The Governess's daughter, Nelly, is now an actress, and the Governess wonders why her mother does not think of Nelly as her daughter. She tells Nelly that her mother used to be a successful actress, but that she is now working as a stage manager. Nelly tells her that she used to think of herself as Nelly's mother, but now that Nelly is an actress she does not even think of her as her own daughter. Nelly says that she has some old recordings of her mother's acting, and that Nelly has become so good at acting that no one else can believe that she could have faked her own death.