The Immortal Story Page #3

- Yes! A comedy. I'd forgotten the word.

There are three people in Mr. Clay's comedy.

The old gentleman, he will play himself

and the young sailor...

he will himself find by the harbor.

But if an English merchant captain has

told you this, Miss Virginie,

he will have told you that besides these

two there's also a beautiful, young lady.

On Mr. Clay's behalf, I am now looking

for this beautiful, young lady.

If she will come into this comedy

and finish it for him,

Mr. Clay will pay her 100 Guineas.

Old Clay has got some pretty

strange ideas of a comedy.

In a comedy, the actors pretend

to kill one another... or to die...

or to go to bed with their lovers.

They don't really do any of these things.

You're master's like

the Emperor Nero of Rome

who had people eaten up by lions.

- Yes?

- Yes. Just to amuse himself.

- But since then it hasn't been done.

- And was the Emperor Nero very rich?

Oh... he owned all the world.

- And were his comedies good?

- He liked them himself, I suppose.

But nowadays, who would

he get to play in them?

If he owned all the world, he would

get people to play in them.

What does he pay you?

30 pieces of silver?

I am in Mr. Clay's employ. I cannot

dare go anywhere but with him.

But you, Miss Virginie, you

can go wherever you like.

- Yes. I suppose so.

- Yes. You suppose so.

But you have been able to go

wherever you like all your life.

I was so angry with my life today

that I was planning to end it.

But now you are angry with me.

Miss Virginie,

Mr. Clay is prepared

to pay 100 Guineas

if on the night appointed by him,

you will come to his house.

- To his house?

- Yes. To his house.

Do you know what house that is?

It's my father's house.

I played in it when I was a little girl.

That house was the only

thing left me from the time

when I was rich and pretty and innocent.

The heroine of Mr. Clay's story

is rich, pretty, and innocent.

All of these years,

whenever I walked past it,

I've dreamt of how

I'd enter it once more.

You are to enter it again, Miss Virginie.

No.

I will not go

into this house, Mr. Levinsky.

You've been here before. It's

not very much of a place, is it?

No.

I shouldn't think you'd

be used to much better.

I live by the harbor near

the company quarters.

Mr. Clay's company!

It's true.

- You're an important man

- No! Miss Virginie.

You run the old man's office for him.

You have all of his affairs

in your own hands.

You live in a house on the Praia Grande?

- A room.

- A room.

I wonder what it's like.

Did you have a home

when you were a child?

- No.

- I thought so.

- You knew him, didn't you?

- No, Miss Virginie.

His name was Ducrot.

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