POSSESSION Directed by Neil LaBute Written by David Henry Hwang, Laura Jones & Neil LaBute, based on the 1990 novel by A.S. Byatt Scene 1. A meadow near Seal Court RANDOLPH (voice over) They say that women change: 'tis so: but you Are ever-constant in your changefulness, Like that still thread of falling river, one From source to last embrace in the still pool Ever-renewed and ever-moving on From first to last a myriad water-drops Scene2. Sotheby's AUCTIONEER 'From first to last a myriad water-drops And you- I love you for it- are the force That moves and holds the form.' Now, ladies and gentlemen, you've just heard a snippet from one of only two copies of this poem by Mr. Randolph Henry Ash, poet laureate to Queen Victoria herself. And this gorgeous ode to his nuptial bliss, written in his own hand, begins our bidding today. May we start the bidding, please, at 40,000 pounds? Scene3. London Library LIBRARIAN Bit of an old monster. ROLAND Yeah. But an important monster. It's Randolph Ash's. LIBRARIAN Yes. Uh, who are you with again? ROLAND I'm, uh, Roland Michell. LIBRARIAN Who? ROLAND Professor Blackadder's research assistant. LIBRARIAN Isn't that Dr. Wolff? ROLAND Was. Fergus got the lectureship at Saint John's - over me. LIBRARIAN Of course he did. Oh, yes, Dr. Wolff mentioned you. You're that American who's over here. ROLAND Well, I'm sure there are others. I mean, after all, you are our favorite colony. Scene 4. Sotheby's AUCTIONEER Ten thousand pounds. Any further offers on 10,000 pounds? 11,000 pounds. FERGUS So when do your little Suffragist trinkets come up for the- Look, Maud, it's Mortimer Cropper. MAUD Oh, yes. That's someone you should know. FERGUS Do you know him? MAUD Of him. Suffered through a lecture or two. That sort of thing. FERGUS Really? MAUD Mm-hmm. FERGUS He's a voracious collector from what I hear. MAUD Yes. His penchant for conquests is well documented. It's a very male quality. FERGUS Mm. Look, I know it's vulgar, but I have to introduce myself. MAUD Oh, all right. FERGUS Oh, uh- Damn. AUCTIONEER Let's begin the bidding, please, at 4,000 pounds. Four thousand pounds. FERGUS Excuse me. Sorry. Um, Professor Cropper, Fergus Wolff. Um, we spoke, actually, after one of your papers at, uh, at Trinity. You wouldn't remember. CROPPER I'm sorry. I don't. Nice coat, though. FERGUS Oh, thank you. CROPPER You're with? FERGUS Uh, James Blackadder. CROPPER Ah, you're one of Blackadder's boys from the British Museum. HILDEBRAND Hello, Hildebrand Ash, man of leisure. FERGUS Oh, hello. CROPPER I don't know why Blackadder comes to these things. He hasn't got any money. FERGUS Well, he's Irish, you see. He enjoys feeling persecuted. Scene 5. London Library RANDOLPH (voice over) Dear Madam, Since our pleasant conversation, I have thought of little else. I write with a strong sense of the necessity of continuing our talk. Dear Madam, I know that you came only to honour Crabb Robinson at his small informal party, because he had been of assistance to your illustrious Father. Scene 6. Ash's House MAID Excuse me, sir. Meal is served. RANDOLPH Thank you. Scene 7. Euan's House CANDY Well, hello. ROLAND Hello. EUAN Ah, my tenant. Your evening sherry. ROLAND Thank you. EUAN Candy, this is Roland. Roland, Candy. ROLAND Hello again. EUAN Be a love and check on the duck, eh? CANDY Okay. EUAN So, coming in? ROLAND So, how do you always know it's me? EUAN I'm a solicitor. I know everything. ROLAND Candy, huh? EUAN Oh, no, no, no, please. Candy's just a friend. Why? Are you interested? ROLAND I told you I'm off women. EUAN Yeah, but- It isn't a reason to be off women. ROLAND Why do we always sit in your hall? EUAN 'Cause it's the best room in the house, really. I bought this place for the hallway. ROLAND So I found something today I think is pretty incredible in the London Library. EUAN A place to sit? ROLAND No. I found something of Ash's. Do you know Randolph Ash? EUAN Ash. Oh, doesn't he have some sort of celebration going on those- ROLAND It's the centenary of his love poems. EUAN Terribly mushy ones. Found after his death or something, weren't they? (to Candy)Is the table laid, darling? ROLAND (whisper) Listen. What's it cost an hour? EUAN (also whisper) No, no, no, no. Candy's a friend, I told you. ROLAND (still whisper) Not her, you. What do you charge an hour, roughly? EUAN Oh, uh- I don't know. Five hundred. ROLAND Pounds? EUAN Mm-hmm. ROLAND Jesus. No wonder you have a nice hallway. EUAN Thank you. ROLAND Okay, I wanna buy seven minutes of attorney/client privilege right now. EUAN Step into my office. ROLAND Ash wrote those. EUAN They're not the originals?!? ROLAND Yeah. EUAN Oh, my God! How much time we got left? I've got to think of a defense for you. ROLAND They're practically love letters. EUAN Well, they're racy, actually. ROLAND See, Ash supposedly never even looked at another woman, I mean, not even glanced at one his entire marriage. Can you imagine what would happen if I could prove that Mr. Perfect Husband had this, like, Shakespearean-type dark lady thing going? CANDY (to Euan) Darling, the duck's done. Would you be a sweet heart and do the sauce? EUAN Yes, yes. ROLAND Duck, huh? EUAN Yeah, Peking. It's from around the corner. Yeah, but that would be extraordinary. It would be rewriting history, old chap. ROLAND Yeah, it would be. Scene 8. Ash Factory ROLAND Morning. PAOLA Morning. BLACKADDER Roland. ROLAND Professor. I think I made a discovery. BLACKADDER It'll turn out to have been discovered 20 times already. ROLAND I don't think so. BLACKADDER Surprise me. ROLAND Ash's copy of Vico in the London Library - it's full of his own notes on loose bits of paper all the way through. BLACKADDER Useful? ROLAND Very. BLACKADDER Better have a look. See what's what before people turn up with his cheque-book. ROLAND I also found- Professor! BLACKADDER They made a mockery over at Sotheby's yesterday. 