<Professor Henry Higgins and Colonel Hugh Pickering await Eliza's arrival in the library.>

Thantasy: [Liza] You rang for me, Sir?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Indeed, Eliza. Won't you come in and sit down? (Indicates a nice chair facing his and Pickering's comfortable chairs.)

Thantasy: [Liza] Thank you, Sir. <Sits.> I do want to apologize for me behavior last night. I realize I shouldn't drink so much.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Your behavior? .... Oh, that. Think nothing of it, my dear.

Thantasy: [Liza] It's just that, well, it was such a lovely night and -- oh thank you Sir! You are a most kind and understanding employer, Sir!

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] It's not at all surprising if you needed to... relax, a bit, after the emotions of the day.

Thantasy: [Liza] Yes, it was very stressful.

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] I'd not be surprised if your memory was spotty.

Thantasy: [Liza] But I'm glad we was able to make the girls happy. Oh, yes, me memory is almost a blank about everything that happened after I took my first sip of that loverly sherry.

Thantasy: [Liza] I am so grateful that I was in the company of gentlemen.

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] (Coughs and smiles.)

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Nods.) Thank you, Eliza.

Thantasy: [Liza] I WILL try to behave meself better in the future, Sir. Thank you for your understanding, both of you.

Thantasy: [Liza] <And for the terrific time!!!!!!>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Please don't give it another thought, Eliza. You did nothing to offend.

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] Indeed, we were quite pleased with you.

Thantasy: [Liza] Thank you, Sir! <I daresay, you should be!>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Now, Eliza, as to the reason I called you here....

Thantasy: [Liza] Yes, Sir?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] We will be having a... client, visiting with us tomorrow, and I believe it is time to begin to better inform you, as your help has proven invaluable of late.

Thantasy: [Liza] Thank you Sir. I does what I can. And I must say, I enjoy being helpful. <Because it brings me near you.>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Now, Eliza... how much have you thought about Miriam's and Jessie's... ah, purpose, in being here?

Thantasy: [Liza] Well, Sir, I think it was a bloody-- excuse me -- darn shame that the girls was driven to do what they did. And I wish, in me heart, that they had been able to see another way. But, their decision made them happy, and so I see no point in second-quessing them.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Quite, yes. You know now, although you did not realize at first, that their intention from the beginning was to die in each other's arms.

Thantasy: [Liza] Yes, Sir, I am not so dense as to have missed that.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Had you wondered, as you have pondered that... what led them, in pursuit of their goal, to come to me?

Thantasy: [Liza] I'm glad they had a place like this to come to for help, but no, I ain't given that much thought. I figured they knew you was a kind man and very clever about things. And that you has the milk of human kindness by the quart in every vein.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Smiles.) You have actually seen several young ladies who have sought my services. Have you thought about what may have become of them since their visit here?

Thantasy: [Liza] No, Sir, I figured you sent them happily on their way, having solved their problems for them.

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] I believe we can say that we did, indeed, send them on their way, and that they were quite satisfied with the resolution.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Nodding at Pickering and smiling.) Well said, Colonel.

Thantasy: [Liza] I knows that you are the kind of genlemen who would not let ladies suffer in distress.

Thantasy: [Liza] <You sure have relieved MY distresses!>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Indeed, that is quite true. Although in truth, not all of our clients could be said to have been in distress.

Thantasy: [Liza] Oh?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] They do, however, share something in common.

Thantasy: [Liza] Yes, Sir.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Miriam and Jessie, for their own personal and very important reasons, wished to die -- to die in an appropriate and very satisfying way.

Thantasy: [Liza] Yes, Sir. And they was very grateful for your help.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Yes, the Colonel and I are quite gratified we could help -- as we always are, in such cases.

Thantasy: [Liza] And I am glad for the little part that I have been able to play, too.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Indeed, we are very glad you feel that way. At any rate, that is what our clients have in common.

Thantasy: [Liza] What, Sir? Did I miss something?

Thantasy: [Liza] They was all lesbians?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] They share that same wish -- that they should be able to die in a very satisfyng, fulfilling manner.

Thantasy: [Liza] Oh, well, who wouldn't want that? I mean who would want to suffer? I mean, I'm sure the widow I worked for was grateful she went fast, without suffering.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Certainly, you are quite right. Most of our clients are not really... suffering, as such. Certainly not in the personally painful way in which Miriam and Jessie had suffered.

Thantasy: [Liza] Yes. Of course, I don't know what someone else can do to see that a body has an easy exit from life. Unless, it was like Miss Miriam and Miss Jessie and they wanted their exit right now.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Ah! Well, Eliza, that is where I come in. Actually, with the Colonel's help recently... and still more recently, with yours.

Thantasy: [Liza] Where YOU come in?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Indeed. Miriam and Jessie sought my help because I have... well, a reputation, although that may be too broad a word... for helping women find the exit from life that they crave... exciting, fulfilling, in many cases arousing...

Thantasy: [Liza] Gor! You mean you has suicide classes here?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Classes? An interesting idea, although the alumni list would be quite small... no Eliza, we carry out the act here, as we did with Miriam and Jessie.

Thantasy: [Liza] Gor! You mean they snuffs it right here???

Thantasy: [Liza] You mean that nice Miss Ophelia?

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] Higgins, I think she's got it!

Thantasy: [Liza] And that healthy, robust woman, that Miss Hardcastle?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Yes, by George, she's got it.

Thantasy: [Liza] They both turned in their dinner pails right here?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Yes, Eliza... they have never left the premises.

Thantasy: [Liza] You mean they is still here? Only not among the living?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] That is it, precisely, Eliza.

