"Do you believe in God?" "Yes." "How can you?" "I can't believe in people." "I have to believe in something, or I'd fall." "Fall down through the cracks... and never stop falling." "Thank you, sir." "Come in." "Hello." "Hello." "Thank you." "Arthur." "I don't think that's really appropriate - not with Sheila here." "Nonsense, Mummy." "She's heard a lot worse than that." "Have you?" "You know I have." "An altogether excellent dinner." "You must tell cook from me, Sybil." "And you're not supposed to say such things in front of guests." "In trouble again!" "Well, it really was first class, Mrs Birling." "Thank you." "I don't think of Gerald as a guest, you know." "Not any more." "I don't see how he can be, after tonight." "Oh, do take some, Mummy." "It is a special occasion." "Very well." "Just a little." "All right, Edna." "I'll ring from the drawing room when we want coffee." "Yes, ma'am." "What's the matter with you?" "I don't know." "Sorry, I just..." "Ah, he's squiffy." "No, I'm not." "Sheila." "Now that our glasses are full, I'd like to say a few words to mark the occasion." "Stop it, you two." "Gerald, I don't mind telling you that your engagement to Sheila..." ".means a tremendous amount to me." "You're just the kind of son-in-law I've always wanted." "Your father and I have been rivals in business for longer than I care to remember, but you're bringing us together." "Hm." "And perhaps we can look forward to a time when Birling and Company and Crofts Limited are no longer competing, but working as one." "Hear hear." "Lower costs, higher prices, eh?" "My father would certainly agree to that." "You're making it sound like a political alliance." "We know there's a lot more to it than that." "And you've chosen the best possible time to be married." "The economy's on the way up at last, the workers are knuckling under and realising what's good for them..." "What about war?" "There's not going to be a war, Eric." "The Germans don't want a war any more than we do." "Really?" "Because according to the papers..." "Let's not talk about this now." "I want to wish the pair of you the very best that life can bring." "Yes, Gerald." "Sheila, darling... our congratulations and very best wishes." "Thank you." "Um..." "Yes." "To both of you." "She's not bad really, Gerald." "Got a bit of a temper - watch out for the right hook." "Chump." "Really, I hope you find happiness." "I really do." "Well, I can't drink to this, can I?" "When do I drink?" "You can drink to me." "All right, I will." "I drink to you, Gerald." "And I drink to you." "I hope that I can make you as happy as you deserve to be." "And I would like to begin... by giving you this." "Oh, Gerald!" "Is it the one you wanted me to have?" "The very one." "Ah, look, Mummy, isn't it a beauty?" "It certainly is." "Well done." "Oh, Gerald..." "Steady the buffs." "Now I really feel engaged." "Yes, well, I should hope that you do!" "Well, now... shall we go through?" "Yes, let's." "We won't be long." "Don't be." "Eric?" "May I have a word?" "Yes, Mama, of course." "Please don't drink too much port." "I'm not squiffy." "Well, I think you are a little bit... "squiffy"." "Why are you drinking so much tonight anyway?" "You clearly can't take as much as your father... or Gerald, if it comes to it." "I expect you'll be saying that when I'm 40." "Well, I may not be here when you're 40, so I'm saying it now." "Don't worry, Mother." "I'm just..." "Standards, Eric." "They very much wanted to be here, of course, but they've got into the habit of taking a short break at this time of year..." "What, they leave you in charge of the works?" "They do, yes." "Do you hear that, Eric?" "Gerald's father leaves him in charge from time to time." "Very impressive." "That'll be you one day... if you buck your ideas up." "Happy?" "Yes." "There was a time when I thought this would never happen." "Well done." "I haven't won a prize." "Well, you have, in a way." "You've secured your whole future." "Don't take this the wrong way, Gerald, but I've a feeling your mother thinks you could have done better than my girl - socially and so on." "I..." "I really don't think..." "Oh, it's quite all right." "I don't blame her." "Sybil's parents were just the same when I was courting her." "Were they?" "Oh, yes." "Now, there's something I'd like you to mention to her... quietly, if you don't mind." "It seems there's a pretty good chance that I might find my way on to the next honours list." "A knighthood." "Oh, I say!" "Congratulations!" "Thanks." "Well, it's a bit early for that, but I've had one or two hints." "Well, you know I had that spell as Lord Mayor, of course." "And I'm known as a useful party man." "I think I stand a fair chance as long as we keep out of trouble for the next few months." "Well, if that's the only obstacle..." "The family knows, but, um..." "no-one else does." "I shall mention it to her in confidence." "She'll be delighted." "Good." "I've said this to Eric before, it's not where you start in this life, it's where you finish." "Now, a man can achieve anything he wants to in this country, if he puts his mind to it." "And that's part of what makes it great." "I couldn't agree with you more." "The thing to do is to keep your head down and concentrate on your own business." "The way these cranks talk now, you'd think everybody