"There's only one thing I dislike about him." "Got it." ""In the morning, it is green and groweth up," ""but in the evening, it is cut down, dried up, and withereth."" ""Man that is born of a woman has but a short time to live" ""and is full of misery." ""He cometh up and is cut down like a flower." ""He fleeth as..."" "Margaret, dear." "Come along." "Do you bring your girls here?" "Girls?" "I don't have any girls." " None?" " No." " Well, one, once." " Only one?" " What was her name?" " I can't remember." " Angela, I think." " France, poor girl!" " Will I meet her?" " No." " Why not?" " Because I've never seen her again." " Did she run away?" " Not run." "She caught a number 72 bus." "Well, I won't run away." " I'm sorry." " It's all right." " You were always like that." " Like what?" " You had to make the decisions." " Did I?" "Well..." "Well, it's Saturday tomorrow." "What would you like to do?" "I know what we'll do." "Have you planned out the entire summer for me?" " Yes." " I see." "And what else will we do?" "We will show you off, and you will have many lovers." "Lovers?" "Not boyfriends?" "Lovers." "You will be a great lady, much desired by the populace." "How wonderful." " And what will you be?" " I?" "I will be your pimp." "And where will you find me a lover?" "France!" "No, France, don't!" " France." " Excuse me!" "We're trying to get further upriver." "I wonder, could you give us a lift?" " Please, let me do that." " Oh, no, really." "This word "cousin."" "When you say "cousin," what do you mean?" "It's not a sister." "Is it your wife?" "It's the child of my mother's twin sister." "Your mother's twin sister's child." "I see." "Then she's not your woman." "No, she's not my woman." "There you are, you see?" "He's in love with you." " No." " Yes, he is." "Aren't I to be allowed to choose my own lovers?" " Don't you like him?" " Yes, I do." "Well, then, you should be grateful to me." "Fred is such a dependable name." " What happened?" " I'm committing suicide!" "I woke up, and you'd gone." "I thought I'd dreamt it." "There was nothing left for me but to throw myself in." "With all your clothes on?" "No." "I took them off because I thought I should have a bath before I went to heaven." "I'm naked." "In Scandinavia, we're not nervous of the human body." "Are you nervous of the human body?" "You better not be." " It's getting cold in here." "I'm coming out." " Fred!" "I'm amazed at what I'm doing here in the middle of England." "What'll I do next?" "I wonder." "We'll all go to Sweden." "I'll take you there, and we'll swim..." "How do you call it?" " Harry Starkers!" " Yes, that's right!" "Harry..." "Crazy English weather." "Stand still a minute ." "I'll dry you off a bit." "Better?" "Everybody's making jokes about the English weather." "To me, it's no laughing matter." "Here, put this on." "That's nice." "Thank you." "With music and with fatal yoke of flowers." "What does that mean?" "Margaret." " No, I want to ride on the back." " Good." "Okay, France." "And now for your cousin, we must find the second most beautiful girl in the world." "You all right?" "I'm sorry." "I was driving on the wrong side of the street again." "Of all the stupid things, just to pull out of a thing like that, and..." "That's the second most beautiful girl in the world." "He's being awfully nice about it." " He's Danish, isn't he?" " Swedish." "He's over here to study architecture." " What about Margaret?" " She's here to go to art school." " What do you do?" " Nothing." "Nothing?" "How do you afford that highly-skilled trade?" "My mother left me some money." "Not much, but I invested very cleverly." "Very cleverly?" " Diabolically." " Super." " What were you doing in Rome?" " Just passing through." " Passing through Rome from where?" " Agadir." " And before that, Athens." " What were you doing in Athens?" " Just passing through." " Passing through." "Anyhow, I hitched a ride from Brindisi to Tarquinia." "In Tarquinia, I met this waiter." "Swapped my camera for his car." "And the camera was worth twice as much as the car, believe me." "And I get the car to England, and on your Oxford Street, London W1, it runs out of gas." "So they towed it away, impounded it, and now the police are after me." " I expect them to come in any minute." " Why?" "You got your car back." " But I bounced a dud check." " On whom?" "The police." " I had to, to pay the parking fine." " Wow." "What do they do to you