 The Weird Circle In this cave, by the restless sea, we are met to call from out the past stories, strange and weird. Bellkeeper, pull the bell, so all may know we are gathered again in the Weird Circle. Phantom of a world gone by, speak again the immortal tale, the mark of the play. And Lucille. What is it, Harry? You look worried this afternoon. It's much too beautiful here to frown like that. Sit down on this bench next to me, darling. I have something to tell you. Now, dearest, what is it you have on your very, very serious mind? Oh, you little minks. You can't take anything seriously, can you? Not even love. You know I love you more than anything in the world. And nothing's ever too serious when we have each other. All right, smile now. That's better. It certainly would be difficult if I had something important to tell you. You're about as unpredictable as... Look, Harry, look over there. It's a double cow slip coming out already. One of the roots I set out myself. Darling, everything's blossoming. It will be all our lives for us, won't it? As long as we're together. And we will be always, won't we, dear? Oh, I hope so. Is there any doubt? There isn't in my mind. Nothing could keep us apart, Harry. Nothing. Not even death. Why, Lucille, what a thing to say. Thank heaven we have a long time ahead of us before we have to think of things like that. There's no way of telling that, Harry. You never know when death is standing on your own doorstep. Well... I never know for a minute to minute what's going on inside that pretty head of yours. I'm serious now. You never can tell. Oh, can't we arrange to be married soon? I want to so much. Well, that was what I wanted you to sit down here and talk about. Our marriage. There's nothing I'd rather talk about. We may have to wait, dear. Wait. Just for a little while until I can talk to Father. Your father doesn't want us to marry, does he? He's afraid of something. What is it, Harry? You've never told me. Well, he's a very proud man, Lucille. Too proud for his own good. And I'm just a shopkeeper's daughter. Is that it? But we love each other, don't we? Tell me, Harry. Tell me that you love me. Oh, I do. I do, Lucille. Can't you see it in my eyes? Hear it in my voice? I've never felt this way about anyone before. But you don't love me enough to stand on your own feet against your father. I will, Lucille. I will. But you know what a situation this is. My father, all our friends, everyone, they'll talk. I'm thinking of you, dearest, as well as myself. Will we be able to last against all the opposition? If we're strong enough, if we believe in each other and in ourselves, yes. Determination is what we have to have. Why, Lucille, you... you sound almost militant. I've never seen you this way before. I feel very strongly about this, Harry. I don't believe in snobbishness. Not in our day and age, not now. And when it's us... Well, I... I guess it just hurts more than ever. Lucille, I... London's a big place, Harry, but not as big as that. We're living here within the boundaries of the same city. My father is an honest, good man. And just because he happens to own a shop instead of having a family fortune the way your father does, doesn't make him less than anyone else, Harry. Not in my eyes, anyway. Lucille, we'll talk about it again very soon, shall we? Talk about it soon? Why can't we settle it now? Get something definite in mind. Darling, it can't go on like this. In two weeks, Lucille, we'll talk to father together. We'll go to him and tell him the whole thing. And when he sees you, dear, when he knows what a wonderful girl you really are, then... then he can't object. Is that a promise? Yes. You see, I'm going away for a little while. I have to travel to the north for father's estate. When I come back... All right, dear. I'll wait until then. Two weeks. You come then. Come to the house. And we'll go to him. I'll be there, darling. Oh. Someone's just come into the shop. I'll have to go. Daddy's in the office and doesn't want to be disturbed. All right, my love. I'll go out for the back gate. Goodbye, dear. I do love you so very much. Goodbye. In two weeks, I'll be with you again. Goodbye. I'm coming. I'm coming. Who can be in such a hurry? Oh, oh, Mr. Kent, I'm... I'm so sorry you had to wait. Oh, Mrs. Darcy, good day. Daddy's busy and he left me to mine in the shop. I'm afraid I was playing truant. Perfectly all right, ma'am. I only wondered whether... I know. You wondered whether that box had arrived from the Levant. The goods you wanted. Yes, exactly. Well, it has arrived, Mr. Kent. In fact, it just came this morning from Holland. I do hope the things you wanted are in it. Here it is. Here. Father opened it when it came. Oh, let's see. Here are the things. Yes, and here are yours. Some herbs and this material, wouldn't it? Exactly. You may as well take them along right now, if you like. And the payment. Oh, why don't you settle that with Daddy later on? Not sure what their value is, and he will