"You poor pet!" Alexandra's hand sought hers.
"Lexie ... may I tell you things?"
"Yes, if it helps."
"I don't think anything ever will help. I'm done for, Lexie."
"You won't always feel like that," was the consoling rejoinder.
Maggy sat up in bed.
"I tried to kill myself to-day," she said abruptly. "But the stuff only made me sick. That's why I wasn't at the theater. I should be dead by now if it had worked properly."
"Maggy!"
"Yes, I did. How could I go on living? It's not worth it. Alone again: a room like this without even you to make it bearable ... or men. I won't do that. I went to the bad for love. I won't do it out of habit."
"Don't be so despondent. You won't have to live alone, dear. You shall leave the stage and be with me."