"I suppose it was the loneliness... and being far away from anyplace... that made me decide to buy the house." "And after I did, I told myself I'll never go through with the plan... even though I'd made all the preparations... and knew where she was every minute of the day." "Bye." "It looks just like him." "See?" "See you." "Bye." " Miranda, Miranda, stop." " Have a jug." "Just one." "Just one jug." "Psst!" "Freddie, come over here." "Freddie!" "Come over here quick." "Come on, Freddie." "Get a move on." "Aunt Annie, what are you doing here?" " This came for you in the post." " I told you never to come to the bank." "Read it, Freddie." "Read it!" "He won the football pools!" "He's won 71,000 pounds on the pools!" "Open the door, please!" "Is there anyone there?" "Please let me out!" "Let me out, please!" "I hope you slept well." "I brought you some cereal." "You'll have to tell me what you like." "I'll get anything you want." "Where is this?" "Who are you?" "I had to take the nail file and the scissors out of your bag." "Why have you brought me here?" "This is your room." " Get out of the way!" " Please... don't oblige me to use force again." "I demand to be released at once!" "It's no good shouting." "You can't be heard." "And anyway, there's never anyone to hear." "I don't know who you think I am." "If you think I'm someone's rich daughter and you're gonna get a huge ransom... you got a shock coming." "I know who you are." "You're Miranda Grey." "Your father's Dr. James Grey of Reading." "And I know he's not rich." "I know a lot about you, more than you think." "How do you know that?" "Look, what am I doing here?" "I hope the clothes fit." "I didn't know your size exactly." "But I've seen you wear those colors." "You looked very nice in them." "Wait!" "No, wait!" "Don't go!" "Wait!" "Come back!" "Please come back!" "Please open the door!" "Don't leave me, please!" "Open the do..." "Please!" "Do you mind telling me..." "where we are... and who you are?" "You've gone to a lot of trouble." "All those clothes in there, all those art books." "I'm your prisoner, but you want me to be a happy prisoner." "Why?" "Since you know my father isn't a rich man, it isn't for ransom, as you say." "The only other thing is sex." "It's not that at all." "I shall have all the proper respect." "Then why am I here?" "I want you to be my guest." "Your guest?" "I don't want to be your guest!" "Let me go!" "I love you." "Funny thing is..." "I told myself a dozen times..." "I wasn't going to tell you." "I was going to let it come natural on both sides." "But I touched you just then." "It came out." "You see... at home in Reading... we used to travel on the same bus together." "I even sat next to you once or twice." "I used to watch you all the time." "And then, when you got the scholarship... and went to London..." "I thought I'd forget you." "From the first time I saw you, I..." "I think I knew you were the only one." "I don't understand all this." "I don't understand why you brought me here." "I want you to get to know me." "But you don't kidnap people so they'll get to know you." "Don't you realize the trouble that you could get into?" "I don't care." "It must be in the papers." "I haven't looked." "You could go to prison for years." "But it'd be worth it... be worth going for life." "If you won't think of yourself, think of me." "And my parents." "Think how frightened they must be." " I'm sorry." " And my school." "I can't stay away from school." "I worked very hard for that scholarship." "I can't afford to lose it." "You want to go back to that chap." "What chap?" "The la-di-da one in the pub." "You love him, don't you?" "Oh, God!" "This is like a lunatic asylum." "Look, people must be searching for me." "All of England must be searching for me." "Sooner or later, they're going to find me." "Never." "Because, you see... they're looking for you, all right... but... nobody's looking for me." "Wait, wait, wait!" "Look, I'll make a promise." "Let me go now." "I won't tell anyone." "We could be friends." "I could help you." "Look, if you let me go now, I shall begin to admire you." "I'll think, he had me at his mercy, but he was chivalrous." "He behaved like a real gentleman." "I'll make up some story." "Nobody will know about this except us." "No, I can't let you go." "Help!" "Help me!" "Help me, somebody!" "Help!" "Help, help, help!" "Please help me!" "How long are you gonna keep me here?" "I don't know." "It depends." "On what?" "On my falling in love with you?" "Because if that's what you want, I'm going to be here until I die!" "Now, go away." "Go away!" "Think it over." "What happened?" "What's the matter?" "I don't know." "I thought I'd die last night with the pain." "I told you this would happen." "I told you you'd get sick." " I told you you should have eaten." " It's not that." "It feels like my appendix." "You must get me a doctor." "Look, take me to the hospital." " It'll be safer for you." " It'll be the end for me." "There's a phone box down