has to look after everybody else, and we're all mixed up together, like bees in a hive." ""Community"!" "If I hear that word one more time..." "You take it from me - a man must look after his own affairs." "Look after himself and his family, and then everything else just..." "A-hem!" "Please, sir, an inspector's called." "What kind of inspector?" "A police inspector, sir." "He says it's important." "Well, you'd better let him in here then." "Ah, nuisance." "Are you still on the bench, sir?" "Yes." "It'll be something about a warrant, I bet." "Hm." "Inspector Goole, sir." "Mr Birling?" "Yes, Inspector." "Sit down if you like." "Thank you, sir." "I hope this won't take too long, only we're in the middle of a family celebration." "A glass of port?" "Or we have some whisky." "No, thank you, Mr Birling." "I'm on duty." "You're new, aren't you?" "Yes, sir." "Recently transferred." "I thought I'd never seen your face before." "I know all the police round here." "Of course." "So, what can I do for you?" "If it's about a warrant..." "I'd like some information, if you don't mind." "Oh?" "Three hours ago, a young woman died in the Infirmary." "She'd taken steps to end her own life." "The doctors tried to save her, but it was too late." "Good heavens, how dreadful." "And?" "Who..." "Who was she?" "And you are?" "Um..." "Eric Birling." "My son." "Her name was Eva Smith." "Eva Smith..." "Do you remember her, Mr Birling?" "The name seems familiar, but, er it doesn't really mean anything to me." "I've just been round to the room she had." "She left a letter and a sort of diary." "Now, it seems that she was employed in your works at one time." "Ah... that's it, is it?" "Well, we have several hundred young women working there, and they keep changing." "Well, this young woman, Eva Smith, she was a bit out of the ordinary." "I found a photograph of her in her lodgings." "Perhaps you'd remember her from that." "May I see it, please?" "I'm afraid not." "Why not?" "I only..." "It's the way I work." "One line of inquiry at a time." "Very well, um... would I know her, Father?" "No." "No." "That girl left us oh, nearly two years ago." "Long before you even started at the works." "The end of September, 1910." "Yes, that's about right." "So you remember her now?" "Yes, I do." "Look here, sir, wouldn't you rather I was out of all this?" "No, Gerald." "No, you stay." "I'm sure the inspector will have no objection." "This is Gerald Croft, son of Sir George Croft." "You know, Crofts Limited." "We're celebrating his engagement to my daughter, as it happens." "I see, so Mr Gerald Croft is to marry Miss Sheila Birling?" "I hope so, yes." "Then I'd prefer you to stay, sir." "Look there's nothing mysterious or scandalous about this business." "At least not as far as I'm concerned." "It was perfectly straightforward..." "What was?" "I discharged her, that's all." "I discharged her from the works." "Why did you do that, sir?" "Why?" "What does it matter why?" "She was a trouble-maker." "That's why." "In what way?" "She was part of a gang of five." "They started coming to me that summer, wanting me to put their wages up." "I refused." "She was the ringleader..." "Why do you say that?" "Because she was." "It was her did all the talking." "The next thing I knew, she'd brought the whole workforce out on strike." "I heard about it." "They knew what they were doing." "They waited until we had a huge order to deliver, the biggest one we'd ever had." "So one might say they were clever?" "Yes." "One might say that." "In a dangerous sort of way." "Exactly." "So you sacked her?" "No." "Not at first I didn't." "What did you do?" "I gave her a chance if you must know." "I'm glad you could come to see me, Miss Smith." "How are you coping?" "All right, thank you." "Are you?" "You've lost those roses in your cheeks." "It must be getting on for two weeks now." "You must be starting to feel the pinch." "We are." "All of us are." "But we don't feel we have a choice." "Mr Birling, our rents are going up all the time, but we haven't had a wage rise in over two years." "Most of us are going hungry to pay our rent." "We're going without coal to pay..." "Where are you from?" "The countryside, isn't it?" "One of those villages up on the tops." "It's nice up there." "Honest." "What do your parents think you're up to down here?" "I don't want to talk about my family, if you don't mind." "I've got a daughter same age as you." "I wouldn't be very happy if she found herself in your position." "I'm sorry, I don't think this is fair, sir." "And I know there are other factories that pay 25 shillings..." "Here's what I suggest." "You're a good worker, I know that." "How about I make you Leading Operator?" "You'll have ten girls working under you." "I'll pay you your 25 shillings." "You can call them back and we'll get that order out." "I'm afraid I can't accept that." "Why not?" "It has to be for all of us." "Sir, it has to be for all of us." "Quite the little agitator, aren't you?" "You wouldn't talk to me like this if I were a man." "You wouldn't get away with paying us so little if we were men." "Your little strike won't last another week." "Come next Monday morning, those girls will realise they're down to their last pennies, they'll come traipsing through those gates." "You just watch." "Not you." "Well, for what