Charming fellow, Gerald Arbuthnot!
Mrs. Allonby. He is very nice; very nice indeed. But I can’t stand the American young lady.
Lord Illingworth. Why?
Mrs. Allonby. She told me yesterday, and in quite a loud voice too, that she was only eighteen. It was most annoying.
Lord Illingworth. One should never trust a woman who tells one her real age. A woman who would tell one that, would tell one anything.
Mrs. Allonby. She is a Puritan besides—
Lord Illingworth. Ah, that is inexcusable. I don’t mind plain women being Puritans. It is the only excuse they have for being plain. But she is decidedly pretty. I admire her immensely. [Looks steadfastly at Mrs. Allonby.]
Mrs. Allonby. What a thoroughly bad man you must be!
Lord Illingworth. What do you call a bad man?
Mrs. Allonby. The sort of man who admires innocence.