in this country for that sort of thing?" "Well, we'll have to hide you." "That's very kind of you." "It's super!" " Well, it could be cleaned up a little bit." " No, no, it's fine just like it is." " Watch it." " Thank you." "Here, let me help you take some of those things off the bed." "Careful." "All right." "Good night, everybody." " Did you want your sweater back?" " No, it's all right." "I'll come for it tomorrow." " Okay." "Good night." " Good night." "Are you sure she's all right?" "I mean, I could talk to my landlady, if she has something." "No, she'll be all right here." "I don't use the room very much now." "Do you think our luck will last, to have met two such beautiful girls in the middle of this huge city?" " I think it might." " I should tell you something." "I am already in love with Margaret, your cousin." "Yes, I know." "If you don't object to my saying so, I would very much like to make love to her." "In the whole world, I think there's nothing I would not do for her." " But this is different." " Why is it different?" "I thought you said in your country, you weren't frightened of the human body?" "Yes, but being a model, Margaret, that is for girls." "Fred, I'm only interested in your bone structure." "But all around this bone structure is me!" " Fred!" " Me." "Fred, I thought you said there wasn't anything you wouldn't do for Margaret." "I appeal to you, France." "This is different." " Fred, quit being such an old pooh." " I'm not..." "All right, everyone ." "Margaret, hold it there!" "Poor Fred!" "He doesn't mind." "He's in love with her." "And what about Margaret?" "Well, what about her?" "You can't..." "France, I think you came to bed with me just so Fred wouldn't be afraid to sleep with Margaret." "Come on!" "Did you?" "France, I don't know about you." "I don't know if you do things because you want to, or because you want to see what will happen if you do do them." "That's because of your terrible insecurities." " Yes?" " Yes." " Do you think they will?" " Who?" "Fred and Margaret." "I expect so." "Given the right situation." "And you'll arrange it." "I think you're a bastard." "What sort of situation?" "Well, where there's plenty of time, sun and nothing to do but lie around, like next week, when we all go on holiday." "Hey!" "What?" "Where?" " It's beautiful." " Is it really ours, France?" " For two whole weeks." " It's beautiful." "No wonder you kept it secret." "How did you get it?" "It belongs to Martin Carr-Gibbons." "He got it from the farmer who lives downstairs." "Only two bedrooms?" "Well, we'll toss up, see who's having which." "Call." " Heads." " Tails." "Right." "Manny and I'll have this one." "Good." "The other one's yours." "Bastard." "Hot?" "Have a swim." "There's an Alberca around the front." " A what?" " An Alberca." " Coward." " You're drowning me." "Do you want me to unpack for you?" "I didn't know you still had old Mog." "Poor old Mog." "Well, aren't you going to swim?" "Do I have to let Fred make love to me?" ""And so they knew, the prince and his younger brother and the princess and her younger sister, that their journey had not been in vain," ""and that soon they would arrive at the mysterious golden palace," ""where all was happiness, and they could divest themselves of their disguises," ""where they would simply be themselves again, without concealment," ""once they had achieved the most beautiful of the secret palaces of the moon." ""But they knew, until that day, there were still many dangers to face." ""The road to the City of Castles lay across the wintry Plain of Distress" ""where all trees, all walls, even the furniture..."" "My room's full of mosquitoes." "That's because you have your lights on." " You must close the window." " But that will shut them in." "Wait a minute." "I have something." ""...knew that however much a person might say he loved another person," ""it was only by its being tested in such a desolate and unyielding place" ""could the truth of that belief be known." ""There was no point, as the king knew, in achieving the golden palaces..."" " Where did you get it?" " I got it from England." "In case France would take us to Africa." "Now, I'll tuck you in." "You look like a ghostly princess in a shroud of cobwebs." "Do I?" "Talk to me, Fred." "Turn out the light so the mosquitoes won't come back." ""...or one would go on a little and then, unable to bear the loneliness," ""also turn preferring even