1,900 pounds for a tooth-pick. Fergus! Where is Fergus? PAOLA He's supposed to be teaching. ROLAND I'll come with you. BLACKADDER No need. The novice blunders on the discovery, the scholar investigates. You get on with those wretched requests for Ellen's stuff. I'll go straight from there to my class. ROLAND (To himself) Thank you, Roland. What a wonderful discovery! They're magically delicious. PAOLA He's a meany. ROLAND That's a very nice name for what he is. Wretched requests, please. 'How many jars of goosberry jam did Ash's wife, Ellen, make in 1850?' Hmm, this is not a job for a grown-up. Goosberry. Cooking. Goosberry jam. Cooking. 143. What about a small informal party? 1859. Scene 9. Ash's House ELLEN (voice over) My headache last night prevented me from accompanying Randolph to dear Crabb Robinson's for a dinner honouring the poetess Christabel LaMotte. He was reluctant to attend without me, but I was persistent and finally persuaded him. Scene 10. Crabb Robinson's Dinner Party CRABB Ash, you know Professor Spear. SPEAR I'm delighted. RANDOLPH Good evening. CRABB Mrs. Jameson. RANDOLPH Mrs. Jameson. MRS. JAMESON Charmed. CRABB Miss Glover. RANDOLPH Oh, Miss Glover. CRABB And Miss LaMotte. RANDOLPH Miss LaMotte. The highest pleasure. ELLEN (voice over) Randolph reported the party went off very well, indeed. The discussion of poetry was animated, with Miss LaMotte speaking more forcibly than anyone expected. RANDOLPH It surprises me, Madam, that a lady who lives as quietly as you do wouldn't be aware of my modest success. CHRISTABEL Oh, I'm very aware that the papers herald you weekly. It is you, however, who surprise me. RANDOLPH And why is that? CHRISTABEL Judging from your work, I'm surprised you'd even acknowledge my existence or any woman's for that matter since you show us such small regard on the page. RANDOLPH You cut me, Madam. CHRISTABEL I'm sorry. I only meant to scratch. Scene 11. British Museum ROLAND Hey, Fergus. FERGUS Ah, hello, Roland. What is it you chaps always say, 'How's it hanging?' ROLAND Well, we usually just say 'Hey'. Unless you're gay. FERGUS Oh. ROLAND Listen. Let me ask you something. Do you know a Dr. Maud Bailey? FERGUS Maud! Oh, yes, I know Maud very well. She teaches Gender Studies at Lincoln. ROLAND Oh. Would she be helpful? I'm checking out Christabel LaMotte. She's a poet, writing around about 1859. FERGUS Yes, yes. Why would you be interested in her? ROLAND Oh, nothing. It's just I had some requests about Ellen Ash's papers. But LaMotte's name came up, so- FERGUS God! The keeper of Ellen's flame. I mean, that's the bottom of the food chain, old sport. ROLAND Yeah, but I got to stay on the food chain, old sport. That's why I do it. FERGUS Right. Well, 'Publish or perish', as they say. Or in your case, 'Perish or perish'. Ha ha ha- ROLAND So, would she- this Maud Bailey person? FERGUS Oh, yes, but I'd be careful if I were you. ROLAND Why? What's she like? FERGUS Well, she thicks men's blood with cold. ROLAND Oh, great. FERGUS Or if you prefer the American vernacular: she's a regular ball breaker. Scene 12. Lincoln Station MAUD Mr. Michell? ROLAND What? I'm sorry. MAUD Roland Michell? ROLAND Yes. You're Maud. MAUD Bailey. Dr. Bailey, yes. Scene 13. Lincoln University MAUD There's nothing in my index. No mention of Ash at all. ROLAND Well, Ash and LaMotte definitely met. MAUD Really? When? ROLAND June, 1859. At a dinner party given by Crabb Robinson. It's in his diary. MAUD And you jumped from that to the idea that they corresponded. ROLAND Well, I found an unfinished draft of a letter in a book- MAUD Addressed to LaMotte? ROLAND No, just 'Dear Madam'. But there were three women at Crabb Robinson's dinner party, and out of the three, it's likeliest to be LaMotte. Scene 14. Lincoln University - the Lift ROLAND So maybe there's something in LaMotte's letters. MAUD There aren't many from the Richmond period - the time you're interested in. I'm descended from Christabel, actually. I'm her niece, thrice removed. ROLAND Three grades. MAUD That's what 'thrice' usually means. ROLAND Oh, maybe I shouldn't have come. MAUD It does seem rather pointless. Scene 15. Lincoln Library MAUD Well, I supposed since you're here, you could have a look through Blanche's diary. ROLAND Who's Blanche? MAUD Blanche Glover. Christabel's companion. Her lover. Oh, you look surprised. ROLAND I didn't know she was- MAUD - didn't know she was a lesbian. ROLAND No, I mean- Don't get me wrong. I like lesbians. MAUD Yes, well. Unfortunately they didn't have video cameras in those days, so you're out of luck. ROLAND Now I see why you think it's so unlikely. MAUD Not from that point of view. I mean, God, she could have been bisexual. There's no evidence she was, but in theory- Did you not do any reading before you came? ROLAND Is this like an oral exam? MAUD Yes, I suppose it is. I mean, you don't know the first thing about her, and yet you make these leaps. ROLAND Hey, you're the one who called her a lesbian, not me. Scene 16. Richmond BLANCHE (voice over) Letters, letters, letters. Not for me. Letters I am not meant to know or see. CHRISTABEL Thank you, Jane. BLANCHE You do not have to hide them from me. CHRISTABEL I am not hiding them. BLANCHE You say they are not hidden, but they are. Tucked away as if they were from Cupid himself. What does he want? CHRISTABEL To be my friend. BLANCHE Friend. They always try and give what they want a decent name. CHRISTABEL Blanche, no. No, Blanche, listen. What we have is ours. No one can change that. BLANCHE 'Tis already changed. Scene 17. Maud's Office MAUD Find anything? ROLAND Maybe. MAUD So what are those bookmarks then? ROLAND Blanche writes about letters. Letters, letters that Christabel wrote and received. And it nearly drove Blanche crazy. Where are they? MAUD Lost. Destroyed. Who knows? There's lots we haven't got. Not one of Blanche's paintings has ever turned up, for instance. ROLAND So who do you think wrote the letters? MAUD We've never been able to verify who he was, but Ash certainly isn't one of the candidates. You've got nothing. ROLAND I mean, it's just a