it's worth," "I don't see how you could have done anything else, sir." "That's right." "I couldn't." "You could have paid them." "I beg your pardon?" "You could have paid them the 25 shillings." "There must have been a way." "And you'd know that how?" "I do work at the factory, Father." "Eric, you can't have people like that in the work force." "And that's the bottom line." "I pay people the going rate." "And if people don't like it, they're free to leave and go elsewhere." "Oh, yes, because there are so many jobs elsewhere." "You know, it's not as easy for the girls." "It's hard for them to just up and leave their home towns." "You're an expert on girls now, are you?" "I'm saying you could have at least let her keep her job." "Just because she had a bit more spirit than the rest of them..." "If you don't come down hard on some of these people, they'll soon be asking for the earth." " That's right." " They might." "But it's better to ask for the earth than to take it." "What do you mean by that?" "I'm sure you know exactly what I mean." "Sorry." "Mother wants to know when you'll be coming through." "What's going on?" "It's all right, darling." "The inspector here is just asking your father a few questions." "A girl he sacked committed suicide this afternoon." "Oh." " That's dreadful." " A girl I sacked two years ago." "Her... doing what she did had nothing to do with me." "I can't agree with you there, sir." "You see, what happened to her then may have determined what happened to her afterwards." "A chain of events." "I can't be held responsible for what... people I had dealings with choose to do in two or three years' time." "It's a ridiculous notion." "Is it?" "What did you say your name is?" "Inspector Goole." "How do you get on with the Chief Constable?" "Because you might like to know that I play golf with him at the West Brumley, regularly." "I don't play golf." "This girl, was she young?" "Yes, miss." "She was." "It's very sad." "Yes." "Was she pretty?" "Well, she wasn't pretty when I saw her this afternoon." "But yes, she had been pretty." "That's enough." "Sheila, go back to your mother." "Tell her I'm about done here." "Stay, please, Miss Birling." "I don't care for your attitude." "I've told you everything I know about that girl, and I must say I don't see that it's very important." "Now, I'd ask you to leave and let us get on with what's left of our evening." "I'll leave when I've finished, Mr Birling." "Mr Birling has told you everything he knows." "And surely it's what happened to the girl afterwards that should interest you most." "What did happen to her?" "Did she find another job?" "According to her diary, she was out of work for several weeks." "Both her parents were dead, so she'd no home to go back to." "Living in lodgings, few friends, half-starved." "She was feeling desperate." "I should think she was." "Oh, there are lots of young women living that sort of existence in every city and town across the world, Miss Birling." "She doesn't need to hear about that." "Perhaps I ought to hear about it." "Then, after two months, she had what seemed to her a tremendous stroke of good luck." "She was offered a position in a shop - a very good shop." "Milwards." "There you are, you see?" "Milwards?" "The department store?" "We go there." "Yes." "There was a good deal of influenza about at that time, and they suddenly found themselves short-handed and, er, well, they took a chance on her." "I've sometimes thought it must be a very pleasant place to work." "Yes, it was, for a while." "It was a nice change from the factory." "She enjoyed being amongst all the pretty clothes." "She did well." "And then, after six weeks... she was asked to leave." "Causing trouble?" "No." "No." "A customer made a complaint about her and she had to go." "As I said, causing trouble." "I'm afraid that is the problem with people like her - they're always going to make employers uneasy." "When was this?" "When was she asked to leave?" "At the end of January last year." "Darling?" "What did she look like?" "I have a photograph of her, if you'd like to see." "What is it, Sheila?" "It was, um, me." "Why did you complain about her, Miss Birling?" "If my daughter complained, she'd have had good reason to." "Yes." "I didn't, I..." "I didn't have a good reason to." "I..." "I was in a bad mood, I..." "I had wanted to go shopping on my own, that's all." "It wouldn't be right at all." "Yes, you've said that." "That sort of shape would look much better on a... a different sort of figure." "It's all very well trying to follow the latest fashions, but one has to know what suits one's shape." "That's something you'll learn as you go along." "I don't need a lecture on style." "Kindly keep your voice down." "Mummy, please can I look around on my own for a while?" "We could meet up again in..." "half an hour, shall we say?" "Do you need any assistance, Mrs Birling?" "Not at present, Miss Francis." "I've been admiring this." "Yes." "It's lovely, isn't it?" "A new design - just in." "I was just saying, it's not the right shape for my daughter." "Oh..." "I think it would suit me." "You, girl?" "Come here, would you?" "Do you see?" "It is not an easy style to carry off." "It's a question of bearing." "I'd like to try it on." "Yes, of course, miss." "Don't stay, Mummy." "There's really no