HENRIETTE. It is better to stop right now.
JACQUES. Don"t send me away like this. Don"t----
HENRIETTE. I might give you false hopes. I have only to tell you that I shall never consent to be the wife of a man who cannot be the severest of censors.
JACQUES. [_Kneeling._] I beg you!
HENRIETTE. No, no, no, Jacques! Spare me that. [_A telephone rings in the next room._] There"s the "phone----
JACQUES. Don"t go!
[HENRIETTE _rises hastily and goes to door_. JACQUES _tries for a moment to stop her_.
HENRIETTE. I must go. Go away, I tell you. I"ll be furious if I find you here when I come back.
JACQUES. Henriette!
HENRIETTE. [_Coming down_ L. _to table_.] Not now! Please, Jacques.
[_Exit._]
JACQUES. I can"t leave it that way. I am the husband who will make her happy. But how? That is the question. [_Pause._] Ah, Albert!
[_Enter_ ALBERT. _He shakes hands with_ JACQUES.
ALBERT. How are you, rival?
JACQUES. [_Gravely._] My friend, we are no longer rivals.
ALBERT. How"s that?
JACQUES. I have just had a talk with Henriette; she refuses to marry either one of us.
ALBERT. Did she mention me?
JACQUES. Casually.
[_Both sit down_, ALBERT _on sofa_, JACQUES _on chair near it_.
ALBERT. What did she say?
JACQUES. Oh, I wouldn"t repeat it; it wouldn"t be friendly.
ALBERT. I _must_ know.
JACQUES. Very well, then--she said that you had not succeeded--nor had I--to find the way to her heart. Between you and me, we"ve got a high-minded woman to deal with, a philosopher who detests flattery. It seems you have been in the habit of paying her compliments----
ALBERT. I never pay compliments.
JACQUES. Whatever you did, she didn"t like it. Moreover--since you want the whole truth--you seem to her a bit--ridiculous.
ALBERT. Pardon?
JACQUES. The very word: ridiculous. She wants a husband who will act as a sort of conscience pilot. Evidently, you haven"t appealed to her in that capacity.
ALBERT. Sometimes I used to be rather sharp with her----
JACQUES. You did it too daintily, perhaps; you lacked severity. I"ll wager you smiled, instead of scowled--that would have been fatal!
ALBERT. I don"t understand.
JACQUES. Henriette is a singular woman; to get her, you have to tell her that you don"t like her--her pride demands it. Tell her all her bad qualities, straight from the shoulder.
ALBERT. [_Feeling himself equal to the task._] Don"t worry about that!
[_Rises and walks about._] I know women love to be told things straight out.
JACQUES. I"m not the man for that; nor are you, I suppose?
ALBERT. No? Jacques, I"m awfully obliged to you; you"ve done me a good turn----
JACQUES, Don"t mention it----
ALBERT. You want to do me one more favor?
JACQUES. [_Devotedly._] Anything you like!
ALBERT. Promise me you"ll never let Henrietta know that you told me this?
JACQUES. I promise; but why?
ALBERT. You know she has to understand that my behavior toward her is in character. Natural, you see.
JACQUES. Oh, you"re going at it strenuously.
ALBERT. I am.
JACQUES. Your decision honors you.
ALBERT. Let"s not have Henriette find us together. Would you mind disappearing?
JACQUES. With pleasure. I"ll look in later and get the news.
[JACQUES _rises_.
ALBERT. Thanks, Jacques.
JACQUES. Good-by, Albert.
[_Exits after shaking hands cordially with_ ALBERT.