thought. Of course, I've thrown out a lot of thoughts today, and you're pretty much shot them all down, so- MAUD Yes. Well, it seems like a bit of a wild-goose chase to me. ROLAND I'd like to do some more reading. MAUD I suppose you'll wish to stay here overnight then? ROLAND Well, I can't really afford to stay overnight. I mean, unless you want me huddled downstairs in your doorway. MAUD I suppose I could put up with you for one evening, couldn't I? Scene 18. Maud's House MAUD No doubt you know Fergus Wolff then. ROLAND I'm sorry? Uh, yeah, we're in the same department. MAUD I imagine that he told you that we're- occasionally on together. ROLAND No, he didn't. MAUD Well, did he- Did he say anything about me? ROLAND Uh- No. MAUD Right. I'll use the bathroom first. Get out of your way. ROLAND Please. I'm just sort of a brush and flush kind of guy, so- Forget I said that. Maud. Can I show you something? MAUD Are these-? ROLAND Those are the originals. MAUD How did you get- ROLAND I took them. MAUD Took them? ROLAND I sort of stole them. MAUD Where from? ROLAND The London Library. MAUD How could you do that? ROLAND It was on impulse. MAUD Impulse? Right. I've seen that take-what-you-want attitude in other Americ- ROLAND What? In other Americans? God, what is it with you people and Americans? Look, I know that I shouldn't have taken them. I know that. But, Maud, I want to find out what happened. Did he or didn't he send the letter? You might not buy into my theory, but to me, Blanche's diary suggests that it's possible. MAUD Wouldn't someone have unearthed a thing like this? ROLAND That's what makes it so big. MAUD Potentially so big. ROLAND Well, no one has. MAUD Probably because those were never sent. Scene 19. Maud's House - The next morning MAUD Are you doing your homework? ROLAND No, I'm just- writing stuff. Stuff for me. It's nothing. MAUD You're a closet poet. ROLAND Uh, more like basement, really. I'm just, uh, just fooling around. MAUD Is that what you want to be when you grow up? ROLAND No, I'm gonna be safe and teach like everybody else. Besides, there's no such thing as poets anymore. MAUD Well, Poet, do you want to see Christabel's family home before you go? Scene 20. Ash Factory FERGUS Michell's late again. BLACKADDER Roland asked for another day off, Fergus. FERGUS Oh, really? Where's he gone? BLACKADDER I didn't ask and he didn't say. He's American, for God's sake. He's probably off trafficking drugs. FERGUS Did his new discovery lead to anything? BLACKADDER Ash's Vico? Are you dreaming? FERGUS Vico? No, no. This had something to do with Christabel LaMotte. He went to see Dr. Bailey in Lincoln - a woman. BLACKADDER LaMotte. Hmm. No. FERGUS Well, it probably came to nothing then. BLACKADDER Exactly. FERGUS Or he would have told you. Wouldn't he? Scene 21. St. Etheldreda's Churchyard MAUD Seal Court's over there. ROLAND So how long did Christabel live at this Seal Court place? MAUD Ages. The last twenty or so years of her life. ROLAND Excuse me. MAUD Sorry. ROLAND 'To a dusty shelf we aspire'. MAUD You should drop by Seal Court before the train. Scene 22. Seal Court JOAN And what do you do in London, Mr. Michell? Are you a teacher as well? ROLAND No, not yet. I'm doing a fellowship. SIR GEORGE Which means what exactly? MAUD On the dole. ROLAND Um, my field's Victorian poetry. SIR GEORGE We had ourselves a poet in this house once. Terrible, sentimental stuff about God and Death and the dew and fairies. JOAN Why don't you show this young man Christabel's room, Maud? And why don't you stay tonight? Scene 23 SIR GEORGE You're under no obligation to stay, of course. It's just Joan's way. She misses our daughter. MAUD Quite a drive back, actually. ROLAND No, we're fine. SIR GEORGE Oh, well. Hardly ever come up here. With the wheelchair, of course, we bunk down on the ground floor. MAUD I haven't been up here since I was a child. ROLAND Maud, is this the photograph at your house? MAUD Yes, that's Christabel's niece, May. That's my great-great-grandmother. Christabel wrote dozens of poems about this place. 'What are they Who haunt our dreams and weaken our desires And turn us from the solid face-' 'And in the depth of wintry night They slumber open-eyed and bright' 'Dolly keeps a Secret Safer than a Friend Dolly's Silent Sympathy Lasts without end.' 'In no Rush of Action This is our doom To Live a Long Life out In a Dark Room.' ROLAND Maud. It's pretty incredible, huh? Scene 24. Seal Court MAUD Fergus, it's me. I- I'm out of town tonight on business. I've stumbled onto a connection between Christabel and Randolph Ash and have a few questions for you. Call me on 015-22632416. Scene 25. Seal Court MAUD Roland. Roland! Roland! Roland. ROLAND No. MAUD Roland, it's me. It's Maud. ROLAND What is it? MAUD Listen. 'Dolly keeps a Secret Safer than a Friend Dolly's Silent Sympathy Lasts without end.' Scene 26. Seal Court - Christabel's Room MAUD God. I was so sure. Sympathy. Sympathy. Sympathy meaning what? Mutual affection or understanding. Favour pity or even accord. But that's not it, is it? That's what she told her. She uses silent sympathy in a more classical context, like structural support. Dolly conceals it. Yes, but not within. Beneath. ROLAND There's a door. There's a door. MAUD I can't believe it. ROLAND Let me see. MAUD Be- be careful. They're very precious. ROLAND I'll be very careful. MAUD Oh, God. We shouldn't be doing this. ROLAND What do you mean, we shouldn't be doing this? Why'd you drag me up here then? MAUD What are you doing? ROLAND I'm going to read. MAUD Stop. We've got to ask the Baileys. ROLAND Maud, you ask, and the next time you see these is under glass in New Mexico. MAUD Stop it. Stop. Stop. Stop. All right. All right. But can we please at least do it properly? Let me run downstairs and get some note cards and some pencils. ROLAND All right. Go. Go! Hurry! Scene 27. The reading ROLAND Look at this. We've got Ash and Christabel's letters here. Look. Come here. MAUD What? ROLAND Listen. 