[_With an effort, earnestly._] No, you haven’t, Mrs. Allingham. Take it up, when we’ve gone, where you broke off. [_Wringing her hand._] Do everything you’ve offered to do; try and square things—— [JOHN _comes to him and draws him away towards the door_. JOHN. [_To_ OLIVE.] Excuse me; one moment—— [_The three men go out, leaving_ OLIVE _staring before her_. JOHN, SHAFTO, _and_ ELPHICK _are heard talking together in the hall_. JOHN. [_Outside._] My dear Denzil! my dear Peter——! SHAFTO. [_Outside._] My good fellow, we are not, at present, in the least hungry. [OLIVE _runs up the steps and disappears in the library_. JOHN. [_Outside._] No conveyance of any kind to get you to the station——! ELPHICK. [_Outside._] Much prefer walking, I assure you. SHAFTO. [_Outside._] Good-bye. ELPHICK. [_Outside._] Enjoyed seeing the cottage again enormously. [_The sound of the voices dies away_; _a clock in the library strikes nine_; JOHN _returns_. JOHN. [_Looking round._] Olive—Olive—— [_She reappears._ OLIVE. You didn’t tell me the truth. You can hear the slightest sound in there. JOHN. I beg your pardon. Those men went clean out of my head. I was an ass. OLIVE. [_Descending the steps._] And that idiot offers me his advice! Take it up where you broke off! JOHN. At least, it’s good advice. OLIVE. Where _did_ we break off? JOHN. At Mrs. Fraser—— OLIVE. [_Walking up the stage, beating her hands together._] Mrs. Fraser! the eternal Mrs. Fraser! Oh!... oh!... [_Throwing herself into the chair facing the window._] I shall be quite calm in a moment. [_Faintly._] Those men upset me. JOHN. [_Going to her, solicitously._] To-day has been as exhausting for you as for the rest of us. Of course, there’s a dinner prepared here—— OLIVE. [_Quickly, half-frightened._] Oh, no, dear; I couldn’t sit down to table with you; I’m not entitled to do that. Fetch me a glass of wine and a biscuit—[_appealingly_]—don’t let a servant bring it, John. [_He goes to the dining-room door, she rises, and calls him._] John!—[_her head drooping_]—do you think we shall ever sit at the same table again, you and I? JOHN. [_After a pause, sitting, looking away from her._] Oh, Olive, Olive! remember——!