Deception Page #4

I know.

- I wonder if you do.

I'm not exactly a simple personality.

They call me a great man.

[INHALES DEEPLY]

It's the loneliest animal in the world.

I need you extremely badly, my dear.

Tell me, was it all a pretense?

You know perfectly well it wasn't.

I'm not repulsive to you?

- of course not, Alex.

This other thing, this ridiculous

resurrection of calf love.

This... Why, I've shown you what life is.

I've shown you music and

I've given you understanding.

Is this infatuation so precious to you that

you can turn your back on understanding?

oh, I know, I'm not a youth. I'm

not a savage, a little wavy hair...

...why should I deny it you?

If you'd only come to me.

If you'd told me quite frankly that you

couldn't live without this latest luxury.

You can have both.

Hollenius, what are you?

What you made me.

oh, it's too hideous.

- But you can't.

You can't leave me.

For this gut scraper.

This puppet of people like myself.

Who, if I write pbbt plays. Pbbt.

And if I write pbbt plays. Pbbt.

oh, I'm going.

- Now, you listen to me.

What more can you possibly

have to say after that?

I have it in me, Christine,

to remove this impertinence.

You wouldn't.

Then don't provoke me.

You're making a terrible mistake.

- I made my mistake years ago...

...when I first met you. See,

I thought I was buying his life.

From me?

- Yes.

You never mentioned him.

- I know.

So you betrayed me even then.

Yes, and him too.

I was half mad that winter trying to

get him over here. I didn't know anybody.

I didn't have money, you were rich

with all the influence in the world.

He knows nothing about this?

- Nothing.

I see.

It's all very lofty, all very noble...

...and all very unscrupulous.

- No.

No? Why are you lying to him?

Because he's not well enough to

know. He's suffered enough already.

oh, when you looked at him so

contemptuously last night, Hollenius...

...I realized how much he'd changed.

If you'd only known him

when I first met him.

He was young and strong

and gay and so full of hope.

He was the most promising

young cellist in Europe...

...and we were so happy

and so much in love.

Then the war came and

we were swept apart...

...and I came back here and I

did everything to get him over.

I went from office to office, I even

wrote letters to people I didn't know.

And always a blank wall.

A blank wall.

[SNIFFLING]

And he was on the other side of it, lost.

And after a while, I was afraid he was dead.

[TEARFULLY] He's been through horrors.

And now that he's back, do you think I'll

let anything in the world hurt him? No.

He's something of a genius you tell me?

If the term can be applied to a performer.

For the malady of a genius, whatever it is,

there's only one cure and that's success.

Which is to be found here only in New York.

I know.

But I'd rather he'd miss that than...

- Than have me make trouble?

Frankly, have you found

me to be a little man?

Great men can be very petty and very cruel.

And very vain.

The last is more like my weakness.

Can you believe I wanna

lose you altogether?

Come on, my dear, you better go.

Does he know about this visit?

Well, when you telephoned me last

night, I told him it was a girl I knew...

...a date I couldn't get out of.

My dear...

...I sincerely pity you.

[DOOR CLOSES]

HOLLENIUS:
Jimmy.

All right, Jimmy, you can come in.

I want you to take this to Mr.

Carter at the record library...

...and bring back any records he

may give you as quickly as you can.

Mm.

[MUSIC PLAYING OVER

RECORD PLAYER]...

Well, what is it?

- There is someone here, sir.

A Mr. Novak.

- A who?

Mr. Novak.

oh, Mr. Novak. Huh.

Don't you know who Mr. Novak

is? Schatzi's husband, no less...

...and Schatzi is Miss Christine. Heh.

Married yesterday, suddenly. Hmm.

[MEOWS]

Show him in.

Schatzi.

Mr. Novak, sir.

HOLLENIUS:
Good morning.

- Good morning.

I was passing and I thought I'd

drop in to ask about your hand.

oh, that's a fuss about

nothing, but thank you.

Is Christine here?

No, did she tell you she was coming?

Did you telephone her last night?

No.

No?

- You know, I behaved very badly...

...at your party. I'm glad you called.

I'm glad to have an

opportunity to apologize.

I'm not worrying about

what happened at the party.

But I am.

very much indeed.

You know, I arrived after perhaps the most

unpleasant journey I've ever undertaken.

Firmly convinced all the

way that Christine's...

...committing some catastrophic folly.

She hadn't told me who you were

or that she had known you before.

And to be perfectly frank, I was

so overwrought when I got there...

...that neither your name nor your

personality was sufficiently impressive...

...to arrest the pent-up feelings

that had accumulated on the way.

[CAT PURRS]

I should be grieved.

Deeply grieved.

If my bad behavior could have

possibly have given rise to any...

How shall I put it delicately,

any misunderstanding?

oh, no.

It was that, wasn't it?

Well, it...

...sounded as if...

...on the telephone last night when she...

I have had a very charming

companion this morning.

But masculine, my dear fellow, masculine.

[CELLO MUSIC PLAYING

OVER RECORD PLAYER]

How on Earth did you get hold of that?

I did it how long?

Seven years ago for a

little company in Europe.

Half a dozen of us subsidized a

library, just for the good things...

...that don't get on to the

popular market. We don't miss much.

Schubert.

- What melody.

Your cello seems to appreciate it.

I certainly was light of heart in those days.

Now?

Well, one... one develops.

of course, l...

- Had a bad time, huh?

Why?

Wouldn't play for them.

[MUSIC STo\OPS]

Anyway, you kept your fingers.

Well, if that's how you play, I'd like

you to listen to something I have here.

After which, perhaps, we

can have a little chat.

[PIANO PLAYING]...

...[CELLO PLAYING]

How on Earth?

Fortunate woman.

The wife of a successful artist.

- oh, Karel. Karel, you're mad.

His own manuscript.

Who gave it to you?

- He did.

Hollenius?

- Who else?

But why? What for?

- To play, naturally.

on the 21 st of next month

and he's to conduct it himself.

Guest conductor, just for his own piece.

- What?

Karel, tell me quickly

exactly what happened.

I went to see him. He gave it to me.

- But why?

oh, it's just possible, you know,

he may have liked my approach.

oh, it seems so strange.

After last night, I mean.

Well, it bears out what you said about

him last night, about his princely gifts.

or don't you think so?

oh, of course.

Tell me, did he talk about

anything else but music?

oh, everything is music to him.

We talked about life and love and you.

About me? What did he

have to say about me?

Something very interesting.

He said if you had courage, you'd

be a very great person indeed.

only that?

Nothing else as profound as that.

Where is the excitement

about this great news?

I hear no cries of joy. Aren't you pleased?

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