Madame X Page #4

at rehearsal,

I didn't believe it,

but it's true?

Dr. Valdimar

pronounced me cured.

Dr. Valdimar is a quack.

Pay no attention to him.

Come on, unpack.

He says

I'm as good as new.

Did you ever hear

such nonsense?

You've barely begun

to convalesce.

Unpack, I say, unpack!

I'm well, Christian.

It's time I left.

More than time.

You know that

as well as I.

No, I don't.

Why do you say

these things

on rehearsal day?

I'm not

supposed to be upset.

It makes my hands shake.

You want to make

my hands shake?

How will I

ever find the words

to thank you?

Stop saying goodbye!

I won't let you

go from me.

But I have to.

Help me.

Please, help me.

Help you leave me?

Never.

If you go,

I'll throw myself

into the canal!

Live with that

on your conscience.

Please be serious.

All right, I will.

I've longed for you.

I've searched for you.

I've dreamed of you.

Don't, Christian,

don't!

You've asked me to be serious.

I honor that request.

I welcome it!

You don't know

where I came from

or why I wanted to die.

You never

once asked.

I never will.

My concert tour starts

next Monday. Come with me.

Please, come with me!

I couldn't bring you happiness

as much as I would want to,

as much

as I owe you.

You owe me nothing.

Kaereste,

don't go from me.

Do you think

I want to?

Christian.

I'm known as Christian

the Determined.

You shall not leave me.

In an hour

I must be onstage.

Will I be tied by then?

I'm not sure.

If a man has trouble

tying it frontwards,

how can a woman

be expected to tie

it backwards?

Don't move your neck!

I adore you!

A likely story.

I'm mad

about you!

Talk, just talk!

Anything in the world

I'd do for you!

Will you tie

your own tie?

Put on that basis,

I can hardly refuse.

How did the concert

go tonight?

I didn't listen.

I was thinking of you.

Kaereste, I made myself a vow

never to question you.

There is something

I must ask.

I'll tell you anything I can.

Whom do I ask for the honor

of your hand in marriage?

Kaereste, what is it?

Christian, forgive me.

I couldn't face the emptiness.

I was so terribly alone,

but I never meant to hurt you.

Darling, I don't ask

that you love me.

I ask to love you

and care for you.

All these weeks

I've been trying to believe

what I wanted to believe.

That I could live

with you as though none

of the past had happened.

I don't give a damn

about the past! The world

begins with you and me!

Nothing begins

with you and me.

I can't marry you, Christian.

I can't marry anyone.

All right,

you've turned me

down tonight.

We'll drink to tomorrow.

Didn't I tell you?

I'm known as

Christian the Determined.

Kaereste?

Shall I order breakfast?

Kaereste?

HOLLY:
Christian, my beloved,

you are a man

of warmth and kindness,

with a great capacity

for love. I wish for you

all the good things

you could never find with me,

the wife with the heart

of a gypsy, the son

to carry on your name.

Look to the living for love.

I am not alive.

I only exist.

Goodbye, Christian.

Thank you for the memories

I take with me.

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

(PEOPLE SINGING)

Be it ever so humble

There's no place like home

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

Trouble?

You wouldn't happen

to have a couple

of aspirin, would you?

Ma'am, I always

keep my aspirin

close to my hangover.

Thanks, friend.

Look, maybe you

do not understand me.

I'm a poor man.

I have many expenses.

I have a big family

to support.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

Appreciate it very much.

What's the date,

Don Quixote?

The date is December 24th,

and this bill

is two months old!

Look,

I'll be in funds January 1st,

and the bill will

be paid in full.

Okay, January 1st,

but if I do not get

my money January 1st,

I go to the police.

You can go any place

you want with my

compliments. Merry Christmas!

What you need

is a hair of the dog.

Come on, I've got a bottle.

Friend, you are a friend.

Deck the halls

with boughs of holly

Fa la la la la, la la la la

'Tis the season to be jolly

Let's get a Christmas tree.

(SIGHS)

I had a beautiful tree once.

Do you know the difference

between a Swiss angel

and a German angel?

I'm afraid

my acquaintanceship

with angels is very limited.

This is one hell of a place

to spend Christmas.

Most places are.

This is the worst.

This is the cesspool

of the world.

Say, that's a real bon mot.

You're Suzy Somebody,

ain't you?

You bet your brass

I'm Suzy Somebody.

I've come a long way down.

From princess

or duchess, maybe?

I lived in a house

as big as Buckingham Palace.

It's been in my

husband's family for years.

Where was this wigwam?

Fairfield County, Connecticut.

(EXCLAIMS)

You worked Fairfield County,

did you?

Worked nothing.

I was lady of the house.

Sure you were.

I had the golden spoon

on a silver platter.

A butler to open the door,

a maid to draw the bath,

a chef, a chauffeur...

Thousand apologies,

there, Duchess. You know,

you're disguised so perfect,

I didn't realize

you were just

down here slumming.

"Would you prefer

the Rolls or the Mercedes

this morning, Mrs. Anderson?"

"Shall I lay out the sable

or the ermine?"

"Will you be using the yacht

this weekend, Mrs. Anderson?"

My baby.

My little boy.

My darling,

darling, darling...

Now, wait a minute.

Don't start on a crying jag.

Sorry.

You had a kid, did you?

Legitimate?

Not a kid, a prince.

A squab to be

raised under glass.

I wonder if the old lady

ever made him to her liking.

(SIGHS)

How do you get 100% Anderson

out of 50% Parker?

Were you the 50% Parker?

What's it to you?

Just friendly curiosity.

I, my friend, am very drunk.

With any luck at all,

very soon,

I'm gonna be a lot drunker.

Now then, girl.

Take this over

to the Western Union

office right away,

and I'll give you

a half a peso.

Not so fast, seor.

You'll be paid, after you

bring me back the receipt.

Half a peso on delivery

of the receipt. You have

said it yourself, seor.

Morning, Duchess.

It isn't morning,

it's afternoon.

And it wouldn't

be a good morning

if it were morning.

So the less said

about it, the better.

How about some ham and eggs?

Are you deliberately

trying to be offensive?

No, of course not, Duchess.

I hope I didn't

talk your ear off last night.

I wouldn't know,

I was stoned myself.

Well, with a few drinks

I get a lot of fancy ideas.

I wouldn't want you

to take them seriously

and be disappointed.

Duchess, all my life I've been

reaching for the brass ring,

hoping it's gold,

and I do mean gold.

Well, no matter what

I say when I'm drinking,

this is all I am.

It's not much,

as you can damn well see.

It happens I like what I see.

What the hell

are you doing here?

Just a social visit.

These are not visiting hours.

All right. In that case,

I'm going to leave

my present and go.

Merry Christmas.

Deck the halls

with boughs of holly

Absinthe.

That's what you

really go for, isn't it?

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