Riis. She is not going to keep us waiting any longer, I hope?
Nordan. She was just behind me.
Riis. Here she is! (Goes to the door to meet her; NORDAN and MRS. RIIS do the same from the other side of the room.)
Christensen. One would think she were the Queen of Sheba.
(SVAVA comes in, wearing her hat, and with her gloves and parasol in her hand. CHRISTENSEN and MRS. CHRISTENSEN get up from their seats. She bows slightly to them, and comes to the front of the stage on the right-hand side. All sit down in silence. NORDAN is at the extreme left, then MRS.
RIIS, MRS. CHRISTENSEN and CHRISTENSEN. At the extreme right, but a little behind the others, is RIIS, who is sitting down one minute and standing the next.)
Mrs. Christensen. My dear Svava, we have come here to--well, you know what we have come for. What has happened has distressed us very much; but what is done cannot be undone. None of us can excuse Alfred. But all the same we think that he might be granted forgiveness, especially at the hands of one who must know that he loves her, and loves her sincerely. That makes it a different matter altogether, of course.
Christensen. Of course!
Riis. Of course!
Nordan. Of course!
Mrs. Christensen. And, even if you don"t quite agree with me about that, I hope you will agree with me about Alfred himself. I mean to say, that we consider his character, my dear Svava, should vouch to you for his fidelity. I know that, if you require it, he will give you his word of honour that--
Mrs. Riis (getting up). No! No!
Mrs. Christensen. What is the matter, my dear Mrs. Riis?
Mrs. Riis. No words of honour! He has to take an oath when he marries, anyway.
Nordan. But surely two make it all the safer, Mrs. Riis?
Mrs. Riis. No, no! No oath! (Sits down again.)
Christensen. I was struck with our friend Dr. Nordan"s remark. Tell me, my dear sir, do you also take it for granted that the sort of thing my son has done ought to be an absolute bar to marriage with an honourable woman?
Nordan. Quite the contrary! I am quite sure it never prevents any one getting married--and remarkably well married. It is only Svava that is behaving in an extraordinary manner in every respect.
Mrs. Christensen. I would not go so far as to say that; but there is one thing that Svava has overlooked. She is acting as if she were free. But she is not by any means free. A betrothal is equivalent to a marriage; at any rate, I am old-fashioned enough to consider it so, And the man to whom I have given my hand is thereby made my master and given authority over me, and I owe to him--as to a superior authority--my respect, whether he act well or ill. I cannot give him notice, or run away from him.
Riis. That is old-fashioned and sensible. I thank you heartily, Mrs.
Christensen!
Nordan. And I too!
Mrs. Riis. But if it is too late after the betrothal--. (Checks herself.)
Mrs. Christensen. What do you mean, dear Mrs. Riis?
Mrs. Riis. Oh, nothing nothing at all.
Nordan. Mrs. Riis means that if it is too late after the betrothal, why do people not speak out before they are betrothed?
Riis. What a thing to say!
Christensen. Well, it wouldn"t be such a bad thing, would it? I imagine proposals in future being worded somewhat in this way: "My dear Miss So-and-So, up to date I have had such and such a number of love affairs--that is to say, so many big ones and so many little ones."
Don"t you think it would be a capital way to lead the conversation on to--
Nordan.--to a.s.suring her that she is the only one you have ever loved?
Christensen. Well, not exactly that, but--
Riis. Here comes Alfred!
Mrs. Riis. Alfred?
Mrs. Christensen. Yes, it really is he!
Riis (who has gone to the door to meet ALFRED). Ah, that is right! We are so glad you have come!
Christensen. Well, my boy?
Alfred. When it came to the point, I could not do anything else--I had to come here.
Christensen. I quite agree with you.
Riis. Yes, it was only the natural thing to do. (ALFRED comes forward and bows respectfully to SVAVA. She bows slightly, but without looking at him. He steps back again.)
Nordan. Good morning, my boy!
Alfred. Perhaps I have come at an inconvenient moment.
Riis. Not a bit of it! Quite the contrary!
Alfred. At the same time, it seems evident to me that my presence is not welcome to Miss Riis. (No one answers him.)
Mrs. Christensen. But it is a family council we are holding--isn"t it, my dear girl?
Riis. I a.s.sure you, you _are_ welcome! And we are all particularly anxious to hear what you have to say!
Christensen. That is so.
Alfred. I have not succeeded in getting a hearing yet, you know. I have been refused admittance repeatedly--both in person and when I wrote. So I thought that if I came now, perhaps I should get a hearing.
Riis. Of course. Who can object to that?
Nordan. You shall have your hearing.
Alfred. Perhaps I may take Miss Riis"s silence to mean permission? In that case--well--it is nothing so very much that I have to say, either.
It is merely to remind you that, when I asked for Miss Riis"s hand, it was because I loved her with all my heart--her and no one else. I could not imagine any greater happiness, and any greater honour, than to be loved by her in return. And so I think still. (He pauses, as if he expected an answer. They all look at SVAVA.) What explanation I could have given of my own free will--indeed what explanation, under other circ.u.mstances, I should have felt impelled to give--I shall say nothing about now. But I _owe_ no explanation! My honour demands that I should make point of that. It is my future that I owe to her. And with regard to that I must confess I have been hurt--deeply hurt--by the fact that Miss Riis could doubt me for a moment. Never in my life has any one doubted me before. With all respect, I must insist that my word shall be taken. (They are all silent.) That is all I have to say.
Mrs. Riis (getting up unwillingly). But, Alfred, suppose a woman, under the same circ.u.mstances, had come and said the same thing--who would believe her? (They are all silent. SVAVA bursts into tears.)