CLAIRE:  (only now taking her hand from her mouth) Harry, tell him to come up here—­that insanity man.  I—­want to ask him something.

HARRY:  ‘Insanity man!’ How absurd.  He’s a nerve specialist.  There’s a vast difference.

CLAIRE:  Is there?  Anyway, ask him to come up here.  Want to—­ask him something.

TOM:  (speaking with difficulty) Wouldn’t it be better for us to go down there?

CLAIRE:  No.  So nice up here!  Everybody—­up here!

HARRY:  (worried) You’ll—­be yourself, will you, Claire? (She checks a laugh, nods.) I think he can help you.

CLAIRE:  Want to ask him to—­help me.

HARRY:  (as he is starting down) He’s here as a guest to-night, you know, Claire.

CLAIRE:  I suppose a guest can—­help one.

TOM:  (when the silence rejects it) Claire, you must know, it’s because it is so much, so—­

CLAIRE:  Be still.  There isn’t anything to say.

TOM:  (torn—­tortured) If it only weren’t you!

CLAIRE:  Yes,—­so you said.  If it weren’t.  I suppose I wouldn’t be so—­interested! (hears them starting up below—­keeps looking at the place where they will appear)

(HARRY is heard to call, ‘Coming, Dick?’ and DICK’s voice replies,
‘In a moment or two.’  ADELAIDE comes first.)

ADELAIDE:  (as her head appears) Well, these stairs should keep down weight.  You missed an awfully good dinner, Claire.  And kept Mr Edgeworth from a good dinner.

CLAIRE:  Yes.  We missed our dinner. (her eyes do not leave the place where DR EMMONS will come up)

HARRY:  (as he and EMMONS appear) Claire, this is—­

CLAIRE:  Yes, I know who he is.  I want to ask you—­

ADELAIDE:  Let the poor man get his breath before you ask him anything. (he nods, smiles, looks at CLAIRE with interest.  Careful not to look too long at her, surveys the tower)

EMMONS:  Curious place.

ADELAIDE:  Yes; it lacks form, doesn’t it?

CLAIRE:  What do you mean?  How dare you?

(It is impossible to ignore her agitation; she is backed against the curved wall, as far as possible from them. HARRY looks at her in alarm, then in resentment at TOM, who takes a step nearer CLAIRE.)

HARRY:  (trying to be light) Don’t take it so hard, Claire.

CLAIRE:  (to EMMONS) It must be very interesting—­helping people go insane.

ADELAIDE:  Claire!  How preposterous.

EMMONS:  (easily) I hope that’s not precisely what we do.

ADELAIDE:  (with the smile of one who is going to ’cover it’.) Trust
Claire to put it in the unique and—­amusing way.

CLAIRE:  Amusing?  You are amused?  But it doesn’t matter, (to the doctor) I think it is very kind of you—­helping people go insane.  I suppose they have all sorts of reasons for having to do it—­reasons why they can’t stay sane any longer.  But tell me, how do they do it?  It’s not so easy to—­get out.  How do so many manage it?