LADY TORMINSTER. Yes, I'm afraid of the stars.
SIR GEOFFREY. Why?
LADY TORMINSTER. You remember the Persian poet? "I too have said to the stars and the wind, I will. But the wind and the stars have mocked me—they have laughed in my face…."
SIR GEOFFREY. [A little uncomfortable.] Persian poets, like all poets, have a funny way of pretending that the stars take an interest in us. To me, it's their chief charm that they're so unconcerned. They are lonely, too.
LADY TORMINSTER. [Suddenly, violently.] Don't say that again—don't—I can't bear it!
SIR GEOFFREY. [Aghast.] Gertrude!!!
LADY TORMINSTER. [In a whisper.] Yes.
[He stares haggardly at her; she does not move, but looks out, through the open window, into the night.
SIR GEOFFREY. [With a deep breath.] Well, I suppose we had better turn in—
LADY TORMINSTER. When do you go to China?