第 10 页

all, eh?

LOUIS. Yah! [To Walpole] I'll do another one for you, Walpole, if youll

let me have the ten you promised.

WALPOLE. Very good. I'll pay on delivery.

LOUIS. Oh! What do you take me for? Have you no confidence in my honor?

WALPOLE. None whatever.

LOUIS. Oh well, of course if you feel that way, you cant help it. Before

you go, Sir Patrick, let me fetch Jennifer. I know she'd like to see

you, if you dont mind. [He goes to the inner door]. And now, before

she comes in, one word. Youve all been talking here pretty freely about

me--in my own house too. I dont mind that: I'm a man and can take care

of myself. But when Jennifer comes in, please remember that she's a

lady, and that you are supposed to be gentlemen. [He goes out].

WALPOLE. Well!!! [He gives the situation up as indescribable, and goes

for his hat].

RIDGEON. Damn his impudence!

B. B. I shouldnt be at all surprised to learn that he's well connected.

Whenever I meet dignity and self-possession without any discoverable

basis, I diagnose good family.

RIDGEON. Diagnose artistic genius, B. B. Thats what saves his

self-respect.

SIR PATRICK. The world is made like that. The decent fellows are always

being lectured and put out of countenance by the snobs.

B. B. [altogether refusing to accept this] _I_ am not out of

countenance. I should like, by Jupiter, to see the man who could put me

out of countenance. [Jennifer comes in]. Ah, Mrs. Dubedat! And how are

we to-day?

MRS DUBEDAT [shaking hands with him] Thank you all so much for coming.

[She shakes Walpole's hand]. Thank you, Sir Patrick [she shakes Sir

Patrick's]. Oh, life has been worth living since I have known you. Since

Richmond I have not known a moment's fear. And it used to be nothing but

fear. Wont you sit down and tell me the result of the consultation?

WALPOLE. I'll go, if you dont mind, Mrs. Dubedat. I have an appointment.

Before I go, let me say that I am quite agreed with my colleagues here

as to the character of the case. As to the cause and the remedy, thats

not my business: I'm only a surgeon; and these gentlemen are physicians

and will advise you. I may have my own views: in fact I HAVE them; and

they are perfectly well known to my colleagues. If I am needed--and

needed I shall be finally--they know where to find me; and I am always

at your service. So for to-day, good-bye. [He goes out, leaving Jennifer

much puzzled by his unexpected withdrawal and formal manner].

SIR PATRICK. I also will ask you to excuse me, Mrs Dubedat.

RIDGEON [anxiously] Are you going?

SIR PATRICK. Yes: I can be of no use here; and I must be getting back.

As you know, maam, I'm not in practice now; and I shall not be in

charge of the case. It rests between Sir Colenso Ridgeon and Sir Ralph

Bloomfield Bonington. They know my opinion. Good afternoon to you, maam.

[He bows and makes for the door].

MRS DUBEDAT [detaining him] Theres nothing wrong, is there? You dont

think Louis is worse, do you?

SIR PATRICK. No: he's not worse. Just the same as at Richmond.

MRS DUBEDAT. Oh, thank you: you frightened me. Excuse me.

SIR PATRICK. Dont mention it, maam. [He goes out].

B. B. Now, Mrs Dubedat, if I am to take the patient in hand--

MRS DUBEDAT [apprehensively, with a glance at Ridgeon] You! But I

thought that Sir Colenso--

B. B. [beaming with the conviction that he is giving her a most

gratifying surprise] My dear lady, your husband shall have Me.

MRS DUBEDAT. But--

B. B. Not a word: it is a pleasure to me, for your sake. Sir Colenso

Ridgeon will be in his proper place, in the bacteriological laboratory.

_I_ shall be in my proper place, at the bedside. Your husband shall

be treated exactly as if he were a member of the royal family. [Mrs

Dubedat, uneasy, again is about to protest]. No gratitude: it would

embarrass me, I assure you. Now, may I ask whether you are particularly

tied to these apartments. Of course, the motor has annihilated distance;

but I confess that if you were rather nearer to me, it would be a little

more convenient.

MRS DUBEDAT. You see, this studio and flat are self-contained. I have

suffered so much in lodgings. The servants are so frightfully dishonest.

B. B. Ah! Are they? Are they? Dear me!

MRS DUBEDAT. I was never accustomed to lock things up. And I missed

so many small sums. At last a dreadful thing happened. I missed a

five-pound note. It was traced to the housemaid; and she actually said

Louis had given it to her. And he wouldnt let me do anything: he is so

sensitive that these things drive him mad.

