FANNY. So glad.
CANADA. I'd always had the idea that you were going to make a mess
of your marriage.
FANNY. What a funny idea! [But the laugh that accompanies it is not
a merry one.]
CANADA. Wasn't it? So glad I was wrong.
WALES. We're all of us looking out for lords in disguise, now.
Can't you give us a tip, dear, how to tell 'em?
SCOTLAND. Sukey has broken it off with her boy. Found he was mixed
up in trade.
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS [as before, unseen at back of crowd]. No. I
didn't. 'Twas his moral character.
Then enter Honoria with glasses on a tray; Ernest with champagne;
Jane with eatables; Bennet with a napkin. It is a grim procession.
The girls are scattered, laughing, talking: Africa to the Misses
Wetherell; a couple to Dr. Freemantle. England, Scotland, Wales, and
Canada are with Fanny. The hubbub, with the advent of the
refreshments, increases. There is a general movement towards the
refreshments.
FANNY. Thanks, Bennet. You can clear away a corner of the desk.
ENGLAND [aside to her]. Go easy with it, dear. [Fanny, smiling,
nods. She directs operations in a low tone to the Bennets, who take
her orders in grim silence and with lips tight shut.] Don't forget,
girls, that we've got to get back to-night. [Aside to the Doctor,
who has come forward to help.] Some of 'em, you know, ain't used to
it.
DR. FREEMANTLE [nods]. Glasses not TOO full. [He whispers to
Fanny.]
IRELAND [a decided young woman].
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