'Dear Miss LaMotte, It was a great pleasure to talk to you at dear Crabb Robinson's party. May I hope that you too enjoyed our talk - and may I have the pleasure of calling on you?' MAUD She says, 'No, but you may write. Would you rather not have a Letter, however imperfect, than a plate of cucumber sandwiches, however exquisitely fine-cut? You know you would, and so would I.' ROLAND 'I was entranced and moved by your brief portrait of your father.' MAUD 'I write Nonsense, but if you care to write again, you shall have a sober essay on What You Will. Yours to command in some things - Christabel LaMotte.' ROLAND 'Where I was born Was a small place too, not like this, not bare,' RANDOLPH (voice over) A brilliant dusty hutch of mysteries, A cabinet of curiosities. What did my eyes first light on? CHRISTABEL (voice over) I am a creature of my Pen, my Pen is the best of me. I send you now two more poems. RANDOLPH (voice over) I eagerly read your mythic tales of Maia and found them both charming and sad. Your verse is rich, but perhaps the metaphor is richer. CHRISTABEL (voice over) Dear Mr. Ash, I live circumscribed and self-communing - 'tis best so - not like a Princess in a thicket, but more like a Spider in her Web. MAUD 'Inclined to snap at visitors or trespassers, not perceiving the distinction until too late. Thus, it is unwise to call.' RANDOLPH (voice over) I know you live very quietly, but I could be very quiet - I only want to discuss Dante and Shakespeare and Wordsworth and Coleridge and Goethe, not forgetting of course, Christabel LaMotte, and the ambitious Fairy Project. CHRISTABEL (voice over) Oh Sir - things flicker and shift, all spangle and sparkle and flashes. I have sat all this long evening by my fireside - turning towards a caving-in, the crumbling of the consumed coals - to where I am leading myself - to lifeless dust - Sir. RANDOLPH (voice over) My dear Friend, For I may call myself a friend, may I not? I speak to you as I would speak to any person who possesses my true thoughts. For my true thoughts have spent more time in your company than in anyone else's, these last few weeks, and where my thoughts are, there am I, in truth. MAUD 'My dear Friend, It has been borne in upon me that there are dangers in our continued conversation.' CHRISTABEL (voice over) The world would not look well upon letters- between a woman living in shared solitude as I do- and a man- even if that man were a great poet- And if one is to live in this way, it is imperative to appear respectable in the eyes of the world and your wife. It is a Sealed Pact. It is a chosen way of life- in which I have been wondrously happy- and not alone in being so.' MAUD 'I have chosen a Way- dear Friend- I must hold to it. Be patient. Be generous. Forgive' 'May I also request that you return my correspondence to me? In this way, at least, our letters will remain together. I have known- Incandescence- and must decline to sample it any further. This goes now to the post. Forgive it faults and forgive me. Christabel.' RANDOLPH (voice over) My dear Christabel, Your letter came as a shock to me. I will confess, I was at first not only shocked, but angry, that you should write so. As you've asked about my wife, however, I will tell you. I love Ellen, but not as I love you. There are good reasons- which I cannot discuss- why my love for you may not hurt her. ELLEN I do not feel I have been a proper wife to you, Randolph. Without children, without ever any kind of physical- RANDOLPH Nonsense, Ellen. Nonsense. There are many types of love- all sorts- and ours are good between us. It has been most profound. RANDOLPH (voice ever) I must say to you what is in my mind. I have called you my Muse, and so you are. I could call you, with even greater truth- my Love. ROLAND Whoa. Whoa. MAUD What? ROLAND Whoa. MAUD What? Don't do that. What? ROLAND So he sends his response. He sends her more letters. And she doesn't answer. She ignores them. Typical. MAUD No. She- She chose her life with Blanche. It's not typical. It's remarkable. ROLAND 'I shall hope against hope- that this note is the Dove which will return with the wished-for Olive-branch. My letters are like Noah's Ravens- they have sped out across the Thames-' RANDOLPH (voice over) -sped out across the Thames and yet havee not returned. I send this note by hand in the hope that you might receive it. CHRISTABEL (to Blanche) Where are the letters? BLANCHE They're gone. I tore them up. I burned them. CHRISTABEL And the others from my desk? BLANCHE The same. I beg for us to be as we were, Christabel. Sweetheart, please. CHRISTABEL (voice over) This house- so happy once- is full of weeping and wailing and Black Headache- I ask myself to whom, I may turn- and think of you, my Friend, the unwitting cause of all this grief. RANDOLPH (voice over) I shan't forget the first glimpse of your forms, illuminated as it was by flashes of sunlight. I have dreamt nightly of your face. To walk the landscape of my life with the rhythms of your writing ringing in my ears. CHRISTABEL (voice over) I shall never forget our shining progress towards one another. Never have I felt such a concentration of my entire being. I cannot let you burn me up, nor can I resist you. No mere human can stand in a fire and not be consumed. ROLAND Do you mind reading the last part out one more time? MAUD 'I cannot let you burn me up, nor can I resist you. No mere human can stand in a fire and not be consumed.' That? ROLAND Yeah. Thank you and- MAUD 'And I took your hand. Mine rested in yours with trust and belief.' RANDOLPH Do you have regrets? CHRISTABEL I should regret venturing out to Crabb Robinson's party that evening. I should regret it, but I do not. Not even in that most sensible corner of my heart. What are we to do? ROLAND 'I do not wish to damage your life. Nonetheless, I shall be in the Church at noon tomorrow, with what strikes me as the holiest of prayers, that you should join me on a journey to Yorkshire and journey out of time