Martha.
Yes, alone. So now I will tell you this—I have loved him more than all the world.
Lona.
Martha? [Seizes her arm.] Is this the truth?
Martha.
My whole life lies in the words. I have loved him, and waited for him. From summer to summer I have looked for his coming. And then he came—but he did not see me.
Lona.
Loved him! And it was you that gave his happiness into his hands.
Martha.
What else should I do, since I love him? Yes, I have loved him. I have lived my whole life for him, ever since he went away. What reason had I to hope, you ask? Oh, I think I had some reason. But then, when he came again—it seemed as if everything were wiped out of his memory. He did not see me.