MARLOW
So now, Your Majesty, you've heard the whole sad tale.
QUEEN
And quite a tail it was. What happened to your friend
might even be called a "fluke."
(The ladies giggle)
MARLOW
Do not be cruel, my queen. It is no small problem being
one of the world's largest mammals. The worst is that
one becomes a target for all kinds of barbs.
QUEEN
Even so, lampoons are less deadly than harpoons.
MARLOW
Not when aimed so adroitly from your bow-shaped lips.
Poor Moby, sitting in jail, is already
suffering from
cupid's arrows.
QUEEN
You're quite sure you're speaking of your friend?
MARLOW
Why, Moby has swum thousands of miles to set eyes upon
you. The sea is full of your devoted subjects. The
surface is only a doorway to your second
realm.
QUEEN
(To her ladies)
We must tell the Exchequer about this. Think of the
taxes he could net!
Marlow tells Virginia that he’s only a humble captain whose fortunes are at low ebb and whose ship is about to be sold from under him. He mentions his wife who has recently died at sea. His only friend is Moby and he languishes in prison.
The queen gives her purse to Barbara and tells her to go with Captain Marlow and bail his friend out of jail and get him something to eat. Then she should accompany the captain to their garden party that afternoon. But Marlow says he must return to his ship before nightfall. The queen says she’ll give him the royal skiff to take him back to his ship before dark, but Marlow is still silent about coming to the garden party. The queen is intrigued by this “mystery man.”
BLACKOUT
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