beyond our lives here on Earth.' This is unbelievable. MAUD That was the last one. ROLAND You're kidding me. MAUD No. ROLAND Well, did she go with him or not? SIR GEORGE Hands up! You two? What's this then? Scene 28. Seal Court JOAN There's been no harm done, George. SIR GEORGE How do we know if harm's been done? JOAN I think it was very clever of Maud to find your treasure. SIR GEORGE Yes. Well, I must take advice, Joanie. Scene 29. Seal Court ROLAND How long before Sir George takes advice, do you think? MAUD He'll dither around for a while, but not long. Blanche's diary has nothing for that period. What about Ellen Ash? Did she keep a journal? ROLAND Yeah, in London, but it's mostly just boring housewife stuff. MAUD God is in the boring housewife stuff. We should check it. Scene 30. Seal Court - London SIR GEORGE Bailey here. FERGUS Bailey. SIR GEORGE Is that Dr. Heath? FERGUS No. Um, I'm a friend of Maud Bailey's. I was wondering, is she there? SIR GEORGE No, she isn't. Could you get off the line? I'm expecting the doctor. FERGUS Oh, um, have you seen Roland Michell? SIR GEORGE Not since this morning, no. FERGUS But his work went well, did it? SIR GEORGE The Fairy Poem? I haven't the foggiest idea. FERGUS Do you mean Christabel LaMotte? SIR GEORGE Get off the line! Scene 31. British Museum ROLAND I looked in Ellen's diary. There's nothing. But, uh, this should cheer you up. It's in her correspondence. MAUD I'm not going to ask if this is the original. ROLAND I wouldn't. MAUD 'Dear Mrs. Ash, I am at present totally unknown to you, but I have something to impart to you which closely concerns both of us and is in my case a matter of life and death. May I trespass on your time and come to see you? You would do wrong to keep this Evidence which I send to you now. It is not mine, it is also not yours. What I say is true and urgent, as you will come to see. Yours sincerely, Blanche Glover.' (Flashback to 1859) BLANCHE Mrs. Ash- (Back to present) MAUD Maybe Blanche didn't tear the letters, but kept them and showed them to Ellen. ROLAND It all fits beautifully. MAUD Well, perhaps, u, both of our departments should work on this together. ROLAND Is that what you want? MAUD I don't know, do you? ROLAND No, I wanna go after them. I wanna find out what happened. I wanna go to Yorkshire and follow their trail. I need to know. MAUD I thought you were mad when you came to Lincoln with your stolen letter. Now I feel exactly the same. Scene 32. Road to Yorkshire MAUD I haven't really thanked you. I mean, properly, for all of this. I have difficulty with compliments and such. ROLAND Giving or receiving? MAUD Both, actually. ROLAND Well, I won't tell you you're amazing-looking then. You're probably sick of hearing it. MAUD Thank you. It's- ROLAND I'm the last guy who'd act on it, with Fergus and all. MAUD What does 'and all' mean? ROLAND Nothing. Just a little problem that I have- socially. MAUD Do you take anything for it? ROLAND It's not that kind of a problem. It's just relationships on the whole. They're not really for me. Anyway- MAUD Yes. Anyway- thank you. ROLAND You're welcome. Scene 33. Lobby Hotel FERGUS Thank you for agreeing to meet me, Professor. CROPPER Well, you made me rather curious. GARCON Drink, sir? CROPPER Uh, Scotch with just a dash of soda. GARCON Sir? FERGUS Uh, I'll have the same. Thank you. GARCON Thank you. FERGUS Um, I wanted to learn of the connection between Ash and Christabel LaMotte. CROPPER LaMotte and Ash? There isn't any. FERGUS Well, Roland Michell has made a discovery with a colleague of mine, Maud Bailey. CROPPER I'm sorry. Who the hell is Roland Michell? FERGUS Oh, Blackadder's research assistant. American. Blondish. Well, anyway, he seems to know you. And he thinks it's important. CROPPER And does Blackadder agree? FERGUS I don't believe he knows anything about it. Scene 34. Train to Yorkshire RANDOLPH Do you wish to be lodged separately and respectably elsewhere from me? CHRISTABEL I want to be with you. I understood that was what we had decided. These four weeks only are ours but ours alone. RANDOLPH Oh, I, uh- I hope you will accept this ring. CHRISTABEL I have brought a ring, too. You see? Proof of my resolution. RANDOLPH You take my breath away. Scene 35. Bay Hotel - 1859 CHRISTABEL Not yet. RANDOLPH No. Not yet. Shall we go out, then, to explore? Scene 36. Bay Hotel - present WOMAN There's your bathroom. Bluebirds. Your lovely view. And, of course, the bed. ROLAND We'll look for another hotel. MAUD But this is where Ash stayed. ROLAND Well, then, we'll have to share a room. WOMAN I can bring up a folding bed for one of you, if that's your problem. MAUD We work together, actually. It's not- ROLAND We were expecting two rooms. MAUD Right. WOMAN I'm sure it's more complicated than I can imagine. Scene 37. James Storr's Jewellery VENDOR That's a lovely brooch you're wearing, Miss. I reckon it could be one of Isaac Greenbergs designs. I'll, uh, get the book and see if I can tell. ROLAND Where did you get this? MAUD I've had it for ages. It was in the family dress-up box. ROLAND Don't you see? Ash bought the brooch for Ellen- the clasped hands- here in Whitby. We knew that. And this for Christabel. MAUD Oh, right. So while he was buying this, he said, um, 'Yes, I'll have the eternal embrace for my wife.' ROLAND No, he wouldn't have said anything. He would have just bought the brooch. Christabel would have seen. It was accepted between them. MAUD Are you writing fiction now? ROLAND Maybe. And I'm having fun. Are you? MAUD Yes, I suppose I am. ROLAND Don't grimace when you say it. It's more convincing. MAUD I suppose I can be a touch empirical at times. ROLAND Just a touch. Hey, you wanna go for a walk or something? I mean, out in the hills. VENDOR For sure it's earlier than the death of Victoria's Albert. Well, probably late '50s. 1860s maybe. ROLAND 1859? Yes? Scene 38. Thomason Foss ROLAND I think we're getting near Thomason Foss. Cropper mentions it- MAUD Mortimer Cropper? ROLAND Yeah. Ash's biographer. All-purpose asshole. He's literally trekked every step of Ash's life. He's happy to tell you that too. MAUD More than happy, I'm sure. ROLAND You know him, huh? That is beautiful. Maud. What? MAUD I think Christabel did come here. Listen. 