_Sir Robert Chiltern._ What explanation have you to give me for the presence of that woman here? _Lord Goring._ Robert, I swear to you on my honour that that lady is stainless and guiltless of all offence towards you. _Sir Robert Chiltern._ She is a vile, an infamous thing! After a few more speeches, in which the _malentendu_ is well kept up, Sir Robert goes out, and Lord Goring rushes to the drawing-room to meet--Mrs Cheveley. And now this woman is going to have another duel, but this time with an enemy who is proof against her attacks. The whole of this scene is imagined and written in a masterly manner. After a little airy sparring, Lord Goring opens the match. _Lord Goring._ You have come here to sell me Robert Chiltern's letter, haven't you? _Mrs Cheveley._ To offer it you on conditions. How did you guess that? _Lord Goring._ Because you haven't mentioned the subject. Have you got it with you? _Mrs Cheveley._ (_Sitting down._) Oh, no! A well-made dress has no pockets. _Lord Goring._ What is your price for it? Then, Mrs Cheveley tells him that the price is--herself. She is tired of living abroad, and wants to come to London and have a salon. She vows to him that he is the only person she has ever cared for, and that on the morning of the day he marries her she will give him Sir Robert's letter. Naturally he refuses her offer. Naturally she is furious. But she still possesses the incriminating document and hurls her venomous words at his head. _Mrs Chiltern._ For the privilege of being your wife I was ready to surrender a great prize, the climax of my diplomatic career. You decline. Very well. If Sir Robert doesn't uphold my Argentine Scheme, I expose him. _Voilà tout!_ But he cares not for her threats. He hasn't done with her yet, for he has got in his possession the diamond snake-brooch with a ruby! This scene is most skilfully managed. Quite innocently he offers to return it to her--he had found it accidentally last night. And then in a moment he clasps it on her arm. _Mrs Cheveley._ I never knew it could be worn as a bracelet ... it looks very well on me as a bracelet, doesn't it? _Lord Goring._ Yes, much better than when I saw it last. _Mrs Cheveley._ When did you see it last? _Lord Goring._ (_Calmly._) Oh! ten years ago, on Lady Berkshire, from whom you stole it. Now, he has her in his power. The bracelet cannot be unclasped unless she knows the secret of the spring, and she is at his mercy, a convicted thief. He moves towards the bell to summon his servant to fetch the police. "To-morrow the Berkshires will prosecute you." What is she to do? She will do anything in the world he wants. _Lord Goring._ Give me Robert Chiltern's letter. _Mrs Cheveley._ I have not got it with me. I will give it you to-morrow.