MRS HUSHABYE [jumping up mischievously, and going to him]. Would
you like a walk on the heath, Alfred? With me?
ELLIE. Go, Mr Mangan. It will do you good. Hesione will soothe
you.
MRS HUSHABYE [slipping her arm under his and pulling him
upright]. Come, Alfred. There is a moon: it's like the night in
Tristan and Isolde. [She caresses his arm and draws him to the
port garden door].
MANGAN [writhing but yielding]. How you can have the face-the
heart-[he breaks down and is heard sobbing as she takes him out].
LADY UTTERWORD. What an extraordinary way to behave! What is the
matter with the man?
ELLIE [in a strangely calm voice, staring into an imaginary
distance]. His heart is breaking: that is all. [The captain
appears at the pantry door, listening]. It is a curious
sensation: the sort of pain that goes mercifully beyond our
powers of feeling. When your heart is broken, your boats are
burned: nothing matters any more. It is the end of happiness and
the beginning of peace.
LADY UTTERWORD [suddenly rising in a rage, to the astonishment of
the rest]. How dare you?
HECTOR. Good heavens! What's the matter?
RANDALL [in a warning whisper]. Tch--tch-tch! Steady.
ELLIE [surprised and haughty]. I was not addressing you
particularly, Lady Utterword.
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