'Three elements combined to make the fourth; But above the water and the light together made A halo in the darkened cave.' That poem's dated 1859, July. See if there's a cave behind it, that might be all the proof we need. Ah- I know this is an awfully repressed sort of English thing to say, but what the hell are you doing? ROLAND There's only one way to find out. MAUD Of course, we could have just asked someone. ROLAND Whoo! Maud! Maud! I found it! Scene 29. Bay Hotel CHRISTABEL Your hands are shaking. Are you afraid? RANDOLPH No. A little. (Fading to present) ROLAND 'These are and where there. The garden and the tree The serpent at its root, the fruit of gold The woman in the shadow of the boughs The running water and the grassy space. They are and where there.' MAUD I don't mind that. ROLAND See? You could grow to like Ash. MAUD Yes. He's sort of a soft-core misogynist. ROLAND Why do you always tie your hair up like that? MAUD It has to do with Fergus Wolff mostly. ROLAND Fergus? How to do with Fergus? MAUD When we met, he drove me mad quoting Yeats. 'Who could love you for yourself alone- BOTH 'And not your yellow hair.' MAUD Yes. And then I was accused once by my sister feminists at a conference of dyeing it to attract men. ROLAND Really? MAUD Yes. So I shaved it off. All of it. ROLAND And did he? MAUD Did who what? ROLAND Fergus- love you without your yellow hair? MAUD No. We thought of that. We drove each other mad. I don't even like him, but I can't seem to- ROLAND Freud. 'On the other side of attraction lies repulsion.' Or was that Calvin Klein? MAUD Do you believe that? ROLAND Uh, I wouldn't know. I don't really allow myself to do that Ash/Christabel grand passion kind of thing. MAUD Allow? ROLAND Yeah. Jealousy, obsession, all that. Not anymore. MAUD You're lucky then. It all gets so- just such a tangle. ROLAND It's a tangle most people want. Not me though. My antics made a lot of people unhappy- one horribly so. MAUD For me, whenever I feel anything for anyone, I- I go cold all over. ROLAND What makes you do that? MAUD Fear, I suppose. Fear of being burned up- by love. ROLAND Listen to us. MAUD Yes. Aren't we just maudlin? ROLAND Maud, you should let your hair out. You should let it breathe. And don't do the ice thing 'cause you have nothing to worry about from me. MAUD Christabel said, 'Fear all men.' ROLAND Well, Christabel didn't know me. I don't want to take anything from you. MAUD So, then, we both perfectly safe. ROLAND Right. Scene 40. Bay Hotel CHRISTABEL How can we bear it? Everyday we will have less. RANDOLPH Would you rather have had nothing? CHRISTABEL No. I thank God that if there had to be a Dragon- He was You. Scene 41. Bay Hotel MAUD Wait. Wait. No, I was just trying to get out from under the covers. ROLAND No. No. This is- We shouldn't be doing this. It's dangerous. MAUD Well, I really- ROLAND No, because I like you. I like you a lot. I just don't wanna blow it here and- MAUD Well, it doesn't matter to me, honestly. ROLAND What do you mean it doesn't matter? Sorry. I think we're probably just- In this cramped quarters, it was a mistake. Maud. Maud! I didn't mean that. Scene 42. The Coast MAUD Let's not beat the thing dead. It happened, it's over and we're adults. ROLAND Speak for yourself. MAUD I can't imagine what you're like after you actually sleep with someone. ROLAND Maud, I think that you are very- You know? MAUD No, I don't know. So, what? We're friends now, is that it? ROLAND Yeah. That's a lot. MAUD No. I agree. It's fine. ROLAND Yeah. It's perfect. MAUD Anyway, we're getting off the track here. We came to investigate them, not us. Scene 43. The Harbour ROLAND So, what ever happened to Blanche? MAUD Blanche drowned. ROLAND Oh. Where was Christabel? MAUD We don't know where she was. The year before's a bit blank, too. ROLAND You don't know where she was that entire year? MAUD There's some speculation that she went to France, but I have nothing to support that. ROLAND Okay, so- Christabel comes here with Ash and then disappears- on paper, at least. MAUD Yes. And Blanche suicides. ROLAND Jesus. Scene 44. Pickering Station RANDOLPH What are you doing? CHRISTABEL It's a poem. I've been writing it as I've watched you. RANDOLPH You're not pleased with it? CHRISTABEL On the contrary. I think it perfectly expresses the joy I have felt with you. RANDOLPH Then why that? CHRISTABEL These feelings- I want them to survive. I know I can never declare all this- this Love- there, I've said it. I know it cannot be declared to the world. What I may do is scatter these words from the train and hope that they somehow take root. RANDOLPH They will flourish. I swear it. Scene 45. Pickering ROLAND So- What next- I mean, for you? MAUD I suppose I'll check through the archives and see if there's any clue at all where Christabel might have been that year. ROLAND Good. I guess I'll just, uh- hell, I don't know- go look up shit on the microfiche- suffer over you. MAUD Good-bye. ROLAND See ya. Scene 46. Seal Court SIR GEORGE Lost your way? Don't do tours here. CROPPER Sir George Bailey? SIR GEORGE Who wants to know? CROPPER Professor Mortimer Cropper, curator of the Stant Collection, Robert Dale Owen University in Harmony City, New Mexico. And this is Dr. Wolff. FERGUS Good morning. SIR GEORGE I'm a busy man. My wife's ill. CROPPER I can quite understand that, Sir. Sources have led me to believe that you may be in possession of some documentation by Randolph Henry Ash. FERGUS Whoa! CROPPER Don't shoot, please. SIR GEORGE Get off my land! CROPPER Do you have any idea what we're talking about here? Do you? Do you have any idea how much such pieces, if they existed, how much they would be worth? SIR GEORGE Worth? Scene 47. Road to Lincoln FERGUS Do you