Countess
Miss, you will have to sing a little aria in the opera that Mr.
Tuneless is preparing for me. It's right that my servants contribute
to my amusements today.
Maid I wish your Scotsman were here. He sings well. His wife is also a good singer and dances well for a highlander.
Countess
Here she is now. What does she wish to tell me?
(Enter Mrs. MacPherson.)
Mrs. MacPherson
Rejoice, Madame, my husband has just returned from Tunbridge Wells.
Countess I am delighted. He will tell us if Mr. Bramble is dead or alive. He hasn't already told you, has he?
Mrs. MacPherson My husband never tells me his secrets. He's right, for I am too much of a gossip. I like it better when he tells me nothing, because he's so pompous when he tells me a secret. He has such long oaths, so long that I would as soon listen to a hundred sighs from another man. Before he will tell me one word!
Countess
Why doesn't he come then?
Mrs. MacPherson Madame, to appear to you in his proper attire, he has gone to have his wig curled and powdered.
Maid
He's rouging also. For he went to the Wells to lighten his skin.