The Mousetrap and Other Plays (17 page)

RAYMOND
. Yes—er—yes.

MRS
.
BOYNTON
. Who is she?

RAYMOND
. Her name is King. She's—she's a doctor.

MRS
.
BOYNTON
. I see. One of those women doctors. (
Deliberately to him
) I don't think we'll have much to do with her, son. (
She rises.
) Shall we go up now? (
She picks up the medicine.
)

(
NADINE
hastily puts her sewing together, rises, gets
MRS
.
BOYNTON
's stick and hands it to her.
LENNOX
rises.
)

(
To
COPE
) I don't know what I should do without Nadine.

(
COPE
moves to Right of
MRS
.
BOYNTON
and puts the magazine on the table Centre.
NADINE
is Left of
MRS
.
BOYNTON
.)

She takes such good care of me. (
She moves towards the lift.
)

(
COPE
,
NADINE
,
LENNOX
and
RAYMOND
move with
MRS
.
BOYNTON
to the lift. It is a royal procession.
COPE
rings the lift bell.
GERARD
watches them.
)

But it's dull for her sometimes. You ought to go sightseeing with Mr. Cope, Nadine.

COPE
. (
To
NADINE
;
eagerly
) I shall be only too delighted. Can't we fix up something definite?

NADINE
. We'll see—tomorrow.

(
The lift descends and the door opens.
MRS
.
BOYNTON
,
NADINE
,
LENNOX
and
RAYMOND
exit to the lift. The door closes and the lift ascends.
COPE
wanders around for a moment, then crosses to
GERARD
.)

COPE
. Excuse me—but surely you're Doctor Theodore Gerard?

GERARD
. Yes. (
He rises
) But I'm afraid . . .

COPE
. Naturally you wouldn't remember me. But I had the pleasure of hearing you lecture at Harvard last year, and of being introduced to you afterwards. (
Modestly
) Oh, I was just one of fifty or so. A mighty interesting lecture it was, of course, on psychiatry.

GERARD
. You are too kind.

COPE
. Jerusalem certainly is full of celebrities. We must have a drink. What are you drinking?

GERARD
. Thank you.
Cinzano à l'eau.

COPE
. (
As he crosses to the desk
) By the way, the name's Cope. (
To the
CLERK
) A
Cinzano à l'eau
and a rye straight. (
He moves to Left of the table Centre.
)

(
The
CLERK
claps his hands. The
ARAB
BOY
enters up Left, takes the order from the
CLERK
for the drinks and exits up Left.
)

GERARD
. (
Moving to Right of the table Centre
) Tell me—I am interested—is that a typical American family to whom you were talking?

COPE
. Why, no, I wouldn't say it was exactly typical.

GERARD
. They seem—a very devoted family.

COPE
. You mean they all seem to revolve round the old lady? That's true enough. She's a very remarkable woman, you know.

GERARD
. Indeed? Tell me something about her. (
He sits Right of the table Centre.
)

COPE
. I've been having that family a good deal on my mind lately. You see, young Mrs. Boynton, Mrs. Lennox Boynton, is an old friend of mine.

GERARD
. Ah, yes, that very charming young lady?

COPE
. That's right—that's Nadine. I knew her before her marriage to Lennox Boynton. She was training in hospital to be a nurse. Then she went for a vacation to stay with the Boyntons—they were distant cousins—and she married Lennox.

GERARD
. And the marriage—it has been a happy one?

COPE
. (
After a pause; moving a little up Left Centre
) I—I hardly know what to say about that.

GERARD
. You are worried about something?

COPE
. Yes. (
He moves above the chair Left of the table Centre and leans on the back of it.
) I'd value your opinion—that is, if you won't be bored?

GERARD
. I shall not be bored. People are my speciality—always they interest me. Tell me about this Boynton family.

COPE
. Well, the late Elmore Boynton was a very rich man. This Mrs. Boynton was his second wife.

GERARD
. She is the stepmother, then?

COPE
. Yes, but they were young children at the time of the marriage, and they've always looked upon her as their own mother. They're completely devoted to her, as you may have noticed.

GERARD
. I noticed their—(
He pauses
) devotion—yes.

COPE
. Elmore Boynton thought a lot of his second wife. When he died he left everything in her hands—she has an excellent head for business. Since his death she's devoted herself entirely to those children, and she's shut out the outside world altogether. I'm not sure, you know, that that is really a sound thing to do.

GERARD
. Nothing could be more harmful to developing mentalities.

COPE
. (
Struck
) Well now, that's rather what
I
feel. In her devotion to them she's never let them make any outside contacts. Result is, they've grown up kind of—(
He pauses
) nervy. They can't make friends with strangers.

GERARD
. Do they all live at home? Have the sons no professions? No careers?

COPE
. No—there's plenty of money, you see.

GERARD
. But they are dependent on their stepmother financially?

COPE
. That's so. She's encouraged them to live at home and not go out and look for jobs.

(
The
ARAB
BOY
enters up Left with two drinks on a tray. He serves the drinks to
COPE
and
GERARD
,
then exits up Left.
)

They don't play golf, they don't belong to any country clubs, they don't go around to dances, or meet other young people.

