Nubta:
Yet I think he does not believe it, for I heard him telling our mistress what to do if Naaman should return.
Khamma:
What, then?
Nubta:
She will claim him as her husband. Was she not wedded to him before the god? That is a sacred bond. Only the High Priest can loose it. She will keep her hold on Naaman for the sake of the House of Rimmon. A wife knows her husband's secrets, she can tell—
[Enter Shumakim, with his flagon, walking unsteadily.]
Khamma:
Hush! here comes the fool Shumakim. He is never sober.
Shumakim: [Laughing.]
Are there two of you? I see two, but that is no proof. I think there is only one, but beautiful enough for two. What were you talking to yourself about, fairest one!
Khamma:
About the lady Tsarpi, fool, and what she would do if her husband returned.
Shumakim:
Fie! fie! That is no talk for an innocent fool to hear. Has she a husband?
Nubta:
You know very well that she is the wife of Lord Naaman.
Shumakim:
I remember that she used to wear his name and his jewels. But I thought he had exchanged her,—for a leprosy.