Bring her in.
[LUCIA is brought in by the guard. She wears a simple white stola, the common dress of Roman women, with a cross embroidered in front. She is very pretty, and HELIOGABALUS shows immediate signs that he has duly observed the fact. He settles his toga, wets his finger, smoothes his eyebrows, and assumes a mixture of amiable smile and judicial frown. LUCIA folds her arms and is silent]
DACIA
[To HELIOGABALUS] She is very pretty.
HELIOGABALUS
[Heavily] Oh, yes—in a sense.
DACIA
It's a pity to see such a pretty girl in the hands of the police.
HELIOGABALUS
[Grasping at the idea] A pity? It's revolting! Darling, it shocks me to expose you to such a spectacle. I really can't permit it. My conscience would never let up on me.