a mistaken love and a journey" ""in company to none at all."" "In my country, my father is an architect, and we live in the capital city." "Outside that city, there are deep blue forests with very tall trees." "And in that city, my father has built the tallest building there is there." ""They were very happy," ""not knowing that their greatest ordeal lay before them," ""the ordeal of happiness and all that it meant giving up." ""And so they came to their palace, and the palace was made of gold," ""and the staircases were made of marble, and the ceiling was made of diamonds."" ""The snow is very white and beautiful," ""and the floors of mother of pearl..."" " And in the deep blue forests..." " "Across the pond," ""was a beautiful forest..."" "outside the city..." ""...and the lakes were made of crystal," ""and there they lived happily," ""whenever possible."" "Fred!" "Fred." "Fred, it's our turn to go shopping." " I went last time." " France has a headache." " He has, has he?" " Come on!" "I'll be right with you." "Got some of these." " Fred." " Yeah, I'll get the grapes, too." "You know what I was thinking the other day?" "No." "I think you and I should have an affair, don't you?" "I mean, I have to be completely honest with you and tell you that I'm not in love with you or anything like that, but I do find you a very attractive person." "What's Spanish for "eight"?" "Manny." "I'm honored." "You, also, I find very attractive." "Well, that makes it nicer." "But the truth is, as you know, I'm in love with Margaret." "Yes, I know that, Fred." "But nothing happens." "Does it?" "Do you want to go swimming?" "No." " Have you got a headache?" " No." "Are you still shy with me, Margaret?" " It's nice that you're shy with me." " I'm not." "What does it say?" ""For your protection in foreign lands." It's St. Christopher." "My mother gave it to me." "She's sort of superstitious." "Tomorrow, we go home." "France says we must have a big farewell dinner tonight in memory of the holiday." "I love you." "I wish we could stay here forever." "Everything will change when we get back to England." "No." "Why?" "I don't know." " I just think it will." " No." "Do you think we'll ever come back here?" "Do you think it'll still exist when we've gone?" "Perhaps places only exist because people look at them." "Perhaps postcards only exist because people write them." "That's a good way to put it." "Or actions only really happen if someone is watching them." "Shut up, France." "What I mean is, if you tell me you've done something, well, I only have your word for it." "But if I observe..." "Observe what, for instance?" "Do you mean give you an example?" "Are you saying that as far as inanimate objects are concerned, it's only with an observer?" " Fred." " Yes, love?" "Okay, give us an example." "All right." "If you two want to make love, why don't you go outside and do it?" " Love?" " Ideally, of course, one should describe an action in which neither of the participants were aware of being observed, since then they would be behaving most characteristically." "However, if we imagine two people, a man and a woman, in a situation where in normal circumstances they would not be observed." "Oh, dear." "I'm sorry." "It was an accident." "I made a mess." "I bring more." "All right, let's start again." " Why don't we dance?" " Yeah, come on, Margaret." "Let's dance." "Bastard, bastard, bastard." "When I told you about it, you were fascinated." "Well, then, I'm a bastard as well." "Two bastards." "Maybe three." "Stop it, France." " What are you?" " I'm a bastard." "Yes, you are." "You're a bastard." "Were you there all the time?" "Would you have minded if I were?" " Manny!" ".Go away!" "Go away!" " Manny, what actually happened in there?" " I just want to go home!" "I want to go home!" "Well, if you take the truck, we won't be able to get back." "Then you can bloody well walk, can't you?" " Now what is it?" " Fred!" "I want to start this car." " What was it about in there?" " Forget it!" "Now, what do you mean?" "What did you mean, if they want to make love?" "For God's sake, Fred." "I said, forget it." "I just had a fight with France." "It was over nothing." "Fred?" "Manny?" "Tell them to go away, Fred, please." " Fred!" " We'll be right in." "It's okay." "Why did you say that?" "About them making love?" "You're such a nice, naive person." "Am I?" "With those two, you just have to be a little bit careful." "And