HYACINTH—Well?
ALEXANDRA—Now ask me again how I like it.
HYACINTH—How do you like it?
ALEXANDRA—[_On his shoulder, low._] Hyacinth ... I like it very much.
HYACINTH—[_Astonished._] Upon my soul! The thing is worse than I thought.
[_Moves nearer to her._]
ALEXANDRA—[_Still on his shoulder._] Hyacinth ... dear Hyacinth ... I ...
I....
HYACINTH—Well, my child? What is it? Out with it!
ALEXANDRA—Hyacinth ... that glass of wine ... it was the first I ever
drank in my life, too.
HYACINTH—For a first drink it was a hearty one.
ALEXANDRA—[_With a glance at AGI._] For his sake, Hyacinth. So that they
wouldn’t laugh at him.
HYACINTH—Fancy that! You amaze me. And how did it taste?
ALEXANDRA—[_Delighted._] Made me ... fuddled ... and warm.... I wish I
could die like this ... but first I want the professor to forgive me.
AGI—How _can_ I forgive you?
HYACINTH—Silence! There, there, I forgive you for him, my dear.
[_ALEXANDRA dries her tears._] Have your cry out, and don’t worry about
it.
ALEXANDRA—That’s not why I am crying, Hyacinth.
HYACINTH—Why, then?
ALEXANDRA—Because I ... am sorry ... for him.
AGI—You needn’t be sorry for me.
HYACINTH—[_Mildly._] You are not to speak now, my son.
ALEXANDRA—I have never been as sorry for anyone....
HYACINTH—And when he looks at you, you are sorrier for him than ever.
ALEXANDRA—[_Looks at AGI._] When he looks at me, his eyes scorch my face
... just as when you open the door of a stove——
HYACINTH—Yes, yes. The door of a stove. And what then?
ALEXANDRA—[_In child-like surprise._] And then ... then ... his glance
seems to enter my breast ... and touch ... my heart ... just as you touch
a key of the piano with one finger ... very softly.
HYACINTH—A key of the piano. Yes, yes ... and what else?...
ALEXANDRA—When he speaks ... since I hurt him ... when he speaks, his
voice rings in my consciousness for a long time after.... Like a bell.
And that hurts. I pity him so.
HYACINTH—[_Concerned._] I see, my dear. Only I am afraid it is neither
remorse nor pity.
ALEXANDRA—What then?
HYACINTH—A bit of internal disorder ... the lungs ... the heart....
[_Puts his ear to her chest._] Take a deep breath. Now sigh. [_ALEXANDRA
sighs._] Say, “Professor.”
ALEXANDRA—[_Looks at AGI._] Professor....
HYACINTH—[_Dryly._] The heart.
ALEXANDRA—[_Sorrowfully, reproachfully._] You are making fun of me,
Hyacinth.
HYACINTH—Not at all, my child. The matter is very serious. Tell me, dear.
When ... did you begin ... er ... to pity him so?
ALEXANDRA—Before. Here in this room.... Quite suddenly.... He said
something——
HYACINTH—What did he say?
ALEXANDRA—[_Looks at AGI._] He will remember the word.
HYACINTH—What was it, my son?
AGI—I know, father. It was when I said that I, too, was a world in
myself.
ALEXANDRA—No.
AGI—No? Well, then it was before that ... when I spoke of the poetry of
hopelessness.
ALEXANDRA—No.
HYACINTH—Well, what was it he said that touched you so?
ALEXANDRA—[_To HYACINTH._] He said: “Lad.”
HYACINTH—Lad? [_She nods._] What did he say “lad” for?
ALEXANDRA—He said he wasn’t a lad any more to believe in fairy tales.
HYACINTH—Oh, that was it?
ALEXANDRA—[_Smiles happily as if in a dream._] You know ... I had always
known the word, but I had never heard it spoken before. We say “boy,”
don’t we?... And he, poor fellow, said “lad,” with such a quaint lilt to
it ... so sweetly ... I knew at once it was what they used to call him at
home ... what his family calls him to this very day.... And ... I don’t
know why ... but suddenly it seemed as if I, too, had been there ... in
the village where they called him “lad” ... I saw the tiny, spotless
cottages with acacia trees around them ... and his mother ... and his
sister ... who called him “lad” ... and loved him, and were proud of
him.... That was why. [_There is a brief pause._]
HYACINTH—Well, my boy—what do you say to that?
ALEXANDRA—Hyacinth, what did you call him?
HYACINTH—My lad ... of course, that’s what I meant.