Complete Poems and Plays (44 page)

Something may have happened to one of your brothers.

[
Enter
W
INCHELL
]

W
INCHELL
.
Good evening, my Lord. Good evening, Doctor.

Many happy … Oh, I’m sorry, my Lord,

I was thinking it was your birthday, not her Ladyship’s.

H
ARRY
.
Her Ladyship’s!

[
He
darts
at
W
INCHELL
and
seizes
him
by
the
shoulders
]

He
is
real, Doctor.

So let us resume the conversation. You, and I

And Winchell. Sit down, Winchell,

And have a glass of port. We were talking of my father.

W
INCHELL
.
Always at your jokes, I see. You don’t look a year older

Than when I saw you last, my Lord. But a country sergeant

Doesn’t get younger. Thank you, no, my Lord;

I don’t find port agrees with the rheumatism.

W
ARBURTON
.
For God’s sake, Winchell, tell us your business.

His Lordship isn’t very well this evening.

W
INCHELL
.
                                                       I understand, Sir.

It’d be the same if it was my birthday —

I beg pardon, I’m forgetting.

If it was my mother’s. God rest her soul,

She’s been dead these ten years. How is her Ladyship,

If I may ask, my Lord?

H
ARRY
.
                              Why do you keep asking

About her Ladyship? Do you know or don’t you?

I’m not afraid of you.

W
INCHELL
.
                      I should hope not, my Lord.

I didn’t mean to put myself forward.

But you see, my Lord, I had good reason for asking …

H
ARRY
.
Well, do you want me to produce her for you?

W
INCHELL
.
Oh no indeed, my Lord, I’d much rather not …

H
ARRY
.
You mean you think I can’t. But I might surprise you;

I think I might be able to give you a shock.

W
INCHELL
.
There’s been shock enough for one evening, my Lord:

That’s what I’ve come about.

W
ARBURTON
.
                               For Heaven’s sake, Winchell,

Tell us your business.

W
INCHELL
.
                      It’s about Mr. John.

H
ARRY
.
John!

W
INCHELL
.
       Yes, my Lord, I’m sorry.

I thought I’d better have a word with you quiet,

Rather than phone and perhaps disturb her Ladyship.

So I slipped along on my bike. Mostly walking,

What with the fog so thick, or I’d have been here sooner.

I’d telephoned to Dr. Warburton’s,

And they told me he was here, and that you’d arrived.

Mr. John’s had a bit of an accident

On the West Road, in the fog, coming along

At a pretty smart pace, I fancy, ran into a lorry

Drawn up round the bend. We’ll have the driver up for this:

Says he doesn’t know this part of the country

And stopped to take his bearings. We’ve got him at the Arms —

Mr. John, I mean. By a bit of luck

Dr. Owen was there, and looked him over;

Says there’s nothing wrong but some nasty cuts

And a bad concussion; says he’ll come round

In the morning, most likely, but he mustn’t be moved.

But Dr. Owen was anxious that you should have a look at him.

W
ARBURTON
.
Quite right, quite right. I’ll go and have a look at him.

We must explain to your mother …

A
MY’S
V
OICE
.
                                        Harry! Harry!

Who’s there with you? Is it Arthur or John?

[
Enter
A
MY
,
followed severally by
V
IOLET
, I
VY
, A
GATHA
, G
ERALD
and C
HARLES
.]

Winchell! what are you here for?

W
INCHELL
.
I’m sorry, my Lady, but I’ve just told the doctor,

It’s really nothing but a minor accident.

W
ARBURTON
.
It’s John has had the accident, Lady Monchensey;

And Winchell tells me Dr. Owen has seen him

And says it’s nothing but a slight concussion,

But he mustn’t be moved tonight. I’d trust Owen

On a matter like this. You can trust Owen.

We’ll bring him up tomorrow; and a few days’ rest,

I’ve no doubt, will be all that he needs.

A
MY
.
Accident? What sort of an accident?

W
INCHELL
.
Coming along in the fog, my Lady,

And he must have been in rather a hurry.

There was a lorry drawn up where it shouldn’t be,

Outside of the village, on the West Road.

A
MY
.
Where is he?

W
INCHELL
.
               At the Arms, my Lady;

Of course, he hasn’t come round yet.

Dr. Owen was there, by a bit of luck.

G
ERALD
.
I’ll go down and see him, Amy, and come back and report to you.

A
MY
.
I must see for myself. Order the car at once.

W
ARBURTON
.
I forbid it, Lady Monchensey.

As your doctor, I forbid you to leave the house tonight.

There is nothing you could do, and out in this weather

At this time of night, I would not answer for the consequences

I am going myself. I will come back and report to you.

A
MY
.
I must see for myself. I do not believe you.

C
HARLES
.
Much better leave it to Warburton, Amy.

Extremely fortunate for us that he’s here.

We must put ourselves under Warburton’s orders.

W
ARBURTON
.
I repeat, Lady Monchensey, that you must not go out.

If you do, I must decline to continue to treat you.

You are only delaying me. I shall return at once.

A
MY
.
Well, I suppose you are right. But can I trust you?

W
ARBURTON
.
You have trusted me a good many years, Lady Monchensey;

This is not the time to begin to doubt me.

Come, Winchell. We can put your bicycle

On the back of my car.

[
Exeunt
W
ARBURTON
and
W
INCHELL
]

V
IOLET
.
                             Well, Harry,

I think that you might have had something to say.

Aren’t you sorry for your brother? Aren’t you aware

Of what is going on? and what it means to your mother?

H
ARRY
.
Oh, of course I’m sorry. But from what Winchell says

I don’t think the matter can be very serious.

A minor trouble like a concussion

Cannot make very much difference to John.

A brief vacation from the kind of consciousness

That John enjoys, can’t make very much difference

To him or to anyone else. If he was ever really conscious,

I should be glad for him to have a breathing spell:

But John’s ordinary day isn’t much more than breathing.

I
VY
.
Really, Harry! how can you be so callous?

I always thought you were so fond of John.

V
IOLET
.
And if you don’t care what happens to John,

You might show some consideration to your mother.

A
MY
.
I do not know very much:

And as I get older, I am coming to think

How little I have ever known.

But I think your remarks are much more inappropriate

Than Harry’s.

H
ARRY
.
               It’s only when they see nothing

That people can always show the suitable emotions —

And so far as they feel at all, their emotions are suitable.

They don’t understand what it is to be awake,

To be living on several planes at once

Though one cannot speak with several voices at once.

I have all of the rightminded feeling about John

That you consider appropriate. Only, that’s not the language

That I choose to be talking. I will not talk yours.

A
MY.
You looked like your father

When you said that.

H
ARRY
.
                        I think, mother,

I shall make you lie down. You must be very tired.

[
Exeunt
H
ARRY
and
A
MY
]

V
IOLET
.
I really do not understand Harry’s behaviour.

A
GATHA
.
I think it is as well to leave Harry to establish

If he can, some communication with his mother.

V
IOLET
.
I do not seem to be very popular tonight.

C
HARLES
.
Well, there’s no sort of use in any of us going —

On a night like this — it’s a good three miles;

There’s nothing we could do that Warburton can’t.

If he’s worse than Winchell said, then he’ll let us know at once.

G
ERALD
.
I am really more afraid of the shock for Amy;

But I think that Warburton understands
that.

I
VY
.
You are quite right, Gerald, the one thing that matters

Is not to let her see that anyone is worried.