I think you're over-dramatizing." " I am not!" " Well, I think you are." "Okay, okay." "Now, are you or are you not coming back to our beautiful farewell dinner?" "Okay." "Dear Fred." "I do love you, even though you're not very bright in the head." "And I love you." "You ought to be in love with me, Fred." "You really ought." "It would be a lot safer for you." "France, I want to marry Margaret." " Have you asked her?" " No." " Don't you think you should?" " Yes." "I have to go home to Stockholm to see my parents." "I'd like to take her with me." " Have you asked her?" " No." " Don't you think you should?" " Yes." "I have to go home anyway." "I wrote to say I would." "Before we left London, I told my landlady I would no longer require my room." " So, if you don't go, you've nowhere to live." " Nope." "How about here?" " Fine." " Mind your head." "If you want somewhere to put your things, you can use that beam." "Is this where you live in Sweden?" "No, it's our summer house." "It'll be mine when I marry." " Rather nice, isn't it?" " Very." "Why didn't you go?" "Well, I can go some other time." "No, you won't." "I think I'm going to have to do something about you, Fred." "Regency 1790-1820." "Right." " Elizabethan, 1540-1000." " Right." "English Palladian." "English Palladian, 1780-1800." "Right." "Manny, there's no room for complications in my life, I think." "Georgian, 1750-1800." "That's right." " Fred?" " Yes!" ""...that it has modern square-headed doorways" ""in the eastern-most bay," which must be..." "And a third bay goes from here to there, which I believe..." "What are those two up to?" "I think she's trying to rescue him." "From what?" "Us." "Is Manny trying to seduce you?" "Of course not." "What is she doing, then?" "She's helping me to learn about English architecture and literature, since that's what I'm here to learn." "I didn't know you were here to learn about English literature." "I might as well, since I'm here." " I think she's trying to seduce you." " Nonsense." "And I think she will." "It says here, "He was a great philanderer."" "What's it mean, "philanderer"?" "A philanderer is a man who, in order to further his education, takes advantage of the fact that Margaret and France go to a concert every Thursday night." " I'm a philanderer." " You are a philanderer." "I see." "Well, look at that!" "That's fantastic!" "Now, isn't that..." "That's what one needs these days, to put one's money into something solid." "That is, of course, if you have any." "France!" "Nice to see you, dear boy." " It was France's idea." " But why?" " Fred, it was a joke." " Very English joke." "That's the only true reality these days." "Happiness is dollar-shaped, without any doubt." " Get your loot in the bank." " Excuse us, Martin." "Of course, of course." "Very complicated." "Everything is so very complicated." "You're a very complicated people." "Fred, nothing's complicated about it at all." "Well, to me, it's complicated." " I am very pretty?" " Yes." " You, too, are very pretty." " Yeah?" "My husband is remaining in Munich." "Well, we must remember to send him a postcard." "Sometime during the night, I must show you my slides." "I would love to see them." "So you shall." "Well, there you are, you see." "Now, of course, it does need a lot of doing to it, but if I can let it off rather cheaply this year to someone who'll do it up a bit, then I can afford to spend real money on it next year." "Now this is the side view." "Now, look, you notice that thatching?" "Now, that really is in first-class condition." "And upstairs, three bedrooms." "They're all very much the same." "That's the lounge." "And those are the original beams." "It's such a nice, light, airy room." "You could do an awful lot with that." " Well, we could do a lot with this." " We could go to sales and buy furniture." "Outside loo, I'm afraid." "Still, it does have all that nasty business in the house, doesn't it, really?" "Hey, look at this." "A kitchen, I'm afraid, with no bathroom." "What's this?" "The bathroom." "That's great." "We can have baths in front of the fire." "Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder." "It might need just a..." "Well, a lick of paint outside." "The grounds are marvelous, only need a bit of clearing up." "Well, it certainly won't need much doing inside, a mere whisk around with a feather duster." "Mind you, I think the hardest work will be getting the roses in