B. B. Ah--hm--ha--yes--say no more, Mrs. Dubedat: you shall not move.

If the mountain will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet must come to the

mountain. Now I must be off. I will write and make an appointment. We

shall begin stimulating the phagocytes on--on--probably on Tuesday next;

but I will let you know. Depend on me; dont fret; eat regularly; sleep

well; keep your spirits up; keep the patient cheerful; hope for the

best; no tonic like a charming woman; no medicine like cheerfulness;

no resource like science; goodbye, good-bye, good-bye. [Having shaken

hands--she being too overwhelmed to speak--he goes out, stopping to say

to Ridgeon] On Tuesday morning send me down a tube of some really stiff

anti-toxin. Any kind will do. Dont forget. Good-bye, Colly. [He goes

out.]

RIDGEON. You look quite discouraged again. [She is almost in tears].

What's the matter? Are you disappointed?

MRS DUBEDAT. I know I ought to be very grateful. Believe me, I am very

grateful. But--but--

RIDGEON. Well?

hills DUBEDAT. I had set my heart YOUR curing Louis.

RIDGEON. Well, Sir Ralph Bloomfield Bonington--

MRS DUBEDAT. Yes, I know, I know. It is a great privilege to have

him. But oh, I wish it had been you. I know it's unreasonable; I cant

explain; but I had such a strong instinct that you would cure him. I

dont I cant feel the same about Sir Ralph. You promised me. Why did you

give Louis up?

RIDGEON. I explained to you. I cannot take another case.

MRS DUBEDAT. But at Richmond?

RIDGEON. At Richmond I thought I could make room for one more case. But

my old friend Dr Blenkinsop claimed that place. His lung is attacked.

MRS DUBEDAT [attaching no importance whatever to Blenkinsop] Do you mean

that elderly man--that rather--

RIDGEON [sternly] I mean the gentleman that dined with us: an excellent

and honest man, whose life is as valuable as anyone else's. I have

arranged that I shall take his case, and that Sir Ralph Bloomfield

Bonington shall take Mr Dubedat's.

MRS DUBEDAT [turning indignantly on him] I see what it is. Oh! it is

envious, mean, cruel. And I thought that you would be above such a

thing.

RIDGEON. What do you mean?

MRS DUBEDAT. Oh, do you think I dont know? do you think it has never

happened before? Why does everybody turn against him? Can you not

forgive him for being superior to you? for being cleverer? for being

braver? for being a great artist?

RIDGEON. Yes: I can forgive him for all that.

MRS DUBEDAT. Well, have you anything to say against him? I have

challenged everyone who has turned against him--challenged them face to

face to tell me any wrong thing he has done, any ignoble thought he has

uttered. They have always confessed that they could not tell me one. I

challenge you now. What do you accuse him of?

RIDGEON. I am like all the rest. Face to face, I cannot tell you one

thing against him.

MRS DUBEDAT [not satisfied] But your manner is changed. And you have

broken your promise to me to make room for him as your patient.

RIDGEON. I think you are a little unreasonable. You have had the very

best medical advice in London for him; and his case has been taken in

hand by a leader of the profession. Surely--

MRS DUBEDAT. Oh, it is so cruel to keep telling me that. It seems all

right; and it puts me in the wrong. But I am not in the wrong. I have

faith in you; and I have no faith in the others. We have seen so many

doctors: I have come to know at last when they are only talking and can

do nothing. It is different with you. I feel that you know. You must

listen to me, doctor. [With sudden misgiving] Am I offending you by

calling you doctor instead of remembering your title?

RIDGEON. Nonsense. I AM a doctor. But mind you, dont call Walpole one.

MRS DUBEBAT. I dont care about Mr Walpole: it is you who must befriend

me. Oh, will you please sit down and listen to me just for a few

minutes. [He assents with a grave inclination, and sits on the sofa.

She sits on the easel chair] Thank you. I wont keep you long; but I must

tell you the whole truth. Listen. I know Louis as nobody else in the

world knows him or ever can know him. I am his wife. I know he has

little faults: impatiences, sensitivenesses, even little selfishnesses

that are too trivial for him to notice. I know that he sometimes

shocks people about money because he is so utterly above it, and cant

understand the value ordinary people set on it. Tell me: did he--did he

borrow any money from you?

RIDGEON. He asked me for some once.

MRS DUBEDAT [tears again in her eyes] Oh, I am so sorry--so sorry. But

he will never do it again: I pledge you my word for that. He has given

me his promise: here in this room just before you came; and he is

incapable of breaking his word. That was his only real weakness; and now

it is conquered and done with for ever.

