This evening, for the time being at least, the master of the house at the family home is Clifford. Mother and Father Barbour are still at the Sky Ranch, and Paul has not yet arrived home from the airport. Clifford is in the library, where he sits in his father's big chair by the fireplace. Out in the kitchen, Mrs Kettleman is dourly preparing dinner. Paul greets her as he arrives home, but gets no response, and comes through into the library to ask Clifford what's wrong with her. It's simply that he asked Toots to come over for dinner, and Mrs Kettleman is sour because he didn't give her enough notice.