Thérèse [joyfully] You can! Oh, thank you, thank you! I can't tell you how you've relieved my mind.
Madame Nérisse. My dear child. I am glad you've spoken to me plainly. I will do everything I possibly can. I'm extremely fond of you. I don't think the Directors will object.
Thérèse. Why should they have anything to do with it?
Madame Nérisse [doubtfully] Perhaps not, but—the Directors like to give each number a character of its own. It's a thing they're very particular about.
Thérèse. I could write about very different subjects.
Madame Nérisse. I know you could, but it would be always the same signature.
Thérèse. Well, every now and then I might sign a fancy name.
Madame Nérisse. That would be quite easy, and I don't think the Directors would mind. They might say it was a fresh name to make itself known and liked.
Thérèse. We'll try and manage it.
Madame Nérisse. We shall have to fight against some jealousy. The Directors have protégées. The wife of one of them has been waiting to get an innings for more than two months. There are so many girls and women who write nowadays.