Thantasy: [Liza] And this was their idea? Their purpose in coming here? And they come here because you is especially good at helping them? <Taken aback, a lot to process.>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Yes. They had learned of my services from friends or dear departed relatives.... I am not widely known, but among those who do know, I pride myself that I am the person who helps them with their final wish.

Thantasy: [Liza] Well... that's very nice of you... I'm sure.

Thantasy: [Liza] I mean, if someone knows what she wants, I'm sure it's good to help her.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Now, Eliza, you look a bit shocked. I assure you.... they all were as happy, and as thrilled at the prospect, and satisfied with the outcome, as Miriam and Jessie were.

Thantasy: [Liza] Thrilled at the prospect! Gor!

Thantasy: [Liza] I guess I can see how that could be.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] You do, then, see? I thought you might.

Thantasy: [Liza] And it isn't my place to be questioning other people's wants, even if they do seem wonderous strange to me.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Nor mine. I should never dream of talking them out of it... such an exercise would prove futile, anyway, once a woman has sought out my services.

Thantasy: [Liza] You mean, they was excited about the prospect of dying?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Oh, excited is hardly a strong enough word for it. Tell me... do you remember your first kiss?

Thantasy: [Liza] <Blushes.> Oh, SIR! Yes, of course! Girl can't forget something like that.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Smiling.) Well then, you know the tiniest petal of the great flower of excitement that my clients feel.

Thantasy: [Liza] It does give a body plenty to consider!

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Now, when the Colonel, some time ago, asked you for help with his "novel"... I believe I detected a sign that you do, indeed, have an understanding of the excitement that I am talking about.

Thantasy: [Liza] Well, yes, I do remember that I let my imagination run. I have read, well, plenty of stories on the subject and found them fascinating.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Have you indeed! Please tell us one.

Thantasy: [Liza] Well, let me see.

Thantasy: [Liza] There was one story about a lass....

Thantasy: [Liza] whose lover went to sea....

Thantasy: [Liza] and never returned.....

Thantasy: [Liza] and she learned that his ship had been lost.

Thantasy: [Liza] And every night she would go down to the seashore and watch the tide....

Thantasy: [Liza] and know that somewhere out there is under the vast, vast.....

Thantasy: [Liza] watery....

Thantasy: [Liza] canopy.....

Cardaniel80: (Higgins and Pickering listen attentively.)

Thantasy: [Liza] was the body of her lover.....

Thantasy: [Liza] and she felt herself drawn to the sea....

Thantasy: [Liza] under which lay the body of her lover....

Cardaniel80: (Higgins nods.)

Thantasy: [Liza] She felt the draw become irresistible....

Thantasy: [Liza] and she began to wade into the sea....

Thantasy: [Liza] a little bit more every night.....

Thantasy: [Liza] and everytime she went further and further...

Thantasy: [Liza] she would feel the tingle in her loins become more intense.

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] (Closes his eyes and visualizes.)

Thantasy: [Liza] And she didn't know whether it was the nearness to her lover or the nearness to a watery death that was giving her the excitement....

Thantasy: [Liza] but one night she went into the sea until it was clean over her head....

Thantasy: [Liza] and she couldn't breathe...

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Listens quite raptly, fascinated.)

Thantasy: [Liza] and she felt the tingle become very, very intense....

Thantasy: [Liza] so intense that she reached down and touched herself as her lover used to.....

Thantasy: [Liza] and she felt a charge of excitement so great....

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Finds he is actually getting hard.)

Thantasy: [Liza] that she almost forgot to let herself go up for air...

Thantasy: [Liza] and she nearly snuffed it then.

Thantasy: [Liza] When she did bob up, she gasped and gasped....

Thantasy: [Liza] and got herself back to shore as fast as she could.

Thantasy: [Liza] and sat there and wondered at what she had nearly done.

Thantasy: [Liza] The next night, it rained something fierce.....

Thantasy: [Liza] and she couldn't go to the seashore...

Thantasy: [Liza] So, she lay in her bed and touched herself again....

Thantasy: [Liza] and she was no stranger to this practice...

Thantasy: [Liza] it had brought her comfort from time to time in the absence of her lover...

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Smiles, suspecting Liza is not a stranger to it either.)

Thantasy: [Liza] but this rainy night, while the pleasure was still there...

Thantasy: [Liza] it was not so intense as it had been the night before when she was covered with the water....

Thantasy: [Liza] so she imagined herself covered with the water.....

Thantasy: [Liza] and suddenly it became more intense...

Thantasy: [Liza] and she, well, she went off into ecstasy....

Cardaniel80: (Higgins smiles)

Thantasy: [Liza] but, as she lay there and gasped, having reached her peak....

Thantasy: [Liza] she realized that it would be even more intense under the water.

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] (Unconsciously fingers his crotch.)

Thantasy: [Liza] So, then every night that the weather permitted, she took herself down to the sea...

Thantasy: [Liza] and got herself thoroughly under the waves...

Thantasy: [Liza] and stayed there as long as she could, feeling herself, thinking of her lover....

Thantasy: [Liza] but she always let herself bob up before she drowned.

Thantasy: [Liza] One night she decided that was not quite enough...

Cardaniel80: (Both men are wide-eyed, hardly remembering to breathe.)

Thantasy: [Liza] and she put herself in some very heavy boots for her walk into the sea...

Thantasy: [Liza] she could slip out of them easily.....

Thantasy: [Liza] but it would take time and effort to do so.

Thantasy: [Liza] and she let herself stay under past the time her body naturally wanted to go up for air....

Thantasy: [Liza] and she did not slip out of the boots at once...

Thantasy: [Liza] but stayed just a few moments more...

Thantasy: [Liza] and found that her ecstasy was more than she had ever felt before....

Thantasy: [Liza] and with her very last bit of consciousness, she kicked off the boots and bobbed up...

