"Marius, bring some rum." "Fanny has fainted." "Where is the boy?" "Send Marius up here!" "My poor child!" "Open the bedroom door." "Honoré, get rid of all these people!" "You too." "Have word with these idiots." "It's nothing, Norine." "Don't upset yourself." "Look, she's better already." "What happened?" "She fainted when The Malaisie left." "The sailing ship that's left for a five-year trip." "She fainted because the ship left?" "Yes, because Marius is on board." "He's on the ship?" "César's son?" "Yes, and Fanny knows." "What about César?" "He suspects nothing." "There's going to be trouble." "I pity the first person he meets after he hears." "It's a disaster." "He'll take it very hard." "Full speed astern." "Come, Fortunette." "She's better now." "She's conscious and she's speaking." "Seen Marius?" "Not since this morning." "He must have bumped into a friend." "I won't tell him off, not today." "I can say now it's almost official." "The children are marrying." "Really?" "That's good news." "Only..." "Only what?" "It's no great surprise." "Everyone expected it." "But it has given me more joy that you can imagine, Honoré." "It has given me renewed life." "It's almost as if I were the fiancé." "And maybe in a year's time..." "Grand, eh?" "Everyone to his taste." "Some people can do without all that." "There's no need to be so sour." "I know what you're thinking." "You're vexed because you proposed to Fanny yourself." "No, it's not that at all." "Don't try to hide." "It makes you sad." "Brace up." "You old girl!" "You have to take these things phisolophically." "What do you expect?" "Young people are made for each other." "It's only natural." "You have to resign yourself." "Exactly." "That's a fine thing you just said." "Resign yourself to events." "Accept the inevitable." "Friends, or just one good friend..." "we know will do their best to be a comfort and help in time of trouble." "It's really upset you." "No, I'm all right." "But if one day some terrible blow strikes you down... you can count on your old friend, Panisse." "That's most kind of you, but today is a day for celebrating." " Monsieur." " Madame." "While your son isn't here, after what has happened this morning," "I insist you ask for Fanny's hand." "Although it gives me no satisfaction owing to our different fortunes and status... and especially your bad temper..." "I ask for your daughter's hand for Marius." "While I'm averse too for the same reasons, only in reverse, you shall have her hand." "However, I regret it heartily." "What did you do to make her faint?" "I didn't do anything!" "Put yourself in Fanny's shoes." "A widow's daughter." "I know you didn't kill your husband but there's no man in your family." "What's more, you're poor." " What?" " Don't interrupt." "A widow's daughter, almost destitute." "Suddenly, she finds she's to marry a wonderful man — my son." "Heir to a wonderful bar — my bar." "She's overjoyed." "No wonder she faints." "Of course." "Becoming part of your family is such an honour." "But for you, we'd want for food." "I didn't mean..." "That's what you said." "The prettiest girl in Marseilles faints because she's to marry a barman." "Your future father-in-law has insulted me." "Don't fight, mother." "It's not worth it." " He has gone." " Who has?" "What?" "He has gone, César." "He has left us." "Where has he gone?" "He left on The Malaisie this morning." "Gone for five years." "What are you saying?" "He's been dying to go for a long time." "Boats were his passion." "He was mad about them." "He found a job on The Malaisie." "He deserted you after what he'd done to you?" "Was that any way to behave?" "He would have stayed if I'd wanted it." "But I couldn't see him suffer." "He was consumed by his love for the sea." "So I told him I didn't want him any longer." "I didn't love him any more." "He's gone!" "César, my old pal César." "You're lucky: you've no children." "Wait while I measure." "This is crazy." "It isn't crazy." "It's a game of bowls." "I'm nearest." "Right, my turn." "Hurry up!" "Quiet!" "You'll put him off his stroke." "You lucky devil!" "Bravo, captain." "At twenty-five metres too." "Captain, congratulations." "Congratulations?" "The man is a cheat." "He stepped forward four paces." " Four steps, me?" " You took four steps." "No, five." "I can assure you..." "I assure you I'm leaving." "First I'm robbed and soon I'll be poisoned." "I wouldn't give your wife's fish soup to my dog, even if I had one." "The fish in it hadn't swum since the Olympic Games." "As for the water she puts in the pan, it was full of tadpoles." "Which of you is going to deny it?" "Don't say anything." "Give me my umbrella!" "Whatever made you invite that rude man?" "Since Marius left a month ago, he's been impossible." "If you ask me, he's going mad." "Yes, he's going from bad to worse." "I knew a man like him." "His brain softened and melted inside." "When he shook his head, you could hear it... splashing about." "A very strange case." "Most odd." " You don't believe me?" " Of course." "I knew an odder case." "But instead the brain dried up." "It shrivelled like a chick pea." "As he walked along, his brain rang like a bicycle bell." "Especially on cobbles." "Stop it." "You made that up." "Just as you did." "Go on, say it in front of everyone you think I'm a liar." "Of course I do." "I regret to inform you that you're absolutely right." "Cheers!" "What's he doing?" "Waiting for the postman." "It's the same every day." "He's a good son, writing every day." "He hasn't written at all, not even once." "Not even Fanny." "She waits too." "If you ask me, it will kill them both." "Packing up already?" "No, I'm handing over to Miette." "I have to sell on Fanny's seashell stall." "Is your girl poorly?" "She's not at all well." "I'm sure Marius hasn't written." "And he won't admit it." "He bottles it all up so it swells inside him and chokes him." "Sadness is like a tapeworm." "You have to evacuate it." "You're right." "If we could make him talk to us, I'm sure it would relieve his mind." "Open the valve and reduce the pressure." "Precisely." "Somehow we have to make him tell us." "That won't be easy." "But we can try." "After all, he can't eat us." "We can't leave it." "You're right." "He's bound to bawl us out but that can't be helped." "It would be cowardly of us to hold back." "We must act." "And we shall." "You do it." "Me?" "Why not?" "All right, but you must back me up." "Of course." "I'm the submarine fleet." "I keep my distance." "While he's answering your broadside, I dive and torpedo him." "So let's go." "Expecting someone?" "Who would I be expecting?" "I don't know." "Monsieur Panisse, why are you spying on me?" "Who pays you and why?" "I'm not spying on you." "Then why ask if I'm expecting someone?" "I couldn't care less whether you're expecting someone or not." " I'm glad to hear it." " Exactly." " What about your torpedo?" " Wait." "Say, César..." "Could it be you're waiting for the post?" "Why would I be?" "I don't know." "Maybe a letter from your son." "Stop it." "Don't interfere in my personal affairs." "I don't ask you if your wife is having an affair with the Weights and Measures Officer." "You're not asking but you're telling me." "Can it be true?" "Your torpedo exploded under your feet." "Don't worry." "It's not true, Félix." "True or false, leave me alone." "Learn some discretion from me." "Don't ask me about Marius." "And the same applies to you." " I asked nothing." " Me neither." "You