the lane." "All right." "I'll make a bargain." "I'll tell you when you can go... but only on certain conditions." "You have to start eating... and talk to me... and don't try to escape like that." "You still haven't said when you'll let me go." " Six weeks." " Six weeks?" "You must be mad." " Five weeks, then?" " No, never!" "I was only trying to be nice." "Wait, wait." "Five weeks?" "I'll stay for one week and not a day more." "No, I couldn't agree to that." "Please be reasonable." "Can't you see I haven't made all these arrangements... just so you'd stay for one week more?" "It's not enough time." "Time for what?" "I told you." "To get to know me." "I know you." "I hate you." "I hate you." " I'll give you my word." " To what?" "When the time's up, you can go as soon as you like." " Two weeks." " Four weeks." "A month." "That'll be the 14th." "Don't you see that four months, four years, won't get what you want?" "How can you be so sure?" "Because I know how I feel!" "You may not feel the same after four weeks." "Four weeks will be the 11 th, not the 14th." "It's agreed?" "On the 11 th, I leave?" "Well, I've got some conditions too." "I must write a letter to my parents." "And this room..." "I can't breathe." "I need some fresh air and light." "I want a bath." "I want some drawing materials, and I need things from the chemist." "And I want fresh fruit and salad." "Fresh fruit... and salad." "Now, you promised to eat." "It's all right." "It's agreed." "Really." "Bon "appetite"." "Four weeks." "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten... 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17..." "Twenty-eight." " Amuse me." "Do something." " What?" "Anything." "Sing, dance." "I can't." " Tell me about your family." " Nothing to tell." " Know any funny stories?" " No." "You must." "I thought all men had to know dirty jokes." "If I knew one, I wouldn't tell it to you." "Why not?" "I respect you too much." "Then I'll tell you one." "Because I know one that's filthy." "What's got four ears... and eight legs?" "What?" "Two dogs." "I did fix something up." "The bath, I mean." "Would you like to have one now?" "Oh, yes!" "Yes, please!" "You have to give me your word you won't try to escape." "I promise!" "You're not going to tie me up?" " I have to." " But I promised." "How am I supposed to have a bath like this?" "Oh, no." "No, don't." "I won't scream." "Marvelous!" "Couldn't we just walk for a little bit?" "Oh, it's been so long." "Please." "All right." "You're hurting my arm." "Help..." "What happened just then..." "Won't happen again." "But if it does... if it does happen again and worse..." " I want you to promise me something." " It won't happen again." "Not to do it in a mean way." "I mean, don't knock me unconscious... or chloroform me again or anything." "I shan't struggle." "I'll let you do as you like." "I forgot myself." "I..." "I can't explain." "The only thing is, if it ever does happen..." "I'll never respect you... and I'll never, never speak to you again." "Do you understand?" "I wouldn't expect anything else." "There's a clean dress." "Take as long as you want." "Don't worry." "I'll respect your every privacy." "I'm afraid I had to take the blade out of the razor." "He seemed old to me." "The chap I saw you with." "You know, the painter." "He seemed old." "Have you known him long?" "That day in the pub, you seemed unhappy." "Did you have a quarrel?" "You looked like lovers to me." "We're not lovers." "We're friends." "Will you let me have my bath, please?" "I'm sorry." "I'm ever so sorry." "I won't speak again." "Help!" "Hello!" "Anybody there?" "What do you want?" " Are you Franklin?" " Yes." "I want to see you for a moment." "What have you been doing with those cellars?" " What?" " You put a light in there, didn't you?" " Yes." " What else?" "Just some tools and things." "They'll be on your neck for that." "The Ancient Monuments people." "Oh, damn it." "I haven't even introduced myself." "I'm Colonel Whitcomb, your neighbor." "I saw your lights on and thought it was about time that we got acquainted." "Those cellars are quite famous, you know." "The inner one was used as a secret Roman Catholic chapel during the persecution." " Didn't you know that?" " No." "Well, must be very lonely for a young man here." "At least I have my horses and my dogs." "Oh, and, of course, my wife." "I don't mind being alone." "Anytime you feel the need of a spot of company, don't be afraid to come over." "You know where we are..." "just half a mile down the road." "You can't miss it." "It's the only other house on the lane." "By the way, we're having some friends over for drinks tomorrow night." "Why don't you join us?" "Well, I don't know if I can make it." "You did say you lived alone?" "I have a guest." "My cousin." "Bring him along." "Actually, I was planning to drive him to London." "I'll be gone all day, but if I get back in time..." "I'll perhaps come over." "Well, fine." "By the way, did they ever tell you about this