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] (Reaches vaguely for his cigar, can't find it without taking his eyes off Liza, gives up.)

Thantasy: [Liza] and she was in such a state of excitement, that she floated there and might have drowned if not for the natural tendency of a woman to float on her back....

Thantasy: [Liza] When she came fully to her senses, she had the devil's own time finding the boots...

Thantasy: [Liza] she eventually got them and went back to the shore...

Thantasy: [Liza] and sat there remembering the delicious feeling she had had...

Thantasy: [Liza] and decided that the next Midsummer's Night, she...

Thantasy: [Liza] would lace the boots tight!

Thantasy: [Liza] And she did.

Thantasy: [Liza] And drowned...

Thantasy: [Liza] and was found the next day by a fisherman...

Thantasy: [Liza] with a wonderful, wonderful smile on her face, unlike any he had every seen before on a drowned person.

Thantasy: [Liza] She wasn't buried in the churchyard...

Thantasy: [Liza] But on private land.

Thantasy: [Liza] And some say the grave was disturbed and robbed...

Thantasy: [Liza] and someone took her corpse for sport.

Thantasy: [Liza] Others say that...

Thantasy: [Liza] on every Midsummer's Night since.....

Thantasy: [Liza] if you stands on the shore....

Thantasy: [Liza] where she went into the water....

Thantasy: [Liza] and look out to sea...

Thantasy: [Liza] you can see what looks like a woman's wig floating in the water, not being washed ashore...

Thantasy: [Liza] but staying where it is, as if it were anchored to the bottom.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Quietly.) You do understand, then.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Clears throat, still under the effects of the story.) Now, Eliza...

Thantasy: [Liza] Yes, Sir.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Tomorrow, as I said, we shall have a visit from a Miss Beatrice Harrington....

Thantasy: [Liza] Yes, Sir. Another ..... client?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Nods.) She, as is the case with all of my clients, has expressed an interest in dying... she has specified that she wishes to die in a most exotic, exciting way. Very arousing, if you will....

Thantasy: [Liza] I see!

Thantasy: [Liza] <Oh, my, this is a heady business!>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] She did not specify the manner. She did hint, however, that it may be quite a challenge for us to find a demise sufficiently thrilling to meet her needs.

Thantasy: [Liza] Oh. why is that?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Well, she claims, and we have only her word on this....

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] ... that she has found her... ah, sexual stimulation in so many varied and exotic ways....

Thantasy: [Liza] Gor, a woman of the world, she is!

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] ... that we may be hard pressed to come up to her quite exacting standards in such a matter.

Thantasy: [Liza] I see. A bit of a puzzle, eh?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] That is the reason I should value your assistance. As you have just demonstrated, you yourself have quite a vivid imagination along these lines.

Thantasy: [Liza] Thank you Sir. I didn't realize that.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Yes, you should be quite proud of yourself. I would like you to sit in on our meeting with Miss Harrington, and perhaps offer any assistance you are able.

Thantasy: [Liza] Sir, does this make me a part of "the team," as it were?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] I believe you may consider yourself that way, Eliza.

Thantasy: [Liza] <Feels proud and honored and closer to him.>

Thantasy: [Liza] Thank you, Sir. I will do my best to apply meself.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Eliza: above all, remember to be yourself. You will not find it necessary to "put on any airs." I know that would make you quite uncomfortable.

Thantasy: [Liza] Thank you Sir. I will try to remember that. It's just that, well, meself sometimes hasn't been all that much to be. I don't know what my simple imagination can contribute, but I will do my best.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Miriam and Jessie came to have a great deal of respect and affection for you. I believe Miss Harrington will also.

Thantasy: [Liza] Yes, I did treasure them.

Thantasy: [Liza] I'm glad that I was able to be help to them -- and to you, too.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] That's quite a pretty frock you have on... Miriam's, I believe.

Thantasy: [Liza] Oh, yes. She was most kind. <HE NOTICED!>

Thantasy: [Liza] <Me aunt always said, Liza, when a man notices what you're wearing, he's noticing YOU!>

Thantasy: [Liza] <Heart is fluttering a bit.>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Well tomorrow, just keep that in mind: you did well for them, and made them happy. I'm sure you will do the same for Miss Harrington, simply be being true to your nature.

Thantasy: [Liza] Thank you, Sir! I will do my best.

Thantasy: [Liza] I had best get to me chores now, if that's all.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Yes, I don't want to keep you from getting your work done. Miss Harrington will arrive at 1 p.m.

Thantasy: [Liza] I'll try to be ready, have me work done by then.

Thantasy: [Liza] <Rises.>

Thantasy: [Liza] Thank you for making me part of the team, Sir.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Smiles.) Good day to you then. Thank you, Eliza.

Thantasy: [Liza] Good day, Sir. <Exits. Once in the hallway.....>

Thantasy: [Liza] <Does a twirl that causes her skirt to spread.>

Thantasy: [Liza] <Looks at herself in the hallway mirror.>

Thantasy: [Liza] You're doing right well for yourself, Liza girl!

Thantasy: [Liza] <Virtually dances off to do her day's work.>

NEXT MORNING.

Higgins and Pickering are in the parlour. Liza enters.

Thantasy: [Liza] Professor, Colonel? May I bother you for a moment before the client comes?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Not a bother at all, Eliza. What is it?

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] Ah, Eliza, you look quite nice in that.

Thantasy: [Liza] Thank you, Sir, that was just the reason I came in.

Thantasy: [Liza] I wanted to know if you find me appearance appropriate to the occasion.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Appearance? Oh, quite appropriate, yes. The colonel and I were discussing your inclusion, and we intend to treat you as a colleague, as Miss Harrington discusses her... interests.

Thantasy: [Liza] Thank you very, much, Sir.

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] You do look quite appropriate for the occasion, my dear.

