FANNY. I thought I would go on being an angel -

DR. FREEMANTLE. Saint.

FANNY. Saint--till--well, till it became physically impossible to be
a saint any longer.

DR. FREEMANTLE. And then?

FANNY [she rises, turns to him with a gesture of half-comic, half-
tragic despair]. Well, then I can't help it, can I?

DR. FREEMANTLE. I think you're making a mistake. An explosion will
undoubtedly have to take place. That being so, the sooner it takes
place the better. [He rises.] What are you afraid of?

FANNY [she changes her tone--the talk becomes serious]. You've known
Vernon all his life?

DR. FREEMANTLE. No one better.

FANNY. Tell me. I've known him only as a lover. What sort of a man
is he?

A pause. They are looking straight into each other's eyes.

DR. FREEMANTLE. A man it pays to be perfectly frank with.

FANNY. It's a very old family, isn't it?