Sometimes you're so thrilling, Tom. TOM You think? [_A moment. Then_: CECELIA Put your arms around me, Tom-- [_He inclines toward her, does not touch her, but looks full into her eyes, searching for something he still cannot believe he will find._ TOM Are they around? CECELIA (_in a breath_) Oh--yes--yes-- [REGAN _comes in_. TOM Another small bottle. [REGAN _goes out_. CECELIA _laughs a little throaty, excited laugh_. CECELIA We shouldn't. You know we shouldn't. TOM But we seem to be-- CECELIA I feel--all at once I feel terribly naughty, somehow-- TOM I suppose you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen-- CECELIA (_archly_) So nice of you to think so, Sir. TOM --So very attractive-- CECELIA I like to be attractive. TOM So very seductive-- CECELIA There, there! That's enough! [_He has found it. Coldly he salutes it_: TOM You're a strange woman. Your lips drop honeycomb, your mouth is smoother than oil. CECELIA Now what are you quoting? [REGAN _comes in with the wine_. TOM --Give the lady some, waiter. (REGAN _fills_ CECELIA'S _glass, then_ TOM'S, _without a word_.) You can leave the bottle. (REGAN _places it upon the table, near him_.)--And that will be all. (REGAN _bows and goes out_. CECELIA _raises her glass and smiles invitingly. He raises his, murmuring_:)--To the pleasant ways of life. [_She drinks. He does not._ CECELIA --Such pleasant ways. [_She smiles at her glass._ TOM Is it good? CECELIA So good.--I'm feeling it a little. TOM That's what it's for, eh? CECELIA It must be. TOM "Champagne, the friend of lovers"-- [_Her face inclines to him, then she averts her head._ CECELIA (_softly_) No--not yet-- TOM Artful child. CECELIA You think? TOM --Lovely, alluring thing-- CECELIA I like you too, now. TOM Pleasant here, isn't it? CECELIA So pleasant. (_She refills her glass and finds that his is still full._)--But you aren't taking any-- TOM It makes me see almost too clearly. CECELIA Take a little more, and everything will get so--lovely and vague and--the way I feel now. TOM --A good feeling, is it? CECELIA (_a whisper_) Delicious--(_She gropes for his hand, holds it against her breast._) Oh--Tom--(_He looks at her. She smiles again._)--One last toast? (_He draws her to her feet, glass in hand._) But to what--what to? TOM You name it. [_A moment. Then_: CECELIA To love--(_She comes against him, steadies her glass in both hands against his breast, bends her head and takes it. He raises his glass, holds it for a moment near his lips, then sets it down, untouched, upon the table. She replaces hers beside it, and murmurs_:) And darling-- TOM Yes? CECELIA You--you _are_ going to be an angel about--about things, aren't you? TOM You'll see. CECELIA Oh, I knew you would!--I'm so happy--(_She smiles, moves slowly toward the stairs, and mounts them, opening the door at the top. There she turns and whispers._) Don't be long-- [_And goes out._ TOM'S _eyes following her. Then he turns and stares down at the table. Finally his hand finds the bell and presses it. A moment, then_ REGAN _enters, in a business suit_. TOM See here, Red, I-- REGAN (_sharply_) Never mind! (TOM _looks up_. REGAN _gestures_.) All I mean is--well, I'm out for good, this time. TOM Why? REGAN I just don't like it here, that's all. TOM When do you want to go? REGAN As soon as I can. TOM To-night, then. REGAN That's all right with me. I'm packed. TOM Look in and say good-bye as you're leaving. REGAN I'm leaving now. TOM Look in, anyhow. (REGAN _turns to go_.)--Have you got a fountain-pen? (REGAN _finds a pen and gives it to him_.)--Don't let me forget to return it. (REGAN _goes out. Slowly, methodically_, TOM _opens the pen, shakes it, spreads the check upon the table and writes upon its back. Then, as carefully, he replaces the top of the pen, picks up the check and waves it back and forth, to dry it._ REGAN _re-enters with a traveling-bag_. TOM _returns the pen to him_.)--Here you are. Thanks. REGAN Well--good-bye-- TOM Get into the car. REGAN I can walk to the train all right. TOM Bring my coat and hat, will you? (REGAN _does not stir_.)--Will you bring my coat and hat, please? (REGAN _puts down his bag and goes into the hall for them_. TOM _folds the check carefully, goes to the fire place and places it upon the mantelpiece, one corner under a vase_. REGAN _re-enters with his overcoat and hat_. TOM _puts on the hat_. REGAN _holds the coat for him_. TOM _gets into it. He takes a cigarette from the pocket and puts it in his mouth._) REGAN What's the idea? TOM --Light, please--(REGAN _holds a match for him_. TOM _pulls on his gloves_.) Now, then-- REGAN I can walk, I tell you. TOM Not at all. We'll drive in. REGAN _We_ will--? TOM (_very gently_) I'm going back to my wife, Red. REGAN To your--? [_Puzzled_, REGAN _looks toward the lighted doorway at the top of the stairs_. TOM --To my wife, I said. [REGAN _picks up his bag, and goes out, into the hall_. TOM _looks once around him, draws a deep breath of smoke, exhales it slowly, then turns and follows him_. CURTAIN TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE Other than changing a comma to a period and a regular bracket to a square bracket, minor variations in spelling and punctuation have been preserved. [End of The Animal Kingdom, by Philip Barry]