need." "I'll be downstairs." "Send for me if you need me." "It was embarrassing." "I felt as if everybody was watching." "It looks lovely, miss." "Hm... does it?" "I'm not sure the colour's right." "What are you smiling at?" "I..." "I wasn't." "I was only..." "You were sniggering." "I'm not blind." "I'm sure she wasn't, Miss Birling..." "I'm some sort of cause for amusement, am I?" "No." "Of course not." "Miss Birling..." "I'd like to see the manager, please." "I'm sure she didn't mean..." "Now." "Please." "Yes, miss." "I'll go and find him at once." "Undo it." "I really wasn't laughing, miss." "I would never..." "Be quiet." "You've done enough already." "The manager came and..." "And what?" "And, well, he tried to smooth things over, but I said that if I found the girl in the shop the next time I went in," "I'd tell my father to close our account immediately, and we'd take our business elsewhere." "And so he dismissed her?" "Well, not in front of me, but... yes, I suppose he did." "I never saw her after that." "I'm sorry." "I'm so, so sorry..." "You don't have to apologise to anyone." "I was sorry even as I did it." "I..." "I don't know why I did it." "You did it because you were jealous of her." "Yes." "That was part of it." "Yes." "She was... so pretty." "She seemed so sure of herself." "I'd..." "I'd never do it again." "Not to anyone." "It's all right now." "It certainly was unfortunate." "Oh, just say it, Gerald!" "It was a horrible thing to do." "Horrible." "I suppose you've never done anything you regret." "I wasn't criticising you." "I'm sorry." "Well, I say it's a bloody shame." "She must have loved our family!" "You be quiet!" "I wonder if she made the connection between..." "I expect you're going tell me I'm involved with it too?" "I've noticed them giving me a sort of look sometimes at Milwards." "I suppose..." "Oh, why had this to happen?" "That's what I asked myself this afternoon, when I was looking at that dead girl." "Why had this to happen?" "And then I said to myself," ""Well, we'll try to understand why it had to happen."" "And that's why I'm here, and why I won't be going until I know exactly why it happened." "You knew, didn't you?" "That it was me." "Yes." "I thought it probably was, because of something she wrote." "Is that why she did it?" "Then why didn't you say so from the start?" "Instead of launching in, upsetting the girl..." "Is that why she did it?" "Sheila..." "I want to know." "Things were extremely difficult for her after she left Milwards." "They couldn't give her a reference in the light of what happened." "So, after several months of loneliness and near-starvation, she decided she had no option but to try something else." "So she changed her name." "What to?" "What did she change her name to?" "She changed her name to Daisy Renton." "What?" "I said, she changed her name to Daisy Renton." "What's wrong?" "May I get myself a whisky?" "Of course." "You knew her, didn't you?" " Leave him be a moment." " Gerald?" "How did you know her?" "I, um..." "Eric, go and ask your mother to come in here." "I want to talk to Gerald alone." "Except for the inspector." " He can stay." " Whatever needs to be said," "I'd rather it was said in front of me." "Will you go, Eric?" "!" "Eric, is he still here, this inspector, whoever he is?" "Yes." "Yes." "Where's Sheila?" "A girl's died, suicide." "Answer the question!" "Arthur, what is going on?" "If you're so afraid to tell me, it can only mean one thing." "I'm not afraid." "I'm not a child." "I'd rather have the truth." "And now it seems that Gerald has had dealings with her too." "What do you mean?" "What sort of dealings?" "He hasn't said yet." "Well, I think this has gone on long enough." "I think we need to give them a moment." "No." "This is supposed to be their engagement party..." "I know that..." "I can't believe you've left them in there." "Sybil..." "I asked you a question, Mr Croft, and I want you to answer it." "Look, I will answer it, but I..." "I don't think this is the right time or..." "Well, that's for me to decide." "When and where did you first meet her?" "It was in the bar at the Palace Variety Theatre." "I happened to look in one night." "I wasn't intending to stay long." "Whisky, please." "Alderman Meggarty." "Yes?" "Gerald Croft." "We met at the Masonic Dinner last year." "Ah, yes." "I think my father, Lord Croft, introduced us." "Yes." "Happen he did." "You've been looking after my girl for me, I see." "I'm indebted to you." "I'm so sorry I'm late, darling." "Ready to go?" "Yes." "I hope to see you soon, and thank you, again." "Goodnight." "Goodnight to you too." "Please forgive me." "I'm afraid that was the most shocking liberty." "No, no." "It was..." "I just..." "I could never bear to see a damsel in distress." "It was very kind of you, sir." "Was it?" "Good." "Well, shall we have a drink by way of an apology?" "You don't need to apologise." "By way of celebration, then?" "Our escape from the beast." "You're unwell." "No, no, I'm..." "God, you poor thing." "It's only because I haven't had any..." "I'll be all right in a moment." "Take your time." "Sorry." "Don't be silly." "Would you let me buy you dinner?" "I haven't eaten myself, as it happens, and I have a table booked at the County Hotel." "I'd rather not eat alone." "Please." "It's quiet there, and