RIDGEON. Was that really his only weakness?

MRS DUBEDAT. He is perhaps sometimes weak about women, because they

adore him so, and are always laying traps for him. And of course when he

says he doesnt believe in morality, ordinary pious people think he must

be wicked. You can understand, cant you, how all this starts a great

deal of gossip about him, and gets repeated until even good friends get

set against him?

RIDGEON. Yes: I understand.

MRS DUBEDAT. Oh, if you only knew the other side of him as I do! Do you

know, doctor, that if Louis dishonored himself by a really bad action, I

should kill myself.

RIDGEON. Come! dont exaggerate.

MRS DUBEDAT. I should. You don't understand that, you east country

people.

RIDGEON. You did not see much of the world in Cornwall, did you?

MRS DUBEDAT [naively] Oh yes. I saw a great deal every day of the beauty

of the world--more than you ever see here in London. But I saw very few

people, if that is what you mean. I was an only child.

RIDGEON. That explains a good deal.

MRS DUBEDAT. I had a great many dreams; but at last they all came to one

dream.

RIDGEON [with half a sigh] Yes, the usual dream.

MRS DUBEDAT [surprised] Is it usual?

RIDGEON. As I guess. You havnt yet told me what it was.

MRS DUBEDAT. I didn't want to waste myself. I could do nothing myself;

but I had a little property and I could help with it. I had even

a little beauty: dont think me vain for knowing it. I always had a

terrible struggle with poverty and neglect at first. My dream was to

save one of them from that, and bring some charm and happiness into his

life. I prayed Heaven to send me one. I firmly believe that Louis was

guided to me in answer to my prayer. He was no more like the other men

I had met than the Thames Embankment is like our Cornish coasts. He saw

everything that I saw, and drew it for me. He understood everything.

He came to me like a child. Only fancy, doctor: he never even wanted to

marry me: he never thought of the things other men think of! I had to

propose it myself. Then he said he had no money. When I told him I had

some, he said "Oh, all right," just like a boy. He is still like that,

quite unspoiled, a man in his thoughts, a great poet and artist in his

dreams, and a child in his ways. I gave him myself and all I had that he

might grow to his full height with plenty of sunshine. If I lost faith

in him, it would mean the wreck and failure of my life. I should go back

to Cornwall and die. I could show you the very cliff I should jump off.

You must cure him: you must make him quite well again for me. I know

that you can do it and that nobody else can. I implore you not to refuse

what I am going to ask you to do. Take Louis yourself; and let Sir Ralph

cure Dr Blenkinsop.

RIDGEON [slowly] Mrs Dubedat: do you really believe in my knowledge and

skill as you say you do?

MRS DUBEDAT. Absolutely. I do not give my trust by halves.

RIDGEON. I know that. Well, I am going to test you--hard. Will you

believe me when I tell you that I understand what you have just told me;

that I have no desire but to serve you in the most faithful friendship;

and that your hero must be preserved to you.

MRS DUBEDAT. Oh forgive me. Forgive what I said. You will preserve him

to me.

RIDGEON. At all hazards. [She kisses his hand. He rises hastily]. No:

you have not heard the rest. [She rises too]. You must believe me when I

tell you that the one chance of preserving the hero lies in Louis being

in the care of Sir Ralph.

MRS DUBEDAT [firmly] You say so: I have no more doubt: I believe you.

Thank you.

RIDGEON. Good-bye. [She takes his hand]. I hope this will be a lasting

friendship.

MRS DUBEDAT. It will. My friendships end only with death.

RIDGEON. Death ends everything, doesnt it? Goodbye.

With a sigh and a look of pity at her which she does not understand, he

goes.

ACT IV

The studio. The easel is pushed back to the wall. Cardinal Death,

holding his scythe and hour-glass like a sceptre and globe, sits on the

throne. On the hat-stand hang the hats of Sir Patrick and Bloomfield

Bonington. Walpole, just come in, is hanging up his beside them. There

is a knock. He opens the door and finds Ridgeon there.

WALPOLE. Hallo, Ridgeon!

They come into the middle of the room together, taking off their gloves.

RIDGEON. Whats the matter! Have you been sent for, too?

WALPOLE. Weve all been sent for. Ive only just come: I havnt seen him

yet. The charwoman says that old Paddy Cullen has been here with B. B.

for the last half-hour. [Sir Patrick, with bad news in his face, enters

from the inner room]. Well: whats up?

SIR PATRICK. Go in and see. B. B. is in there with him.