152
[Act III
Bertha
Dick, dear, do you believe now that I have been true to you? Last night and always.
Richard
[Sadly.] Do not ask me. Bertha.
Bertha
[Pressing him more closely.] I have been, dear. Surely you believe me. I gave you myself—all. I gave up all for you. You took me—and you left me.
Richard
When did I leave you?
Bertha
You left me: and I waited for you to come back to me. Dick, dear, come here to me. Sit down. How tired you must be!
[She draws him towards the lounge. He sits down, almost reclining, resting on his arm. She sits on the mat before the lounge, holding his hand.]
Bertha
Yes, dear. I waited for you. Heavens, what I suffered then—when we lived in Rome! Do you remember the terrace of our house?
Richard
Yes.
Bertha
I used to sit there, waiting, with the poor child with his toys, waiting till he got sleepy. I could see all the roofs of the city and the river, the Tevere. What is its name?
Richard
The Tiber.