Isle of the Dead Page #7

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Thea smiles, pleased at his request. Before she can reply,

Cathy breaks in.

CATHY:

(apologetically)

I adore hearing Thea sing --

but my poor head's beginning to

ache.

(exaggeratedly)

I'm so sorry.

OLIVER:

(courteously)

Of course. Tomorrow, perhaps,

before I go?

Thea nods and Oliver looks at her, seeing how very beautiful,

how very desirable she is. He smiles and a radiant answering

smile comes to her lips. Cathy, watching them, draws their

attention with a sigh. She leans back against the pillows

exhaustedly and a little shudder moves her shoulders. Thea,

instantly all concern, bends over her.

THEA:

You have a chill! You must have a

glass of wine.

She crosses quickly to the little table and picks up the

amphora. She brings it back with her, Oliver and Cathy are

talking. She has to wait, holding the cold pitcher until

Cathy turns and holds out her glass. Cathy waits for Oliver

to finish speaking before she passes the glass to Thea.

OLIVER:

You can imagine the General's

disappointment when he found his

wife's body gone.

He turns to Thea.

OLIVER:

Then we heard you singing --it was

so strange and eerie in a place

where we had thought there was only

the dead.

As Oliver finishes speaking, Cathy holds out her glass to

Thea, who begins to pour wine into it.

THEA:

I was thinking of death when I

sang.

CATHY-

(protesting)

Thea!

Thea finishes pouring the wine and puts down the amphora. The

chilled jug has made her hands cold. She rubs them together,

then blows on them. Cathy and Oliver watch her, both smiling.

Cathy shivers.

CATHY:

You're making me feel cold.

Thea is instantly concerned.

CATHY (CONT'D)

Perhaps my scarf --

Thea nods, smiles and willingly goes to get it.

FULL SHOT - Thea. The CAMERA PANS WITH her to the foot of the

stairs. Here she pauses and from a small marble bench takes

up a lychnos, sets it alight from another that is burning

there and with this lamp in her hand begins to ascend the

stairs.

MED. SHOT of the stairs. Tall and lovely, with almost

measured grace, Thea ascends the stairs to the second floor

landing, then comes up onto the landing and pauses, looking

down the corridor. She holds up her lamp.

LONG SHOT - CAMERA SET UP BEHIND Thea, so that it sees what

she sees before her. In the corridor there are three points

of illumination. One from the skylight; two from windows.

These three sources of light cut the blackness of the

corridor into almost equal sections; oblongs of blackness

alternating with rectangles of grey moonlight. Around Thea

there is a nimbus of weak and~ wavering light, the

illumination from her little lamp.

The whole corridor is very still, very oppressive. Thea draws

in her breath almost as if taking courage, and moves toward

the first patch of blackness. At its edge she hesitates and

steps forward, with a little rush of movement. For a moment

she is lost to view, then emerges in the first patch of

moonlight. She moves slowly across this. Then again, at the

very edge of the second section of darkness, she pauses.

There is a little sound in the darkness; some scuffling of

papers or blowing curtain. She stops stock still, begins to

lift her lamp. The lamp flame flickers, and then a sudden

soft draft makes the flame lean far from the wick, pulsate,

puff out. The loss of the light leaves Thea cleft between

darkness and moonlight. Again she takes a sharp intake of

breath, again moves on and is lost to view, only to emerge

again in the second section of light. She moves normally

across this patch toward the darkness of a door set into a

deep embrasure.

MED. CLOSE SHOT as Thea emerges from the darkness and turns

right, her hand already outstretched for the doorknob. A dark

figure obtrudes itself from the deeper blackness of the door

embrasure. A hand reaches out to seize her wrist. She gives a

half stifled scream of fear and looks up into the face of the

General as it emerges into the light.

GENERAL:

You blew out the light -- to

see better in the darkness.

Thea shakes her head, perplexed, still frightened. She looks

at the lamp in her hand. The General reaches out his hand to

point out the lamp. Their hands touch. He draws his hand back

quickly.

GENERAL:

And your hands are cold —-

cold as dead hands.

Thea is too terrified to speak.

GENERAL:

(with menacing softness)

You. You know me?

Thea shakes her head, too torrified to speak.

GENERAL:

Swear it. By your winding shroud,

do you swear it?

Thea shrinks away, still unable to utter a sound. The General

realizes that his questioning is futile. He releases her

wrist, but still holds her fast with his fixed, accusing

gaze.

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