al sympathy between us. . . . Well, Arthur, I suppose this romantic
interview may be regarded as at an end. You admit it was romantic, don't
you? 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.
Voila tout.

LORD GORING. You mustn't do that. It would be vile, horrible, infamous.

MRS. CHEVELEY. [_Shrugging her shoulders_.] Oh! don't use big words.
They mean so little. It is a commercial transaction. That is all.
There is no good mixing up sentimentality in it. I offered to sell
Robert Chiltern a certain thing. If he won't pay me my price, he will
have to pay the world a greater price. There is no more to be said. I
must go. Good-bye. Won't you shake hands?

LORD GORING. With you? No. Your transaction with Robert Chiltern may
pass as a loathsome commercial transaction of a loathsome commercial age;
but you seem to have forgotten that you came here to-night to talk of
love, you whose lips desecrated the word love, you to whom the thing is a
book closely sealed, went this afternoon to the house of one of the most
noble and gentle women in the world to degrade her husband in her eyes,
to try and kill her love for him, to put poison in her heart, and
bitterness in her life, to break her idol, and, it may be, spoil her
soul. That I cannot forgive you. That was horrible. For that there can
be no forgiveness.

MRS. CHEVELEY. Arthur, you are unjust to me. Believe me, you are quite
unjust to me. I didn't go to taunt Gertrude at all. I had no idea of
doing anything of the kind when I entered. I called with Lady Markby
simply to ask whether an ornament, a jewel, that I lost somewhere last
night, had been found at the Chilterns'. If you don't believe me, you
can ask Lady Markby. She will tell you it is true. The scene that
occurred happened after Lady Markby had left, and was really forced on me
by Gertrude's rudeness and sneers. I called, oh!--a little out of malice
if you like--but really to ask if a diamond brooch of mine had been
found. That was the origin of the whole thing.

LORD GORING. A diamond snake-brooch with a ruby?

MRS. CHEVELEY. Yes. How do you know?

LORD GORING. Because it is found. In point of fact, I found it myself,
and stupidly forgot to tell the butler anything about it as I was
leaving. [_Goes over to the writing-t