RUPERT I don’t know her. JESSIE She’s been trying to entangle Lancelot, and he’s completely lost what slight intelligence he _had_, the little ninny! She’s old enough to be his mother. (_The settee makes a slight convulsive movement._) RUPERT Sh! She’ll hear you. (_Mrs. Curtis enters from the left. She looks about, with a faint embarrassment. Jessie stares at her, then speaks coldly._) JESSIE I beg your pardon. Did you leave something when you were here with my little brother? MRS. CURTIS (_smiling constrainedly_) Did you happen to see a pair of white gloves? (_Rupert rises and looks in his chair._) JESSIE No. There aren’t any here. MRS. CURTIS I _may_ have left them anywhere of course. (_To Rupert_) Don’t bother, please. I thought just possibly-- (_She stoops slightly and looks behind the settee, and her expression shows a considerable illumination._) If I _had_ left anything here I just wanted to see if it was still-- JESSIE No; there aren’t any gloves here. (_She speaks in a sharp whisper to Rupert._) Sit down! (_He does so. Their backs are toward Mrs. Curtis._) MRS. CURTIS No. They don’t seem to be. I’m sorry to have disturbed you. (_She moves toward the left entrance as she speaks. The settee follows her. She checks it with a sudden commanding push._) JESSIE I hardly think my little brother will come back _here_. My mother went to look for him. MRS. CURTIS (_politely_) No doubt she’s found him by this time. (_She looks from the settee to Jessie and Rupert, and back again; and her eyes widen with an intense inward struggle._) JESSIE (_turning to look at her coolly_) Was there anything else? MRS. CURTIS (_after a moment, during which her inward struggle prevents her from replying_) Oh--oh, no! I’m so sorry to have disturbed you! (_Her voice threatens to break and she goes out hurriedly, at the left._) JESSIE (_staring after her_) Absolutely brazen! She came back after that idiot _boy_! Thought _he’d_ probably come back! RUPERT Darling-- JESSIE (_turning to him eagerly_) Yes, darling-- RUPERT (_looking over her shoulder_) Oh, my goodness! (_He speaks with intense anguish._) JESSIE (_seizing his hand feverishly_) What’s the matter, darling? RUPERT (_rising_) It’s your mother! (_He strides hastily backward out of sight from the left entrance._) JESSIE Oh, murder! RUPERT She didn’t see me, but she will if I try to go out there. (_He points to the right entrance._) JESSIE She’s coming! RUPERT This is awful! (_His despairing eye falls upon the huge Philippine chair in the left rear corner of the room; he rushes to it, turns it round, with its back toward the front, and sits in it, concealed from view. He speaks in a hoarse whisper._) Darling-- JESSIE