respectable." "What do you say?" "She relaxed a little after she'd had something to eat." "Told me a little bit about herself." "I asked her why she'd gone to the Palace Bar." "She said it was the first time she'd ever been there which is what I'd suspected." "Did she know what sort of place it was?" "Yes." "Someone had told her." "But..." "She was desperate." "Yes." "Yes, she really was." "She was about to be thrown out of her lodgings - a rotten place, apparently, but she couldn't pay the rent and..." "Go on, please, Mr Croft." "Well, it happened that a friend of mine had just gone abroad for six months." "And left me the keys to a nice little set of rooms he has in town." "And I suggested she go and stay there, until she found her feet." "It..." "It made her cry." "My kindness, she said." "She was so unused to it." "Did you take her there that evening?" "Yes." "So... do you think you'll be all right, Miss Renton?" "Daisy." "Yes, I think I will." "I feel like Goldilocks." "What's that?" "Um... are you sure your friend won't come back?" "Absolutely sure." "Trust me." "Er..." "To, um... to tide you over." "I'll, um..." "I'll pay you back." "Thank you." "Well..." "...any complaints, Miss, just call for the management." "Um..." "I'll come by tomorrow after work, if that's all right with you?" "Yes." "If you're not here, don't worry." "I'll..." "I'll try again later." "Well, um goodnight." "Goodnight." "Goodnight." "And did you go back the following evening?" "Yes." "Did you stay?" "Steady on." "Of course he did." "She became your mistress, did she?" "Yes." "It... it wasn't what I intended to happen." "I hope you can see that." "I wanted to help her more than anything else." "How disgusting!" "No." "No, Mrs Birling, forgive me, but it wasn't." "Look, it may have been wrong, but it wasn't disgusting." "When was this?" "Last summer." "Of course." "You hardly came near me last summer." "I thought I'd done something to drive you away." "Sheila..." "You told me you were busy at the works." "I was." "That..." "You told me that so many times." "Yes, that was true, I was busy." "Very busy, but..." "Did you love her?" "Yes." "That's just what I was going to ask." "Did you love her?" "Look..." "I didn't feel as strongly for her as she felt about me." "Oh, of course, you were her wonderful Fairy Prince." "She was dependent on me." "So grateful." "You must have adored it." "Well, yes, all right, I did." "For a time." "Nearly any man would have done." "I think that's the best thing you've said tonight." "At least it's honest." "God..." "God, I'm sorry." "It's just, um thinking she's really dead." "When did it end, Mr Croft?" "In September." "In September." "We both knew it couldn't go on indefinitely." "And in September I had to go away on business for a few weeks." "I suggested that we use the time to finish it." "How did she take that?" "Better than I'd hoped." "She was very gallant about it." "Oh... how nice for you." "I'd given her some money." "Enough to see her through to the end of the year." "And... when I got back from my trip she'd moved out of the rooms." "I never saw her again." "Well, that's something." "A clean break." "So, you'd had what you wanted from her, and you cast her aside." "It didn't feel like that." "Didn't it?" "Do you know where she went?" "She went away for two months to a place by the sea to be quiet." "To remember all that had happened between you." "To make it last longer." "How can you possibly know that?" "She kept a diary." "She wrote that she feared there'd never be anything as good for her ever again." "Well, if that was her idea of good," "I'm afraid there was no hope for her." "Mother, don't." "My husband has told me what was said earlier this evening, Inspector...?" "Er, Goole." "And I must say I am rather outraged that you are trying to lay the blame for this situation at our door." "With girls of that class, one can never really know what kind of trouble they've created for themselves." "Stop it!" "I think I need to, um... step out for a moment, if that's all right." "Yes." "I've finished with you for the time being, Mr Croft." "Wait." "I don't dislike you." "And in some odd way" "I think I respect you more than I've ever done." "I believe what you said about wanting to help her in the first place." "And it was my fault, really, that she was so desperate." "But this has made a difference, hasn't it?" "Yes." "Sheila..." "I'm not defending him, but, um... the fact is..." " young men..." " Gerald knows what I mean." "Yes." "I do." "I..." "I need to go." "You stay put." "May I see the photograph, Inspector?" "No, not yet." "Eric, you stay here!" "You needn't worry." "He'll be back." "We don't need you to reassure us about our son, Inspector." "Would you like to see the photograph of the girl, Mrs Birling?" "No." "I wouldn't." "I can't think of any reason why I should." "I really think you ought to look." "Very well." "Recognise her?" "No, I don't." "Well, she might have changed lately, but I can't believe she could have changed that much." "I don't know what you mean." "I mean that you're not telling me the truth." "Look, I'm not going to have this." "You apologise to my wife!" "For what?" "Doing my duty?" "For being so offensive about it." "You seem to forget that I am a public man." "Public men have responsibilities as well