JAMES
_(turning to Maire)_ Ten years from this father would still
think Anne too young. And late marriages, as everybody knows, is the
real weakness of the country.
ANNE
I thought your father liked me.
JAMES
He likes you well enough, but, as he says, "what would she be
doing here and your sisters years older than herself?" There's truth
in that, mind you. I always give in to the truth.
MAIRE
James?
JAMES
_(turning to Maire)_ Well, Maire?
MAIRE
Is Anne a girl to be waiting twenty years for a man, like
Sally Cassidy?
JAMES
God forbid, Maire Hourican, that I'd ask your sister to wait
that length. MAIRE She hasn't got a fortune. We were brought up
different to farmers, and maybe we never gave thought to the like.
JAMES
She has what's better than a fortune.
MAIRE
Why aren't your sisters married off?
JAMES
Big fortunes are expected with them.
MAIRE
And they look to your wife to bring a big fortune into the
house?
JAMES
Ay, they do that.
MAIRE
You, James, ought to have some control in the house. You're
the only son. Your father is well off. Get him to fortune off your
sisters, and then bring Anne to the house.
JAMES
But how could I get father to fortune off the girls?
MAIRE
How? By wakening up. You have the right. When we have the right,
we ought to be able to do anything we like with the people around us.
Pages:
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42