trim." "How can a small thing like this be so heavy?" "All this grass in one country, it's ridiculous." " You hot?" " Crazy English weather." "You're right." "No!" "No, Fred, no!" " Who could have done that?" " No, Fred!" "Let me go!" " Who could have done that?" " No!" "There must be someone you want..." "No!" "Don't!" " I think there is a way." " Leave me alone." "There must be a way to punish..." "And it's called capital punishment." " One must take a look within the heart..." " No!" "What was France like when you were children?" "Much the same as he is now, I suppose." "Was he happy?" "I don't think he was happy or unhappy." "He just was." "The grownups didn't like him much, I don't think." "He knew too much." " Did they like you?" " Yes." "I was very pretty, and I pretended not to know anything." "They were always giving me dolls as a reward for something." "I never knew what." "Fred isn't a doll." "You do know that, don't you?" "Do you?" " I can't get through the doorway." " Come on, Fred, go the other end." " Hey!" "This water is cold." " Coming." " Oil for the lamps of China." " Come, my slaves." "It's a hell of a lot of work for a bath." "This is a very special day today." " Can I scrub your back?" " Yes, please." "Why is today so special?" "Because this afternoon I'm going to meet my lover." "Hello!" "Come on in." "I want you to meet George." "She's wearing her Breakfast at Tiffany's outfit." "I wonder who he is?" "Well, this is nice." "Isn't this nice?" "Very nice to meet you all." "Any friend of Manny's is a friend of mine." "Well, you do like champagne?" "Of course you do." "Everybody likes champagne." " Put some more on ice, Simon." " I'm afraid we don't have any ice." " We brought some with us, sir." " Right." "A party!" "Jolly good." "Pow!" "Or whatever it is you young people say." "God, isn't he awful?" "He adores to spend his money, though." "Only on you." "One word, my little chickabiddy, and it's all yours." "George, not that again." "Right." "Party time!" "Come on, drink up, everybody." "Don't get so excited." "It's embarrassing." "George, leave it, please." "No, George!" "I don't want to talk about it anymore!" "Would you like a peach?" "Very kind of you, George." "Now, what's the matter with you?" "Can I talk to you?" "Seriously?" "Okay." "Confucius, he say," ""Man who have girl in long grass have peace on Earth."" " France." " Is he a gunrunner?" " Who?" " George." "I'm pretty sure he is." "Great, so you found out he was a gunrunner." "And he wants to marry you." "I don't want to talk about George now." "The trouble is, I'm so terribly fond of her, you see." " Where do you think they went to?" " God knows." "I want to talk to you, France." "France." "I don't want to." " I can't hear you!" " Then come over here!" "There aren't any fish over there." "Go to hell!" "Okay, what is it?" " I'm looking for my sunglasses." " Come on." "I just had something very important to tell you, that's all." " Just something important." " Okay, tell me now." "I don't want to tell you now." " I want my sunglasses." " Okay." "Here." "Thank you." " Hat?" " Thank you." "Long cigarette holder?" "Right." "Now, don't be so bloody stupid." " Get in the car, and I'll drive you home!" " No, thank you, I want to walk." "Thank you." " You're drunk." " I am not drunk." "What is it, Manny?" "I'm sober." "I'm perfectly sober." "Manny!" "Margaret!" "Manny!" "Come on, girls!" "Fred!" "Hold it." "Right." " Do you know what?" " No." "I'd better tell you." "The most extraordinary thing has happened." "I'm going to have a baby." "What do you think?" "You see, you let it out as you inflate." "I think you only want to be pregnant so you can buy new clothes." "I didn't actually want to be pregnant at all, but now that I am, I quite like it." " Be careful with yourself." " I'm not ill, Fred, darling." "God, let's shut that out." " Does it hurt when it kicks?" " Well, not hurt." "It's rather sweet, actually." "Poor thing is going to miss Christmas." "I think we should buy him Christmas presents anyway, don't you?" "One, two, three..." "Five for Manny." "Five?" "I didn't know I knew five people." " Four for Fred." " Thank you." "Two, three, four, five, six for France." "And four for me." ""Their charity stands not pleading in vain hope by the door." ""The dark night fades." "The glory breaks."" " I've got it!" "I've got it!" " What?" "The scholarship." "A whole year in Rome." " Margaret!" " I just