as privileges." "Possibly." "But I'm quite sure you weren't sent here to talk to me about responsibility." "Oh, don't you realise how ridiculous you seem?" "What on earth...?" "Putting on airs." "Both of you." "Pretending that we're above all this when we're not." "We're really not." "We're up to our necks in it." "Be quiet at once!" "Tell him the truth, Mummy." "Please." "He'll make you tell it anyway." "Don't you see?" "You seem to have made a very great impression on this girl, Inspector." "Yes." "Yes, we often do on the young ones." "Mrs Birling, you're a member, a prominent member, of the Brumley Women's Charity Organisation, aren't you?" "Yes, she is." "Why?" "It's an organisation to which women in distress can appeal for help in various forms." "Is that so?" "Yes." "We've done a great deal of work helping deserving causes." "Yeah." "There was a meeting of the interviewing committee two weeks ago." "You were in the chair, I believe." "And if I was?" "Why are you crying?" "I..." "I shouldn't have done that." "I thought you were at the bar because..." "I thought..." "It doesn't make any difference." "It had to happen." "It might as well have been now." "Oh, don't say that." "Please, God, don't say that." "What's your name?" "I don't know." "What do you mean?" "This girl in the photograph, the girl you don't recognise, she came to you and asked your organisation for help, didn't she?" "Didn't she?" "Yes." " Mother..." " Is this true?" "Not as Eva Smith." "Nor as Daisy Renton." "No." "As what?" "Mrs Birling." "She pretended afterwards that Mrs Birling just happened to be the first name she'd thought of." "It might have been." "She might have heard it mentioned whilst she was waiting and..." "Damned impudence." "She admitted, once I began questioning her, that she had no claim on the name whatsoever, that she was not married at all, and that the story she came in with, of a husband who'd deserted her, was quite false." "It didn't take me long to get the truth, or some of the truth, out of her." "Now, let's start again." "What's your name?" "Alice..." "Grey." "And why have you come to us for help, Miss Grey?" "I don't have any money." "Please speak up." "I don't have any money." "Are you looking for work?" "Actively?" "I was, but..." "And what was the truth?" "Why did she want your help?" "I think you know very well why she wanted help." "I'm going to have a baby." "I see." "And who is the father of this child?" "I'd rather not say." "Does he know of your condition?" "Yes." "Then it's his business to support you." "Well, he doesn't have any money." "Not... really." "He's very young." "He drinks too much..." "That's no excuse." "He's old enough to have done what he's done." "He did want to help." "He, um... started giving me money, but then I realised he was stealing it." "I told him not to any more." "I don't want him to get into trouble." "He's sweet, really..." "That's enough." "Given your present state," "I find it hard to believe in your extraordinary scruples." "They're not extraordinary." "I mean..." "I was raised to do my best by people..." "One moment." "I don't see that we can assist in this case." "I'm afraid I agree." "There are too many discrepancies, apart from anything else." "Agreed." "Miss Grey." "I'm afraid we won't be able to help you." "I suggest you go and find this young man and that the two of you marry and that you bring up your child together." "We can't marry." "He..." "We are not of the same... class." "It wouldn't work..." "You must make it work." "Well, is... that it?" "You're supposed to be the ones that help." "What is all this if you don't really want to help?" "You've heard our decision." "Next." "Come forward, please." "Good day to you, Miss Grey." "Your name is?" "Mary Kelly, Ma'am." "And why are you here?" "I've been thrown out of my lodgings, Ma'am." "I can't pay the rent..." "She was pregnant?" "Yes." "Yet she still..." "I can't..." "I can't bear it." "Perhaps now you people will understand exactly how desperate she'd become." "How pregnant was she?" "I mean..." "About three months." "At least it wasn't yours." "Well, I think it says something about the character of the girl... that she took her own life knowing that she..." "If you ask me, I think it was an extremely cowardly act." "Steady on, Sybil." "I'm entitled to my opinion." "Yes, but..." "Oh, damn it!" "This isn't going to look good for us." "The press will have a field day." "I wish you'd... helped the girl, you know." "Really?" "Really?" "Yes!" "I wasn't the one who put her out of a job in the first place." "I did my duty." "No more or less." "You still don't feel sorry for what you did, Mrs Birling?" "No, I do not." "I'm sorry she died, naturally, but I don't accept any blame for it at all." "Who is to blame, then?" "Well, firstly, the girl herself!" "And secondly, the young man who got her into trouble." "And if, as she claims, he was of a different class from her, some drunken young idler, then all the more reason why he shouldn't escape!" "He should be made an example of." "Publicly?" "Yes." "Publicly." "He should be forced to confront what he's done." "Mother..." "And if you don't mind my saying, you should be out looking for him, rather than harassing us with unnecessary questions." "Then you really would be "doing your duty"." "Oh, I certainly