A New Leaf Page #8

No, thank you.

No, thank you very much.

Mrs Traggert ...

No, thank you.

I would like to say a word,

please, Mrs Traggert?

There's something about you

that puzzles me.

Why do you continue on in the arduous

position of housekeeper ...

when by investing wisely you could have ...

your own little townhouse

in Sutton Place?

And a guaranteed income for life.

Surely, after having

successfully managed ...

to head the household accounts ...

to the tune of 35,000 tax-free dollars

per year, for the past five years ...

you must have salted something away.

Have I ever.

I'm not including, of course ...

the token salary of $800 a week

- Four ... four hundred.

- Oh.

you receive as mad money.

Huh, is it mad?

Mrs Traggert, you're fired.

I don't understand.

I don't know what that means.

It means that you are a thief, Mrs Traggert.

On what grounds are you

making this accusation?

I'm calling you a thief ...

on the basis of the household accounts ...

which you very sensibly

hid under your mattress.

Listen, Mr Graham, could I speak to you

for just one little minute, please?

The time is now 7 minutes past 9 o'clock.

If you are not out of this house

by 10, I will call the police.

Shall we synchronize our watches

or would you rather go for broke?

Uh, eh ... You, er, you wouldn't like

to hear my side of the story?

Alright, alright! I'm leaving.

- Oh, John.

- Yes, sir?

John, do you think we ought to

scrap our cars?

Huh?

You see, according to your

gas consumption and mileage record ...

each car averages 15 miles a day ...

at 1 mile per gallon,

while parked in a garage.

It would mean bankruptcy if we

actually took them out on the road.

We did those figures wrong ...

by about ... half.

John, do you have a suitcase?

Yeah, I have five.

I could always use another one.

Well, five will do very nicely, John.

Pack all five and be out of

this house in 45 minutes ...

or I will shoot you on sight

for trespassing.

I-I-I, I don't get it.

I'll try to clarify it, John.

You're being fired

because you are a cheap crook.

Now, if you are not out of this house

and off these grounds in 45 minutes ...

I will shoot you as a trespasser ...

with proved criminal intentions.

And I am an excellent shot.

Does that make it clearer?

Well, er ... why, if you gotta

act like that ... I quit.

As for the rest of you, you have

exactly two hours to get out.

Out!

And I do not believe that

for one second.

Is the party over already?

You too, Madam.

He means business!

Henry, there are a lot of strange

people in the house, who are they?

Yeah. They are not people,

Henrietta, they are servants.

I hired them this morning.

You know, Henry, Mrs Traggert

will be furious.

Mrs Traggert has been fired along

with the rest of the staff ...

so her emotional responses need

no longer concern you.

Oh, Erica, this is Mrs Graham.

This is our new housekeeper.

She'll be working under Harold.

Fine. Fine. Thank you.

You may go now, Erica.

Henrietta, come, please.

Thank you. You may go, Erica.

Henrietta, come.

Don't shake hands, please.

Don't shake hands

with the servants, Henrietta.

It destroys all hope of any discipline.

- You fired Mrs Traggert?

- Yes, I fired Mrs Traggert.

- You fired John, too?

- Especially John.

And they agreed?

We didn't vote on it, Henrietta.

I simply told them they were fired.

Which reminds me ...

How attached are you to Mr McPherson?

Oh no, oh no, Henry.

He's a total incompetent, Henrietta.

Do you have an idea how much money

has been spent to run this house?

No, but Andrew knows.

Andrew has co-signed all

of Mrs Traggert's checks.

Really, he has his finger on everything.

He co-signed all of

Mrs Traggert's checks?

Yes. He's very thorough.

- Henry ...

- Did ... you ... allow Mrs Traggert ...

to have ... her own ...

checking account?

Yes. It was the household account.

She said it would be easier for her.

So I ... I, er ... did.

- Henrietta.

- Yes?

Never, er, never mind ... I ...

Henrietta, I'll handle the

finances from here on in.

Yes.

I would like the bank to issue a statement

covering all your accounts ...

and please instruct them that no check

has to be drawn on any account ...

unless it was co-signed by me.

I can go over your holdings and your

federal and state tax returns after you're...

after you're ... after,

afterwa-, afterwards.

Holdings and federal, okay.

Heavens. Oh.

Just a piece of cotton, dear.

- Oh, Henrietta?

- Yes?

I suppose you're absolutely satisfied

with the organic method?

Oh, yes. Yes, I am.

- Shut up!

Now, Mr McPherson.

I want you to do something about this.

- I didn't even get my two weeks' notice.

- Nobody did.

If a judge sees those salaries ...

he'll clamp you in jail on spec.

Very few chauffeurs make $600 a week.

- $300. You get half ...

- From all of us.

I advise you to keep

your mouth shut about that.

According to the records, I don't take

anything at all, and don't you forget it.

Is that so?

Alright, alright. Laura! Take it easy.

Wait a minute. Wait. Laura? Lester?

- Laura. Kids.

- I'm not a kid.

- Now, wait a minute. Wait a minute.

- Let him talk.

Kids, we've been together

a long time, right?

We've been a great team.

We've had some bad years and good years.

We laughed a little. Cried a little.

Put a little away together.

But it's all over now.

There's nothing we can do about it.

- Yes, Mariamne?

The bank chief called ...

saying that Mr Graham

has instructed them ...

not to issue any funds

without his signature.

Henry, you have a B.A. in history.

... gardening shed ...

Oh, Henry, how wonderful.

Whom do I know with a gardening shed?

I sprayed and the crown gall was gone.

What an exciting coincidence.

Have you ever thought

of teaching, dear?

There is an instructorship opening

this fall, in history ...

and there seems to be absolutely no

prospect at filling up the place ...

with so many of the teachers

appointed to the science department ...

... back in the evening together.

Never.

Don't you?

We could have lunch together

in the teachers' cafeteria ...

and then, every semester, we could grade

our term papers together in the study.

Henrietta, for the last time.

I have no inclination to teach.

No, not the slightest.

How do you know, dear,

if you've never tried?

Instinct.

... on a cash basis ... accrual basis ...

... therefore deduct taxes in the

year in which they are actually paid ...

Henry?

Might as well finish the

accounts and get you ...

and get them out of the way before

the end of the week.

He handles the income taxes rather well.

Henry, I wanted to ask you something.

- What?

- I wanted to ask you something.

Well, you know that every summer

I go on a field trip ...

for my research work.

And ... I was just wondering if this year ...

it would be alright

if I went on a field trip?

Field trip?

For how long?

Only for a week or two.

I ... I thought I might go on

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