STRANGER. And I... am the liberator. (Exeunt.)
[A hut on a cliff by the sea. Outside it a table with chairs. The STRANGER and the LADY are dressed in less sombre clothing and look younger than in the previous scene. The LADY is doing crochet work.]
STRANGER. Three peaceful happy days at my wife's side, and anxiety returns!
LADY. What do you fear?
STRANGER. That this will not last long.
LADY. Why do you think so?
STRANGER. I don't know. I believe it must end suddenly, terribly. There's something deceptive even the sunshine and the stillness. I feel that happiness if not part of my destiny.
LADY. But it's all over! My parents are resigned to what we've done. My husband understands and has written a kind letter.
STRANGER. What does that matter? Fate spins the web; once more I hear the mallet fall and the chairs being pushed back from the table—judgment has been pronounced. Yet that must have happened before I was born, because even in childhood I began to serve my sentence. There's no moment in my life on which can look back with happiness.
LADY. Unfortunate man! Yet you've had everything you wished from life!