intend to do my duty, Mrs Birling." "Mother, stop." "Surely you can see?" "Eric..." "But Eric's not..." "He..." "He..." "Show me." "'Look at me.'" "Please." "You're so beautiful." "Can I see you again?" "Why do you laugh?" "That's not the sort of question you ask a girl like me." "Well, I'm asking it." "I'm asking." "When did you first meet the girl?" "Sarah." "Her name was Sarah." "A few months ago." "November..." "Sybil, I think you should leave." "You too, Sheila." "I'm staying." "Where did you meet her?" "I, um..." "You went to the Palace Bar, did you?" "And why shouldn't I have been there?" "You know, I'm old enough to be married, for God's sake!" "You should have kept your..." "You could have shown some self-control." "What, like Gerald, you mean?" "Like all the other men in this town?" "Alderman Meggarty..." "Like you, for all I know." "Shut your mouth!" "So, what?" "You were feeling... restless?" "Frustrated?" "Lonely?" "Yes." "So you picked her up and went back to her place?" "Yes." "Only at that moment... she seemed to change her mind." "Go on." "But I was..." "I was drunk, and..." "I had to see it through." "You were rough with her?" "Yes." "A little, that first time." "How many times were there?" "!" "Did you think about her, while you were forcing her?" "I didn't force her." "Not really." "While you were using her?" "As if she were an animal." "A thing." "Did you think about the implications for her life?" "No." "You can put that down!" "That's done enough damage already." "Let him have a drink." "On this occasion, let him have a drink." "How often did you see her?" "As often as she'd let me." "Paying every time, I presume?" "It wasn't like that." "She listened to me." "She helped me." "I'm sure she did." "I needed her!" "I needed her much more than she needed me." "When did you realise she was going to have a child?" "About a month ago." "Thank you for coming." "What's wrong?" "Sarah?" "Did she suggest you ought to marry her?" "She didn't want me to marry her." "I... offered..." "Oh, Eric." "She thought that I didn't love her." "She said that she didn't want me to ruin my life." "What did you propose to do?" "I didn't really know what to do." "I insisted on giving her money." "How much money?" "Um, £50 in all." "£50?" "!" "Where did you find that on your wages?" "On top of drinking and whoring round the town?" "I got it from the firm." "I took it from the firm." "You mean you stole it." "I was going to pay it back." "Eric?" "From my safe?" "There were some accounts that needed collecting." "I went to them and I asked for cash." "Gave them the firm's receipt and then kept the money." "Yes." "There was nothing else I could do!" "You stole from them." "You stole from our clients!" "Well, maybe if you paid me a decent amount, instead of leaving me short..." "My fault, now, is it?" "You damned fool." "Why the hell didn't you come to me?" "Why do you think?" "!" "Because you're not the kind of father a chap can go to when he's in trouble." "That's why!" "You know what your problem is?" "You're spoilt." "Arthur!" "He's been spoilt since the day he was born." "With your public school and your... varsity ways..." "Yes, yes, yes." "I'm ruined, aren't I?" "!" "Stop!" "I don't have the time for this." "You can sort out your differences when I'm gone." "What did the girl do when she realised you were stealing the money?" "She said she wouldn't take any more." "She asked me to stay away, and I'm a coward, so I did." "So she was telling the truth." "Everything she told you was true." "And calling herself Mrs Birling..." "It all makes sense now." "What do you mean?" "You spoke to her?" "When?" "Did she come here?" "Eric..." "She went to your mother's committee for help two weeks ago." "Your mother refused that help." "Why?" "I didn't believe her." "She needed your help." "Yes." "I know that now, but..." "My child." "That was my child." "I didn't understand the situation." "I didn't understand." "How did she die?" "She took her own life." "I know that." "How?" "She swallowed a large amount of disinfectant." "It burnt her insides out." "She died in agony." "Listen to me." "All of you." "I don't need to know any more." "Neither do you." "You each helped to kill her." "Remember that." "Never forget." "Look..." "Inspector..." "I would give thousands yes, thousands, if I could..." "You're offering the money at the wrong time, Mr Birling." "Eva Smith is gone." "You can't do her any more harm." "You can't do her any good now, either." "You can't even say, "I'm sorry, Eva Smith."" "But just remember this." "There are millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us, with their lives and hopes and fears, their suffering and chance of happiness all intertwined with our lives, and what we think," "and say, and do." "We don't live alone upon this earth." "We are responsible for each other." "And if mankind will not learn that lesson, then the time will come, soon, when he will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish." "Goodnight." "There'll be an inquest." "Yes, I'm afraid there will." "We may be called upon as witnesses." " All of this is bound to come out." " I hope it does." "So do I." "Well, you're more of a fool than I took you for." "You're the only one of us who's done something criminal." "How can you say that?" "Because that's