Complete Poems and Plays (86 page)

The mother, I suppose, could have got an order

If she could have established the paternity;

But I didn’t know who she was! What could I do?

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH.
Oh, Claude, you see? You understand, Colby?

S
IR
C
LAUDE.
Don’t be certain yet, Elizabeth.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH.
                                               There is no doubt about it.

Colby is my son.

M
RS.
G
UZZARD.
        Your son, Lady Elizabeth?

Are you suggesting that I kept a child of yours

And deceived Sir Claude by pretending it was his?

S
IR
C
LAUDE.
That is just the point. My wife has convinced herself

That Colby is her son. I know he is
my
son.

And I asked you here so that you might tell her so.

E
GGERSON
.
Don’t take this as a personal reflection,

Mrs. Guzzard. Far from it. You must make allowances

For a mother who has been hoping against hope

To find her son. Put yourself in her position.

If you had lost your son, in a similar way,

Wouldn’t you grasp at any straw

That offered hope of finding him?

M
RS.
G
UZZARD
.
                                  Perhaps I should.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
There isn’t a shadow of doubt in my mind.

I’m surprised that you, Eggerson, with your legal training,

Should talk about straws! Colby is my son.

M
RS.
G
UZZARD
.
In the circumstances, I ignore that remark.

E
GGERSON
.
May I pour a drop of oil on these troubled waters?

Let us approach the question from another angle,

And ask Mrs. Guzzard what became of the child

She took in, which may have been Lady Elizabeth’s.

S
IR
C
LAUDE
.
That’s a very sensible suggestion, Eggerson.

A breath of sanity. Thank you for that.

M
RS.
G
UZZARD
.
We parted with it. A dear little boy.

I was happy to have him while the payments were made;

But we could not afford to adopt the child,

Or continue to keep him, when the payments ended.

E
GGERSON
.
And how did you dispose of him?

M
RS.
G
UZZARD
.
                                                  We had neighbours

Who were childless, and eager to adopt a child.

They had taken a fancy to him. So they adopted him.

Then they left Teddington, and we lost sight of them.

E
GGERSON
.
But you know their name?

M
RS.
G
UZZARD
.
                                       Yes, I know their name:

Like mine, a somewhat unusual one.

Perhaps it might be possible to trace them.

The name was Kaghan.

S
IR
C
LAUDE
.
                       Their name was Kaghan!

M
RS.
G
UZZARD
.
K-A-G-H-A-N. An odd name.

They were excellent people. Nonconformists.

E
GGERSON
.
And the child, I suppose he had a Christian name?

M
RS.
G
UZZARD
.
There was nothing to show that the child had been baptised

When it came to us; but we could not be sure.

My husband was particular in such matters,

So we had it given conditional baptism.

E
GGERSON
.
What name did you give him?

M
RS.
G
UZZARD
.
                                             We named the child Barnabas.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
Barnabas? There’s never been such a name

In my family. Or, I’m sure, in his father’s.

But how did he come to be called Colby?

S
IR
C
LAUDE
.
But, Elizabeth, it isn’t Colby!

Don’t you see who it is?

M
RS.
G
UZZARD
.
                    My husband chose the name.

We had been married in the church of St. Barnabas.

C
OLBY
.
Barnabas Kaghan. Is he the little cousin

Who died? Don’t you remember, Aunt Sarah,

My finding a rattle and a jingle-bell,

And your telling me I had had a little cousin

Who had died?

M
RS.
G
UZZARD
.
      Yes, Colby, that is what I told you.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
So my child is living. I was sure of that.

But I believe that Colby is Barnabas.

S
IR
C
LAUDE
.
No, Elizabeth, Barnabas is Barnabas.

I must explain this, Mrs. Guzzard.

I have a very promising young colleague —

In fact, the young man who showed you upstairs —

Whose name is Barnabas Kaghan.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
                                Barnabas?

S
IR
C
LAUDE
.
Yes, Elizabeth. He sometimes has to sign his full name.

But he doesn’t like the name, for some reason;

So we call him B.

M
RS.
G
UZZARD
.
         A very good name.

He ought to be proud of it.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
                    How old is this Barnabas?

S
IR
C
LAUDE
.
About twenty-eight, I think.

M
RS.
G
UZZARD
.
                                          He should be twenty-eight.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
Then I must be out in my calculations.

S
IR
C
LAUDE
.
That wouldn’t surprise me.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
                                       Yes, what year was it?

I’m getting so confused. What with Colby being Barnabas —

I mean, not Barnabas. And Mr. Kaghan

Being Barnabas. I suppose I’ll get used to it.

C
OLBY
.
But he’s waiting downstairs! Isn’t this the moment

For me to bring him up? And Lucasta?

E
GGERSON
.
An excellent suggestion, Mr. Simpkins.

[
Exit
C
OLBY
]

E
GGERSON
.
And now, if you agree, Lady Elizabeth,

We can ask Mr. Kaghan about his parents;

And if Mr. and Mrs. Kaghan are still living

Mrs. Guzzard should be able to identify them.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
And will that prove that Mr. Kaghan —

This Mr. Kaghan — is my son?

E
GGERSON
.
It creates an inherent probability —

If that’s the right expression.

S
IR
C
LAUDE
.
                              I believe, Elizabeth,

That you have found your son.

E
GGERSON
.
                                   Subject to confirmation.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
And to my being able to adjust myself to it.

[
Re-enter
C
OLBY
,
with
K
AGHAN
and
L
UCASTA
]

C
OLBY
.
I have told them to be prepared for a surprise.

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
Barnabas! Is your name Barnabas?

K
AGHAN
.
Why, yes, it is. Did you tell her, Sir Claude?

S
IR
C
LAUDE
.
No, B. It was Mrs. Guzzard who revealed it.

This is Mr. Barnabas Kaghan —

Mrs. Guzzard. And … my daughter Lucasta.

K
AGHAN
.
But how did Mrs. Guzzard know my name?

M
RS.
G
UZZARD
.
Were Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Kaghan your parents?

K
AGHAN
.
Yes. They are. My adoptive parents.

M
RS.
G
UZZARD
.
And did they at one time live in Teddington?

K
AGHAN
.
I believe they did. But why are you interested?

M
RS.
G
UZZARD
.
Lady Elizabeth, I believe that this is your son.

If so, I am cleared from your unjust suspicion.

E
GGERSON
.
Mr. Kaghan, are your adoptive parents living?

K
AGHAN
.
In Kent. They wanted to retire to the country.

So I found them a little place near Sevenoaks

Where they keep bees. But why are you asking?

L
ADY
E
LIZABETH
.
Because, Barnabas, it seems you are my son.

E
GGERSON
.
You will wish to obtain confirmation

Of this interesting discovery, Mr. Kaghan,

By putting your adoptive parents in touch

With Mrs. Guzzard. It’s for them to confirm

That they took you, as a child, from Mrs. Guzzard,