ARNOLD. It would have been bad enough if it had been an ordinary case, but the position of the people made it ten times worse. My father was in the House then, and Porteous--he hadn't succeeded to the title--was in the House too; he was Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and he was very much in the public eye. ANNA. My father always used to say he was the ablest man in the party. Every one was expecting him to be Prime Minister. ARNOLD. You can imagine what a boon it was to the British public. They hadn't had such a treat for a generation. The most popular song of the day was about my mother. Did you ever hear it? "Naughty Lady Kitty. Thought it such a pity . . ." ELIZABETH. [_Interrupting._] Oh, Arnold, don't! ARNOLD. And then they never let people forget them. If they'd lived quietly in Florence and not made a fuss the scandal would have died down. But those constant actions between Lord and Lady Porteous kept on reminding everyone. TEDDIE. What were they having actions about? ARNOLD. Of course my father divorced his wife, but Lady Porteous refused to divorce Porteous. He tried to force her by refusing to support her and turning her out of her house, and heaven knows what. They were constantly wrangling in the law courts. ANNA. I think it was monstrous of Lady Porteous. ARNOLD. She knew he wanted to marry my mother, and she hated my mother. You can't blame her. ANNA. It must have been very difficult for them. ARNOLD. That's why they've lived in Florence. Porteous has money. They found people there who were willing to accept the situation. ELIZABETH. This is the first time they've ever come to England. ARNOLD. My father will have to be told, Elizabeth. ELIZABETH. Yes. ANNA. [_To ELIZABETH._] Has he ever spoken to you about Lady Kitty? ELIZABETH. Never. ARNOLD. I don't think her name has passed his lips since she ran away from this house thirty years ago. TEDDIE. Oh, they lived here? ARNOLD. Naturally. There was a house-party, and one evening neither Porteous nor my mother came down to dinner. The rest of them waited. They couldn't make it out. My father sent up to my mother's room, and a note was found on the pincushion. ELIZABETH. [_With a faint smile._] That's what they did in the Dark Ages. ARNOLD. I think he took a dislike to this house from that horrible night. He never lived here again, and when I married he handed the place over to me. He just has a cottage now on the estate that he comes to when he feels inclined. ELIZABETH. It's been very nice for us. ARNOLD. I owe everything to my father. I don't think he'll ever forgive me for asking these people to come here. ELIZABETH. I'm going to take all the blame on myself, Arnold. ARNOLD. [_Irritably._] The situation was embarrassing enough anyhow. I don't know how I ought to treat them. ELIZABETH. Don't you think that'll settle itself when you see them? ARNOLD. After all, they're my guests. I shall try and behave like a gentleman.