Admirable. You, Evie, had the ineffable conceit to pit your meager experience of the world against an extremely attractive and obviously unscrupulous woman. You then give in to her completely despite the fact that she is the wife of your friend; and not content with that, you turn on her afterward, work yourself up into a frenzy of false melodramatic values, rush round here and blurt it out to me doubtless under the delusion that by uncovering the whole shameful business you are vindicating your own honor! Oh, Evie, what a pitiful fool you are! EVELYN It’s no use blackguarding me any more, is it? What are you going to do about it? EDWARD I don’t quite know yet. CAROL There’s nothing to be done. EDWARD You’re too sure of yourself, Carol—you always have been. EVELYN I wish to God I had shot myself. EDWARD It’s a little late to think of that now. EVELYN You’re being unnecessarily cruel, Edward. EDWARD I’m afraid I’m a bitter disappointment to you both. You see emotionally I’m unmoved. The capacity for feeling very deeply over Carol died a long while ago. EVELYN I should have thought that for the sake of our friendship— EDWARD That’s sheer cant. You’ve considerably over-estimated our friendship for years. If you care to analyze it honestly you’ll discover that we both bore one another stiff and always have. We were at school together—in different forms—since when we’ve dined together on an average of once a month. We’ve confided our troubles superficially for the want of something to talk about. We’re poles apart mentally and physically; we’ve built up this so-called great friendship on a basis of false tradition, and the only reason I realized it first is because my brain functions quicker than yours— EVELYN [_Shattered_] Edward! EDWARD And I should like to add—having naturally a more acute sense of sex psychology than you—that the reason you took such a fatal interest in Carol’s morals was not on my account at all, but because she’d snubbed you severely several times and you were probably very much attracted to her. EVELYN It’s not true. You’re disgusting. EDWARD Be that as it may, the solution to the whole thing is obvious. EVELYN What do you mean? EDWARD I’ll tell you. Carol, you must go away immediately. CAROL [_Horrified_] Edward— EVELYN [_Stricken_] But—I—I— EDWARD Wait a moment. Let me explain. Carol, you and I have no longer the slightest justification for living together. If you go away abroad somewhere I will make it perfectly easy for you to divorce me. If you don’t agree to this, I shall file a petition against you at once, naming Evie as corespondent. That’s the second ultimatum I’ve delivered this morning and I’m feeling extremely tired. [_He sits down._] CAROL Edward, you can’t mean this—you can’t. EDWARD I do. I mean it more than I’ve ever meant anything in my life. CAROL [_Bursting into tears of rage_] I won’t stand it. I won’t! EDWARD