JIMMIE. Things might have gone on much the same as before. MRS. UPJOHN. An' might 'ave ended different. LILY. [_Rising and walking away to the right._] Ah, no, mother----! JIMMIE. [_Rising and joining LILY._] Certainly they might. MRS. UPJOHN. [_Rising._] Any'ow I 'ope it'll be a lesson to Lal---- JIMMIE. _Do_ you, Ma! MRS. UPJOHN. [_Moving over to the girls._] Not to put 'is fingers into other people's pies. JIMMIE. [_To MRS. UPJOHN, with a withering glance at ROPER._] Oh, you _are_ sanguine! ROPER. [_Rising and straightening himself out._] Ma-- Mrs. Upjohn-- Lily---- JIMMIE. [_Scornfully._] Hullo, hullo, hullo, hul-lo----! ROPER. [_To JIMMIE._] P'sh! [_Impressively._] Ma-- Lily-- for years-- longer than it's agreeable to count-- I've been a patron of the drama-- particularly musical comedy, of which I've studied the development with especial interest. JIMMIE. [_Resting her elbows upon the back of the settee._] Yes, you've studied a lot of development, Lal, in your day. ROPER. [_Ignoring JIMMIE._] It's been a fad with me; I put it no higher than that. [_Producing his gloves._] But I've devoted time to it---- JIMMIE. Any amount. ROPER. [_Drawing a glove on._] Often to the neglect of my ventures in the City. Here I am _now_, for instance. JIMMIE. That's obvious. ROPER. And-- I frankly admit it-- I've had more than one serious dispute with _Mrs._ Roper on the subject. [_JIMMIE softly whistles a few bars of "Rule, Britannia."_] Yesterday, by a coincidence-- [_feeling the outside of his breast-pocket_] letter from the wife-- full o' complaints-- haven't been to Bexhill, to her and the kids, for weeks. And to do Ellen Roper justice, she's not the woman to grumble without cause. [_Picking up his hat and cane which he has placed upon the centre table._] Dash it all, home ties _are_ home ties! [_Polishing his hat with his sleeve._] And, taking one consideration with another-- and after this-- this occurrence-- it's my intention for the future-- my firm intention---- LILY. [_Running to ROPER and throwing her arms around his neck._] Oh, Uncle Lal, not altogether! We're tired and cross this morning! Not altogether! MRS. UPJOHN. [_Behind the centre table._] No, no, Uncle, you mustn't----! LILY. [_To ROPER._] Forgive us! [_Coaxingly._] Mother and Jimmie are cats----! MRS. UPJOHN AND JIMMIE. Oh----! [_The door on the left opens, and GLADYS enters with a card on a salver._ GLADYS. [_Advancing to LILY._] Are you _in_? LILY. In? GLADYS. [_Surveying LILY with mingled disdain and pity._] Oh you _do_ look washed out! LILY. [_Going to GLADYS._] Never you mind whether I look washed out or not. Who is it? [_LILY takes the card, reads some writing upon it, and stands twiddling the card in her fingers._ GLADYS. They're in the dining-room. LILY. [_To GLADYS, after a pause._] W-wait outside-- on the landing. GLADYS. Oh, all right. _This_ won't get my silver cleaned.