sent in some paintings..." " And you got it?" " And I got it." " Congratulations." "Why didn't you tell me?" " Isn't it wonderful, Fred?" "It's marvelous." "But a whole year." "We'll all be here when you get back, plus one." " I can't believe it." " Look who we've got for Christmas." "We two kings of Orient are Bearing gifts we travel afar" "Merry Christmas, everybody!" " Merry Christmas!" " Merry Christmas, George." "Funny hats!" "Merry Christmas, George." "Just funny hats and things." "And who's the lucky father?" "Thank you." " I had no idea Manny was..." " Pregnant." "There, a few more minutes, I think." "Must say, it came as a bit of a shock." " Bit of a shock, really." " Yes, I expect it did." "I told her if she was in a..." "Well, you know, if things weren't easy for her," "I'd be happy to adopt the baby." "Well, even if she didn't marry me," "I'd be perfectly happy to look after it." "You're a very kind person, George." "Kind and unexpected." "However did you become a millionaire?" "How nice of you to put it like that." "What did Manny say?" "I think she thought I was being boring again." "I'm so fond of her, you see." " What do you think will happen?" " Happen?" "Yes." "Which one do you think she'll marry?" " Congratulations." " Thank you." "I congratulate you on a most beautiful bride..." " Thank you." " ...and I hope it's a boy." "I was so afraid you might marry her." "France." "Mr. George sends his apologies." "He couldn't make it to the wedding." "His plane was delayed." "We got a little surprise for Miss Manny." "A reception?" "Isn't George a love?" "It's all super, and it doesn't have to change one bit just because we got married." "You'll all come and visit us in Stockholm." "I'll always love you, Margaret." "France!" "France!" "Go on." "Take this." "It'll protect you when you come to visit us and keep you safe on the journey." "Thank you, Fred." "You'll be fine." " And you, too, Simon." " Thank you, Miss Manny." "Mrs., actually." "Isn't it extraordinary?" "I never..." "Besides being a wedding day, I think it's going to be a birthday as well." "Isn't it gorgeous?" "Fred!" "Come on, Simon!" "Come on, let's hurry up." "Start your deep breathing, slowly, and count, count!" " It's just us three, then?" " Yes." " Thank you." " I wish she could have been here." "They've done it all so well." "Well, let's start." "Do have something to eat." " Poor George." " Poor George." " Why don't you come to Rome with me?" " No." "You'll enjoy it once you're there." "It's time you went out into the world on your own." "Ladies and gentlemen, pray charge your glasses for a toast." "I'm very pleased that you were all..." "I'm very pleased that you were able to come today." "Manny has been a friend of mine for many years." "And, Fred, I also like to think, has become a friend of mine." "And now the two of them have found happiness together." "I'm sure we will, all of us, find it in our hearts to wish them every happiness." "Perhaps you'd join me on a toast." "Every happiness." " Every happiness." " Every happiness." "I miss you." "Dear France, in all this time, I've only had five letters from you." "What are you doing?" "Tell." "Write and tell me." "Well, I've begun to hate Rome." "Nothing here seems quite real anymore." "It's got hotter and dustier than I'd ever imagined it could be." "I thought it would all be white and ancient and..." "Aristocratic." "Hey, Margaret!" "Hey, Margaret!" "Everything is much more gray, and the whole city is really very small." "Have you heard from Fred and Manny?" "I had a..." "Margaret, hey!" "I had a letter from them last week." "Hey!" "Tonight is a party of some friends of my uncle, very grand." "No, I don't think so, Alberto." "I've got some things I must do." " Yes, we go, huh?" " No, really." "No." "God, Manny." "I find myself doing things I don't really want to do, mainly because the alternatives seem equally superficial." "I'm longing to see you and Fred and the baby and your house by the sea." "How are you all?" "France never seems to write these days." "Is he well?" "Have you heard from him?" "Remind me to telephone my mother to let her know where I am." "How many times a day do you telephone your mother?" "There are some very important people here tonight." "Well, Manny, I was wrong about Rome." "Oddly enough, everything here turns out to be very provincial." "Margaret!" "One thinks it's going to be all very grand, and then it turns