Complete Poems and Plays (80 page)

You must have been a lonely child, having no relatives —

No brothers or sisters — and I was lonely

Because they were so numerous — and so uncongenial.

They made me feel an outcast. And yet they were so commonplace.

Do you know, Colby, when I was a child

I had three obsessions, and I never told anyone.

I wonder if
you
had the same obsessions?

C
OLBY
.
What were they?

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
             The first was, that I was very ugly

And didn’t know it. Then, that I was feeble-minded

And didn’t know it. Finally,

That I was a foundling, and didn’t know it.

Of course, I was terrified of being ugly,

And of being feeble-minded: though my family made me think so.

But you know, I actually
liked
to believe

That I was a foundling — or do I mean ‘changeling’?

C
OLBY
.
I don’t know which you mean.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
                                    However that may be,

I didn’t want to belong there. I refused to believe

That my father could have been an ordinary earl!

And I couldn’t believe that my mother
was
my mother.

These were foolish fancies. I was a silly girl,

And very romantic. But it goes to show

How different I felt myself to be

And then I took up the Wisdom of the East

And believed, for a while, in reincarnation.

That seemed to explain it all. I don’t believe it now.

That was only a phase. But it made it all so simple!

To be able to think that one’s earthly parents

Are only the means that we have to employ

To become reincarnate. And that one’s real ancestry

Is one’s previous existences. Of course, there’s something in us,

In all of us, which isn’t just heredity,

But something unique. Something we have been

From eternity. Something … straight from God.

That means that we are nearer to God than to anyone.

— Where did you live, as a child?

C
OLBY
.
                                                 In Teddington.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
Teddington? In what county?

C
OLBY
.
                                                           It’s very close to London.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
Still, you were brought up, like me, in the country.

Teddington. I seem to have heard of it.

Was it a large house?

C
OLBY
.
                           No, a very small one.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
But you had your aunt. And she was devoted to you,

I have no doubt. What is your aunt’s name?

Is it Simpkins?

C
OLBY
.
                  No, a married aunt.

A widow. Her name is Mrs. Guzzard.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
Guzzard? Did you say Guzzard? An unusual name.

Guzzard, did you say? The name means something to me.

Yes. Guzzard.
That
is the name I’ve been hunting for!

C
OLBY.
You may have come across the name before;

Although, as you say, it is an uncommon one.

You couldn’t have known my aunt.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
                                  No. I never met … your aunt.

But the name is familiar. How old are you, Colby?

C
OLBY
.
I’m twenty-five.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
           Twenty-five. What became of your father?

C
OLBY
.
Well … I didn’t have a father.

You see … I was an illegitimate child.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
Oh yes. An illegitimate child.

So that the only relative you knew

Was Mrs. Guzzard. And you always called her ‘aunt’?

C
OLBY
.
Why not? She was my aunt.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
                                And as for your mother —

Mrs. Guzzard’s sister, I suppose …

C
OLBY
.
Her sister — which makes Mrs. Guzzard my aunt.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
And are you quite sure that Mrs. Guzzard’s sister —

Who you say was your mother — really was your mother?

C
OLBY
.
Why, Lady Elizabeth! Why should I doubt it?

That is not the kind of story my aunt would invent.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
Not if she
is
your aunt. Did Mrs. Guzzard

And Mr. Guzzard — have any children?

C
OLBY
.
They had no children of their own.

That is to say, they had had one little boy

Who died when I was very young indeed.

I don’t remember him. I was told about him.

But I can’t help wondering why you are so interested:

There’s nothing very interesting about my background —

I assure you there isn’t.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
               It may be more interesting

Than you are aware of. Colby …

[
A
knock
on
the
door
]

              Who’s that?

[
Enter
S
IR
C
LAUDE
]

S
IR
C
LAUDE
.
Elizabeth! I was told that you were here with Colby.

So I came over instead of telephoning,

Just to give him these notes. They’re notes for my speech

At the dinner of the Potters’ Company.

C
OLBY
.
That’s tomorrow night, I believe.

S
IR
C
LAUDE
.
                                               Yes it is.

But you know that I’ll have to have my speech written out

And then memorise it. I can’t use notes:

It’s got to sound spontaneous. I’ve jotted down some headings.

Just see if you can develop them for me

With a few striking phrases. It should last about ten minutes.

And then we’ll go over it tomorrow.

C
OLBY
[
looking
at
the
notes
]
.
                I’ll try.

S
IR
C
LAUDE
.
It’s just in ways like this, Elizabeth,

That Colby can be of greater help than Eggerson.

I couldn’t have asked Eggerson to write a speech for me.

Oh, by the way, Colby, how’s the piano?

C
OLBY
.
It’s a wonderful piano. I’ve never played

On such an instrument. It’s much too good for me.

S
IR
C
LAUDE
.
You need a good piano. You’ll play all the better.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
Claude!

S
IR
C
LAUDE
.
                       What is it, Elizabeth?

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
I’ve just made a startling discovery!

All through a name — and intuition.

But it shall be proved. The truth has come out.

It’s Colby. Colby is my lost child!

S
IR
C
LAUDE
.
What? Your child, Elizabeth? What on earth makes you think so?

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
I must see this Mrs. Guzzard. I must confront her.

This couldn’t possibly be a coincidence.

It seems incredible, doesn’t it, Claude?

And yet it would be still more incredible

If it were only a coincidence.

Perhaps I ought not to believe it yet,

Perhaps it is wrong of me to feel so sure,

But it seems that Providence has brought you back to me,

And you, Claude, and Eggerson have been the instruments.

I must be right. Claude, tell me I am right.

S
IR
C
LAUDE
.
But Elizabeth, what has led you to believe

That Colby is your son?

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
                Oh, I forgot

In my excitement: you arrived the very moment

When the truth dawned on me. Mrs. Guzzard!

Claude, Colby was brought up by a Mrs. Guzzard.

S
IR
C
LAUDE
.
I know that. But why should that make him your son?

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
It’s the name I’ve been hunting for all these years —

That, and the other name,
Teddington
:

Mrs. Guzzard of Teddington. That was all I knew.

Then Tony was killed, as you know, in Africa,

And I had lost the name. Mrs. Guzzard.

S
IR
C
LAUDE
.
I’m beginning now to piece it together.

You’ve been asking Colby about his family …

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
And when he mentioned
Teddington,
there was a faint echo —

And then Mrs. Guzzard! It must be true.

S
IR
C
LAUDE
.
It is certainly a remarkable coincidence —