Tulip Fever Page #6

- What?

- Dr. Sorgh?

- Not now. (humming)

- Please, I need to speak to you.

- No. No.

- Dr. Sorgh!

- Dr. Sorgh!

- No.

- Dr. Sorgh.

- Sorgh.

- Dr. Sorgh!

(whispers):

- Not now, please.

- I insist on speaking to you.

- If it should come to a choice, let the baby go, I beg of you. In God's name, spare my wife.

- Isn't that up to God?

(Maria moaning)

(yelling)

- Keep bearing down.

- Oh, that's it. Oh, well done.

(Maria grunting)

(grunting quiets)

(baby crying)

(exhales)

- Oh... Is that my baby?

- Thank you.

- Come on, child.

- At that price...

- But they were fetching over a thousand last week.

- Last week?

- Precisely.

- The market has changed.

- I'm not interested,

- I'm not buying.

- I don't care.

- DAAN:
Please, are you really not going to bid for this?

(thunder crashing)

(overlapping shouting)

- Please, it's not that high.

- 300, come on.

- 300? No. I'm sorry, Mr. Daan.

- (thunder rumbles)

- One week ago...

- Sorry, Mr. Daan, no.

- Is she all right?

- A healthy baby, sir, congratulations, a daughter.

- But Sophia?

- Your attention! I have the most celebrated new bloom for many a season! The Admiral Maria. Safely wrapped in straw and stored for the man that buys it today.

- Why are you selling it now?

- Yeah, what is it you know?

- What have you heard?

- I'm leaving Amsterdam. I sail for the East Indies on tomorrow's tide.

- Well. There it is. A unique opportunity to this room. Admiral Maria. Who will bid?

(thunder crashes)

(thunder rumbles)

(baby fusses quietly)

- SORGH:
It was the contagion. The foul waters of our city. You must not touch her.

(whispering)

- She's with God.

(thunder rumbles)

- What sort of God is that? Why did he have to take her? I told you. Damn you! Damn you, I told you. I begged you to spare her!

(baby crying)

- SORGH:
It was plague!

- Sir. By the law of the city, the room must be fumigated, the bedding burned, the body taken...

- Let me kiss her. Let me... let me kiss her!

- The room must be fumigated, the bedding burned,

- Let me kiss her!

- And the body taken directly to a place of burial without funeral.

- CORNELIS:
I need to kiss her!

(thunder rumbling)

(hushed murmuring)

- Four hundred.

- Thank you, madam. 400.

- Any advance from 400?

- Five hundred.

- DAAN:
Five. Five at the front. Five hundred.

- 600 here.

- Six here.

- 700 here.

- Seven.

- MAN:
Here, sir.

- 900! 900!

(overlapping shouting)

(thunder rumbling)

(breathes sharply)

(hammering continues)

(footsteps)

(bell tolling)

(door creaks open)

(door closes)

(bell continues tolling)

(breathing rapidly)

(short, rapid breaths)

- Maria.

(baby fussing)

- Yes, you, too. We must call a wet nurse.

- The wet nurse already came. She sucked well. It's God's will that your wife was taken. But it's also His will that He has given you a daughter. A beautiful, healthy daughter. For that we must be thankful. I will care for her as if she were my own child.

- There, there. We will call you Sophia. She has my nose, don't you think?

- I'm afraid there's a small extra charge for the pallbearers. I had to buy their silence, you understand.

- Of course. Do you see this? Do you know how much Mr. De Bye is paying for this? 8,000 guilders. Enough for two houses on the Herengracht. Come back later, you'll have everything I owe you, I promise.

- Hmm, no disrespect, sir, but I'll wait here. Do you have any libation?

- I've come to collect money for your tickets.

- Tickets?

- Two passages to the Indies on the Empress of the East. And I'm not leaving until I've got money in my hands. That's me orders, sir.

- You leaving the country?

- And he's not coming back!

- Do you have the cash?

- I do. Do you have the bulb? I'm not accepting the certificate only.

- Well, I shall fetch it this instant.

