Page:Mary Stuart (Drinkwater).djvu/15

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4
Mary Stuart

Boyd: I don't know that I can guide your moods. That's difficult always between men. I can only try to tell you what I think. Is it worth while?

Hunter: Well?

Boyd: You and Margaret have been married five years, isn't it? It's not long, but it's a good deal in young lives.

Hunter: Five years—yes.

Boyd: They have been happy years, haven't they?

Hunter: Perfectly, until this.

Boyd: And now—by the way, have you ever cared for any other woman?

Hunter: No.

Boyd: No. And now there's Finlay. I've always liked Finlay. And his book on our Queen is the wisest word about her that I know.

Hunter: My God! It's funny, isn't it? Finlay on harlotry. I beg your pardon, Andrew.

Boyd: That's just it, my boy. Harlotry. The word buzzes in your brain, doesn't it? I wonder. Do you want to understand at all—or do you just mean to be angry?

Hunter: It's easy enough to understand.