Part 34 (1/2)

v. Wolters.

Pardon me, my dear Countess, you were certainly his last--perhaps his only great love. But his life was varied--and if we were to open his desk now--I really don't know what we might find there.

The Lady.

You mean there would be letters from other----?

v. Wolters.

I must say no more.

The Lady.

Well, I'll shut my eyes. I'll only look for my own handwriting.

v. Wolters.

The will is to be opened in a few days, Countess. He has doubtless inserted a clause authorising me as executor to return certain papers to their owners--or destroy them.

The Lady.

Ah, I see you're a Puritan, after all.--No, no, I'll not trouble your conscience. This loyalty which you bear him to the very grave is so beautiful, so poetical, and I feel so near to you because of it--(_Putting her hand over her eyes._) Oh, those curtains in front of the mirrors! They make me feel as if I were dead myself, (v. Wolters _is about to tear them down._) No, no--don't. Thanks. Tell me, how long will it be before the will is opened?

v. Wolters.

Unfortunately, the day is not yet appointed.

The Lady.

I shall not sleep a moment until then. Not even my love, my grief, can outweigh this terrible fear. My honour, my future, my life--everything is at stake!

v. Wolters (_amazed_).

Countess!

The Lady.

Please stop calling me Countess.

v. Wolters.

Forgive me. What should I----?

The Lady.

Call me your friend. I want to be that. From this day you become closer to me than any other being in all the world. Are you not the legacy, as it were, that our dear dead has left me?--Ah, you and I must become like brother and sister, two beings who have--nothing--to conceal from one another. Herr von Wolters, will you be my guide, my confidant--my friend?

v. Wolters.

Countess! My dear, dear Countess!