out that all they're trying to do is influence each other to do something for themselves, and that they're all playing a part." "Italy is a film." "There is very little here I shah' be sorry to leave" "I don't know." "Perhaps it's just that one gets older." "So many things seem to disappoint." "When I first met Alberto, I thought he was very nice." "He is very nice, but dull." "Like ice melting in spring rivers, giving itself to the sunlight." ""If you want me, take me, " I thought." "But he didn't." "You know, I am afraid of damaging such fragility." "Please write to me." "It's probably your mother." "If you answer it, you can go." " But she's not well." "I should..." " She only wants to know if you're with me." "Now, you're a big boy now." "Don't answer it." " You don't mean that, Margaret." " Yes, I do." "If you answer it, you can leave." "And don't come here again." "You'll answer it." "Pronto?" "Yes?" "It's for you." "Hello?" "George!" " It is nice to see you." " You, too." "By the way, when I was in Stockholm recently on business, I saw Manny and Fred." " They send you their love." " How are they?" " They're very happy, I think." " You think?" "No, I think they are very happy." "Thank you, Simon." "I still find it rather odd that they called the little boy France." "No, thank you." "Breakfast." "I can't eat on the plane." "I can't eat much anywhere anymore." "When I was in London, I called in to see France." " How is he?" " He's fine." " They seemed very happy, too." " They?" "He and Ulla." "Ulla's a German girl who's getting a divorce." "They're living at the cottage." "I'll be back next week." " Will you be here, then?" " I don't know." "I..." "My term ends this week." "I was going to Geneva about a job I've been offered." "I was going on to London." "I don't quite know what I'll do now." "Manny!" "Fred!" "Fred!" " Now, look!" " Look who's here!" "Look who's here!" "Manny!" "Hello." " Manny, how are you?" " Fine!" "This is France." "Hello!" "France!" "France, I can't believe it." " How are you?" " I'm fine." "How are you?" "Tell me." " What's all this?" " Do you like it?" " Yes, I do." "It tickles." " It's nice to see you." " Does it?" " Yes." " Come on, I'll show you around." " France, I can't believe it." " You like it here?" " Fred, it's lovely." "Come on." "You can walk." "Come on." "Come on." " Will he speak English or Swedish?" " It depends who wins, I suppose." "Manny only speaks English to him because she can't learn enough Swedish, and I only speak Swedish to him, so I suppose..." "I expect he'll turn out a compromise, just like marriage." "Come on, come on." "Come on, come on, come on." "I told you when we left that house in Spain that everything would change, didn't I?" "Come on." "Up the hill we go now." " A one, a two, a three, a four, a five..." " Come on." "Oh, boy." "And now we're gonna put you in a big bath and boil you!" "We wondered about you two." "Three of us, actually." "We had a chaperone." " Do you want me to take him?" " No, that's all right." " Come on." "Boiling time!" " Bring him down to say good night." " How was Rome?" " There you are." "How was Rome?" "Involved." " Did you fall in love?" " No." " Did you want to?" " I would have preferred it." " How long have you been here?" " About 10 days." "What made you come?" "Spur of the moment." "What made you?" "I didn't want to interrupt you and Ulla." " What happened to her?" " She went." " Did she run away?" " Well, not run." " She caught an 88 bus." " She caught a 72 bus." "Do you keep a timetable by you?" "Alberto?" "He went back to his mother." "Nice to see you again." "Chocolate." "It's the custom." "I thought you didn't like chocolate." "Bless you." "I can't sleep." " You're not shy with me anymore." " No." " I'm not shy with anyone anymore." " You've been out in the world." " Yes." " Do you have enough towels?" " I've got three." " Splendid." "Don't forget the radio, love, will you?" " Do you have his hat?" " I've got it here." " France looks quite the family man." " Don't you mind?" "After all, it is your family." "She hasn't been very happy for some time, I think." "And she is now?" "Now that France is here?" "And you?" "I haven't seen Stockholm yet." "Take me out and show me things, Fred." "All right." "I'll show you where I make my living when you're not here." " Be careful, France." " It's all right." "He's all right." "We're going down to the sea, and we're going to have a