don't ask anything but you have a way of talking that sounds as if you want to know." "You force me to speak out." "We wouldn't dream..." "I don't want to know anything." "After thirty years of friendship, you don't care what happens to me." "That's what you meant." "You couldn't care less." "I was humouring you." "Do as you like." "Don't speak if you'd rather not." "I knew you'd end up by asking me." "All right, if you insist." "Nobody is forcing you." "Yes, you are." "Monsieur Brun, shut up." "Since I must speak, don't interrupt me." "Go ahead, César." "I can see it in your eyes and everybody else's that you pity me." "I know what you're saying behind my back." "He's all alone in that big house." "He neglects the bar." "He's had no news from his son and it's breaking his heart." "Since that's the way you think..." "Since you attach such importance to something so trivial, let me explain once and for all." "Yes, that's it." "Félix asked if I expected the postman." "The answer to that question is no." "When a son deserts his old father and doesn't write even once in twenty-nine days, it's hardly likely he'll write on the thirtieth day." "He couldn't send a letter before reaching Port Said." "The Malaisie reached Port Said twelve days ago." "Letters take two weeks..." "Mail boats take only nine days." "But they don't sail every day." " You really think so?" " I'm sure of it." "But why waste time talking about it?" "It's not important." "Don't pretend you're not interested." "Let's suppose it entered the boy's head to write a letter to his father." "A few words each day to say he's all right and thinking of you." "That he knows how sad you must be." "And suppose he set it aside every night and, when he reached Port Said, he put the whole stack in the post." "Suppose the postman entered this bar and said, "César, this is for you"." "And he gave me this three kilo package." "Enough reading matter to last the night through." "I tell you I'd take the package, put it under the counter and I wouldn't open it." "Because it doesn't interest me." "Come on, you love your son." "Yes, I loved the boy." "But not after what he did." "What did he do?" "My God, what did he do?" "Exactly." "What has he done to you?" "He has left me." "That's what he's done." "At twenty, surely he had the right?" "Not without warning." " That's true." " But what could you have done?" "Stopped him." "With a kick up the backside?" "Exactly." "I'd have soon made him forget the sea." "Good thing he said nothing." "So you approve of his rebellion, do you?" "Hear that?" "A Bolshevik wants to wreck the family." "You expect me to listen to this in my own bar?" "But, César, if a man wants to go to sea..." "A man?" "What man?" "Marius is a man?" "Marius is a man?" "He's twenty-three." "At his age, you were married." "You were a man." "What's true for you is true for him." "I see it differently." "I'm not my son." "With all due respect, I must say I think you're very selfish." "He has told you straight." "Indeed." "You've no right to stop him." "He can sail anywhere he likes, just so long as it isn't on water." "What good is that?" "There's no need to go to sea." "He could sail like you in the port or on some river or pond." "Sailing isn't the only way to make a living!" "Does Monsieur Panisse sail?" "No, he has more sense." "He makes sails." "He makes sails so that the wind will take other men's sons away." "Have you anything for me?" "No, there's nothing." "I don't write the letters, I only deliver them." "A letter from Port Said." "It's very thick." "It's from Marius." "It says on the back." "Read it, César." "Open the letter." "Leave it there." "Read it." "Go on." "For Fanny's sake." "You may be interested in that unnatural fellow but I'm not." "He'll never read that letter while we're here." "Let's take our leave discreetly." "Good idea." "Is it agreed?" "Yes, it's agreed." "You agree but you're not budging." "You want to see everything." "After all the gibes I've endured about the Lyonnais," "I'm entitled to say this." "We Lyonnais know the meaning of decency." "What does he mean?" "He's right." "Come on, let's go." "Curiosity killed the cat!" "You don't look well." "You should see a doctor." "What's the point?" "He'll tell you what's wrong." "He'd see if you were anaemic, maybe give you a tonic." "My mother would fear the worst." "Then don't tell her you're going." "Try Dr Venelle." "He's my doctor, a nice fatherly man." "Go one afternoon." "I'd be happy to pay." "That's most kind but I can pay." "Cheer up." "I'm sure there are lots of messages for you in that letter." "I doubt it." "But you hope there are." "What a silly thing love is." "More miserable than silly." "Don't worry." "He's in his kitchen learning that letter by heart." "We'll all know about it by tonight." "Fanny, come here, my love!" "Ah, here he is." "He's all right." "Re-read it to me." "Go ahead." ""Dear Dad," ""Forgive me for upsetting you." ""I know how sad you must be." "I think of you every night."" "And I think of you all day too, you idiot!" ""It's difficult to write why I left" ""but Fanny can explain." "She knows about my madness."" "Madness — exactly." "I'm glad he realizes at last." ""I'll describe my life." ""At first, I helped in the galley."" "They must have had some fine meals!" "One month and they'd end up skeletons." ""But a sailor fell into the hold and hurt himself," ""so I took his place on deck."" "The next bit is awful." ""I couldn't send this earlier because we had problems." ""One of the crew fell sick and died." ""The Port Authorities thought it was the plague and put us in quarantine."" "The plague, my God, on his ship!" "When a school chum of his had mumps," "I kept Marius at home for a month." "And now he has the plague up to here!" "He's not caught it." "No, but he nearly did and it's an awful disease." "Your neck swells and your mouth falls open." "Your tongue is as thick as a bull's." "Your navel blows up and turns black." "Marius, when are you going to stop giving us so much heartache?" "Carry on reading." ""The port doctors examined the corpse and said it wasn't the plague."" "I should hope so!" ""So now we're free to leave for Aden." ""I'm enjoying the voyage very much." ""But, sadly, we've not stopped on our way here," ""though we've passed the islands where Athens lies." ""Athens used to be a Roman fortress."" "You can tell he's with educated people." ""Everything is fine and I like the life." ""I am now working with oceanographic devices."" "I couldn't read that bit." ""We're going to measure the depth of the Indian Ocean."" "Just fancy, Fanny." "That boy couldn't measure a drink but now he's measuring seas." "Not just the sea but an ocean." "The Indian Ocean at that!" ""The scientists are very kind to me."" "Of course they are." "Now there's a bit for you." ""I am well and I hope this finds you and Fanny well too."" "You see, he's thinking about you." ""Let me know how she's keeping..."" ""How she's keeping, " see?" ""... and about her wedding to Panisse." ""I'm sure she'll be very happy." ""Wish her well from me."" ""From me"." "Do you see?" ""Write to me," ""care of The Malaisie in Aden." ""We reach there on the fifteenth." ""With all my love." "Your son, Marius."" ""Your son, Marius."" "At the bottom, he has written..." ""Don't worry about me, I'm very happy."" "He's happy." "He leaves us high and dry but he's over the moon." "That's the way he is." "But there you are." "I don't suppose he has much time to write, and the boat is going up and down all the time." "I could have wished there were a few more loving words for me." "And especially for you, Fanny." "But then, maybe just as he was about to write you something special, he was called away to measure the ocean." "That's the only explanation for it." "Anyway, there'll be lots of other letters." "Come on, Fanny, we must write a reply." "My hands are too clumsy to hold a pen." "You must do it." "Let's go into the kitchen." "Come along." "Keep an eye on the seashell stall and shut the bar." "We're closed for correspondence." "Here." "Sit down." "Ready?" ""My dear son," ""I have received your letter at last." ""It's not very long." ""I hope your next will run to at least ten pages." ""Or even twenty." ""What you say about the scientists" ""is most interesting." ""But, when you're measuring the depths of the seas," ""mind you don't lean out too far or you'll go overboard." ""And, if the sea is very deep," ""leave the job to another man."" "I know what Marius is like." "We went fishing in Panisse's boat once." "He leaned out to see his line and fell in." "His head was heavier than his bottom then, but that's all changed now." "Where were we?" "Read the last bit." ""Leave it to another"." "Underline "another"." "More than once, very hard." ""And if someone has the plague," ""don't go near him." ""Keep well away, even if he's your best friend." ""Friendship is all very well," ""but the plague is the end of the world." ""Everything is fine here." ""Except for the anger which seized me when you left" ""and still hasn't left me." ""Poor Fanny" ""isn't at all well." ""She hardly eats a thing." ""She's very pale." ""Everyone round here has noticed." ""All day they keep repeating..." ""Fanny is fading away and César is going mad." ""Furthermore, Honorine throws me baleful glances." ""Whenever I see her, I'm scared she'll draw a gun." ""It sends shivers down my spine."" "Why aren't you writing?" "If you put all that, you'll upset him." "But he upset us, didn't he?" "There's no point in paying him back." "I suppose you're right." "What shall we say then?" "I'll write it for you." "Not yet." "Tell me out loud first." "Well, we'll say..." ""Fanny is much as usual." ""Nothing is fixed about her wedding," ""as far as I know."" "That's excellent." ""Fanny hasn't changed." ""From time to time, we talk about you on the terrace outside the bar." ""Sometimes, at night, when it's quiet" ""and Escartefigue, Panisse and Brun are talking," ""it's as if you weren't all that far away." ""It's as if you'd just gone to the station to fetch Fanny's baskets." ""You'll be back in a moment, wearing your panama hat" ""and your neckerchief."" "Why, you little...!" "It's Escartefigue's driver!" "That orange was rotten." "You might at least have used a fresh one." "I didn't recognize you." "Come here at once or I'll call the police!" "Bend over so I can kick you." "I took you for an American." "For an American?" "I only saw you from behind." "He took me for an American." "Stand at ease." "I forgive him." "But next time you see an American, make sure it isn't me." "Claudine, you go." "It's a man in a top hat." "It isn't the bailiff, is it?" "I'm not in debt!" "Please come in, sir." "If it isn't Master Panisse." "Yes, it's me." "Hello, ladies!" "How are you?" "Fine." "How about you?" "Never better, as you see." "Yes, you look marvellous." "So do you." "You quite scared me." "I've just been to the wedding of an old friend, Ulysse Pijeautard." "Hence the dress." "And the gloves." "Very elegant." "Do sit down." "As I was all dressed up, it seemed a suitable moment to renew a request, the outcome of which will influence my entire future." "I wish to marry your daughter." "You know that already." "Will you give her to me?" "Of course we will." "Keep out of this, you idiot!" "You heard what happened?" "Yes, I know." " Marius and Fanny..." " I know." "He says he knows." " Not everything." " I know all I need to know." "Not at all." "I'd rather not talk about Marius." "The weather, taxes, anything else, but not Marius." "It's only fair to tell you I found them in bed together." "Did you have to say it?" "Promise me one thing." "What's that?" "Not to kill her if she deceives you." "I'm a kind man, as you know, but I can't renounce that right." "That I can't promise." "Murderer!" "It's impossible." "It's my upbringing." "I'm not English." "I've oriental blood." "We don't have cuckolds in my family." "You didn't kill your first wife." "My wife never deceived me." "Furthermore, she did my accounts." "I'd do anything for Fanny but if she deceives me, she dies." "You savage!" "Then it's no and no." "Wait a moment." "I'd never try to find out." "I'd never stoop to spying on her." "Even if I had proof or saw her in her lover's arms, my faith in her is such I'd not believe it." "That is my position." "That's different then." "I'll give you an answer tomorrow evening." " May I hope a little?" " A lot, Panisse." "Forgive me." "I loved him too much." "Make him come back." "Bring him back so he can give my baby a name." "Holy Virgin, free me from evil thoughts." "Give me the strength to live." "Give me the courage to confess to my mother." "It will cause her so much pain." "So there you are!" "Do you want every day off now?" "Been out for a walk?" "Claudine doesn't want to see you sulking." "She's not sulking." "Look at the face she's pulling." "Don't scold her." "It's passion, can't you see?" "Let's eat." "I'm dying of hunger." "Fanny, help me lay the table." "You must be hungry too." "I'm going to have a baby." "What's that you say?" "Good grief!" "A baby?" "Get out!" "You're a disgrace!" "If your father were here, he'd kill you." "Leave this house!" "Go out on the streets like the others!" "Pack up and go!" "Stop it!" "You're worse than Zoé." "You've shamed the family!" "Get out before I take this broom to you!" "Oh, my God, fetch the vinegar." "You should be ashamed of yourself." "Fanny, darling." "She's deathly pale." "Fanny, my darling, don't die." "I forgive you, my dear." "Don't die!" "Don't worry." "I'm better now." "Take a sniff of this." "There, the colour is coming back into her cheeks." "Yes, you should blush for very shame." "Norine, stop it!" "You cry when she faints and then you start all over again." "Of course it's a tragedy but you might have guessed." "When a girl has a lover, it's to be expected." "Let me talk to her." "Fanny, dear, you're quite sure?" "And is Marius the father?" "Of course he is." "She hasn't slept with the whole of Marseilles." "So it's Marius!" "I could kill him!" "He's not behaved very well and he had no right to do it, but what's done can't be undone." "Tell me, darling, when did you find out?" "I've felt unwell ever since he left." "I wasn't myself." "I felt sick in the mornings." "I was scared." "I thought of nothing else, night and day." "I cried so much, I was in a stupor." "And Marius never wrote." " I wanted to drown myself." " Don't say that!" "So this morning I went to see Dr Venelle." "He's a good man." "What did he say?" "It will be in March." "Just the month." "The month of the March hare." "It's no use crying over spilt milk." "It's sad losing one's honour but once it's gone, it's gone." "What are you going to do now?" "Anything you say, so long as I can stay." "Then it's all right." "There's no problem." "Marry Panisse." "You think he'd have me?" "He asked again this morning." "And this time it's yes." "What do you think?" "I earn a good living." "I can manage on my own." "I'd rather not marry." "I'd prefer to look after the baby alone till his father returns." "If he ever does." "That sounds fine but it's hard..." "It's not hard, it's impossible." "Listen, Fanny." "In every family, there's a black sheep." "Nobody minds, it's natural." "But Aunt Zoé has taken that place already." "We'll be disgraced if you don't marry Panisse." "Does he still want me?" "He asked again." "But I'm pregnant." "Fortunately he doesn't know that." "You'd lie to him?" "It would be stupid to tell him." "Not to tell would be criminal." "After all, you can't be sure." "Dr Venelle said I was." "What does he know?" "He's in his dotage." "Then I don't need to marry." "You don't have to be pregnant to marry." "Take Panisse and say nothing." "That would be monstrous." "It's dishonest." "It's not dishonest." "One man gets you into trouble." "Now another must pay." "No, it's my fault." "I must take the best I can out of it." "Just because he's kind, I can't land a bastard on him and steal his name!" "I'd never be able to look people in the eyes again." "I'd feel terrible." "I'd be worse than a prostitute." "How can you suggest it?" "You're in no position to lecture us!" "Stop it, Norine!" "Don't start again." "I know it's a tragedy but we still have to eat." "Come on, Fanny." "Sit down." "I'm not hungry." "When you've no children, you're jealous of those that have." "Yet when you have children, they drive you crazy." "Our Lady had only the one child and look at the trouble he caused her." "She had a boy." "Sit down and let's eat." "Do you think love children are less pretty than other babies?" "Sometimes they're stronger and cleverer." "Then what are you worrying about?" "You've seen the dinghy, Monsieur Brun?" "Yes, I inspected it." "It seems a good price." "And it goes like the wind." "So I'm to make the sails?" "Here we have a model." "And this is the cloth I suggest." "Just feel that." "It's light and it won't get wet at sea." "Feel the texture." "Yes, it seems very good." "Isn't it a bit stiff?" "Is it sails you want, or ladies' trousers?" "For sails, it's just what you need." "How are things?" "Buying sails, are you, Monsieur Brun?" "Yes, I need a set for my new boat." "What was that?" "You've bought a boat?" "The Pitalugue, on Panisse's advice." "The Pitalugue?" "That long, thin thing?" "That boat has quite a reputation." "Come now, César!" " Didn't you warn him?" " About what?" " César means it's problematic." " What, César is?" "No, the boat." "She tends to list a bit." "Is that serious?" "Climb aboard and she capsizes." "Once her keel is in the air though, she won't budge." "Does that often happen?" "The boat is well-known, they call her the submarine." " Is he kidding?" " He's joking." "You're saying I shall capsize?" "Who's to say?" "She's done it so often now, maybe she's grown tired of it." "What makes the boat do it?" "The propeller is too big for the boat." "So if you open the throttle, instead of the propeller, it's the boat that turns — turtle." "Stop it now." "Monsieur Brun knows the boat isn't new." "He's paying a rock bottom price." "It's a bargain." "It's worth buying, don't you agree?" "Yes, if you fancy drowning." "Panisse, you advised me to buy the boat." "Tell me honestly." "Will it capsize?" "Capsizing is only natural, especially where boats are concerned." "And especially that one." "I can't guarantee she won't capsize." "It's a risk you take." "If you'd rather not take that risk, buy an island, not a boat." "Buy the Château d'If." "Panisse will make you the sails." "You're in deep waters." "Not at all, my dear César." "You like to tease but I don't care." "To put an end to your cavilling, I shall try the boat at once." "Will you come with me to try out The Pitalugue?" "All right." "But, after what César said, it will cost you more." " Will you accompany us?" " I can't." "I'm sorry." "I bet you are." "Some of us have to work." "You murderer!" "Monsieur Brun, wait!" "Take this lifebelt." "It won't do any harm." "I'm not worried." "I know a good boat when I see one." "I can tell that." "I've examined the boat thoroughly." "The design is such that it cannot capsize." "But I will do my best to overturn it." "There's no need." "Just leave it to the boat." "Can you swim?" "God be with you, Monsieur Brun." "God be with me?" "We'll meet in heaven." "See what you did?" "You've lost me a tidy sum there!" "Not if the boat stays afloat." "You know full well it won't." "Why did you have to come over?" "Because I've something important to say." "What might that be?" "Here's a letter from Macassar." "It's from Marius?" "I'll come back and talk when I've read my letter." "Read it here." "I have to read his letters at home." "Watch out, Monsieur Brun!" "Easy does it!" "That'll be 10 francs!" "Careful!" "Bravo!" "Ah, Fanny." "Hello, my dear." "May I speak to you?" "By all means." "It's something very serious." "Go along in." "You've something serious to say?" "The same thing as César?" "No." "He knows nothing about this." "Two serious matters in one day." "What a busy day!" "I can guess what it is." "Your mother told you I'd asked for your hand again." "You've come with your answer and you don't know how to put it." "I understand." "Let me make it easier for you." "You're going to refuse me again." "You mustn't worry on my account." "If it's no, that's just too bad." "It can't be helped." "But I haven't come to say no." "You've come to say yes?" "I would have, if it were possible." "But it isn't." "There's something you don't know." "And when you know it, you won't have me." "I owe you the truth, even if you despise me for it." "Despise you?" "I'd never do that." "Besides, I already know and so do most other people." "Marius was seen twice leaving your house at dawn." "What difference does that make?" "If anyone remarks that I wasn't the first, I'll reply," ""I'm no virgin." "What difference does it make?"" "Who cares?" "I don't... quite the reverse." "And I'll tell you why I don't mind." "An elderly man marrying a young girl doesn't seem quite nice." "But if the girl has had a lover, that rights the balance." "I don't lose my self-esteem or self-respect, which I prize enormously." "That's how I see it." "You're so good, Panisse." "But there's something worse than that." "Something that can't be dismissed or be undone." "Can't you understand?" "Yes, I want to." "I'm trying." "You've understood but you're pretending not to because I fill you with horror." "You don't have to hide it." "You're right not to have me." "I'm disgraced!" "I've not even the right to kill myself!" "Is it a baby, Fanny?" "Fanny, tell me." "Is it a baby?" "You're sure?" "The doctor told you?" "That's why you were looking peaky." "Don't despise me too much." "You asked my mother for me." "I could have said yes." "But I had to tell you." "I'd be happy to be your wife." "You'd marry me?" "I'd be so grateful." "Maybe I'd come to love you." "And you'd give me the baby?" "You'd let him carry my name?" "That's all I ask." "Tell me, is it true?" "Do you still want me?" "Fanny, did you ever look at my sign?" "It says Honoré Panisse, Sail Maker." "The letters are squashed to the left to leave a space." "Come and take a look." "See these letters?" "And..." "Son." "They've been in that drawer for thirty years." "I've never been able to put them up." "But back to the matter in hand." "Have you told anyone else your secret?" " The doctor knows." " Of course." "Anyone else?" "Mother and Claudine." "They won't talk." "You're sure no one else knows?" "Right." "So when will this child..." "my child be born?" "February or March." "Two months premature!" "When shall we marry?" "You mean it, Panisse?" "Have you given it even thought?" "Will you save the baby?" "Since we've come to an arrangement, I shall tell you everything." "I'm not making a sacrifice." "Come and sit down." "When I married Félicité, we were both very young." "We had to borrow money to buy the shop." "It didn't cost much." "The shop wasn't worth that much then." "We hired one worker, then two, then ten, then finally thirty." "Then after seven years, one evening, I said to my wife..." ""Félicité, let's have a baby."" "She blushed." "She hid her face in her hands and said..." ""I've wanted one so much but I never dared say."" "But then, my poor Fanny, we failed utterly." "I can't tell you the doctors we saw." "The waters, the candles, all the pilgrimages and gymnastics we did, let alone the rest." "We'd been scared to have a baby and then, when we wanted one, God refused us." "I grew mad for a child." "When I saw a man out pushing a pram," "I was terribly jealous." "I longed to look as ridiculous as he did." "To talk baby talk." "It was a terrible blow." "I was angry with Félicité and we began to quarrel." "I'd say things like," ""Why do you have to be fat, if you've no baby?"" "And she'd retort," ""If you drank less, we'd stand a better chance."" "Little by little, we grew resigned." "But we lost interest in the shop." "We just sold everyday items." "While I fooled around playing cards, others came into the business." "Renault and Peugeot and all the others started making motors." "Our poor old port is polluted now, all because Félicité was barren." "But now... everything has changed!" "I'm to have a wife and a child of my very own." "You're so good, Panisse." "I'm very grateful." "But give yourself a couple of days." "Why?" "Might you change your mind?" "If Marius writes?" "I'm not counting on anyone - except you." "But I don't want you to act out of pity." "You've not understood anything I said." "Believe me, no man ever acted more selfishly than I am acting now." "I couldn't be happier!" "It's best to make babies oneself, but, if you're old and there's a baby ready-made, you'd best take it and keep quiet." "I ask only one thing, Fanny." "Don't tell your mother or anyone else that I know." "You won't tell?" "I'll say nothing." "Despite everything, I'd still like it to be a white wedding." "That way, everyone will think the baby is mine." "Come quick." "I think Monsieur Brun has drowned." "His boat's keel up." "I doubt if it's true but I must go." "Wait for me in the dining-room." "It will soon be yours." "Go and make yourself at home." "Let us through." "What's going on?" "Oh, the deuce!" "Something's ticking but I can't tell if it's his heart or his watch." "He's feeling better!" "I'll be off." "If he's not drowned, he'll be after me." "You wanted to say something?" "I hear you asked Norine for Fanny's hand some time ago." "Lately, I've heard rumours, and I've noticed things myself." "I keep my eyes open." "I also know what you're like." "Everyone says you're still courting the girl discreetly." "They say you intend proposing again." "Is it true?" "Though you're a neighbour and my friend," "I must say this is none of your business." "It isn't?" "None of your business at all." "But, as I've absolutely nothing to hide," "I will tell you that I have proposed again." "I've been accepted and we decide the wedding date tonight." "It's gone that far?" "It's gone even further." "I'm sorry but this wedding will not take place." "Why?" "Is your son coming back?" "I'm afraid not." "He won't be back for another twenty-six months." "They have to finish their measuring." "I say there'll be no marriage." "You're funny." "What right have you to forbid it?" "Fanny is Marius's wife." "The town hall is a formality we can attend to when Marius returns." "What if Fanny doesn't want to wait?" "She'll wait." "She loves him." "So much so that she's accepted me." "She's accepted you?" "That's it." "Exactly." "She said yes to you?" "Fanny said yes to me herself." "To me personally." "I don't understand it." "Oh, yes I do — only too well!" "You bought her from her mother." "You went to Honorine, promising her an annuity if she sold Fanny to you." "Own up, you old slave trader!" "You can't buy a girl, especially not one like Fanny." "You must realise that." "I realise that this marriage is an outrage and a disgraceful waste." "You know very well that it is." "Just what do you mean?" "It's something quite distasteful." "Something dishonest." "I'm not here to act as a dictionary!" "Just because two women are mad, it's no reason to take advantage of them." "Answer me this, Panisse." "Are you going to marry her?" "That's right." " Why?" " I choose to." "I'm afraid tempers will rise." "We may begin shouting at each other." "And I'll end up strangling you." "So..." "let's keep it calm." "Take it easy." "Fine by me." "Forgive me, but when an elderly man marries a young girl, it's not very nice." "In fact, it's unpleasant." "It's displeasing." "Not to me." "Now we see what you're really after." "You're marrying Fanny because she's pretty and you want to rub your leathery old hide up against her soft skin." "Not only that." "But that's partly it." "I find it disgusting." "I am disgusted!" "And that is your right." "But I don't want to be disgusted!" "In such delicate family matters, you should behave like a gentleman." "Not like a small-time crook!" "If you refuse to listen to my advice," "I'll meet you at the church." " Coming out?" " No, going in." "What will you say?" "The first thing you'll feel is a hammer blow on your head!" "Then I'll take you like this and rough you up." "I'll mash you to pulp and throw the bits to the winds!" "Very well." "But, if you even so much as tap me, I shall shoot you." "With a good regulation gun!" "It only needs wheels and you'd have a cannon." "For forty years, you've called yourself my friend." "A bloody nuisance more like!" "All that time, you've tyrannised and belittled me." "At school, I had to play your games." "You made me carry your satchel." "When you were given lines, I had to write them while you ate my sweets!" "You made my life a misery." "I used to write it all down in a notebook." "I used to pray I'd become stronger than you, so I could give you a good thrashing!" "But you grew faster than me." "You've a persecution complex." "Then, when I fell in love with Marie Frisette and she liked me, out of jealousy, you came between us!" "She was ghastly." "As thin as a rake and cross-eyed." "No, she wasn't." "She was slim and it was only a slight squint." "But lovely even so." "Not that you were jealous of her." "It was me!" "Because I'd ceased to be your slave." "That's why you parted us." "This tyranny went on for 30 years!" "Do you think I'll let you do that again?" "You can't stop my marriage!" "Rather than that, I'd put a bullet through your head!" "You've killed the diver." "Let that serve as a lesson." "I'd kill you like I killed him." "Don't be an idiot." "You were so scared your legs were like jelly." "I've no more to say to you." "I'll speak to Fanny." "This wedding shall not take place." "It's Fanny you want?" "Then come this way." "César is determined to stop our wedding, even by criminal means." " Speak to him." " Not yet, Fanny." "He's not being fair." "You're engaged to Marius." "He's away at the moment but he'll be back." "Isn't that the way it is?" "I can't wait two years." "Those women put you up to this." "Mother is right." "You can't understand." "I understand only too well she's putting you in Panisse's bed." "Your mother never used to be this fussy." "Wasn't she your father's mistress before they married?" "And what difference did it make?" "Did it stop them being happy?" "Tell Panisse you were scared." "He'll release you from your promise and I'll talk to your mother." "No, I must have a husband." "What did you say?" "You must have a husband?" "You'll take any old codger who comes along, provided he's rich?" "César, I'd wait another ten years if I could." "But I can't wait any longer." "Not any more." "If Panisse wants me, I'll marry him." "It's not possible." "Now I see your little scheme." "You sent Marius away." "You said so yourself!" "You sent him off so you'd be rid of him." "You wanted Panisse's money and this old fool is content." "Stop it." "You're talking nonsense." "You're just like your aunt Zoé." "She had all the old men dancing round her." "I'm very glad now that Marius left." "He did the right thing." "You didn't love him!" "Be quiet!" "I shall write and tell Marius the truth." "I'll destroy every vestige of love he has for you." "Leave the poor child alone!" "Tell him everything, Panisse." "He must be stupid if he still doesn't understand." "Tell him, Panisse." "What's wrong?" "It's like this." "Fanny finds herself in a delicate position." "She has to find a decent man to repair your sailor boy's misdeeds." "A baby." "You're expecting a baby?" "And you want to steal it?" "It's my child." "It's my son's baby." "You want to steal my grandchild." "You're crazy, both of you." "Fanny, think." " I have to consider my family." " To hell with them!" "We're your family." "Marius, the baby and me!" "This man has nothing to do with it." "He should keep his nose out of it." "You understand?" "Come along home." "You're forgetting something." "Marius won't be back for another two years." "My mother would die of shame." "People don't die that easily." "Soon people will start saying," ""Look at Fanny." "She must have a bun in the oven."" "Imagine mother at the market." " Everyone will know it was Marius." " Yes, and they know he's a nice boy." "They'll think he had his reasons for leaving." "They'll say, "He wasn't the first." "He didn't know if the baby was his."" "Or, as you said yourself a moment ago," ""It runs in the family." "Look at her aunt Zoé."" "Would you let her family suffer that?" "But he'll marry her one day." "And I'm here to protect them." "She'll have a husband in two years' time." "That remains to be seen." "Are you sure he'll marry Fanny when he returns?" "He only wrote twice since he left." "Each time to you." " But he always mentioned you." " Like a stranger." "Does he mention Fanny in that letter you've just received?" "No, he doesn't." " How do you know?" " You'd have said." "And does he speak about his return?" "No, he doesn't." "Fanny's future and honour are at stake." "Admit it." "He didn't actually write about her." "He sent his regards." "Most considerate of him." "But I'll see to it he marries Fanny!" "What good is that, even if he does return in two years?" "And what if he doesn't?" "How dare you think such a thing!" "Well, don't you sometimes?" "Are you in charge of the typhoons and cyclones?" "Is it you that makes the storms?" "What if his ship sank?" "Can you swear to it that Marius will come back and marry Fanny?" "There are eight chances in ten he will." "Well, seven chances in ten." "Or six." "Or five." "The child's life could be ruined." "No one knows at present." "If she marries now, the baby will have a name." " But when he's born..." " He'd be a bastard." "That's true." "Later on, at school, his friends will say," ""My father's a baker or carpenter." "What's yours?"" "He'll blush and say, "I haven't a father."" "Do you think I haven't thought about it?" "About my mother, my family, and the baby..." "My marriage to Panisse will please everyone, including Marius." "And the child will have a name." "He'll be called Panisse." "Well, if by chance he's called Panisse, he'll be Marius Panisse." "Of course, as you'd be godfather." "Is that a promise?" "You'd see him as often as you want to." "He'd be yours too." "What's more, he'd be rich." "I've never owned up to it before." "I always said I had a modest fortune." "But actually I've the double." " You're a millionaire then." " Plus the shop." "Even Fanny didn't know." "But it could be relevant." "You'd leave it all to the child?" "Of course." "He'd be my son." "He'll even be richer if I leave him the bar." "At twenty, he'll be smoking cigars as long as my arm." "If it's not a girl." "A girl?" "Don't even mention the word!" "I won't have husbands in the room." "You've done your job already." "Anyway, husbands always faint." "I'll call you when it's born." "Go back to her." "Quickly." "It's a premature birth." "Be sure I'm the first to kiss him." "Master Panisse says the baby is on the way." "Good." "I'll be over." "Long distance?" "Get me Vaison, please." "Dialling 18 at Vaison, in the Vaucluse." "Hurry up, can't you?" "Where to?" "My brother's baby is on the way." "A little Panisse." "Your future boss." "He'll inherit all my vineyards." "If it's a boy." "I hope it's a boy." "Of course." "We'll be on the first train." "Honoré says the baby is expected tonight." "Two months premature?" "What does it matter?" "He'll soon be here." "But we've not finished the blanket." " You think everything is all right?" " Of course." "We men look silly when a baby is on the way, don't we?" "She's in there, in pain, while we just stand about." "I wish I could suffer in her place." "She's quiet." "She's so brave." "I was holding her hand earlier on." "The pains were so strong, she dug her nails into my palm." "Poor Panisse." "Do you think they'll let us have it?" "The baby." "Will they let us have him?" "Of course they will." "The sun is rising." "My son's birthday." "And Easter Sunday." "He'll arrive to the sound of bells." "It's a boy!" "Don't eat him up!" "A bit crooked but you can read it." "Come and see." "The mother needs to rest." "I won't have you all trooping in." "He's right." "Listen, Doctor, I'm Elzéar Panisse." "Wine grower, brother to Honoré and senior member of the family." "I'd like to see Fanny, just for a second." "Please, let him in." "He's the head of the family." "Come on." "He's a fine boy." "Sister-in-law." "I only saw you once." "At your wedding." "But I address you as one of the family." "Ours is an honourable and wealthy family." "But, lately, we have been a sad one as there were no children." "We knew, when we died, our name would die with us." "But then you came along." "You were brought to bed and presented us with a boy." "As the eldest member of the family, on behalf of all our cousins, aunts and relatives, and even of our dead," "I have travelled through the night to express our joy." "It's a boy." "Thank you, sister-in-law." " How are you, Norine?" " Fine." "Panisse is a good son-in-law." "He may not be young but he spoils Fanny so much that in the end..." "In the end... it's all right." "You don't regret the marriage." "No, not any longer." "She was fond of your son, but he chose to leave." "He fancied a sailor's life, the idiot." "Where is he now?" "I don't know exactly." "Three weeks ago he was