thing?" "It's a priest hole." "A priest could hide in here when he was on the run." "There's a story that some of Cromwell's men trapped a poor devil in here... and fired right through the wall, killed him." "My wife knows more about this place than I do." "She's well up on all the local legends." "You must get her to come over one day and tell you all about them." "Yes, I will." "Nice to have met you, Franklin." "Good Lord!" "Look at the water!" "It's really my girlfriend." "Are you all right?" "I'm coming in." "You should have called me." "It's all right." "I fixed it now." "Don't be upset." "I should have told you about these old baths." "Of course there's no damage." "It doesn't matter." "The handle came off the tap." "I got it back on, though." "Why didn't she call out?" "She was embarrassed." "You know how it is." "Well, I remember how it was." "If you can't make it tomorrow evening..." "I'll understand." "Please tie them in front this time." "They hurt the other way." "There's something I want to show you." "In there." "I wouldn't be a good prisoner if I didn't try to escape." "It's my hobby." "I've been collecting all my life." "I'm an entomologist." "I won a hobby prize for this setting." "And most of these come from Central America." "I correspond with a monk who sends me larvae, and... and then I incubate them myself." "You see that?" "This is a leaf butterfy." "Looks just like two leaves." "These are my chalkhills." "And... these are my Adonis blues." "I bred that aberration myself." "And it's better than any they've got in the Natural History Museum." "These are my fritillaries." "That's the silver-washed and that's the medium brown... beckerwood, red admiral, swallowtail, peacock." "They're beautiful... but sad." "How many butterfies have you killed?" "You can see." "Think of all the living beauty you've ended." "That's silly." "What difference does a few specimens make to a whole species?" " Be careful." "It's very rare." " Let it go." "You're joking." "Don't do that!" "I may never get another one." "And now you've collected me, haven't you?" "Don't you see what's happened?" "You've had this... this dream with me in the center of it." "It's not love." "It's the sort of dream young boys have... when they reach puberty, only you've made it come true." "I'll tell you something." "There'd be a lot more of this if more people had the time and the money." " We all want things we can't have." " We all take what we can get." "I never had your advantages." "My father wasn't a la-di-da doctor." "I never went to a posh school." "I was just a clerk in a bank." "Reading." "Of course!" "You won a fortune on the pools." "You had your picture in the paper." "I remember now!" "You could do so much." "You could travel, learn, meet people." "You could have a wonderful life." "But... this is death, don't you see?" "Nothing but death." "These are dead." "I'm dead." "Everything here is dead." "Is that what you love?" "Death?" "It's very good." "Would you consider selling it?" "I hadn't." "But I will." "Two hundred pounds." "All right." "You'd give me 200 pounds for this?" "But it's bad." "It's because it's of you." "Put it in a drawer with the butterfies." "I know why you're upset." "It's that letter to your mother, isn't it?" "I'm going to London this afternoon." "I could post it then." "I bought these in Woolworths." "Nobody will ever be able to trace them." "Thank you." "I'll dictate it." "Dear Mother..." "I'm safe and not in danger." "Do not try to find me." "It is impossible." "I'm being well looked after by a friend." "That's all." "Just sign your name." "May I say Mr. Franklin sends his regards?" "Very funny." "I'll address the envelope." "If you really want one of my drawings, why don't you go and choose one?" "I like this one." "It's yours, for nothing." "Would you sign it?" "Oh, yes." "Prisoner... number 1436." ""Kidnapped by madman Gerald Franklin." "Pools winner." "Prisoner in cellar." "Old Tudor house, near Reading." "So far, safe." "Frightened"." "Frightened?" "What have I done?" "And mad?" "Think a madman would have gone to all this trouble?" "I'll tell you what a madman would have done." "He'd have killed you by now." "I suppose you think I'm going for you with a carving knife or something." "Don't look like that." "I was frightened." "You can understand." "I'm a prisoner and it frightens me." "All that you live for is the day you'll see the last of me." "I'm a nobody still, aren't I?" "But I just want to see the last of this house, not of you." "Take me out." "We can go together." "You could come with me." "I won't tell anyone." "We'll get you a fat near mine." "I'll see you every day." "I'll introduce you to all my friends." "You could start a new life." "Your friends would look down on me like you do." " I don't look down on you." " What about the other night?" "You didn't even try to understand about my collection." "I'm sorry about that." "I've seen you with your friends." "I know what they're like." "You'd be ashamed