THE RETURN OF THE SOLDIER
said I was cold. I know now what his standards were.
[Chris appears at the windows, back. Neither sees him.
He wants someone soft and easy . . . it’s the barmaid touch. They say it’s in all men . . . a taste for commonness, sexually. That’s what it is. This is all a blind. He’s pretending!
Jenny : Kitty! How dare you? (In a passion of rage) How dare you?
[She seizes her shoulders and shakes her violently and furiously.
Kitty (breaking down into a chair, half wailing) : Oh, why are you all against me?
[Chris comes into the room quickly and quietly.
Chris : Jenny . . . Jenny . . . let’s all be decent to each other. It’s all such a ghastly muddle, and it’s so rotten for all of us.
Kitty (rising) : Why don’t you say, “Jenny, you mustn’t be rude to visitors”? It’s how you feel, I know.
Chris : Kitty, my dear, I’m sorry.
Kitty : You needn’t apologise.
[His mind drifts away from her, and his gaze goes to the door.
Chris : Jenny, has . . .
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