Roars of merriment from below.
GILBEY. Go and tell them to stop laughing. What right have they to make a noise like that?
JUGGINS. I asked them not to laugh so loudly, sir. But the French gentleman always sets them off again.
KNOX. Do you mean to tell me that my daughter laughs at a Frenchman's jokes?
GILBEY. We all know what French jokes are.
JUGGINS. Believe me: you do not, sir. The noise this afternoon has all been because the Frenchman said that the cat had whooping cough.
MRS GILBEY. [laughing heartily] Well, I never!
GILBEY. Dont be a fool, Maria. Look here, Knox: we cant let this go on. People cant be allowed to behave like this.
KNOX. Just what I say.
A concertina adds its music to the revelry.