The Mousetrap

MRS. BOYNTON. A girl? What girl? (She puts the package on the table.)

RAYMOND. (Nervously) She was on the train last night. I helped her with some of her cases—they were a bit heavy.

MRS. BOYNTON. (Intent onRAYMOND) I see.

RAYMOND. (Turning desperately toCOPE) I suppose you’ve seen all there is to see by this time.

(The ARAB BOY enters up Left. He carries a tray with the GIRL’s drink. He goes on to the terrace, puts the glass on the table, then exits up Left.)

COPE. Well, I hope to have done Jerusalem pretty thoroughly in another couple of days and then I’m going to have a look at Petra, the rose-red city of Petra—a most remarkable natural phenomenon, right off the beaten track.

MRS. BOYNTON. “A rose-red city—half as old as time.”

RAYMOND. It sounds marvellous.

COPE. It’s certainly worth seeing. (He hesitates, moves Left, then returns to Left of MRS. BOYNTON.) I wonder if I couldn’t persuade some of you people to come along with me? I know you couldn’t manage it, Mrs. Boynton, and naturally some of your family would want to remain with you—but if you were to divide forces, so to speak . . . (He looks from one to the other of them, finally at MRS. BOYNTON.)

MRS. BOYNTON. (Expressionless) I don’t think that we’d care to divide up. We’re a very united family. (She pauses) What do you say, children?

MRS. BOYNTON. You see. They won’t leave me. What about you, Nadine? You didn’t say anything.

NADINE. No, thank you, not unless Lennox cares about it.

MRS. BOYNTON. Well, Lennox, what about it? Why don’t you and Nadine go? She seems to want to.

LENNOX. (Nervously) I—well—no—I—I—think we’d better all stay together.

COPE. Well—you are a devoted family.

(COPE exchanges a look and a smile with RAYMOND, and picks up a magazine from the table.)

SARAHenters up Right. She carries a small parcel. She goes on to the terrace and exits on it to Right.RAYMONDwatchesSARAH. MRS. BOYNTONwatchesRAYMOND.)

MRS. BOYNTON. (ToCOPE) We keep ourselves to ourselves. (ToRAYMOND) Is that the girl you were talking to outside?

RAYMOND. Yes—er—yes.

MRS. BOYNTON. Who is she?

RAYMOND. Her name is King. She’s—she’s a doctor.

MRS. BOYNTON. I see. One of those women doctors. (Deliberately to him) I don’t think we’ll have much to do with her, son. (She rises.) Shall we go up now? (She picks up the medicine.)

(NADINE hastily puts her sewing together, rises, gets MRS. BOYNTON’s stick and hands it to her. LENNOX rises.)

(To COPE) I don’t know what I should do without Nadine.

(COPE moves to Right of MRS. BOYNTON and puts the magazine on the table Centre. NADINE is Left of MRS. BOYNTON.)

She takes such good care of me. (She moves towards the lift.)

(COPE, NADINE, LENNOX and RAYMOND move with MRS. BOYNTON to the lift. It is a royal procession. COPE rings the lift bell. GERARD watches them.)

But it’s dull for her sometimes. You ought to go sightseeing with Mr. Cope, Nadine.

COPE. (ToNADINE; eagerly) I shall be only too delighted. Can’t we fix up something definite?

NADINE. We’ll see—tomorrow.

(The lift descends and the door opens. MRS. BOYNTON, NADINE, LENNOX and RAYMOND exit to the lift. The door closes and the lift ascends. COPE wanders around for a moment, then crosses to GERARD.)

COPE. Excuse me—but surely you’re Doctor Theodore Gerard?

GERARD. Yes. (He rises) But I’m afraid . . .

COPE. Naturally you wouldn’t remember me. But I had the pleasure of hearing you lecture at Harvard last year, and of being introduced to you afterwards. (Modestly) Oh, I was just one of fifty or so. A mighty interesting lecture it was, of course, on psychiatry.

GERARD. You are too kind.