GERARD
. What do they do, then?

COPE
. Well, they just—sit around. You've seen them today.

GERARD
. And you disapprove?

COPE
. (
With heat
) No boy ought to keep on being tied to his mother's apron strings. He ought to strike out and be independent.

GERARD
. And suppose that was impossible?

COPE
. What do you mean—impossible?

GERARD
. There are two ways, Mr. Cope, of preventing a tree from growing.

COPE
. (
Staring
) They're a fine healthy well-grown lot.

GERARD
. The mind can be stunted as well as the body.

COPE
. The mind?

GERARD
. I don't think you have quite grasped my point.

(
COPE
stares at
GERARD
.)

But continue.

COPE
. (
Moving Left Centre
) What I feel is that it's time Lennox Boynton stopped just sitting around twiddling his thumbs. How can a man who does that hope to keep a woman's respect?

GERARD
. (
With a Gallic twinkle
) Aha—I see—you are thinking of his wife. (
He puts his glass on the table.
)

COPE
. I'm not ashamed of my feeling for that lady. I am very deeply attached to her. All I want is her happiness. If she were happy with Lennox, I'd sit right back and fade right out of the picture.

GERARD
. (
Rising and moving to Right of
COPE
) Chivalry only lives today in the American nation.

COPE
. I don't mind your laughing at me, Doctor Gerard. I dare say I sound romantic and old-fashioned, but that young man riles me. Sitting there reading a book and taking no notice of his wife or anybody else.

GERARD
. (
Moving above the table Centre to Right of it
) But he was not reading a book.

COPE
. (
Puzzled
) Not reading—but he had a book . . . (
He puts his glass on the table.
)

GERARD
. He was holding that book upside down. Curious, is it not? (
He sees Ginevra's torn handkerchief on the floor.
) And here is something else. (
He picks up the handkerchief.
) A handkerchief that has been torn to pieces, so—by a girl's fingers.

COPE
. (
Moving below the table to Left of
GERARD
) But that's—that's very extraordinary.

GERARD
. Yes, it is extraordinary. (
He moves to the chair down Right and sits.
) It is also very interesting.

COPE
. Well, I've a great respect for maternal devotion, but I think it can be carried too far. (
He moves Right Centre
) I've got to get down to the American Express before they close. See you later.

GERARD
.
A toute à l'heure.

(
COPE
exits up Right.
)

(
He looks at the handkerchief.
) Maternal devotion? I wonder.

(
GINEVRA
enters up Left, pauses, looks around, then comes swiftly and romantically across to
GERARD
.)

GINEVRA
. Please, please—I must speak to you.

(
GERARD
looks at
GINEVRA
in astonishment, then rises.)

GERARD
. Miss Boynton?

GINEVRA
. (
Dramatically
) They're taking me away. They're planning to kill me—or shut me up. (
She takes his arm and shakes it vehemently.
) You must help me—you
must
help me. (
She stares pleadingly up at his face.
)

GERARD
. This is your handkerchief?

GINEVRA
. Yes. (
She takes the handkerchief without interest.
) Listen—I don't belong to them really. My name's not really Boynton at all. I'm—I'm—(
She draws herself up
)
royal.

(
GERARD
studies her attentively.
)

GERARD
. I see. Yes, I see.

GINEVRA
. I knew I could trust you. There are enemies, you know, all round me. They try to poison my food—all sorts of things—they don't let me speak to anyone. If you could help me to escape . . . (
She starts and looks around.
) They're coming. I'm spied on—all the time. (
She moves quickly up Left.
) They mustn't know I've spoken to you.

(
GINEVRA
exits up Left.
)

GERARD
. (
Moving Centre and looking after her
)
Nom d'un nom d'un nom
!

(
SARAH
enters on the terrace from Centre and comes into the room.
)

SARAH
. (
Moving to Right of
GERARD
) Has something upset you, Doctor Gerard?

GERARD
. Yes, I am upset.
Quelle histoire!
Royal blood, persecution, poison in the food, surrounded by enemies.

(
The lift descends and the door opens.
LADY
WESTHOLME
,
MISS
PRYCE
and the
DRAGOMAN
enter from Left.
LADY
WESTHOLME
carries a copy of “The Times” and
MISS
PRYCE
has her handbag.
)

SARAH
. But that . . . (
She breaks off and moves down Right.
)

(
GERARD
moves down Right Centre.
)

LADY
WESTHOLME
. (
Crossing to Left of
GERARD
) Ah—Doctor Gerard. I've been looking for you.

(
The
DRAGOMAN
moves to Left of
LADY
WESTHOLME
.
MISS
PRYCE
moves to the desk.
)

The arrangements for our trip to Petra are quite complete. We start on Tuesday and spend the night at Ammãn, then on to Petra the following day. The journey will be made in a first-class touring car. (
She indicates the
DRAGOMAN
) This is our dragoman—Mahommed.

DRAGOMAN
. My name not Mahommed, lady. My name Aissa.