swim, aren't we, France?" "France?" "So fragile." "When I think how we decided things, even how you should marry Manny..." "We've all been playing a game all these years." " Like musical chairs." " Is that a game?" "Children's game." "You mustn't be so serious." " I remember in Spain once..." " No, you don't, Fred." "You think you remember what we were like, but you may be just inventing it." "And anyway, we've changed." "I don't think I've changed." "I was in love with you." "I don't think you've changed." "Manny says that all the time you were really in love with France." "Where the hell have you been?" "Well, don't you realize I've been phoning everywhere?" "What is it?" " Where's my wife?" "Is she in bed?" " Well, she's..." "Your parents are coming over." "They were out, too." "Parents?" "What is it?" "What?" "What is it?" " The baby..." " Is he ill?" " Fred!" " But what, then?" "It's dead, isn't it?" "We didn't..." "Fred!" "What happened?" " We were on the beach." " You and Manny?" "And the baby?" " He crawled down to the water." " Haven't got any cigarettes?" " You see, we were..." " I know what you were doing, France." "It might have been my child." "Even if it was, you weren't its father, were you?" "Fred?" "They must have been over there." "He was over here." " He was very small." " Fred, it's nearly morning." "Go and get some sleep, Margaret." "There's no use of you staying up." " Come inside, Fred." " Go away, Margaret." "Please." "It was an accident." "Death." "One just doesn't think of it stalking around after anything so small." "As if the beach had been full of wolves, and we hadn't known." "One simply cannot go on forever trying to pretend there's a life where it hasn't happened." "It has happened!" "And it was an accident!" "We're all agreed on that." "I want to go out." "I want to go out." "Okay." "Dance with me." "Come on." "We've got to get them out of here." "We've got to get them out of here!" "Do you want to dance?" "No." "For God's sake, stop it!" "He was my son, Manny, my son!" "Are you all right?" "What are those?" "No!" "God!" "She must have left very early this morning." "What's very curious is that I was always able to understand her." "And I think she understood me." "I thought for a long time, even after we were just married, that one day she'd say she was going." "Perhaps it's the baby that makes it easier." "She's sending someone over to pick up the luggage." "Darlings, how super of you to come!" "I didn't think you'd want to, so I just sent for my things." "But you did come." "Fred, darling." "Things are perfectly ghastly here." "George has had some high-powered executives up, and they're all tycooning." "Say hello to George." "I'll be going to Venice with him this evening." "George." "How marvelous this is." "How splendid to see you all." "Splendid!" "How very nice." "Do you have time to have a drink?" "We might make lunch." "Manny, ask Walter what we're doing for lunch." " It's good to see you." " Excuse me, please." "Well, this is very nice." "Now, are you all being looked after?" "Simon, are you looking after them?" "Did you ask Walter what we're doing for lunch?" " It's all right." "We..." " No time?" "No." "We must have a talk, when I get a moment." "We must have a talk." "Well, don't rush away." "We might have a party." "If you'll excuse me, please." "I guess I'm cut out for junketing around the world." "I'd probably be doing that right now, if I hadn't met you." "You have to recognize what really is your type." "Well, my dears, that's what I'm doing." " Tell me what you're doing." " I've decided on the job in Geneva." "Good." "That's very good." "New lives for all." "That's..." "I'll get you a drink." " I'm sorry, Fred." " Sure." " I did love him." " I know." "And you." "It's just that..." "I'm not very bright in the head." "Why with George?" "Because I can't hurt George." "I don't want to be alone." "I'm terrified of making another mess of things and dragging everybody into it." "He loves me in his way." "He'll look after me." " I would." " You never can love everyone, can you?" "Even if you think you can." "All it means is that nobody gets enough." "You have to work at it." "You really have to work at it." "What will you do now?" "I'll stay here." "The heart of the matter is, I think that I'm not cut out for junketing around the world." "You have to know your type." " You'll write to me?" " It wasn't that I didn't love you, Fred."