mind if we swing past the university? Bit of unfinished business. CROPPER Miss Bailey, I presume. The accomplice. FERGUS The very same. Scene 48. Euan's House EUAN Good God! You're like Bonnie and Clyde. ROLAND Come on. I need a picture of her. EUAN I've never seen you like this. Just go. Take the Porsche and go. Scene 49. Maud's House MAUD Fergus, what? ROLAND Uh, if Fergus went out to get Indian food, I'm gonna- I'm gonna feel really stupid. MAUD No, he didn't. India wouldn't be far enough away, actually. Come inside, I'll explain. ROLAND Are you sure? I mean, about me coming in. MAUD Yes, very. So I left Fergus a message from Seal Court, which apparently put him on our trail, and he came here looking for answers- he and Cropper from the sound of it. ROLAND So that was Cropper's car outside? I think Fergus has found something. He's been spooking around the museum, sending out a bunch of faxes. Ah! I wouldn't be so quick to do that. Yeah. MAUD The British Museum fax log sheet. 'To The University of Muntz from Fergus Wolff. Subject: Christabel LaMotte. Information on LaMotte genealogy. Request loan of journal of Sabine de Kercoz.' ROLAND Unfortunately for Fergus, we have to log our faxes. MAUD You're shameless. ROLAND So what are we gonna do now? Are we gonna try to beat 'em to France, or- Or are we just gonna stare at each other? MAUD That is the question, isn't it? ROLAND Mm-hmm. MAUD I have another one for you. ROLAND What's that? MAUD What are you really doing here? ROLAND Well, I, uh- I needed to see your face. I just want to let you know that whatever happened in Whitby, which unfortunately not much, is not because anything that you did- not at all. I just didn't want to jump into something- I mean, I did and I do want to, badly. I just didn't want to mess this up. And I just want to see- I just want to see if there's an us in you and me. Would- would you like that? I'll take that as a yes. Scene 50. University of Muntz SECRETARY (In French) MAUD Ah, oui. Excusez-moi. Nous sommes confreres, mais je - ROLAND When will she be back? Could you check for us? SECRETARY She will return on Thursday. MAUD Okay. ROLAND Au revoir. MAUD Merci. ROLAND You and your shoplifting, huh? I can't take you anywhere. Scene 51. Restaurant MAUD 'Dear Professor Wolff, Since I wrote to you last, I've made another discovery. Amongst Sabine's papers was her journal in which she writes about LaMotte's visit to Britanny in 1859 and the subsequent arrival of a mysterious visitor.' Scene 52. Britanny SABINE I know how things are. I wish to help you. CHRISTABEL You know how things are, do you? Tell me, Cousin Sabine, how do you think things are with me? I'm a grown woman, you are a girl. I do not desire any help from you. SABINE (voice over) Christabel's condition became worse after she received word from London that her close friend had died. Scene 53. Restaurant MAUD She left England because she was pregnant, and Blanche committed suicide. What happened to the baby? ROLAND It must have been stillborn. Or died. Maybe it was taken in by nuns or a local family. MAUD And brought up here. I'd like to think that, but I wonder. ROLAND You wonder what? MAUD I don't know. I just- She comes here alone, hears that Blanche has killed herself. She's pregnant, distraught. ROLAND Geez. MAUD I mean, I've no evidence for it. ROLAND Can you imagine how she must have felt? MAUD Yes, I can. Scene 54. Back to England ROLAND So when do we see Christabel next? MAUD Autumn, 1860, in her references to the Vestal Lights. It was a group of women who used to meet with mediums on a regular basis. ROLAND Really? You know, Ash hated spiritualists - pretty openly. You think that's a connection we're tracking down? MAUD I don't know. Scene 55. Yew Tree Lodge MRS. LEES Please, make a circle with your hands. Close your eyes. White earth. Valley. A Waterfall. Child. Love. Two people. Deception. Letters. Two people. Words. Death. RANDOLPH (to Christabel) What have you done? MRS. LEES A field. RANDOLPH Where is the child? What have you done with the child? CHRISTABEL You have made a murderess of me. Scene 56. Roland's Lodging ROLAND 'I understood at the time that Mr. Ash was inquiring after the spirit of a departed child of his own, but I am told that this could not be the case as Mr. Ash is childless.' Was there any mention of Hella Lees in your research? MAUD I don't know nor do I care. Look, I've got to get back. ROLAND What's going on? MAUD Nothing. I'm just tired, that's all, so I should- ROLAND Come on. What's wrong seriously? MAUD I don't actually want to discover anything else about them. Do you know? I'm finding things out that are just- It's horrible when you think about it, really- men and women together. She gave up her life, didn't she- a perfectly decent life that I've always admired- and for what? For nothing. ROLAND No. Not nothing. MAUD Oh, really? For what, then? A child who died, a lover drowned, and to what end? She and Ash, my own parents, and every relationship I've ever had- it's all doomed. We can't seem to help but just tear each other apart. ROLAND Well, what about us? You didn't include us. What about that? MAUD Look, I- I can't think about anything right now. ROLAND So, okay. So this is the, uh- This is the icy pull-back part then, huh? MAUD What? ROLAND You know. You get close, you pull away, you get- I mean, this is part of the pattern, right? MAUD What are you talking about? ROLAND Your fear of men mantra from Yorkshire, that's what I'm talking about. No, I get it, it's cool. If that's the way you play it, that's the way you play it. MAUD Do you honestly believe that? Is that what you think this is to me? A game? Is it? Well, finally, then, all this talk of us really comes to nothing, doesn't it? ROLAND Yes, I guess you're right. It's nothing. Scene 57. British Museum ROLAND (voice over) Dear Professor Blackadder, I did try to tell you about my discovery, but found that I couldn't. Please read these two letters, and you will begin to understand. I'm sorry for deceiving you. Sincerely, Roland Michell. FERGUS And it's well documented that Ellen Ash set a box on Ash's coffin, a kind of sealed container. We'd always imagined it was just trinkets, but in the light of Michell's discovery, who knows what treasures might be buried there. HILDEBRAND That box is mine, isn't it? It's my property. CROPPER Once you get it from Lord Ash, it's absolutely yours. Until then, we keep it a secret. Any discovery amongst Lord Ash's things and, uh- and I purchase it from you. It's all above board, no one the wiser. HILDEBRAND Cropper, are you absolutely sure of that? CROPPER Listen. FERGUS Uh, where is it? Yeah. 