how the law works." "For the rest of us just..." "Shame." "It'll be the end of my knighthood, that's for sure." "You'll have to tell me exactly which accounts you stole from." "I'll be lucky if I can keep you out of prison." "Then I'll go to prison." "I'd rather go to prison than stay here." "Eric, dear..." "You'll stay here long enough to pay that money back!" "If it takes you a hundred years!" "Eric..." "I'll do anything to stop myself from turning into another one of them." "All they care about is covering this up." "I hope there is a war." "I hope it finishes them." "Do you know the worst thing?" "I would have done it again." "You know, sometimes I find myself looking at girls, and..." "You won't do it again." "Not after this." "Everything's changed." "It's..." "I am so sorry, Eric." "It's..." "It's ghastly, it really is." "I need to get myself a drink." "I can get you..." "It's all right." "Are you all right?" "Sheila..." "Not now, Gerald." "Eric..." "What?" "Please don't." "We all need to come to terms with what's happened." "The police will be back." "They'll want statements." "I just hope they don't send him again, that's all." "Dreadful man." "I can't imagine ever seeing the inspector again." "When he left, it was so final." "He wasn't like a police officer at all." "He was unnecessarily harsh." "Not like any police officer I've ever met." "Do you not think it's strange that he didn't ask us for statements now, tonight?" "I mean, it was almost as though he wasn't interested in procedure, he just wanted us to..." "To face what we've done." "Yes." "I thought he was extraordinary." "It was as though he could see into our souls." "What was his name?" "Um..." "Inspector Goold, I think." "I thought he said Goole." "Edna." "What did that inspector say to you when he came to the door?" "He said he were a police inspector." "He asked if you were home, and said he needed to see you urgently." "Did he show you identification?" "No, sir." "What did he say his name was?" "Inspector Goold, I think he said." "Hmm." "Have I done something wrong?" "No." "No, not at all." "Why don't you go up to bed now?" "I can see to the tea." "Well..." "Thank you, miss." "There's something not quite right here." "Arthur?" "Who are you calling?" "Chief Constable." "Is that wise?" "Brumley 8742, please." "Do you think he'll know about...?" "Colonel Roberts, please." "It's Mr Arthur Birling." "Roberts?" "Er, sorry to ring you up so late." "Um... can you tell me, has an Inspector Goole joined your staff lately?" "Goole, or Goold, possibly." "New man, recently transferred." "Tall..." "I see." "Yes... well, that settles it." "No, no, no, no, no, it's just a little argument we were having among ourselves." "Er... thank you." "Thank you." "Um, I will." "Thank you." "Goodnight." "There is no Inspector Goole." "No-one new at the Brumley force at all." "I don't understand." "We've been had." "A hoax." "I knew he wasn't a police officer." "You should have checked his credentials the moment he arrived." "Why would anyone do that?" "Perhaps... someone heard about the knighthood and... wanted to bring me down a peg." "Jealousy." "Malicious jealousy." "This changes everything." "So who was he?" "What are we going to do?" "Shall we ring Colonel Roberts again?" "No, no." "Wait..." "No, let me think this through." "It doesn't change anything." "Of course it does." "It doesn't." "Everything we told the inspector still happened." " He wasn't an inspector." " Well, he certainly inspected us." "We told him the truth." "Didn't we?" "She's right." "It doesn't change anything." "Sarah's still dead, and between us, we killed her." "Did we?" "You know that we did." "No, think about it." "The hoaxer goes round town, say, finding things out about us, things that..." "Things that might make us ashamed." "And then he comes here and persuades us all into confessing that we each played a part in this girl's death." "We did." "Yes, but... how do we know we were all talking about the same girl?" "We all did what we said we did, hmm?" "But how do we know that your Eva Smith is the same girl as my, um..." "Well, as my Daisy Renton?" "Because we looked at the photograph." "I didn't." "Simply took his word for it." "And do you remember how peculiar he was about only one person seeing the photograph at once?" "What if they were all different?" "You're right." "We were all talking about different girls." "No." "I don't believe it." "The facts fit together too well." "She called herself Mrs Birling." "Why would she have done that if she wasn't the same girl who..." "I mean, who's to say there was a girl who died this afternoon?" "Whose word do we have for that but his?" "Yes, Nurse?" "Yes, yes, I'm still here." "Right." "I understand." "No." "Thank you, Nurse." "Yes." "Goodnight." "No suicides." "No girl." "Oh, thank the Lord!" "Thank the Lord!" "I have never been so happy to have been had!" "I'm going to try everything to win you back." "Do you believe in God?" "Yes." "How can you?" "I can't believe in people." "I have to believe in something, or I'd fall." "Fall down through the cracks." "And never stop falling." "Miss!" "What's happened?" "I'm going to go and find her." "Birling residence." "Speaking." "I understand." "A girl has died." "Suicide." "A police inspector is on his way to ask us... some questions."