Ann: Of course you are refreshing. It is only that I am showing absolute self-interest. I don’t want even the film of a headache to come between us after dinner.
Lady Emily: Molly can never believe that a woman is resting. He remembers that in his youth it invariably meant that she was with someone else.
Molyneux: I have always felt that instead of saying strong as an ox, one should say strong as a woman.
Selina: You haven’t read your Shakespeare. “Frailty, thy name is woman.”
Molyneux: That had a moral, not a physical, significance, my dear. I am not speaking of robust virtue.
[They are talking themselves out of the room.
Ann: Aunt Emily—will you show Mabel her room?
Lady Emily: Certainly, my love.
Ann (calling to the door): Half-past eight dinner, everybody.
Tim (in an undertone): Might I stay for a moment or two? I will be quiet as a mouse.