14
MRS. HOLROYD
[ACT I
Mrs. Holroyd
- Perhaps you ’re very particular.
- [She puts her two palms on the table and leans back. He draws near to her, dropping his head.
Blackmore
- Look here!
- [He has put his hand on the table near hers.
Mrs. Holroyd
- Yes, I know you ’ve got nice hands—but you need n’t be vain of them.
Blackmore
- No—it’s not that— But don’t they seem—(he glances swiftly at her; she turns her head aside; he laughs nervously)—they sort of go well with one another. (He laughs again)
Mrs. Holroyd
- They do, rather—
- [They stand still, near one another, with bent heads, for a moment. Suddenly she starts up and draws her hand away.
Blackmore
- Why—what is it?
- [She does not answer. The children come in—Jack with an armful of stockings, Minnie with the basket of pegs.
Jack
- I believe it ’s freezing, mother.
Minnie
- Mr. Blackmore, could you shoot a rat an’ hit it?
Blackmore (laughing)
- Shoot the lot of ’em, like a wink.
