Episode scene:

In this series opener, we learn of the Virginian’s interest in newspaper editor Molly Wood (series regular Pippa Scott.) In this scene he is trying to kiss her when she deftly turns her head and gently extricates herself from his embrace, telling him she “doesn’t feel like it, that’s why.” He attempts to reason with her, explaining “I brought ya flowers, didn’t I? And that’s a pretty civilized thing to do, isn’t it? And you’re always screaming that I’m not very civilized...” Laughing, she puts both hands on his chest and says “I never screamed at you in my life!”

Quotation from the book (Chapter 12):

...without warning, as they sat by the spring, [The Virginian] had spoken potently of his love.
She did not interrupt him. She waited until he was wholly finished...She kept her face toward the landscape.
“Don’t,” she murmured. “Don’t, please.”
“Don’t what?”
“Why - spoil this.”
“Spoil it?”
“But,” she continued, “if you can’t help talking that way - sometimes - I promise I will listen. That is the only promise I make.”
“That is a bargain,” he said. Then he helped her mount her horse, restraining himself like a Spartan, and they rode home to her cabin.

Additional comments:

1. Although Molly often flirts with Steve and Trampas, she behaves differently with the Virginian, leading me to believe that she feels a special attraction for him above the others. For example, in an earlier scene, when the Virginian is upset with her for attending a hanging, he becomes tongue-tied trying to explain how he doesn’t want them trying to be “kind” to each other, and she breathlessly tells him she knows what he means. In It Tolls For Thee she is speechless (so is he) when greeting him at the party, though she is very vocal in her greetings to Steve and Trampas. And in The Big Deal she petulantly asks him why he can’t say nice things to her like Trampas does. At the end of this episode, he gives her a “shame-on-you look” (for flirting with Senor Cueliar) while she gazes at him apologetically.
2. The character of Molly is last seen in Episode 1.14 “Man From The Sea” and is last heard from in the second season episode entitled “Fatal Journey” where she is accidentally killed by outlaws shooting up the newspaper office. In my opinion, Pippa Scott as Molly brought a lot to the series, and her premature departure left a void which no one ever adequately filled.