[mrs. cheveley tries to get the bracelet off her arm, but fails. lord goring looks on amused. Her thin fingers tear at the jewel to no purpose. A curse breaks from her.]
lord goring. The drawback of stealing a thing, Mrs. Cheveley, is that one never knows how wonderful the thing that one steals is. You can’t get that bracelet off, unless you know where the spring is. And I see you don’t know where the spring is. It is rather difficult to find.
mrs. cheveley. You brute! You coward! [She tries again to unclasp the bracelet, but fails.]
lord goring. Oh! don’t use big words. They mean so little.
mrs. cheveley. [Again tears at the bracelet in a paroxysm of rage, with inarticulate sounds. Then stops, and looks at lord goring.] What are you going to do?
lord goring. I am going to ring for my servant. He is an admirable servant. Always comes in the moment one rings for him. When he comes I will tell him to fetch the police.
mrs. cheveley. [Trembling.] The police? What for?
lord goring. To-morrow the Berkshires will prosecute you. That is what the police are for.
mrs. cheveley. [Is now in an agony of physical terror. Her face is distorted. Her mouth awry. A mask has fallen from her. She is, for the moment, dreadful to look at.] Don’t do that. I will do anything you want. Anything in the world you want.
lord goring. Give me Robert Chiltern’s letter.