Thantasy: [Liza] You do think this becomes me? <Turns around so they can see how it flatters her rear.>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Winks at Pickering.) The very word that occurred to me, yes, very becoming.

Thantasy: [Liza] Thank you, Sir. And I shall try me best to be helpful with the young lady.

Thantasy: <Bell rings.>

Cardaniel80: (Pickering can tell Higgins is quite attracted to her in that outfit.)

Thantasy: [Liza] Oh, there's the young lady now.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Ah, if you would get that, Eliza. Not so much as the maid, but... well, someone has to.

Thantasy: [Liza] Yes Sir, I'll go and bring her in.

Thantasy: [Liza] <Exits.>

Thantasy: [Liza] <Returns.>

Thantasy: [Liza] Professor, Colonel -- Miss Beatrice Harrington.

Thantasy: [Bea] <Enters, clad completely in grey.>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Miss Harrington, very charming to meet you. Your letter... gave us pause. Let me introduce my colleague, Colonel Pickering.

Thantasy: [Bea] <Dark brown hair.>

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] (Stands, bows.)

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] ... and you have already met Miss Doolittle, who will also assist me.

Thantasy: [Bea] Yes, pleased to meet you, I am sure, Colonel Puckerman.

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] (Takes her hand briefly, too polite to correct her. At least she had the rank right.)

Thantasy: [Bea] Yes, I have met Miss Doeslittle.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Frowns.) Yes, Miss Doolittle has proved an invaluable aid to us in the past.

Thantasy: [Bea] <Looks around. Not impressed.> I'm sure she's very helpful.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Would you care for a glass of sherry, Miss Harrington?

Thantasy: [Bea] Ah, spirits.

Thantasy: [Bea] Um, yes.

Thantasy: [Bea] I used to rather enjoy wine.

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] (Pours four glasses, a little worried over Liza's capacity but knowing it's greater than it appears.)

Thantasy: [Bea] Thank you, Colonel Packering.

Thantasy: [Liza] Thank you Colonel Pickering.

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] (Considers calling her Herringbone, but foregoes the pleasure.) My pleasure, Miss Harrington.

Thantasy: [Bea] <Sips.> Very delicious, I'm sure.

Thantasy: [Liza] Perhaps we would all be more comfortable if we sat down.

Thantasy: [Bea] Comfort, what a perfectly quaint idea.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Indicates the sofa for Bea, and suggests one of the nice chairs for Liza... not quite like his own and Pickering's, but nice.) Now, Miss Harrington, would you be ready to tell us the purpose of your visit in greater detail?

Thantasy: [Bea] Ah, yes.

Thantasy: [Bea] I suppose I must go through the tedious business of explaining why I have come.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Leans forward attentively while sipping.)

Thantasy: [Bea] Of course, I've come to be killed.

Thantasy: [Bea] That is what you do here, isn't it?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Blinks a bit. Not one to beat around the bush, he sees.) Indeed it is. That is, we find agreeable ways for our clients to take their exit.

Thantasy: [Bea] Agreeable, ah, what a concept. But I suppose I must furnish some axplanation of why I'm seeking your services. As tedious and dreary as that will be.

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] (Leans forward as well. Something in her manner suggests he should not miss anything.)

Thantasy: [Bea] I suffer from massive, hopeless, abysmal ennui.

Thantasy: [Bea] I have from a youthful age traversed all the planet.

Thantasy: [Bea] I have sought arousal of various forms and found an abundance.

Thantasy: [Bea] However, as one would assume, I became jaded.

Thantasy: [Bea] Since, I have wandered wearily throughout the wide world as a wounded wayfarer wanting awakening from my walking slumber.

Thantasy: [Bea] I am now thoroughly incapable of amusement.

Thantasy: [Bea] The blood coursing through my veins seems rather like unto almost stagnant water languidly washing through a broad and shallow basin.

Thantasy: [Bea] And the whole parade of so-called pleasures appears before me as a dreary cavalcade of utterly banal and absurd frivolities, totally lacking in significance, affecting me not.

Thantasy: [Bea] In summary, I assess my sad and somber state as absolutely devoid of satisfactory resolution save for an abrupt alteration to one of permanent, unalterable deprivation of sensation.

Thantasy: [Liza] Gor, dearie, sounds like you could use some cheering up!

Thantasy: [Bea] Oh, God! You wouldn't try to do that, would you???

Thantasy: [Bea] Professor, you wouldn't let her try to cheer me up, would you?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Well, I agree that would seem to defeat the purpose in your coming here, would it not? But I believe Miss Doolittle was merely commiserating.

Thantasy: [Liza] Well, you are down in the dumps, for sure!

Thantasy: [Bea] My heavens! She's......perky!

Thantasy: [Bea] I assure you my dear, I am quite beyond cheering up, in any meaningful way!

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] We have found Miss Doolittle's attitude quite helpful in the past.

Thantasy: [Bea] It is my faintest, dimmest hope, that at least I might find again some excitement <shudder> and arousal in my death.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Decides there is hope after all.)

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] I believe we can at least arrange that. Don't you think so, Eliza?

Thantasy: [Liza] Well, it would help if she would dress in something cheery. Get out of that grey. Reminds me of spider webs, it does!

Thantasy: [Bea] AWK!

Thantasy: [Bea] Don't mention spiders! I utterly loathe them!

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Starts to try to rein in Eliza, decides not to.)

Thantasy: [Liza] Easy does it my dear.

Thantasy: [Liza] I'll not be mentioning the little creepy, crawling things.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Raises his eyebrows now. At least something stirs the woman's emotions.)

Thantasy: [Liza] Though, they serves a good purpose. <Better than you do, I'm sure.>

Thantasy: [Bea] Yes, nature's little wonders.

