we say—a peccadillo—something to hide, wouldn't it?
Hunter: I don't know. Perhaps. I suppose so.
Boyd: But Margaret is not made for these slight occasions, is she? You know that, or the better man in you knows it. It is the insignificant heart that is furtive, not worth loving. But Margaret hid nothing.
Hunter: I don't understand that part of it. That she told me doesn't help the pity of it—but why did she tell me?
Boyd: I said. Because she loves you, and because she trusted you splendidly.
Hunter: Trusted me in what?
Boyd: To understand. That was beautiful homage to your love.
Hunter: What do you want me to believe?
Boyd (rising and moving to the portrait of Mary Stuart): She, too, was a great lover. I am an old man, and I have enjoyed many things. Life has been full, life here about me, and the life of history and the poets. And one has been as real as another. (He moves to the open window and looks out.) There in Edinburgh was
