Page:The Return of the Soldier (Van Druten).djvu/77

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ACT II

Margaret : Don’t, Chris . . . don’t take on like that!

Chris : Margaret, my darling . . .

[He raises his head, looks into her face; his arm goes round her shoulders.

Kiss me.

Margaret: No, Chris, we mustn’t. It’s not right.

Chris : Margaret, I love you . . . more than anything in the world, I love you.

Margaret (pleading desperately) : But, Chris, there’s your wife.

Chris : There isn’t . . . there isn’t! There’s no one in the world but you and me. The world’s mad . . . mad . . . we're boy and girl again. Margaret, I love you. I told you . . . down at Bray . . . that evening on the lawn by the river, with the sunset behind the church tower. It was yesterday . . . last week . . . don’t you remember? You let me kiss you then . . . you loved me, too. . . .

Margaret (weeping) : I know. I know. I did love you. I love you still. There, now I’ve said it. Oh, Chris!

Chris : Margaret . . . beloved.

[He kisses her and holds her for a moment in his arms. Then she wrenches free and rises, still weeping.

Margaret : It’s wrong, Chris. It’s wrong. We mustn’t. We’re not boy and girl . . . it wasn’t last week. We’re both married . . . we mustn’t.

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