Thantasy: [Bea] You might write for that new American Magazine, the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] Can I refill your web.... er, your glass, Miss Harrington?

Thantasy: [Bea] Yes, please.

Thantasy: [Bea] My cup doth not runneth over.

Thantasy: [Bea] Do you think you might be able to help me, Professor?

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] (Pours from the decanter while looking at Higgins, a little lost for direction at this point.)

Thantasy: [Bea] Do you think you might be able to find something that even I might find stimulating?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] I'm quite certain we can, Miss Harrington. Do you yourself have a suggestion as to the type of death which would... ah, provide arousal, or will you leave that to us?

Thantasy: [Bea] If I could think of anything that would arouse me in anyway, I would be very surprised.

Thantasy: [Bea] You see, I have indulged my appetites to the point of perhaps wearing them out.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Sits with his chin in his hands.) Do you suppose....

Thantasy: [Bea] I would like, of course, to be aroused sexually.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] ... perhaps we could use that to our advantage in some way. Possibly...

Thantasy: [Bea] If that is possible.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] ... it might be arranged that a sufficient reaction to your own arousal would itself lead to your death.

Thantasy: [Bea] You mean excite me to the point of death?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Not exactly. What I mean is....

Thantasy: [Bea] I can't imagine how that could be.

Thantasy: [Bea] I enjoy practically nothing.

Thantasy: [Bea] All is bland, dull...

Thantasy: [Bea] dreary...

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] ... you could be put in a situation in which you dare not... be aroused to a peak of excitement, because your physical actions at that point would set your death in motion.

Thantasy: [Bea] What a very pleasant thought. But then, I might live forever.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Smiles) Oh, we have some little experience in various means of providing sensual stimulation.

Thantasy: [Bea] All I ask is that whatever you devise, it not be boring.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] I believe we are acquiring some knowledge as to your standards in that direction.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Sits a moment, thinking... spiders... hmmm....)

Thantasy: [Liza] Oh come now!

Thantasy: [Liza] There must be some things you enjoy.

Thantasy: [Liza] Don't you like for example, a nice walk in a meadow of fresh grass?

Thantasy: [Bea] Mmmm.

Thantasy: [Bea] What color is the grass?

Thantasy: [Liza] Green!

Thantasy: [Bea] What color was it last year?

Thantasy: [Liza] Green!

Thantasy: [Bea] And what color will it be next year?

Thantasy: [Liza] GREEN!

Thantasy: [Bea] How utterly boring!

Thantasy: [Liza] Now, surely...

Thantasy: [Liza] You must enjoy it when a new lover takes you in his arms!

Thantasy: [Bea] And how many arms does he have.

Thantasy: [Liza] Two!

Thantasy: [Bea] And how many do you suppose my last lover had?

Thantasy: [Liza] Two. <Unless he was a bleeding octopus, which I wouldn't doubt in your case.>

Thantasy: [Bea] And the lover after this one? How many arms?

Thantasy: [Liza] TWO!

Thantasy: [Bea] Utterly boring.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Clears throat.) What about fates worse than death? Without being boring. Are there any, as you see it?

Thantasy: [Bea] A fate worse than death?

Thantasy: [Bea] This continued, drab, dull, dreary existence of mine.

Thantasy: [Bea] That might be worse.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Being dismembered by wild animals, being buried alive.... That sort of thing?

Thantasy: [Bea] Mmmmmm.

Thantasy: [Bea] Have you some wild animals about?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Anything my clients require can always be obtained.

Thantasy: [Bea] Mmmmm.

Thantasy: [Bea] You see, the point is, I do want something pleasurable.

Thantasy: [Bea] It's just that my threshold is very, very high.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Quite right. I am merely trying to outline for myself your likes and dislikes.

Thantasy: [Bea] I'm afraid that the ordinary pleasures are so, so, so...

Thantasy: [Bea] banal.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] You have no doubt, then, at some point enjoyed the affections of another woman?

Thantasy: [Bea] I've been made love to by so many men..

Thantasy: [Bea] and also women from time to time.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Until that, also, has become boring?

Thantasy: [Bea] It would be nice if, indeed, I could once again find pleasure in such touches.

Thantasy: [Bea] But really, I am at a loss to imagine how.

Thantasy: [Bea] I've come to you in complete despair.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Surely you have maintained some inner fantasy, never before brought to reality.

Thantasy: [Bea] A fantasy?

Thantasy: [Bea] For me, once again finding pleasure is a fantasy!

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] A dream never realized, something quite beyond ordinary sensuality.

Thantasy: [Bea] Hmmmm.

Thantasy: [Bea] I've made love in hot air balloons during thunderstorms.

Thantasy: [Bea] The entire football team from Liverpool...

Thantasy: [Bea] they entertained me once.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Leaving aside the question of arousal prior to death... or during... do you have a particular way you would wish to die? Drowning? Roasting over an open fire? Perhaps disappearing into a quicksand bog?

Thantasy: [Bea] Ah.

Thantasy: [Bea] Um...

Thantasy: [Bea] Perhaps.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Perhaps? Which option are you expressing reserved interest in?

Thantasy: [Bea] As I say, I've come to you in despair.

Thantasy: [Bea] You really are my last hope.

Thantasy: [Bea] Curiously, I feel that I am in very good hands with you.

Thantasy: [Bea] I can tell of your interest and concern. I have faith that you will absolutely exhaust yourself in devising a solution.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] If you knew that your body would be used, sexually, after death... if you knew that you would be cooked and eaten.... would that interest you? Surely you've never had that option presented before.

Thantasy: [Bea] AH! Now, that does have an appeal.

Thantasy: [Liza] <GOR! She's a hard case!>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Allows himself a smile... getting somewhere, at last.)