'I place this letter in his hands and if ghouls dig it up again, then perhaps justice will be done when I am not here to see it.' Scene 58. November 1889 CHRISTABEL (voice over) 'Dear Madam, We are older now and my fires at last are out. I know that you are more than aware of my name, but I find you must see it in print one last time. It has been made known to me that your husband is near to death, so I have writ down, for his eyes only, some things- I find I cannot say what things- and have sealed the letter. If you wish to read it, it is in your hands, though I must hope, that he will see it first, and decide. I have done great harm though I meant none to you.' Scene 59. Ash Factory BLACKADDER I'll see they get back, no questions asked. You're more enterprising that I gave you credit for. ROLAND Was there a compliment in there somewhere? BLACKADDER Hmm? Yes, probably. What I can't believe is Fergus Wolff conniving with Cropper. I thought I was a better judge of men. PAOLA Well, see, that's where you went wrong. You gave him credit for being one. MAUD Thank you. Hi. ROLAND Hi. Thank you for coming. MAUD Sure. BLACKADDER I believe that may be her. ROLAND I, uh- I'm sorry. MAUD No, I'm sorry. ROLAND No, listen. I lost it totally. MAUD It wasn't you. BLACKADDER So, why don't we all talk some strategy? ROLAND Let me introduce you to, uh- MAUD All right. ROLAND Professor Blackadder, Paola, this is Dr. Bailey. MAUD Maud. ROLAND Maud. BLACKADDER How do you do? MAUD So, do we really think that Cropper's capable of something like this, of robbing a grave? Scene 60. St. Thomas's Churchyard HILDEBRAND It's creepy, the idea of opening a grave. CROPPER Let's just keep going. Jesus. FERGUS 'The moping owl does to the moon- FERGUS & CROPPER -complain.' CROPPER Are you ready? FERGUS Yeah. CROPPER Hold the light up. Fergus! Fergus! FERGUS Is that it? CROPPER Yes, it's gotta be. I found it, Fergus. I found it. Oh, my God. I found it, Fergus. FERGUS Great! ROLAND Hey, Cropper! Cropper! CROPPER This has nothing to do with you people. ROLAND Wait! CROPPER Get off of me! Get off of me! BLACKADDER (to Fergus) No, you don't. Traitor! FERGUS Please. BLACKADDER Bloody conniver! CROPPER (to Roland) What are you doin'? Oh, shit. Scene 61. Maud's House MAUD Are you sure we should be doing this? ROLAND I told Blackadder we'd just take a look before we handed it over to the museum. Can you hold that there? Maud, look at this. MAUD It's her handwriting. 'My dear- my dear- They tell me you are very ill. Perhaps I am wrong to disturb you at this time, with unseasonable memories- but I find I have- after all- a thing which I must tell you. You will say, it should have been told twenty years ago- but I could or would not. You have a daughter, who is well, and married, and the mother of a beautiful boy. I send you a picture. You will see she resembles both her parents, neither of whom she knows to be her parent. When I said at that terrible séance that you had made a murderess of me- I was speaking of poor Blanche, who then torments me daily. And I thought, 'Let him think so then if he knows me so little.' I had a secret fear, you see- I was afraid that you would wish to take her, you and your wife, for your own- but I could not let her go. Scene 62. Seal Court CHRISTABEL And so I hid her from you- and you from her. She loves her adoptive parents most deeply. Me she does not love. So I am punished now, living at Seal Court with them and watching her grow. I have been angry for so long- with all of us. And now near the end I think of you again with clear love. Did we not- did you not flame, and I catch fire? Was not the love we found worth the tempest that it brewed? I feel it was. I know it was. Scene 63. Maud's House MAUD 'If you are able or willing- please send me a sign that you have read this. I dare not ask, if you forgive. Christabel LaMotte.' Ash had never read this. He never knew he had a child. ROLAND You're descended from both Christabel and Ash. MAUD My God. ROLAND All these clues, they're for you. MAUD For us. ROLAND You're so beautiful. Scene 64. A meadow near Seal Court. RANDOLPH (narrating) There are things that happen, not spoken or written of. A poet walked out one summer's day, seeking forgiveness from a love long lost. He found something else instead. This is how it was. RANDOLPH Morning. MAY Good morning. RANDOLPH What's your name? MAY May Bailey, but I have another name I don't like. RANDOLPH Do you? What's that? MAY Maia Thomasine Bailey. RANDOLPH Well, Maia was the, uh, the mother of Hermes, and I know a waterfall called Thomasine. MAY A waterfall? Really? RANDOLPH Yes. In Yorkshire. With a lovely cave hidden behind it. Where do you live? MAY I live in that house down there. And my mother lives there and my father and my two brothers. Oh, and my aunt Christabel, too. RANDOLPH Yes, I think I know your mother. You have the true look of her. MAY No one else says that. I think I look like my father. RANDOLPH You look like your father, too. MAY Can you make daisy chains? RANDOLPH Yes. Yes, I'll make you a crown. But, um, will you give me a lock of your hair? MAY Like fairy story. RANDOLPH Just so. (Later) Now, would you take this note to your aunt? Tell her that you saw a poet who was coming to meet her, but met you instead. MAY I'll try to remember. RANDOLPH Thank you. =THE END=