AIMETTE
(_A little shyly_.) I came as I was, from the mill. I"ve not had time to brush myself.
TYLTYL
That doesn"t matter. Kiss me all the same. How fresh and rosy you are, underneath all that flour!...
AIMETTE
I shall never dare.... You"d be covered with it....
(_She has hardly finished speaking when, through the other window, enter a fifth young girl, bare-foot, bare-headed, clad in rags and carrying in her hand a wooden bowl with a few halfpence clinking in it. She does not dare come forward_.)
TYLTYL
One more!... (_To_ THE FAIRY.) This is Jalline, the little beggar-girl from the bridge by the Hermitage.
THE FAIRY
Excellent, excellent!... I"d better wake your father and tell him the house won"t be big enough; then he can start building at once....
TYLTYL
But it"s not my fault. I didn"t do it on purpose. One can"t help loving them!... How are you, Jalline?... What have you done with your poor old father?
JALLINE
I left him at the bridge.
TYLTYL
What, all alone in the dark! And he blind and a cripple! Isn"t that very dangerous?...
JALLINE (_On the verge of tears_.) Yes, I know it"s wrong. It was very wrong of me, very. I won"t do it again. But I couldn"t help it, Tyltyl, really. When you called me, I couldn"t stay where I was.
TYLTYL
(_Kissing her_.) There, there, don"t cry. I"ll help you to bring him home.... Do you remember, I did that once before, one evening when I was crossing the bridge and gave you a halfpenny: it was all I had!
JALLINE
I"ve kept it ever since, Tyltyl. I put it in a box. I shall never lose it.
TYLTYL (_Kissing her again_.) Oh, the sweet smell of lavender and thyme!...
(_This time the door opens slowly. Enter a sixth young girl. She is in evening-dress, with a fur cloak over her shoulders, and carries a fan in her hand_.)
TYLTYL
Who is this?
THE FAIRY
But where do they all come from? At your age too! I should never have believed it!...
TYLTYL
But I didn"t know.... (_To_ THE FAIRY.) Why, it"s Rosarelle!... The mayor"s daughter!... You know, from the great big farm-house, with the three round turrets, at the other end of the village!... What shall I do? She"s so proud!...
THE FAIRY
Not a bit; she won"t be any prouder than the others. Speak to her and you"ll see.
TYLTYL
I"ll never dare.... What could I say?
ROSARELLE
(_Coming forward_.) Well, Tyltyl, don"t you know me?
TYLTYL
Yes, miss, but I wasn"t sure....
ROSARELLE
Miss? What do you mean? That"s not my name. My name"s Rosarelle; and you know it.... There was a big dinner at my father"s, for Christmas. Your thoughts came to fetch me while we were at dessert. I jumped up at once and upset a gla.s.s of champagne. They were alarmed and thought I was ill and began to fuss: it was as much as I could do to get away. Still, here I am and I"m going to kiss you.... Do you remember how we used to look at each other when you came to the yard with your bundles of wood?...
TYLTYL
Oh, yes! You were so lovely, I couldn"t take my eyes off you.... But you are lovelier than ever to-day.
ROSARELLE
That was the beginning; but I didn"t quite realize it till the day you gave me the three little bullfinches which you found in the forest.
TYLTYL
Yes, yes, I remember.... I knew too.... Are they still alive?
ROSARELLE
Two of the little things are dead; but the third is splendid.... I keep him in a gilt cage, by the window; and each time he sings....
THE FAIRY
Come, come, these little confidences are most interesting, but we"ve no time to lose. Everything must be settled to-night, for an opportunity like this comes only once to a man; and woe to him who lets it slip: he will never have another chance! But what we have to do now is to put our heads together and prepare for the great choice, which is to decide the happiness of two human beings first and of many others after that.