Rebecca Page #9

her dirty bargain, but I did.

I was younger then and tremendously

conscious of the family honor.

Family honor.

She knew that

I'd sacrifice everything...

rather than stand up

in a divorce court...

and give her away, admit that

our marriage was a rotten fraud.

You despise me, don't you?

As I despise myself.

You can't understand what

my feelings were, can you?

Of course I can, darling.

Of course I can.

Well, I kept the bargain.

And so did she, apparently.

Oh, she played the game brilliantly.

But after a while,

she began to grow careless.

She took a flat in London,

and she'd stay away for days at a time.

Then she started to bring

her friends down here.

I warned her,

but she shrugged her shoulders.

"What's it got to do with you?"

She said.

She even started on Frank.

Poor, faithful Frank.

Then there was a cousin of hers,

a man named Favell.

Yes, I know him.

He came the day you went to London.

Why didn't you tell me?

I didn't like to. I thought

it would remind you of Rebecca.

Remind me!

As if I needed reminding.

Favell used to visit her

here in this cottage.

I found out about it,

and I warned her...

that if he came here again,

I'd shoot them both.

One night when I found that

she'd come back quietly from London,

I thought that Favell

was with her,

and I knew then I couldn't stand this

life of filth and deceit any longer.

I decided to come down here and

have it out with both of them.

But she was alone.

She was expecting Favell,

but he hadn't come.

She was lying on the divan,

a large tray of cigarette

stubs beside her.

She looked ill, queer.

Suddenly she got up,

started to walk toward me.

"When I have a child,

she said,

"neither you nor anyone else

could ever prove it wasn't yours.

You'd like to have an heir, wouldn't

you, Max, for your precious Manderley?"

Then she started to laugh.

"How funny.

How supremely, wonderfully funny.

"I'd be the perfect mother,

just as I've been the perfect wife.

"No one will ever know.

"It ought to give you

the thrill of your life, Max,

"to watch my son grow bigger

day by day...

and to know that when you die,

Manderley will be his. "

She was face to face with me,

one hand in her pocket,

the other holding a cigarette.

She was smiling.

"Well, Max,

what are you going to do about it?

Aren't you going to kill me?"

I suppose I went mad for a moment.

I must have struck her.

She stood staring at me.

She looked almost triumphant.

Then she started

toward me again, smiling.

Suddenly she stumbled and fell.

When I looked down... ages afterwards,

it seemed... she was lying on the floor.

She'd struck her head on a heavy

piece of ship's tackle.

I remember wondering

why she was still smiling...

then I realized she was dead.

But you didn't kill her!

It was an accident!

Who would believe me?

I lost my head.

I just knew I had to do something,

anything.

I carried her out to the boat.

It was very dark.

There was no moon.

I put her in the cabin.

When the boat seemed a safe distance

from the shore, I took a spike...

and drove it again and again

through the planking of the hull.

I had opened up the seacocks,

and the water began to come in fast.

I climbed over into the dinghy

and pulled away.

I saw the boat heel over... and sink.

I pulled back into the cove.

It started raining.

Maxim, does anyone else know this?

No, no one, except you and me.

We must explain it.

It's got to be the body

of someone you've never seen before.

No, they're bound to know her.

Her rings, bracelets she always wore.

They'll identify her body,

then they'll remember the other woman,

the other woman

buried in the crypt.

If they find out it was Rebecca,

you must simply say that you made

a mistake about the other body...

that the day you went

to Edgecombe, you were ill,

you didn't know what you were doing.

Rebecca's dead.

That's what we've got to remember.

Rebecca's dead.

She can't speak.

She can't bear witness.

She can't harm you anymore.

We're the only two people in the worid

that know, Maxim... you and I.

I told you once that I'd done

a very selfish thing in marrying you.

You can understand now

what I meant.

I've loved you, my darling.

I shall always love you.

But I've known all along that

Rebecca would win in the end.

No, no, she hasn't won.

No matter what happens now,

she hasn't won.

Hello? Hel...

Hello, Frank.

Hello, Frank. Yes.

Who? ColonelJulyan?

Yes, tell him I'll meet him

there as soon as I possibly can.

What? Oh.

Well, say we could talk about that

when we're sure about the matter.

What's happened?

ColonelJulyan called.

He's the chief constable of the county.

He's been asked by the police

to go to the mortuary.

He wants to know if I could

possibly have made a mistake...

about that other body.

Well, ColonelJulyan, apparently I did

make a mistake about that other body.

The mistake was quite natural

under the circumstances.

- Besides, you weren't well at the time.

- I was perfectly well.

Well, don't let it worry you, Maxim.

Nobody can blame you

for making a mistake.

The pity is, you've got to go through

the same thing all over again.

- What do you mean?

- Oh, there'll have to be

another inquest, of course.

- The same formality and red tape.

- Oh.

I wish you could be spared

the publicity of it,

but I'm afraid that's impossible.

Oh, yes, the publicity.

I suppose Mrs. De Winter

went below for something...

and a squall hit the boat

with nobody at the helm.

I imagine that's about the solution

of it, don't you think so, Crawley?

Oh, yes. Probably the door jammed

and she couldn't get on deck again.

Yes. Tabb, the boatbuilder,

will undoubtedly come

to some such conclusion.

Why? What would he know about it?

Well, he's examining the boat now.

Purely as a matter of routine,

you know.

I'll be at the inquest tomorrow, Maxim...

quite unofficially, you know.

We must get together for a game of golf

when it's all over, eh?

- Yes.

- Bye-bye.

I have the evening papers, madam.

- Would you care to see them?

- Oh, no thank you, Frith,

and I'd prefer that Mr. De Winter

weren't troubled with them either.

I understand, madam. Permit me to say

that we're all most distressed outside.

- Oh, thank you, Frith.

- I'm afraid the news has been

a shock to Mrs. Danvers.

Yes, I rather expected it would be.

It seems there's to be

a coroner's inquest, madam?

Yes, Frith.

It's purely a formality.

Of course, madam.

I, I wanted to say...

that if any of us might be

required to give evidence,

I should be only too pleased to do

anything that might help the family.

Oh, thank you, Frith. I'm sure Mr.

De Winter will be very happy to hear it.

But I don't think

anything will be necessary.

Maxim!

Hello, darling.

Oh, Maxim, I'm, I'm worried about

what you'll do at the inquest tomorrow.

What do you mean?

You won't lose your temper, will you?

Promise me that they

won't make you angry.

All right, darling, I promise.

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