Darrell
[A bit worried himself now—persuasively]
Why not sit down, Nina, and let us two gentlemen sit down?
Nina
[Smiling at him swiftly and mechanically]
Oh, all right, Ned.
[She sits at center. He comes and sits on the bench. Marsden sits by the table. She continues sarcastically]
Are you prescribing for me again, Ned? This is my pet doctor, Charlie. He couldn’t be happy in heaven unless God called him in because He’d caught something! Did you ever know a young scientist, Charlie? He believes if you pick a lie to pieces, the pieces are the truth! I like him because he’s so inhuman. But once he kissed me—in a moment of carnal weakness! I was as startled as if a mummy had done it! And then he looked so disgusted with himself! I had to laugh!
[She smiles at him with a pitying scorn]
Darrell
[Good-naturedly smiling]
That’s right! Rub it in!
[Ruffled but amused in spite of it]
I’d forgotten about that kiss . . . I was sore at myself afterwards . . . she was so damned indifferent! . . .
Nina
[Wanderingly]
Do you know what I was doing upstairs? I was trying to pray. I tried hard to pray to the modern science God. I
