COLIN: My dear--Miss Freeman, I’m not denying the years of adventure, as John calls them. Anyhow, they’ll remain for a good many, whatever we say. But when it comes to arranging a new system, keep adventure for adventure’s sake for the unfortunate artistic people. They’ll hurt themselves. And make a song about it. But if ordinary people get into the habit of fluttering from experience to experience they damned easily lose the stability or the capacity for happiness. And undisturbed love between two people is the highest happiness. GWEN: But supposing you don’t find it, or make a mistake the first time? COLIN: I’m not denying the right of the ordinary person to experiment, but it ought to be for the definite object of discovering a true lover, and making a lasting marriage. JOHN: And if you help people to find their real mates, and when they’ve made a mistake, help them out of it quietly and decently, you’ll have many more happy marriages and much less beastliness. COLIN: Yes, I agree. MARGARET (_rising_): Well, I’m glad we’ve settled _that_!! Now I’m going home. Good night, Gwen. GWEN: Good night. MARGARET (_to FRANKIE_): Good night ... don’t think me an abandoned woman---- FRANKIE: I don’t. MARGARET: Good night, John. JOHN: I’ll come down. COLIN: Got a cigarette, John? JOHN: There’s a new box on the table by the bed. [_COLIN goes into the bedroom._ MARGARET (_at the door_): It _is_ dark. GWEN: I’ll put on the light; it’s just at the bottom of the stairs. [_They both disappear._ JOHN (_alone with FRANKIE_): Please ... will you forgive me? FRANKIE: I hope you’ll find someone and be very happy. JOHN: I hope you will, too. [_COLIN comes back into the room._ FRANKIE: Good night, Mr. Mackenzie. COLIN: Good night. JOHN: I’m just going to see Margaret out. [_He follows FRANKIE from the room. COLIN alone. GWEN returns._ COLIN: Hullo! GWEN: Hullo! COLIN: I’m glad you’ve come back. GWEN: Are you? COLIN: I suppose you wouldn’t care to come for a walk with me to-morrow afternoon? GWEN: Yes. COLIN: Where can we go in an afternoon? GWEN: Anywhere. COLIN: If I came for you in a car about ten, we might get down to the sea and back in time to dress for dinner and the ballet. GWEN: That would be lovely. COLIN: Will you be ready at ten? GWEN: Yes. COLIN: Ten o’clock then, to-morrow morning. [_JOHN comes back._ COLIN: I’ll be getting along. Don’t come down. Good night, John. JOHN: Good night. COLIN (_to GWEN_): Good night. GWEN: Good night. [_COLIN goes._ JOHN: I wish they’d stayed. We might have had a decent talk! I’m going to do some work. GWEN: I’m going to bed. [_As she goes, she takes an enormous handful of cigarettes from the new box which COLIN had brought in from the bedroom._ JOHN (_noticing_): Have a cigarette? GWEN: No, thanks. I don’t smoke. Good night, dear. JOHN: Good night. Bless you.