The three of us, Evie—what’s known, I believe, as the eternal triangle. EVELYN Let me tell you one thing—what happened was not deliberate. EDWARD You prefer to be thought a fool rather than a cad! EVELYN Yes, if you like to put it that way. EDWARD How typical! EVELYN I only asked Carol to dine, in the first place, for your sake. EDWARD For my sake? EVELYN Yes, I intended to teach her a lesson. EDWARD And she ended up by teaching you one. EVELYN [_Utterly shocked_] Edward! EDWARD Men of your sort should stick to athletics and not attempt physiology. EVELYN I deserve that. EDWARD [_Agreeably_] Fully. [_CAROL enters from R. She starts visibly on seeing EVELYN._] CAROL What’s the matter? EDWARD Don’t look so surprised, Carol. It’s terribly irritating. CAROL I don’t understand. EDWARD I gather that you and Evie— EVELYN [_Wounded by such frankness_] Edward! CAROL [_Looking at EVELYN_] You cad! EDWARD It was very unpleasant of you, Carol— CAROL [_Appealingly_] Edward, please— EDWARD I should like to know how it all happened. EVELYN I told you—I— EDWARD Carol will you explain, please? CAROL Certainly not. EDWARD Very well. You must allow me to reconstruct it for myself. EVELYN Surely this is unnecessary. EDWARD That is entirely for me to decide. CAROL You’re being unbelievably cheap. EDWARD [_Mildly_] Really, Carol—keep a slight grip on your values. EVELYN Say what you like. I don’t care. EDWARD It wouldn’t make the slightest difference if you did. EVELYN Damned ungenerous. EDWARD Shut up and don’t be an ass. You and Carol have brought about this abominable situation. It’s up to you to keep quiet and let me straighten it out in my own way. EVELYN [_Turning away_] Very well. EDWARD Thank you. Now then—Evie, you asked Carol to dine with you alone at your flat? EVELYN Yes. EDWARD Why? EVELYN I told you. EDWARD In order to teach her a lesson. CAROL Oh, this is insufferable. EDWARD You’re perfectly right, it is. I gather that the first part of the lesson, Evie, necessitated you making love to her. Am I right? EVELYN [_Impatiently_] Oh yes— EDWARD And then what? [_Turning_] EVELYN Look here, Edward, I’m damned if I’m going to listen to this any longer— CAROL Neither am I! EDWARD Tell me the truth, then, Carol. It will simplify matters considerably. Do you love Evie? CAROL No. EDWARD Then why, if it’s not an indelicate question, did you— CAROL [_Violently_] Because he insulted me and tried to humiliate me and I determined to show him that he wasn’t as clever as he thought he was. EDWARD