- No, you don't. The last time, you left me waiting a whole month.

- What, you think I'm going to slip my leash?

- ALL:
Yes.

- Can one of you explain to me how I'm to bring the Admiral Maria to Mr. De Bye and pay you all off if I am kept prisoner in my own house?

- Send your friend.

- Are you sober?

- I can't remember what a drink tastes like.

- Right. Take this. Bring it to St. Ursula's. They'll have a package for you. And, Gerrit, listen to me. Stay off the drink. Go.

(horses neighing)

(indistinct chatter)

- MAN:
Gerrit, you old tosspot! Come and have a jar!

(laughs)

Mm-mm.

- Oi, Gerrit, where you going?

(woman shouts indistinctly)

- Sophia.

(Sophia gasps)

- You're in our house. You're free. Easy.

- I've done a terrible thing.

- SOPHIA (whispering): What have I done?

- Thank you, master.

- What is it?

- A gift from our garden. An onion.

- Oh.

- Very nice. Nice to see it by daylight. Remember your Bible. There were two thieves.

- Thank you. Sorry. So sorry.

- Only one was saved.

(Sorgh humming)

(whispering)

- Is he coming?

- Gerrit. Oh, thank God!

- I've come for my money.

(chuckles)

- Have a seat.

(others groan)

- I have to go back. I- I have to go.

- No, you have to stay here.

(raucous chatter)

MAN:
Move! Move!

(donkey braying)

- GERRIT:
Don't hurt the animal! That's not nice!

(crowd cheering)

- You can't go.

- Sophia, if you go...

- Please.

- You'll bring us all down with you.

- Gerrit... Gerrit the hero!

- CROWD (chanting): Gerrit the hero! Gerrit the hero! Gerrit the hero! Gerrit the hero! Gerrit the hero! Gerrit the hero...

- Tell Jan I'm sorry.

(bell tolling)

- Tell him the fever broke.

(bell tolling)

(shouting, laughter)

CROWD (chanting): Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink!

(cheering)

MARIA:
So Sophia realized there was no going back, and no way forward. She saw too late it was a trap she had laid for herself, and she had been better dead.

(man shouts indistinctly)

- You can do it.

(shouting, laughter)

- MAN:
Come on, lads!

(overlapping chatter)

(bell clangs)

- Coming.

(baby fussing)

(clangs)

(sighs)

- Willem.

- Maria.

- Where have you been?

- Africa.

- Africa. Africa! You've been to Africa?!

- Listen, I've only come here to hear the truth, Maria.

- MARIA:
You've been to Africa?!

- WILLEM:
Tell me the truth.

- What the, tell you the truth? What are you talking about?

- I saw you and that bastard painter!

- What? What-what?

- Betraying me, Maria!

- I didn't think you had that in you! Me and the painter?

- I saw you, yes.

- That was my mistress and the painter. Willem.

(baby crying)

- Willem. That was Missus Sandvoort and the painter.

- MARIA:
Shh.

(baby crying)

(baby continues crying)

- Shh. Shh. She's yours.

(sighs)

- She's ours.

(baby fussing)

GERRIT:
I've been fighting gypsies! I've been saving donkeys! I've been fighting Bacchus.

- Where in God's name have you been?

- I've been fighting gypsies. I've been fighting Bacchus. I fought 'em. And I won.

(exhales sharply)

(exhales Sharply)

(grunts)

- Where's the package? Gerrit. The package. From St. Ursula's.

- The onion? I ate it.

(others sighing, groaning)

- I don't believe it.

- I ate it.

- Stupid oaf.

- What?

- Yeah.

- BAKER:
You've done what?

- I don't believe it.

- BUTCHER:
You bloody fool.

- GERRIT:
What?

- He's ruined us all.

- Bloody fool.

- Everything I had.

- CLERK:
My boss ain't gonna be happy about this.

- BUTCHER:
We're all done for.

- BAKER:
You're finished.

- GERRIT:
What?

- BAKER:
We'll be back.

- JAN:
What have you done?

- Oh, dear.

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