of me in front of them." " Oh, no, that's not true." " Then why don't you talk to me?" "You never talk to me, not really." "So why should anyone else of your kind?" "People like you... you just have to walk into a room." "You can talk to anyone." "You understand things." "It's different for people like me." "Now, that book you asked me to buy for you, The Catcher in the Rye." "Is that a good book?" "Do you like it?" "Oh, yes, it's a beautiful book!" "I've read it three times." "Could I understand it?" "Could I talk to your friends about it?" "Oh, of course you could!" "I'll read it." "The note wouldn't have done you any good." "My name's not really Franklin, and we're nowhere near Reading." "I put all the clothes back." "And the pictures, well, you can have all of them." "You... know today is the last day?" "I know." "At 12:00 tonight." " I read your book." " Oh?" "Did you like it?" "Well, I don't see much point in it, really." "Why not?" "I don't believe it, for one thing." "That boy... going to a posh school and... his parents having money." "He's got no real problem in my opinion." "Perhaps you're right." "So what right does he have... to behave the way he does?" "Well, I never looked at it like that." "You mean, you never saw the faults in the book before?" "No, but it's an interesting point of view." "Don't patronize me!" "I'm not, really..." "You've read that book three times." "You told me you loved it." "I do, but that doesn't mean..." "You would never have agreed with anybody else so fast." "You would have argued, wouldn't you?" "You see, you won't really talk to me." "That's not true." "All right." "You tell me what you think is so marvelous about that book." "Well..." "Well, the boy." "The way he hates everything that's false." "He's so aware." "See?" "He sounds a mess to me." "But as a human being, for all his faults..." "I mean, you felt sorry for him, didn't you?" "I don't like the way he talks." " Oh, but that's part of his charm." " And the way he behaves." "Always talking about people squeezing pimples." "You think that's charming?" "He behaves that way because he doesn't fit anywhere." "I don't wonder, the way he carries on." " He didn't try to fit." " You don't understand." "No?" "Well, I mean... you're not trying to see how much like... like all of us he is." "Like me." "That's what you meant, isn't it?" " I don't fit anywhere either." " No, I didn't mean that." " Then I'm too dumb to understand him?" " No, I didn't say that either!" "No, but that's what you meant." "You're twisting my words." "Am I?" "That's a good painting, isn't it?" "Yes, it's a Picasso." "People don't look like that." "Well, of course they don't." "He's not trying to draw a face as it is." "He's trying to express a face as he sees it and feels it." " Him seeing it that way makes it good?" " But it's not a photograph." " What's wrong with photographs?" " Nothing wrong with photographs." " Photographs don't lie!" " Neither does this." "It's a face from all different angles." "It's a character behind the face." "It's just a joke, that's all it is." "It's just a bad joke." " Because you can't grasp it right away..." " Well, how do I grasp it?" "I'll tell you something about this." "It doesn't mean anything!" "Not just to me." "To anybody else." "You just say it does because some professor somewhere told you it did!" "It makes you so superior, you and all your friends." "I don't think one-in-a-million, decent, ordinary people... would say this was any good." "It's rubbish!" "Rubbish, that's all it is!" "And the book, too, that's just as bad." "It's filthy!" "Oh, you're so blooming clever, aren't you?" "You and all your friends." "I can just see me with the lot of you." "I'd be a right laugh, wouldn't I?" "Well, you're not gonna get me in that position." "Not..." "Not you, not anybody, ever!" "Please!" "Let's not talk about it anymore." "Look, I'm sorry." "I'm sorry, really." "Really, I'm sorry." "You see..." "I was right to bring you here." "We could never be friends outside." "But we can." "But we can!" "We can!" "Oh, my God!" "Oh, God, what have I done?" "What have I done?" "Oh, let me be free." "Please, please, let me be free." "I bought you something... for tonight." "Your last night..." "I made some supper upstairs." "The dress is... is lovely." "Oh, no." "That's all over." "Why, it's lovely." "I bought some champagne and... caviar." "You thought of everything." "Well, I wanted to do it proper tonight." "To us." "We've come through, haven't we?" "You know, you don't have to drive me all the way home." "You could drop me off at a station." "No, I don't think I could do that." "If you're still worried about me telling anyone, you needn't be." "I know." "I just thought it would be safer for you." "No, I'll take you all the way home." "All right." "I suppose the first thing you'll do when you get back is see that chap." "The first thing I'm going to do is call my mother." "Thank you." "She'll be so relieved." "You will be seeing him, though." "Oh, no, no." "I don't see him all that... often." "It'll be lonely here without you." "I do want you to come to London, really." "It'll be so much better for you." "Can we eat now?" "Oh, yes." "Yes, I'm hungry." "Thank you." "This is how I hoped it always would be." "You and me up here, talking, having a nice time." "You're not drinking." "You said you were hungry." "Oh, I am." "Marry me." "Please marry me." "I don't expect anything." "I don't expect you to do anything you don't want." "You can do what you like..." "study art." "I won't ask anything..." "anything of you... except you live in the same house and be my wife in name." "You can have your own bedroom." "You can lock it every night." "But that's horrible." "Why?" "I couldn't marry a man I... don't belong to... in every way." "I belong to you." "I just want you here." "I want to be able to see you." "Say you'll marry me." "Please?" "Say yes." "I'll marry you." "I'll marry you as soon as you like." "That's what you want, isn't it?" "We'll stay here." "We'll marry and live here." "We'll start afresh and get to know each other... right from the beginning again." "We don't have to see any of my friends ever." "Don't you think I know you need witnesses to get married?" "But you said you'd let me go." "You can't go back on your word." "I can do what I like." "Help!" "Help!" "Help!" "I brought you some orange juice." "I'm sorry about last night." "I know I said I'd never use force unless obliged." "But you'll admit you did oblige me by what you did." "Anyway, I want you to know that... while you were asleep, I didn't take advantage of you." "I brought you straight down here." "I showed every respect." "Wait." "I've stayed the four weeks." "I just have to have you here a little longer." "Why?" "What more can I do?" "What more can you want?" "You know what I want." "It's what I've always wanted." "You could fall in love with me if you tried." "I've done everything I could to make it easy." "You just won't try." "Must I go straight back to the cellar?" "Couldn't we sit downstairs for a bit?" "All right." "Is there anything to drink?" "There's sherry." "Could I have another one?" "Thank you." "Why don't you sit down?" "I'm sorry about our dreadful fight." "I'd like us to try and be friends again." "I'd like that too." "Put your arms around me." "Am I too heavy?" "Kiss me." "Not like that." "Untie my hands." "What's wrong?" "Nothing's wrong." "Come back then." "Put the light out." "Let's... just have the fire." "It's not right." "You're just pretending." "Why don't you come and see?" "Look at me." "Would I be doing this if I were only pretending?" "Help me." "What is it?" "You think if we make love I'll have to let you go." "Is that what you think?" "Well, I'm not going to!" "I thought you wanted me." "I just wanted to please you." "I can buy what you're talking about in London anytime I like." "Get dressed!" "I used to respect you, but you're no better than the common street woman." "You'd do any disgusting thing to get what you want." "I'm never getting out of here alive... am I?" "Help!" "Help!" "Oh, don't die." "Oh, please don't die!" "Please don't die!" "Are you there?" "Oh, please answer me." "Please!" "Are you there?" "Oh, God." "I've killed him." "I've killed him." "Oh, I'm so glad." "It's been so long." "Three..." "Three days." "Oh, please don't go!" "I was afraid..." "I was so afraid that I..." "I hurt you badly." "Don't touch me." "Don't ever touch me." "It's been so cold." "Don't leave me alone!" "Please, don't leave me alone again." "Help me." "Please." "Please help me." "I still love you, Miranda." "I'm so afraid." "Will you... tell anyone?" " Tell anyone?" " About me." "Will you... tell anyone?" "I don't know what you're talkin' about." "I don't want... to die." "So much to do... be." "There's a painting I want to do... a butter-yellow field... white luminous sky... the sun just rising." "So still." "I'll get a doctor." "The doctor's coming." "You'll be all right." "He gave me some pills." "He'll be here in a little while." "You'll be better tomorrow." "You'll see." "I sat there all the rest of the afternoon remembering... and all sorts of nice things came back." "I remembered the beginning... the times in Reading just seeing her get on the bus." "I thought how happy I'd been... feelings I've had these weeks she was here... feelings I never had before and would never have again." "And now suddenly she was dead." "And dead means gone forever." "Forever." "She's in the box I made under the tall oak." "For days after she was dead I kept thinking... perhaps it was my fault, after all, that she did what she did... and lost my respect." "Then I thought, no." "It was her fault." "She asked for everything she got." "My only mistake was aiming too high." "I ought to have seen I'd never get what I wanted from someone like Miranda... with all her la-di-da ideas and clever tricks." "I ought to have got someone who would respect me more." "Someone ordinary." "Someone I could teach."