Marsden
[Struck by this—eagerly]
Exactly my opinion.
[Thinking]
If she’d settle down here . . . I could come over every day . . . I’d nurse her . . . Mother home . . . Nina here . . . how I could work then! . . .
Evans
[Thinking]
He certainly seems all for me . . . so far! . . .
[Then in a sudden flurry]
Shall I tell him? . . . he’ll be like her guardian now . . . I’ve got to know how he stands . . .
[He starts with a solemn earnestness]
Mr. Marsden, I—there’s something I ought to tell you, I think. You see, Nina’s talked a lot about you. I know how much she thinks of you. And now her old man—
[He hesitates in confusion]
I mean, her father’s dead—
Marsden
[In a sort of panic—thinking]
What’s this? . . . proposal? . . . in form? . . . for her hand? . . . to me? . . . Father Charlie now, eh? . . . ha! . . . God, what a fool! . . . does he imagine she’d ever love him? . . . but she might . . . not bad looking . . . likable, innocent . . . something to mother . . .
Evans
[Blundering on regardless now]
I know it’s hardly the proper time—