Thantasy: [Bea] Yes, the anticipation of that eventuality might stimulate my imagination.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Indeed, we often find that to be the case.

Thantasy: [Bea] But, of course, that does not answer the question of my physical arousal before death.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] That is quite true. I am trying to break the problem into component pieces.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Perhaps even beginning the cooking process before death?

Thantasy: [Bea] Perhaps.

Thantasy: [Liza] <Hmmm. I must ask the Colonel about some of his recipes.>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Would the cooking itself arouse you in any way?

Thantasy: [Bea] Ummm.

Thantasy: [Bea] Yes,

Thantasy: [Bea] Maybe.

Thantasy: [Bea] Professor, I have complete faith in you.

Thantasy: [Bea] I believe that you will devise something of interest to me.

Thantasy: [Bea] Some way to bring my life to a pleasurable close.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Is there some particular way you might wish to be cooked? We might boil you, say. Or roast you in a flame pit.

Thantasy: [Bea] Mmmm

Thantasy: [Bea] I'll tell you what.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Yes?

Thantasy: [Bea] I have already gone to the trouble of having my solicitor draft some releases and instruments of payment.

Thantasy: [Bea] I have brought them with me.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Smiles) That was very thoughtful of you.

Thantasy: [Bea] It is my intention to sign them now.

Thantasy: [Bea] I have no doubt of your ability and imagination.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Are we to take you prisoner, then, until such time as your method of demise, in all its excitement, is designed?

Thantasy: [Bea] Hmmm.

Thantasy: [Bea] I shall return a week from today.

Thantasy: [Bea] Not planning to ever leave.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Very good. That will give us sufficient time. Will we be in contact with you during this time?

Thantasy: [Bea] If you like.

Thantasy: [Bea] As I say, I have utter faith in you.

Thantasy: [Bea] I have to place my faith somewhere I suppose.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] We may have further questions, although at this point my desire is to effect a means of your departure that would surprise you, if possible.

Thantasy: [Bea] A surprise would be a wonderful thing, I assure you.

Thantasy: [Bea] <Takes the papers from her purse.>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] We respond quite heroically to challenges, Miss Harrington.

Thantasy: [Bea] These are the instruments to whick I referred.

Thantasy: [Bea] <Signs them.>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Looks them over with a practiced eye.) They all seem quite in order.

Thantasy: [Bea] The amount designated on the instrument of compensation is, you see, quite generous.

Thantasy: [Bea] And this instrument is utterly irrevocable.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Looks, and is pleased) Yes, quite.

Thantasy: [Bea] No matter what, you shall be paid.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Now, should you, in fact, disappear, it is my intention to use the resources at my disposal to locate you and bring you to meet your agreed-upon fate.

Thantasy: [Bea] <Inhales sharply, straightens up a bit, thrusts out breasts slightly. Smiles shyly.> I assure you, I shall be here.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Nods, knowing that.)

Thantasy: [Bea] Now, in the event that the particular contrivance you come up with....

Thantasy: [Bea] should somehow depend upon a precise knowledge of my size and demensions.

Thantasy: [Bea] I think it best that you have the opportunity...

Thantasy: [Bea] to observe me unclad...

Thantasy: [Bea] so that you may evaluate me.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Smiling.) Again, very thoughtful.

Thantasy: [Bea] <Begins, very matter of factly, to take off her clothes.>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Eliza, we have a tape measure somewhere, do we not?

Thantasy: [Liza] Yes, Sir, I'll fetch one from me room in a jiffy.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Ses an opportunity to get some idea as to what might stimulate the woman.)

Thantasy: [Bea] <Once stripped of her drab apparel, she actually is quite lovely.>

Thantasy: [Bea] <Moderate size, but curvy.>

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] (Stands, watching closely, while speculating on possible death-contrivances.)

Thantasy: [Bea] <Gravity barely beginning to have an effect.>

Thantasy: [Bea] <Full-breasted, nice hips.>

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] (Finding it harder to concentrate on conceivable demises.)

Thantasy: [Liza] <Returning.> Here's the tape measure, Sir.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Takes the tape measure) Thank you, my dear.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Pickering, could you write some of this down...

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] (Picking up a pen and fumbling for a sheet of paper.)

Thantasy: [Bea] I don't even know what my measurements are. I leave that to my dressmaker.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Stands behind Bea and puts the tape around her chest, over her nipples.)

Thantasy: [Liza] <Gor, not to know her sizes. This lady has lost interest in life.>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Lets his fingers gently sweep along the underside of her breast.)

Thantasy: [Bea] <There is a slight reaction to this. She is not inanimate.>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Ahhh, chest, 37....

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] (Dutifully records this.)

Thantasy: [Bea] <She does not recoil from being touched.>

Thantasy: [Bea] <She does, in fact, appear sensitive.>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Come here a bit closer, Colonel, I want you to check whether I am doing this accurately.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Thinking she may react more to the attentions of two men together.)

Thantasy: [Bea] <She does seem to enjoy the act of displaying herself, or at least, she has no problem with it.>

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] (Bends down, where Higgins is measuring her waist.) I think you want to measure it here, Higgins. You're a bit high.

Thantasy: [Bea] <All the nerves and pleasure zones work physically very well.>

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] (Touches her waist gently, as Higgins puts the tape around her.)

Thantasy: [Bea] Mmmm...

Thantasy: [Bea] <Very slight reaction of pleasure.>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Waist, 23. (Made small over the years by tight corsets.)

Thantasy: [Liza] <GOR, SHE IS SHAPELY!>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Now measures her hips, his fingers brushing her crinkly pubic hair.)

Thantasy: [Bea] Mm.

Thantasy: [Bea] <She is not physically disabled in any way, just bored!>

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] (Lets his palm slide along her buttock.)