in India." "That reminds me, I've a letter in my pocket from him." "I've not read it." "What does he say about the baby?" "He doesn't know." "I didn't tell him." "You did right." "Does Fanny ever speak of him?" "Only in passing." "He's been gone two years now." "She's married." "Her husband gave her a child." "I was amazed when she announced it." "And I was flabbergasted!" "Who'd have thought it?" "Who'd have thought Panisse had it in him?" "He seems so calm and passive." "He must have hidden reserves." "Anyway, he made a fine boy." "Yes, he made a fine child." "He's superb." "I sometimes wonder whether Marius would have done any better." "Of course he wouldn't!" "That much is true." "That's certainly true." "Especially when no one's around." "Who is it?" " Who is it?" " Me." " Who?" " Marius." "Is that you, Marius?" "It's not possible..." "What's happening to me?" "It's really you?" "You're a bit bristly." "I need a shave." "You're like a hedgehog." "Let me look at you." "Is there a power cut?" "No, a fuse blew." "You got strong!" "But why are you here?" "Have you jumped ship?" "Are you ill?" "Didn't you receive my letter?" "No." "Yes." "I just received it." "There's nothing wrong." "I'll explain." "You were eating?" "I'm hungry." "Smells good." "How your uniform suits you!" "Have a seat, child." "I can't eat alone." "Go on." "I'm not hungry." "Was all this just for you?" "Yes, just a little snack." "Good." "That proves you're fine." "I suppose so." "Eat up." "Eat it all up." "Try some tomatoes and the artichokes." "Tell me about yourself!" "Well, when we reached Sydney, about eight weeks ago, we had serious problems." "He's a bit feverish." "A little feverish, yes." "He's teething." "It's one of the molars at the back." "You can feel it." "That's children for you." "They always have something." "He was fretful yesterday." " Where are you going?" " To Paris." "After those motors?" "Yes, to sign a contract." "I'll be their sole agent." "You're going to sell motors, you a sail maker?" "It's treason!" "I know." "But I'm doing it for the boy." "Take these to my wife and tell her I caught the train." "Farewell, Panisse." "Have a good trip!" "Who's there?" "Don't be afraid, Fanny." "It's me, Marius." "It's you!" "I came back tonight." "I've seen my father." "I wanted to talk to you." "I wanted to say hello." "You're alone?" "I went to bed but I couldn't sleep." "So I jumped out of the window just as I used to." "Like in the old days." "I've been outside quite some time." "Sit down." "Have a drink." "With pleasure." "Won't your husband have one too?" "He's already in bed." "Have you come back for good?" "In principle, I leave in the morning, two hours from now." "Your ship is here?" "No, she's in Sydney..." "in dry dock being repaired." "A warship was on its way home, so they sent us back on it with some equipment that was damaged." "These are devices that have to be repaired by the makers in Paris." "Precision instruments, you see." "It's all highly scientific." "I asked to be part of the team." "I was homesick." "Of course." "You would be homesick for your father." "For my father and Marseilles." "For everyone." "But I could stay if I exchanged postings." "What do you mean?" "I could easily swap." "Because the pay on The Malaisie is very good." "Chauveau and I have always kept in touch." "He's on the Corsica run but he'd take my place like a shot." "He has the same craving." "You know..." "For faraway places." "You don't crave for them any more?" "You're not happy at sea?" "If it's the life you choose, you have to like it." "You'd be silly otherwise." "Of course I'm happy." "What about you?" "Yes, I have a good husband." "And a nice home." "A nice home and a lovely child." "A truly lovely child." " Your father told you?" " Yes, but only just now." "What else did he say?" " About what?" " About my son." "What else should he say?" "I suppose you think your son is wonderful and unique." "Of course." "And he is." "He's beginning to walk." "Already?" "My father said he was only eight months old." "That's a bit soon." "He's a little over eight months and he's very precocious." "You're very happy then." "It's all worked out well." "I'm glad to see you so happy and looking so well." "You look well too." " Thanks to the sea air." " Thanks to a quiet life, in my case." "And happiness." "Yes, Marius, my quiet life and happiness." "Well, goodbye Fanny, my dear." "You'll be back after Paris?" "No, we're sailing on a British steamer." "They're good boats." "Tell your husband I was sorry to miss him." "Who's there?" "Madame Panisse, I've a message for you." "These flowers are from your husband." "You see, it was like this." "We were just leaving this party given for railway employees..." "Let me speak." "... when we met Master Panisse who gave me these flowers and asked me to deliver them and say he'd caught his train." "So there you are." "By now the express will have left." "Monsieur Panisse will be on his way to Paris." "May the Good Lord protect him." "May Our Lady watch over him." "Amen." "Is that true about your husband?" "Why didn't you say?" "Scared of me?" "Of course not." "It's no use talking." "Go away." "We mustn't stir up the past." "We don't have to." "It's already stirred up." "Why did you marry in haste?" "Why wasn't I told about your son?" "How is it Panisse suddenly became a father at fifty?" "I don't know." " After only seven months." " How do you know?" "So his baptism card says." "It gives the date of his baptism and the birth." "He was premature." "These things happen." "Yes, these things happen." "But you said he was eight months old and he's ten." "You wanted to stop me having ideas." "It's no use." "Go away." "I know the truth now." "That child is mine, isn't it?" "And I'm a criminal." "No, you're not a criminal." "It's not your fault." "Why did you let me go without saying?" "Why didn't you write?" "You left for five years!" "For mother's sake, I told Honoré." "He took me as I was." "Forgive me." "I forgave you a long time ago." "You just didn't understand my love." "Nor my own." "I didn't know how much I loved you." "At first, I was happy on that ship." "I know." "I read your letter." "I hardly thought about you." "It was all over." "But then it started to come back." "Especially at night." "I kept thinking of you." "Stop it, Marius." "I began to realise I'd been stupid." "But I thought I could put it behind me." "It would soon be over." "But, no, it wouldn't go away." "On the contrary." "As we entered the South Seas, it grew worse and worse." "When I closed my eyes, it all flooded back." "I saw you with your big straw hat." "I saw you on the quay." "I heard the click of your sabots." "I smelled your skin." "Stop it, Marius." "You mustn't." "It's not right." "It's too late now." "I saw you everywhere." "Then, one day off the Carolinas, a terrible thing happened." "Try as I might, I couldn't remember your face." "I couldn't remember you any more." "I closed my eyes and tried with might and main." "But it was all black." "I'd lost you." "So I asked Dad to send me a photograph of you." "And when we arrived at Tahiti, there was the mail." "Dad had sent a photograph." "Your wedding photograph." "You'd been married a month." "As I didn't know the reason, I wept." "I did too." "I had to see if you still loved me." "You still do." "I was right." "You still love me." "Fanny, darling, let me kiss you." "No, children." "Don't do it." "Panisse is a good man." "Don't make a