FRASER. Eat his lunch! SIR FLETCHER PORTWOOD. [_Sitting on the settee and arranging his papers._] No, no; I can quite understand—— JUSTINA. [_Throwing her head back._] Ha! FRASER. [_To her, angrily._] I believe you would grin by the side of a grave. JUSTINA. [_Shrugging her shoulders._] _Cela dépend._ FRASER. [_Turning away in disgust._] Ah! JUSTINA. [_Jumping up._] Oh, I’ve had my bad days lately—plenty of ’em! This morning the atmosphere’s a bit clearer. [_Gaily._] Tra, la, la! FRASER. The woman who can laugh under such circumstances—— JUSTINA. [_Turning upon him._] Laugh! My dear Alec, if you had learnt to laugh when you acquired your other accomplishments, you would have been able perhaps to keep my sister out of the Divorce Court. [_She goes out._ SIR FLETCHER PORTWOOD. [_Fussing with his papers._] Fraser——[FRASER _comes to him_.] When I got to my hotel here last night I jotted down the—the—the leading points—the leading features—— FRASER. Leading features——? SIR FLETCHER PORTWOOD. Of this awkward affair between you and the Allinghams—— FRASER. [_Impatiently._] There is now no question between me and the Allinghams—— SIR FLETCHER PORTWOOD. [_Rising._] My dear Locheen! A lady deliberately stations herself in that room, with the cognizance and approval of her husband, to listen to—— FRASER. I wish to forget all that occurred last night. It is done with. SIR FLETCHER PORTWOOD. Pardon me; it cannot be done with: it ought not to be done with, without the most complete apology—I will not, for reasons you will presently appreciate, hint from which side. [_Going to_ FRASER, _button-holing him_.] Do you know what has suggested itself to me, Fraser? FRASER. [_Releasing himself._] No. SIR FLETCHER PORTWOOD. Why, sir, if ever there was a matter for reference, for arbitration, this is one! FRASER. [_Between his teeth._] Arbitration——? SIR FLETCHER PORTWOOD. Good heavens, when I open my _Times_ in the morning, and glance at the law reports, how often have I occasion to remark, “_That_ scandal might have been averted, and _that_, and _that_——” if only the intervention of some cool, level-headed person had been secured, the intervention of some one possessing the rarest of all gifts—the judicial faculty! FRASER.