SWANWHITE. He's in danger?
DUKE. Who greatly dares has sometimes luck.
SWANWHITE. He ought to have!
DUKE. He will, if free from guilt!
SWANWHITE. He is! More than I am!
STEPMOTHER. [Entering] How came you here!
DUKE. A shortcut brought me—I could wish it had been shorter still.
STEPMOTHER. Had it been short enough, your child had never come to harm.
DUKE. What kind of harm?
STEPMOTHER. The one for which there is no cure.