DUPONT [_to his wife_] Tell her that Caroline is waiting for her. _The maid comes in._ MAID. M. and Madame Mairaut, monsieur. They wish to speak to you. DUPONT. Good. Where are they? In the office? MAID. Yes, monsieur. DUPONT [_to his wife_] I know what they want. [_To the maid_] I will come down with you. [_He and the maid go out_]. MME. DUPONT [_speaking at the door of Julie’s room_] Caroline is here. _Angèle comes in and makes a quick movement towards Caroline but pulls herself up before the coldness of the other’s demeanor._ ANGÈLE. Caroline. CAROLINE. Angèle. [_They stand looking fixedly at one another for some moments_]. ANGÈLE [_sadly_] How changed you are! CAROLINE. You are changed too. ANGÈLE. That is because life has not always gone smoothly with me. [_Caroline makes a gesture of incredulity_]. You don’t believe me? CAROLINE. Yes, if you say so. ANGÈLE. I have just seen Julie. She was kinder than you are. And she was only five when I left home and she is only my half-sister. You and I have the same father and the same mother. We are almost of an age and we used to love one another. CAROLINE [_coldly_] That is true. ANGÈLE. If you knew all about it you would forgive me. CAROLINE. Are the things that were said about you untrue? ANGÈLE. No. However bad they were they are true. CAROLINE. Since that is so— ANGÈLE [_without anger_] Since that is so—I still think your virtue very proud and very hard. That is all. [_Changing her tone_] You understand what has brought me here? CAROLINE. I understand that we are to meet at the lawyer’s. ANGÈLE. Very well. To-morrow at four. CAROLINE. To-morrow at four at the lawyer’s. ANGÈLE [_turning at the door, greatly moved_] You have nothing else to say to me? _Caroline shakes her head. Angèle goes out. A moment after Dupont comes in._ DUPONT [_beaming_] She has gone? CAROLINE. Yes. DUPONT [_chuckling_] Where is your mother? Where is she? [_He calls Madame Dupont_]. MME. DUPONT. What is it? DUPONT. I want you. CAROLINE. I will go. DUPONT. There’s no need. CAROLINE. I have some work to do. DUPONT. Very well. Go, my child. Go. [_Calling after her_] To-morrow, remember. [_She goes out as M. Dupont rubs his hands, chuckling_] Guess what M. and Madame Mairaut came to ask me. You can’t guess? MME. DUPONT. No. DUPONT. No wonder. They came to ask for the twentyfive thousand francs, the twentyfive thousand francs of Julie’s dot, you remember, which I was to pay six months after her marriage. MME. DUPONT. Well? DUPONT. Well. It is six months to-day since Julie was married. MME. DUPONT. Good heavens! What did you do? DUPONT. Gave them nothing, of course. MME. DUPONT. You couldn’t do otherwise. DUPONT. As you say, I couldn’t. MME. DUPONT. But they will make us bankrupt. DUPONT [_still smiling broadly_] They can’t. They have nothing but my word. MME. DUPONT. Luckily. DUPONT. However, I haven’t refused the twentyfive thousand francs. Nor have I disputed the debt.