Mr. P. Not on any account. That would tend to arouse her suspicions. I wouldn’t have her know that I took part in the stratagem.
Mrs. L. And what do you expect will come of it? Of course she would not be likely to come forward and tell you that she was willing to marry you, even if she felt favorably inclined toward you.
Mr. P. (hesitatingly). I think I shall call upon her to-morrow, and then I shall be governed entirely by circumstances.
(Flora hurries back to the lounge. Mr. Percival goes out, L. Mrs. L. cautiously goes and looks in at Flora, who appears to be asleep. Exit Mrs. L., R. Curtain falls.)
Scene III.—Parlor. Flora present, C. She is arranging flowers in a vase.
F. (soliloquizing). So Mr. Percival is going to call on me to-day. It is quite fortunate I happened to overhear his plans. I suppose he will repeat that momentous question again, and I’ve about made up my mind to accept him. Then the matter will be settled, and I shan’t be worried any more by his importunities. Besides, he is a person of good standing, and I don’t know as I love any one else more; and I don’t think he is after my money. (A pause in which she completes the arrangement of the flowers. Mr. P. enters.)
F. (advancing toward him). Ah, Mr. Percival, I was just thinking of you, and you know the old saying, “If you think of the angels, you’ll soon hear the rustling of their wings.”
Mr. P. Excuse me, but I never heard it expressed in that way before. It has been told me in this wise: His Satanic Majesty is always near when you’re talking of him.
F. I must say my version is more complimentary than yours.
Mr. P. So do I, and I draw encouragement from that fact. If you were thinking of me, I take it as a favorable omen, and shall consider that I am not so disagreeable to you as I feared I was.