Requiem for a Nun

290 WILLIAM FAULKNER

lawyer? No, I'm wrong. I'm sorry; I was the one that started us hiding

gimmicks on each other, wasn't it?

(quickly: turning to Gowan)

Of course; you didn't take the sleeping pill at all. Which means you

didn't even need to, come here for the Governor to hide you behind the

door or under the desk or wherever it was he was trying to tell me you

were hiding and listening, because after all the Governor of a Southern

state has got to try to act like he regrets having to aberrate from being

a gentleman-

STEVENS

(to Temple) Stop it.

GOWAN

Maybe we both didn't start hiding soon enough-by about eight years-not

in desk drawers either, but in two abandoned mine shafts, one in Siberia

and the other at the South Pole, maybe.

TEMPLE

All right. I didn't mean hiding. I'm sorry.

GOWAN

Dont be. Just draw on your eight years' interest for that.

(to Stevens) All right, all right; tell me to shut up too.

(to no one directly)

In fact, this may be the time for me to start saying sorry for the next

eight-year term. Just give me a little time. Eight years of gratitude

might be a habit a little hard to break. So here goes.

(to Temple) I'm sorry. Forget it.

TEMPLE

I would have told you.

GOWAN

You did. Forget it. You see how easy it is? You could have been doing

that yourself for eight years: every time I would say 'Say sorry,

please,' all you would need would be to answer: 'I did. Forget it.'

(to Stevens)

I guess that's all, isn't it? We can go home now.

(he starts to come around the

desk)