know. That'll be fine, Mrs. Darcy. Thank you, and good day. Good day, sir. Lucille! Lucille! Yes, Daddy. I'm right here. Oh, Lucille. Lucille, this is terrible. What, Daddy? Well, you lucked as though you'd seen a ghost. I almost have, and I'm likely to see more unless we get rid of that confounded box. What box? Oh, oh, the one that came this morning from Holland. Yes. It's still here, isn't it? Where is it? It's been opened. Well, you opened it yourself when it arrived. Oh, may heaven have mercy on us. What is it, Daddy? What's happened? Well, it's this. This letter. It just came a few minutes ago from Holland. Yes? From the agents there. They warned me not to open the box. The plague has broken out in Holland, and they believe it was brought in in this very shipment. The one this box came in. But, Daddy... No one has received anything from it, have they? I just gave Mr. Kent his goods from it this very minute. Oh, it can't be. It can't be. The plague spreads like fire once it started. Well, I'll go after him and get some things back. No, no. No, Lucille. No. We can't tell anyone. Not anyone, do you understand? What if Mr. Kent... No, no one. If it starts here, no one must know where it came from. I'd be ruined. The box, Daddy. What do we do with it? We'll burn it. That's it. We'll take it out and burn it. And we'll pray that the goods Kent took out of it were untainted. Lucille. Oh, thank heaven you've come. You said two weeks, Harry. I've come at the time you said... Come in. Come in, Lucille. I hoped it was you. I answered the door myself. I've hardly been able to contain myself waiting for you, my darling. Daddy's been ill, or... I would have been here yesterday. Well, my father's ill, too. I've been worried to death. I couldn't leave here to come to you. The servants are frightened and they won't go near him. Frightened? Yeah, there are so many ill in London now. The doctors are too busy to answer the calls. There's even talk of it... of it being the plague. Oh, no. Haven't you heard it? Most of our friends have shut their houses up and gone away already. If it gets any worse, we'll have to do the same. Oh, Harry, I'll go with you. I'll go anywhere or do anything to be with you. Take me to your father. I'll be his nurse. I'll take care of him. I can't let you go away and leave me here. Especially not now. Oh, darling, you're splendid. Come, I'll take you into him. He's well enough now. He seems better and we'll talk to him. Tell him you're going to nurse him. Come on, this is his room back here. He sleeps on this floor. Oh, Harry, it... it's going to be all right, isn't it? I'm sure it is, my dearest. Ready? Go ahead. Come in, boy. Father, I've brought someone to see you. Someone to see me? Everyone's afraid now. Who is it? It's a young lady who wants to help you. She's going to be your nurse, Father. How do you do, Mr. Moore? Young lady, aren't you frightened? Everyone else is? Not at all. Now just rest yourself, because I'm used to this. And we'll be all right. Who is this Harry? Miss Darcy, Father. Very good friend of Darcy. Well, yes, Father. Lucille, you dare. Oh, Harry, he... he mustn't get upset this way. Well, don't mind, Lucille. He's always had a sudden temper. He'll be all right. You dare bring that woman here. I'm a sick man. You're trying to kill me. No, no, Father. Lucille is going to take care of you. You'll see how fine she is. You'll see. I won't stand for it. You'll see. I won't have it. She may stay forever, but I won't receive her here. Take care of me, indeed. But, Mr. Moore, I... Oh, Harry, I'm going. Lucille, no, no, please. Wait just a minute. It'll be all right. No, all right, indeed. Harry, my own son, trying to kill his father. Father, rest a while. Think. Just think what this may mean. Lucille here. You'll know her. You'll love her as I do. Love her? Oh, you fool boy. Can't you see what you're doing? You'll kill me. Kill me? Perhaps you better go outside, Harry. Just for a little while. Yes. Father, we're going now. Rest yourself and think. We'll be in the next room. How dare he bring someone like that into my house? Oh, Lucille, I'm ashamed. I'm sorry. It was awful for you. He's very ill, darling. He doesn't know everything he's saying. Sometimes, Lucille, sometimes I think you're an angel. No one else would take it that way. No one else would understand it. But we're in love. I can't help understanding everything about you. But he was so terrible, so much worse than I dreamed he'd dare to be. Oh, my darling, don't you be afraid. Everything will be all right. It surely must be. Servants. If only I could get them to go near him, but they threatened to leave if they had to serve him. Darling, I'd like to send you home again. I'll come to you right away. No. No, you don't understand me very well if you think I'd leave now. I came to help you and to help your father. Perhaps I can win his gratitude and make him understand. I want to try. I really want to try. Oh, you're wonderful. You have the spirit