Miss Hunch (glaring through her spectacles). The subject is too serious for trifling. Marriage is calculated to pen the free instincts of the feminine community. You know our motto, Aut viam inveniam aut faciam?
Mrs Egerton. I see it all over the room, but that doesn't tell me what it means.
Miss Hunch. It means we will find a road out of our bondage—or make one!
Mrs Clare Graham (giggling). Sail from Scylla into Charybdis, eh? You see I allow the tragedy of both destinations.
Miss Hunch (sarcastically). A kind concession, but a frivolous. Still, we prefer the risk of the unknown to the horror of the known.
Mrs Graham to Mrs Egerton (aside). What on earth does she mean? How many times has she been married?
Mrs Egerton (aside). Hush. You mustn't offend the prejudices of the club. Ah, how do you do, Miss Darlish?
Dora Darlish (joining them). Charming rooms, aren't they? So glad to see you here, Clare.
Mrs Clare Graham. Thank you, but I feel rather like a fish out of water. It takes a long time to cultivate amphibiousness——
Dora. Oh, we're not amphibious—we mean to keep high and dry——