[Still resolutely, but somewhat alarmed by his rage] I am your wife. Your one wife.
HELIOGABALUS
Are you? Well, that is something to be remedied. That is a curable disease. A "scarlet woman"! Think of it!
LUCIA
[Now beginning to realize that she has gone too far] You would put me away?
HELIOGABALUS
Either you put that crazy Christian balderdash away, or I put you away. Once and for all time, I have got enough of it. I am Emperor here, and I must live like an Emperor, not like a slave. This praying shakes my nerves; water has given me a terrible stomach-ache; I have chills at night.
LUCIA
[Rather weakly] The Word—