of a true woman. Darling, if you would, if you would stay even after the way he's acted, I... Harry. Harry, what is it? You're not feeling well. It's nothing. Just my head. For two weeks now, I've suffered with the most awful headaches. They pass quickly, though. Just sit down here and let me stroke you for it. There. There, now it'll be better. Oh, your hand. It's so cool. Oh, darling, just the touch of you makes everything all right. We will be all right, Harry. We've got to be all right. Nothing can touch us. Nothing. I shouldn't have let you come. What if... What if you should become marked with the sickness? What if... Don't fear that. Nothing will happen to us. We are safe in our love. But, Father, what if he really has the plague? It won't happen to us, Vera. As for your father, don't worry. There are ways of getting him to agree with it. Don't worry about that. Everything will be all right. I'll take care of that. Yes. Don't you worry, Harry. I will take care of that. Lucille? Lucille? Yes, Harry. You've been in there with your father so long. I know, darling. He's very ill. I'm afraid... He hasn't got any better since I've been here. I know. But I can do no more. I know, darling. I know there isn't anything anyone can do. You look ill yourself, dearest. Are you all right? You won't let me help you. I'm all right. It's just these headaches. My father has sent me out, Lucille. He wants something. Are you going out of the house? Yes, darling. But it isn't safe. No one goes out. Only the men driving the carts that carry away... No, no. Don't think of those things, Lucille. They're too horrible. I'll be careful. Where do you have to go? To father's lawyer. He wants him to come here. His lawyer? Father's afraid he's going to die. But he may live for days, for weeks. He might... But he wants to be sure. Something about his will, the people in his house. And then again, on second thought, perhaps he will die, Harry. Perhaps he will. But hurry, dearest, hurry. If he wants to see him, hurry. He may die even before you get back. He may, Harry. You can never tell. Lucille, you're not serious. It's a serious thing. I... No, go. Go on. Get the lawyer. Everything will be all right. I'll go in and take care of your father. Wait for me, darling. Wait. I'll be back right away. His money. His money. That's all he's worried about. As though that made any difference. It's not as money I want. Yes, hurry, darling, hurry. Because things may happen before you return. Harry? Harry, are you back? No, it's Lucille, Mr. Moore. Harry's just left. Go away. I want Harry. I must see my lawyer. I must see... Be quiet now, Mr. Moore. You'll be all right. Just let me put this compress on you for him. I don't want that compress. Put it down. I don't want kindness from you. I want to remember how I hate you. You do hate me, don't you? You hate me enough to want to kill me. Where's Harry? Where's the lawyer? You tried to steal everything I've got. Is that what's really worrying you, your money? That's not worrying me. My estate. To a shopkeeper's daughter. To a common woman. Be careful. Be careful, Mr. Moore. You're a sick man. You're dangerously sick. More dangerously than you know. Right now you may die. Do you hear me? You may die even before they get back. No, no. I have to see them. I'm going to see my son again. Why? He's bringing the lawyer. Mr. Stone is coming. It is your money, then. Your money. My name too. My name to a creature like you. Your name. One might think that was worth anything anymore. What's wrong with the name I have? What's wrong with Darcy? Darcy. When the name of Moore is in question. Everyone knows the secret now. Everyone knows this confounded plague started with the Darcy's. And it seems to me that you're part of it. Darcy. The plague. And it finishes the Moore's. It finishes the Moore's. Do you understand, Mr. Moore? It finishes the Moore's. You'll wait, Mr. Moore. You'll wait a long time before you see him again. No man can despise me. Call me common and drag my name in the dust as you have. No one do you hear? You're going to wait a long time. I'm going to put this compress on you whether you like it or not. No. No. Lucille. Lucille. What is it? Where are you? Oh, Harry. Harry, come quickly. Darling, what is it? Harry. Your father. He. Lucille. Poor father. Dead. I can't believe it. He must have struggled at the end. He was weak. So weak, Harry. He could hardly move. This compress, it must have slipped over his face when he died. Yes, yes, it must have. Well, Harry, I wanted to have him like me and want me to marry you. Oh, he would have, Lucille. He would have. He had to love you. I went out. I went out. I called to the servants. I wanted somebody to help me, but there was no one here. The servants have all left. They were too frightened to stay. London is frightened. Frightened and quiet. It's better in here. Oh, Harry, I. I feel so weak. So terrible. Come with me, darling. Come out of here. Yes. Yes. There. We'll feel better