Thantasy: [Bea] Mm.

Thantasy: [Bea] <She does not, however, encourage.>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Hips, 35. (Bends to measure her leg, his fingers pressing up against her womanhood as he holds the tape.)

Thantasy: [Bea] Aa.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Ah, Eliza, would you check to be sure I'm measuring correctly?

Thantasy: [Liza] Yes, Sir.

Thantasy: [Liza] I'll hold this end.

Thantasy: [Liza] Up to the top.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Here, if you would try to duplicate my last measurement... Yes, hold it right there, that's it...

Thantasy: [Liza] <Takes the end of the tape measure right to her crotch.>

Thantasy: [Liza] <Brushes her slightly. She is dry, but she does react a bit.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Stands, meanwhile, and checks her breasts for firmness.)

Thantasy: [Bea] <A slight quiver.>

Thantasy: [Bea] Mm.

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] (Bends down.) I believe we should measure around here too. (Lets his fingertips run down her inner thigh.)

Thantasy: [Bea] AH!

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] How does it look to you, Miss Doolittle?

Thantasy: [Bea] <She does not, however, press her breasts into his hands or move her thigh.>

Thantasy: [Liza] Right nice long legs, Sir. The young lady seems very well proportioned.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] I believe we shall need an internal measurement as well. It may affect our preparations.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] My dear Miss Harrington, if you could stand with your legs a bit apart...

Thantasy: [Bea] Yes.

Thantasy: [Bea] <Does so.>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Could you measure inside there, Eliza?

Thantasy: [Liza] Yes, Sir.

Thantasy: [Liza] Give me something long, the proper shape, please.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] I believe I have just the thing. (Pulls a long, accurately-shaped wooden dildo from his desk drawer.)

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Dark wood, very smooth and polished.)

Thantasy: [Liza] <Fancy him keeping that in the desk!>

Thantasy: [Liza] Thank you, Sir.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Does not seem embarrassed at all to have had such a thing in his desk.)

Thantasy: [Liza] <Inserts the dildo into Beatrice as far as it will comfortably go.>

Thantasy: [Bea] AH.

Thantasy: [Liza] <Puts thumb and forefinger at the point at which the dildo disappears into her.>

Thantasy: [Liza] <Pulls it out.>

Thantasy: [Bea] AAHH!

Cardaniel80: (Pickering's eyes widen at her capacity.)

Thantasy: [Liza] <Measures it.>

Thantasy: [Liza] I makes it be eight inches, Sir.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Let me double-check that, Eliza. (Takes the dildo and slowly, an inch at a time, reinserts it, while brushing his finger along her anus.)

Thantasy: [Bea] I have, if the truth be known, accomodated up to twelve inches.

Thantasy: [Bea] AHHHH!

Thantasy: [Bea] Oh.

Thantasy: [Bea] Yes!

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Growing relieved to find that at least something stimulates her.)

Thantasy: [Bea] <As he pulls it out slowly.> AHH...

Thantasy: [Bea] You see, I told you I can take a bit more than eight inches.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Stands) Well, I believe we have what we need. Colonel?

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] I can't think of anything else for the moment, Higgins.

Thantasy: [Bea] <Begins to dress herself.>

Thantasy: [Bea] You see, it is not that I don't experience physical sensation, I just don't find it something to look forward to. I really do wish that I could recapture the excitement I felt in my youth.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Quite clear to us, yes. Now Miss Harrington... where will you be, during the coming week?

Thantasy: [Bea] I've taken lodgings in the nearby town.

Thantasy: [Bea] a very dreary drab place...

Thantasy: [Bea] but it suits my mood.

Thantasy: [Bea] I believe the proprietor is a Mrs. Cratch.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Ah, did anything particlularly excite you in your youth... something perhaps you feel you have not done enough lately?

Thantasy: [Bea] Only that I used to anticipate things.

Thantasy: [Bea] Look forward to them.

Thantasy: [Bea] At least now, I have the end of this tedium to look forward to.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Well, I believe you can recapture that, at least. As the next seven days go by, you can anticipate certain death.

Thantasy: [Bea] Ah, yes.

Thantasy: [Liza] Do you like crossword puzzles?

Thantasy: [Bea] <Surprised.>

Thantasy: [Bea] Why, yes.

Thantasy: [Bea] They do help to pass the time.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Surprised in turn.)

Thantasy: [Bea] Why do you ask?

Thantasy: [Liza] Oh, I was about to throw out the newspaper.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Hmmm, crossword puzzles, crossword puzzles...)

Thantasy: [Liza] I thought I might give it to you, if you think you might enjoy the puzzle in it. Nobody's worked it.

Thantasy: [Bea] What a quaint idea!

Thantasy: [Bea] Thank you, Liza.

Thantasy: [Liza] My pleasure, ma'am. I'll give it to you as I see you to the door.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Beams at Liza, the only person in the room to have actually found something that interests Bea.)

Thantasy: [Bea] Well, I'll take my leave now.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Eliza, if you would be so kind as to see Miss Harrington to the door....

Thantasy: [Bea] I shall see you within the week.

Thantasy: [Liza] Perhaps, Sir, another drink.

Thantasy: [Liza] For her long ride into town.

Thantasy: [Liza] Maybe a toast even.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Turns to Pickering, the bartender.) Excellent idea. Colonel?

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] (Refills the four glasses.)

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Turning to Liza.) To what shall we drink?

Thantasy: [Liza] Let's ask Miss Harrington.

Thantasy: [Bea] Um...

Thantasy: [Bea] To the end of a long, long road.

Cardaniel80: (All raise glasses.)

Thantasy: [Liza] And to what curves might lie in the road.

Thantasy: [Bea] Yes, those too.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Looks curiously at Liza.)