fool of him in his own home." "Who told you?" "A little bird, as usual." "Why didn't you say the child was mine?" "The child?" "What child?" " I told him." " Maybe that was wrong." "I've some right over her..." "and over the child." "I don't know about any rights." "I'm very fond of you, Dad, but keep out of this." "You said that well, Marius." "You've become a real man." "You no longer respect your father." "It's normal." "But, in the absence of Fanny's husband, you've no right to be here." "Get out." "I'm staying here!" "You'll follow your father." "Panisse did a fine thing." "He gave Fanny a home." "He gave your son a name." "Now he's away, working for your child's future, are you going to come like a thief and steal his wife?" "Our family has done many things." "There have been pirates, smugglers, fools, and even a simple barman like me." "But never a scoundrel." "Are you staying?" "Right." "Then I stay too." "Your father is right." "My husband!" "Working late?" "You missed the train?" "No but as I was boarding, I saw Dr Cigalon." "And he told me that..." "As you see, we have visitors." "Good evening, Marius." "You're back?" "Only for a few hours." "He has a short pass." "Tell us." "Did you miss the train?" "Dr Cigalon told me Miette's child has whooping cough." "And she'd not said anything to us." "She'd been borrowing toys." "She only brought this doll back yesterday." "Whooping cough is a terrible disease." "It's an invisible germ, tinier than a mosquito." "Look as you may, you can't see it." "It has terrible hooks." "It jumps on children and clamps on their throats." "They suffer terribly." "Did he touch this?" "How is the boy?" "A bit hot." "I'll give that girl Miette a piece of my mind when I see her tomorrow." "Don't worry." "Go and take his temperature." "How long will you be on leave?" "That depends." "On your captain?" "It depends on Fanny and you." "At least that's clear and frank." "I don't understand." "In the past, as today, and even when I was far away," "I always considered Fanny my fiancée." ""Considered"?" "That's a fine word." "But I don't need to consider anything." "Fanny is simply my wife." "My wife and the mother of my child." "Are you sure he's your son?" "For two years I've been expecting this." "I've never gone to bed without thinking," ""What if he comes and wants them?" "What will I say?"" "Over two years, I've had time to choose my words, but now you're here, I don't know what to say." "Honoré, don't worry." "He doesn't look ill." " His temperature?" " Normal." "He's no more sickening for whooping cough than I am." "Sit down, Fanny." "What is it you want exactly?" "I made a mistake two years ago." "But why should this ruin several people's lives?" " What people?" " Fanny, me, dad and my son." "What about me?" "You have had two good years and I'm grateful for what you did." "But now you must give me back what is mine." "That's pushing it a bit." "It's easy asking others to make sacrifices." "Well, here's my answer." "I feel an intruder when I see you together." "Maybe I should do the decent thing and kill myself." "I'd willingly die for you, Fanny." "But if I died, I'd never see my boy again." "So I absolutely refuse to do it." "No one is asking you to." "No one has asked me but I asked myself." "Don't feel pity for me." "If you still love this young man, forget me." "You're free to go." "What you say is very fine and unselfish but there's the child." "The child is ours!" "You want me to give him up?" "Have my eyes, my heart but not him!" "So much for your generosity." "You give the wife but keep the child." "You calculate the wife won't leave without the child!" "If you're sincere, give me back my son." "No, Marius, you will not have the boy!" "You may persuade his mother." "Or she may ask for him one day but don't you try." "You're young." "You can have other children." "Let me keep mine." "He's my only son, the first and last!" "I would never take him from you." "An ordinary child I might part with but this one is a marvel." "Marius, you were a handsome boy but he's even more handsome." "All this is very fine but..." "He coughed." "I heard nothing." "You may not have heard but I did." "And he's gone." "The cough is more important than all this." "If he's mine, I should do the worrying." "Exactly." "But you don't." "Marius, he's not yours." "You were only his father before he was born." "Once a father, always a father." "When the baby was born, he weighed four kilos." "Four kilos of his mother's flesh." "Now he weighs nine kilos." "Do you know what those other kilos are made of?" "Love." "And yet love weighs very light." "You need a lot of love to make five kilos." "I gave my share and so did Fanny." "But Panisse contributed the most." "And what have you given?" "Life." "Dogs give life too." "No, Marius." "You didn't want that child." "All you wanted was pleasure." "You didn't give him life." "He took it." "That's a different thing." "Who's the father?" "The giver of life or the one who buys the baby food?" "The father is the one who loves." "Marius, you were the father of a bastard." "You were the father of a child without a name which was borne by a poor, desperate girl." "Where is that child?" "He doesn't exist." "He isn't mine." "Mine was born in a fine, large bed, surrounded by his family." "Don't try to bite off more than you can chew." "You can't have that child." "He's too firmly rooted in his family." "You're betraying me too." "No, Marius, I never betrayed you." "I have never betrayed our love." "Since your father is here to save us from ourselves," "I can tell you." "I love you." "I still love you." "I love you as much as before, if not more." "Every morning, I see you in my son's face." "When you came in tonight, I nearly fainted." "If you'd have taken my hand, I would have gone with you." "I'd have gone with you anywhere." "But then..." "What about my son?" "Take him." "The law and God forbid it." "Panisse saved me." "He gave me his name and my self-respect back." "At the birth, I drove my nails into his hands." "He said, "Bite me, scratch me." ""The more you hurt me, the more he's mine."" "And he bore with it the whole night." "He still bears the scars." "He bears the scars, Marius." "Not you." "Go away." "Go back to sea." "That's what you wanted." "Leave me here with our child." "But remember this, if it will console you." "There's someone thinking of you every night." "A girl who'd like to lie beside you, sleeping in your warmth." "Who'd like to wake up with your arms around her." "She'd touch your hair and put her hands on your drowsy lips." "And you..." "What do you want me to do?" "Catch your train." "You want me gone too." "She can't wait for me to be gone either." "Don't be hard on her." "She loves you." "She told you so." "But her heart goes one way and her body the other." "It's not her heart that loves you." "She's the most to be pitied." "None of us is sending you away, neither me, her or Panisse." "But you're a danger to your child's future." "He's the one sending you away." "And you don't defend me." "Dad, you don't love me any more." "Of course I still love you." "Only you're a big man and he's little." "He's very little." "That's what makes him strong." "Small children take everything." "But it's nicer not to wait for them to take things." "Just give instead." "I'm off." "Say goodbye to Madame Panisse." "I'll only ever love you." "And I've only ever loved you." "Come along, my son." "Subtitling:" "Monal Group"