in the same room. But. But the lawyer. You went for a lawyer. Where is he? He's coming. He said he'd come. No use now, I guess. No use. Harry, you. Your father. He wanted you at the end. But he died before I could reach him. He died without saying anything. He died before I got there. But Lucille, you said... He couldn't talk. He hated me. He hated me and he would never have forgiven me. Be quiet, darling. Be quiet. Now, sit still there for a minute. He looked at me with those horrible red eyes and told me, come on. There was no one there. Stop, Lucille. No. This isn't true. Tell me it isn't. No, Harry. No, don't touch me. Your father. And you have it, too. You have it, too. Look, I can see it in your eyes. The fever's in you, too. Lucille, you're delirious. It isn't true. Nothing you're saying is true. No, no, go away. This can't be real. I'm going in to see. No, Harry. I don't believe you. No, no, no. Harry, please don't go in there. Let go of me, Lucille. Go back, Lucille. Please, now. Calm yourself. Go back into the other room. I'll be right back. I just want to see you. But you don't have to see anymore. You don't have to see anything. Please, Lucille. No, no, Harry. No, please, no, no. Come with me, then, if you want. But I must see what's happened. It's true, then. Oh, Harry, I couldn't help it. I couldn't. You murdered him. No. No, I didn't. Lucille. He asked for you, Harry. I went to him and he looked at me. Lucille, tell me. Tell me again. You didn't. This cloth, it was a compress. It slipped. It must have slipped down on his face when he moved. Lucille, tell me. Yes, Harry, I couldn't live always with that on my mind. I couldn't face you. Oh, Lucille, you couldn't have. I... Harry! I... Harry, Harry, come with me. Let me hold you. Oh, I'm so... so weak, Lucille. Here, here, let me help you. Just come with me into the other room. It's horrible in here. Lucille. Lean on me, that's it. Just lean on my shoulder. Come on. Oh, I need you, Lucille. I don't believe you. In here, that's it. In here, my darling. Here, I'll loosen your clothes. Oh, that's better, Lucille. It's better. There, there. Oh, Harry, speak to me. Don't just look at me like that. Lucille. Tell me. Tell me you didn't. Oh, my darling. Darling. How can I tell you? How can I live? Lucille, wait. My father... he died alone, didn't he? No. I was with him. I... Oh, Harry. Harry! Harry! Speak to me. Harry, please, speak to me. The lawyer, they come. I must go and answer and let them in. But I can't. I can't let them into a house of death. Everyone look at the house where misery has become massive. If someone come to help, they'll see. They'll see what happened. Yes! Yes, you may come in, sir. You may come into the house of death. I'll see you soon enough. How do I look? Like a murderer? Like a woman who has committed a crime? An unholy soul condemned for the rest of her life? I so much impatience, Mr. Stone. You'll find no business here. No business but with the dead. My love is dead. Everything is dead. Mr. Moore sent for me. Will you be so good as to tell him I'm here? There is no Mr. Moore here. What's the matter, girl? Are you mad? This is his house. I've been coming here for years. Mr. Moore is no longer here. But his son came to call for me just a minute ago. Come in if you wish. If you dare to enter a house in London now, come in and see for yourself. Yes, his room's right back this way. I'll go back. That's the way to Mr. Moore's room all right, but you will find only... Isn't that Harry in there, in the sitting room? It's not Harry. Why, yes, it is. Doesn't he see me? He's looking right at me. Harry's not there. Dear girl, what on earth's wrong with you? What's going on in this house? There's nothing right here, Mr. Stone. Nothing can ever be right here again. Oh, you know my name. Of course. You would have known mine one day. Well, who are you? A condemned woman. What? Who are you? Who are you for that matter? You're a stranger, wandering in the wilderness too. But you're not tortured. You're not law. Will you amaze me? Mr. Moore is not here. Look, look, I say. Well, yes, of course he's here. There he is on the bed. That is not Mr. Moore. Mr. Moore is gone. Gone? I... Dear girl. Wait a moment. What's that on your face, child? On my face. Tears, perhaps. No, no, no. Not that. That mark on the side of your face. A mark? Yes. It seems even to be spreading as I watch it. A mark? Let me see in the mirror. It's in the sunlight now with the door open. I can see it. No! No, it can't be. I'll wipe it off. I'll just back it out. It'll go away. It'll go away. It must go away. Stop that. Stop it, child. That will do no good. It'll do no good. It'll do no good. That thing on my face. It will spread and spread. That's a part of my shame, a part of my punishment. No! No, it must go away and must, it must. I'll tear it out. It can't be. It is the mark of the plague. From the time-worn pages of the past, we have brought you the mark of the plague. Then, keeper, pull the bell.