The Four Feathers Page #6

ETHNE:

(Pulling away from him)

-- This afternoon you told me you left the army because of me. Or at least you made me believe it. Tell me the truth? Would you have resigned if we weren't engaged?

There's a long silence. These are the hardest words Harry's ever had to speak.

harry

Yes. I would have resigned. I wouldn't have gone to war for anything.

ETHNE stares at him a moment, then removes her engagement ring from her finger, and holds it out to him.

ETHNE:

I've no right to call you a coward, but you are a liar. Please take this back.

HARRY takes the ring without protest. ETHNE turns and walks away. As she leaves she sets the feathers on the table, and closes the door behind her.

HARRY listens to her footsteps fade. He walks towards the table. As he looks down he sees four feathers. Ethne has snapped the fourth from her fan.

Very carefully, as if they were the most precious objects in the world, HARRY gathers them, his eyes shining with tears.

EXT. LONDON DOCKS - NIGHT.

A burst of noise and colour. Rows of SOLDIERS march by, in perfect squares, proudly wearing their regimental colours. The wharf is lined with PEOPLE, cheering and waving flags, sending them off to inevitable victory.

INT. stable deck/ troop ship/ LONDON DOCKS - NIGHT.

We can still hear the roar of the crowd outside. CASTELTON is trying to coax his horse into its box. TRENCH, and WILLOUGHBY, and DURRANCE wait for him.

trench

...Come on Castelton. Give her a good kick. I want to wave to the ladies...

EXT. wharf/ LONDON DOCKS - NIGHT.

The CROWD below cheers as the soldiers crowd the rails.

EXT. rails/ troop ship/ LONDON DOCKS - NIGHT.

TRENCH waves at the crowd as if he were the Queen. CASTELTON is lost in the scale of it all. DURRANCE stares at the tiny figures, wondering if Harry's amongst them.

willoughby

(Interrupting his thoughts)

...Jack, I wanted to apologise for the other day. My argument wasn't with you.

DURRANCE:

It's forgotten.

DURRANCE keeps staring into the crowd below.

EXT. wharf/ LONDON DOCKS - NIGHT.

HARRY stares up at the ship, a ghost amongst the cheering faces. The SOLDIERS at the rails look like specks, but Harry knows his friends are somewhere up there.

EXT. officer's stand/ wharf/ LONDON DOCKS - NIGHT.

A line of RETIRED OFFICERS, salute as the vessel finally sets off. Amongst them is GENERAL FEVERSHAM, Harry's father. He stands at attention.

EXT. LONDON DOCKS - NIGHT.

The celebrations over, the CROWD moves away from the docks. HARRY searches through the throng for his father.

EXT. HANSOM CABS/ LONDON DOCKS - NIGHT.

GENERAL FEVERSHAM and COLONEL SUTCH wait in line for a hansom cab. The two old soldiers look frail in the falling rain. As they're about to climb onto a carriage, a voice calls out:

HARRY (o.s.)

Father...?

The General turns around. His eyes fill with emotion as his son approaches.

HARRY:

...I need to talk to you, Sir.

There's a long silence as GENERAL FEVERSHAM gazes at his son. HARRY looks as if he hasn't slept in days. His eyes are swollen and bloodshot, full of heartbreak and shame. For a moment it seems as if the old man will take him in his arms and comfort him, but instead he averts his eyes, and climbs into the carriage. COLONEL SUTCH looks at HARRY regrettably, as if to say there's nothing he can do.

EXT. LONDON STREETS - night.

NEWSBOYS follow HARRY home, trying to sell him their newspapers, refusing to take no for an answer.

NEWSBOY:

...It's a commemorative issue, Sir. War in the Sudan...

HARRY buys a paper just to be rid of him, only for another NEWSBOY to take his place.

SECOND nEWSBOY

Different paper Sir, London Times. commerative issue...

INT. HARRY'S APARTMENT - DAY.

The sound of guns echoes in the distance. HARRY looks up. His face is unshaven, his eyes glassy from lack of sleep. Another volley sounds outside. HARRY gets off the floor and walks over. As he does so we see the piles of newspapers that have gathered on his floor over the past few weeks.

The regimental guns boom outside. HARRY opens the window. He wants to hear them more clearly. He wants to be reminded of his shame.

He walks back to the day's newspapers and kneels down amongst the mess. We see headlines of massacres and slaughters, beneath them artist's impressions of the Mahdist atrocities.

EXT. LONDON STREETS - day.

The NEWSBOYS run from HARRY now, mistaking him for a tramp. He catches up with one of them, forcing some money on him.

NEWSBOY:

(Giving him a paper)

British defeat in the Sudan! Hundreds dead!...

HARRY flicks through the newspaper anxiously.

EXT. war office/ LONDON - day.

CROWDS have gathered outside the War Office. The mood has changed from celebration to panic. PEOPLE are stunned by the news of defeat, desperate to hear if their loved ones are alright. SOLDIERS hold back the surging mass. Only small groups are allowed in at a time.

INT. corridor/ war office BUILDING/ LONDON - day.

HARRY hurries down the corridor towards an area where the names of British casualties have been pinned to a notice board. PEOPLE swarm past him in the other direction. Some of them look relieved, others are overwhelmed by grief. HARRY hurries on, his heart pounding.

INT. CASUALTY LIST/ war office BUILDING/ LONDON - day.

HARRY pushes through the CROWD of peering heads. As he finally elbows his way to the front he glimpses the long list of casualties. His eyes look through the D's first. Durrance's name isn't there. No sign of Castelton under the C's. HARRY is jostled backwards as he searches for the other names. With a fierce effort he gets to the front again. No Trench under T, no Willoughby under W. They're all safe. HARRY's body slackens with relief.

EXT. harry's appartment block/ LONDON STREET - day.

HARRY looks drained as he reaches the front door of his building. As he opens it his LANDLADY walks out.

landlady

There's someone to see you Sir. They're waiting upstairs...

HARRY doesn't wait for her to finish.

INT. STAIRWAY/ harry's appartment block/ LONDON STREET - day.

HARRY bounds up the stairs, expecting to see Ethne. He stops suddenly as he sees COLONEL SUTCH instead, waiting outside his door. He hides his disappointment with an awkward smile.

hARRY

Colonel Sutch...

SUTCH can't help staring at HARRY, shocked by the state he's in.

INT. HARRY'S APARTMENT - DAY.

HARRY tries to make the room look more presentable, gathering up the newspapers and maps off the floor. He finally stops what he's doing and turns around.

harry

(Quietly)

How is he?

COLONEL SUTCH:

He's been very withdrawn. I've tried to persuade him to leave the house but he's a stubborn man.

harrY

Will he see me?

COLONEL SUTCH:

I don't think so...

(He pauses)

...but if it's money you need he won't cut you off. He hinted as much to me.

harry

I don't need money, Sir.

HARRY turns away. SUTCH looks torn. As a soldier he disapproves of what Harry's done, but as a family friend he can't help feeling sorry for the boy.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes