v. Wolters. No one dies easily, Countess. The Lady. Was he still living when they reached the house? v. Wolters. No, he died on the field. The Lady. Do you know my first name, Herr von Wolters? v. Wolters. Certainly. The Lady (_hesitating_). Did he--by any chance--speak--that name? v. Wolters. That would have betrayed his secret, Countess. The Lady. I only meant--at the very last--when he was no longer--conscious. v. Wolters. No, Countess. But--pardon me, I don't want to be indelicate--but did he ever call you by some little--little term of endearment--some-- (_Stops, embarrassed._) The Lady. Why do you ask? v. Wolters. At the very end, he kept murmuring something that sounded like "Girlie"--or---- The Lady (_indignantly_). My dear Herr von Wolters, our intimacy was of a different sort. v. Wolters. Pardon me, Countess, but you yourself asked. (_She nods. A short pause._) The Lady. Good heavens--these curtains over the mirrors! They make me feel as if I were looking a blind man in the eyes! v. Wolters. Would you like to have me remove them? The Lady. No, no. Never mind. I want to ask you something, Herr von Wolters. Tell me, what do you think of me? v. Wolters (_confused_). What do you mean, Countess? The Lady. I want to know what I have done that I should be doomed to bring so much sorrow into the lives of others. I had only just left school when a strange young man shot himself under my window. It was on my account that my husband was transferred here from his former garrison. Tell me, what mark of Cain do I bear that all men follow me? I dress as simply as I can. I never go out without a double veil. Sometimes I have actually been tempted to throw vitriol in my face! v. Wolters (_candidly_). Oh, that would have been a shame, Countess! The Lady (_severely_). Herr von Wolters! v. Wolters. Yes, Countess, to mar that image of divinity would be a sin--and I do not hesitate to repeat it beside the coffin of my friend. The Lady. Don't! (_Reaches him her hand, which he kisses respectfully._) Dear me, how strange it seems! Yesterday we scarcely knew one another--those few visits at my house don't count. To-day--this short conversation--and here we are, sitting side by side, the guardians of a secret which will be buried forever with him. It will, Herr von Wolters?