Free The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde Page B

again. She is inadmissible anywhere.
    L ADY W INDERMERE . But I want to see her. I want her to come here.
    L ORD W INDERMERE . Never!
    L ADY W INDERMERE . She came here once as
your
guest. She must come now as
mine
. That is but fair.
    L ORD W INDERMERE . She should never have come here.
    L ADY W INDERMERE .
(Rising.)
It is too late, Arthur, to say that now.
    (Moves away.)
    L ORD W INDERMERE .
(Rising.)
Margaret, if you knew where Mrs. Erlynne went last night, after she left this house, you would not sit in the same room with her. It was absolutely shameless, the whole thing.
    L ADY W INDERMERE . Arthur, I can’t bear it any longer. I must tell you. Last night——
    (Enter Parker with a tray on which lie Lady Windermere’s fan and a card.)
    P ARKER . Mrs. Erlynne has called to return your ladyship’s fan which she took away by mistake last night. Mrs. Erlynne has written a message on the card.
    L ADY W INDERMERE . Oh, ask Mrs. Erlynne to be kind enough to come up.
(Reads card.)
Say I shall be very glad to see her.
    (Exit Parker.)
    She wants to see me, Arthur.
    L ORD W INDERMERE .
(Takes card and looks at it.)
Margaret, I
beg
you not to. Let me see her first, at any rate. She’s a very dangerous woman. She is the most dangerous woman I know. You don’t realise what you’re doing.
    L ADY W INDERMERE . It is right that I should see her.
    L ORD W INDERMERE . My child, you may be on the brink of a great sorrow. Don’t go to meet it. It is absolutely necessary that I should see her before you do.
    L ADY W INDERMERE . Why should it be necessary?
    (Enter Parker.)
    P ARKER . Mrs. Erlynne.
    (Enter Mrs. Erlynne.)
    M RS . E RLYNNE .    
(Exit Parker.)
How do you do, Lady Windermere?
(To Lord Windermere.)
How do you do? Do you know, Lady Windermere, I am so sorry about your fan. I can’t imagine how I made such a silly mistake. Most stupid of me. And as I was driving in your direction, I thought I would take the opportunity of returning your property in person with many apologies for my carelessness, and of bidding you good-bye.
    L ADY W INDERMERE . Good-bye?
(Moves towards sofa with Mrs. Erlynne and sits down beside her.)
Are you going away, then, Mrs. Erlynne?
    M RS . E RLYNNE . Yes; I am going to live abroad again. The English climate doesn’t suit me. My—heart is affected here, and that I don’t like. I prefer living in the south. London is too full of fogs and—and serious people, Lord Windermere. Whether the fogs produce the serious people or whether the serious people produce the fogs, I don’t know, but the whole thing rather gets on my nerves, and so I’m leaving this afternoon by the Club Train.
    L ADY W INDERMERE . This afternoon? But I wanted so much to come and see you.
    M RS . E RLYNNE . How kind of you! But I am afraid I have to go.
    L ADY W INDERMERE . Shall I never see you again, Mrs. Erlynne?
    M RS . E RLYNNE . I am afraid not. Our lives lie too far apart. But this is a little thing I would like you to do for me. I want a photograph of you, Lady Windermere—would you give me one? You don’t know how gratified I should be.
    L ADY W INDERMERE . Oh, with pleasure. There is one on that table. I’ll show it to you.
(Goes across to the table.)
    L ORD W INDERMERE .
(Coming up to Mrs. Erlynne and speaking in a low voice.)
It is monstrous your intruding yourself here after your conduct last night.
    M RS . E RLYNNE .
(With an amused smile.)
My dear Windermere, manners before morals!
    L ADY W INDERMERE .
(Returning.)
I’m afraid it is very flattering—I am not so pretty as that.
(Showing photograph.)
    M RS . E RLYNNE . You are much prettier. But haven’t you got one of yourself with your little boy?
    L ADY W INDERMERE . I have. Would you prefer one of those?
    M RS . E RLYNNE . Yes.
    L ADY W INDERMERE . I’ll go and get it for you, if you’ll excuse me for a moment. I have one upstairs.
    M RS . E RLYNNE . So sorry, Lady Windermere, to give you so much trouble.
    L ADY W INDERMERE .
(Moves to door R.)
No