Thantasy: <Clink glasses.>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (She has been much more forward than he had expected.)

Thantasy: <All drink.>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Another, perhaps?

Thantasy: [Bea] If you like.

Thantasy: [Liza] Very little for me, Sir.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Wonders whether alcohol loosens Bea up any more than anything else seems to.)

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] (Fills Liza's glass just halfway, suspecting she's not in the mood for her game at present.)

Thantasy: [Bea] Do you have a toast to propose, Professor?

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Yes: to a successful and satisfying conclusion.

Thantasy: [Bea] Hear, hear.

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] Well said, and much to be hoped.

Thantasy: [Bea] Hear, hear.

Thantasy: <All clink glasses and drink.>

Thantasy: [Bea] Thank you, that was refreshing.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Well then, until next week...

Thantasy: [Bea] Yes. Until next week.

Thantasy: [Liza] I'll see you to the door, and we'll grab that newspaper on the way out.

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] Charming to have met you, Miss Harrington.

Thantasy: [Bea] Yes, Colonel PICKERING.

Thantasy: <Liza and Bea exit.>

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Looks at Pickering.) Well, at least she's more civil now.

Thantasy: [Liza] <Returning.> Well, she's on her way.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Ah, Eliza.... was there any significance to the mention of crossword puzzles? What made you think of that?

Thantasy: [Liza] Well, it was just a hunch, Sir.

Thantasy: [Liza] I had the feeling that, what with her taking so little interest in life, that her mind might turn to trying to find occupations for itself. Like puzzles to solve.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Yes, I believe that has become hard for her... puzzles.... I wonder....

Thantasy: [Liza] Like she was posing you a sort of a puzzle, in a way.

Thantasy: [Liza] maybe because she thought you would enjoy it.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Yes. Are you suggesting her death might be somehow made into a puzzle?

Thantasy: [Liza] I think that might be a right good idea.

Thantasy: [Liza] Give her something to figure out.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] It may indeed.... perhaps it would be her task to find a way to achieve her sought-after death?

Thantasy: [Liza] Give her something to escape from maybe. Yes. exactly.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Or to avoid it?

Thantasy: [Liza] No, I think the poor dear does want to chuck it in, right enough.

Thantasy: [Liza] And I do feel wonderous sorry for her for that.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] I would say so, yes. Our clients do usually seem quite intent on it.

Thantasy: [Liza] Imagine being so bored.

Thantasy: [Liza] The way she's gone from lover to lover.

Thantasy: [Liza] When I mentioned a new lover, she was already thinking ahead to the NEXT one.

Thantasy: [Liza] Poor lamb's never learned that feeling the embrace of a man the first time is right good enough...

Thantasy: [Liza] But the second time is often even better, and it gets better with time, if things is right.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Indeed, I'm sure you're quite right, Eliza.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] It appears as if Miss Harrington is immune to such notions.

Thantasy: [Liza] Yes, she is, and that's why I feels so sorry for her.

Thantasy: [Liza] I'm right glad I'm not afflicted so.

Thantasy: [Liza] I think we needs to come up with some kind of trap that she has to get out of.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Will "getting out of the trap" in fact, mean death? That is her most earnest goal.

Thantasy: [Liza] Yes, and she wants it pleasant!

Thantasy: [Liza] She can feel her pleasure, right enough.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Hmmm.... perhaps she is trapped in a situation in which she is continually stimulated sexually, and must find the means of escape.

Thantasy: [Liza] I think we got a good hint of something she might want to get away from.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Well, yes, if you mean spiders...

Thantasy: [Liza] Yes. I don't mean that I wants to scare her. But if she had to find a way to get away from the little eight-legged beasties...

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] That would be a considerable motivation... though perhaps detracting from the pleasure...

Thantasy: [Liza] The pleasure is what would be waiting for her once she got free of the situation.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Ah, I see. The pleasure would be increased by the relief at the escape.

Thantasy: [Liza] Exactly! She breaks free of her entrapment...

Thantasy: [Liza] with the warm glow of accomplishment in her...

Thantasy: [Liza] she rushes into the arms of Thanatos.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] That is quite a good plan, Eliza.

Thantasy: [Liza] Thank you, Sir.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Now, she can't find the escape too easy... yet it must be possible.

Thantasy: [Liza] Yes. Exactly. And we're not to rescue her, either.

Thantasy: [Liza] It's got to be her own doing that gets her out of it.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] (Smiles.) Us, rescue her? Out of the question.

Thantasy: [Liza] Well, we got a week to come up with something.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] I believe we have made considerable progress already.

Thantasy: [Liza] I think that probably the pleasure that awaits her can be very conventional, almost.

Thantasy: [Liza] I think that at that point, she will be pleased with most anything.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] One or more of us could be waiting with open arms, as it were.

Thantasy: [Liza] Exactly.

Thantasy: [Liza] We'll put our heads to it.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Indeed. Colonel? Any thoughts on the nature of the trap?

Cardaniel80: [Pickering] Not yet, but I shall be thinking about it.

Thantasy: [Liza] I think we should all go our ways and think about it separately, and maybe tonight....

Thantasy: [Liza] get together and discuss the matter over a few glasses of sherry -- to sort of free up the flow of thought, as it were.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Excellent idea, Eliza. We have a good start already. Yes, sherry will help loosen our thought processes in an agreeable way.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Let us meet, then, to discuss it following dinner.

Thantasy: [Liza] Yes, Sir.

Cardaniel80: [Higgins] Do have a good day until then, Eliza.

Thantasy: [Liza] Well, I've got a few things to do yet.

Thantasy: [Liza] I will see you then. (Gives both men a curtsey.)

Thantasy: [Liza] <Exits.>

Cardaniel80: (Pickering and Higgins both stand as she leaves.)