Ripped By mstoll
(Water dripping slowly)
(Footsteps and keys rattling)
(Birdsong)
MADELEINE: Ten.
Nine.
(Children giggle)
Quick! In here!
- Eight. - Hurry up!
- Seven. - Hurry up or we'll be seen!
- Six. PERCY: I'm hiding.
(Chuckles) Percy, that is not a hiding place!
Come! Jaldi!
- Ssh! - Five.
RALPH: What did you tell the police?
DOUGIE: The truth.
That Leena worked at the Mission School for a time.
- And Adam in service here? - Yes.
And Mrs Raworth? When is the baby due?
Any day now.
Hm...
So here's what I propose.
Tomorrow morning, at first light,
you will take Adam down to Delhi.
I'll have a car collect you from the plague post.
You must stay at my rooms on Connaught Circle.
Bhupi, you will accompany Mr Raworth.
And you will look after him as you would myself.
As you wish, sahib.
Why is it that every time you make me an offer I can't refuse,
I feel sick to my stomach?
Good day, Mr Whelan.
Now, you listen to me. If you care a jot about that woman,
tell her that man Hawthorne will be savage
in the defence of his good name.
And once he's done destroying her,
Adam will be next, I can promise you.
The minute that boy goes into custody,
his life will be over and we can do nothing...
Wait.
Sir.
Forgive me for crashing in.
Rowntree. What a pleasant surprise.
Just after a private word.
- Yes? - Yes.
With regards to a member of your household.
Oh, the house-boy!
Madeleine, where is the house-boy?
Your sister took him off to the tailor's.
I told you, honey. For a new coat.
I wonder if you'd walk him over so we can ask a few questions.
Happy to.
Thank you, sir.
Uncle!
Will you help him now?
(Groans)
(Cynthia sings cheerfully)
Did they find him yet?
- Did they find who, dear? - The boy!
The boy. He's the one who did this to me, not the woman.
They find him, and people will see this as an attack
on a government official.
I'm sure everyone's doing all they can.
It's not enough!
Oh, what do you say, Kaiser? Shall we bring in the Army?
It's not a bad idea.
For Christ's sake, get a move on, man!
Go on. Slap it on.
That's it. Nice and thick.
(Hawthorne groans in pain)
- That's right. - (Groaning)
May I ask, what do you put in the skin medicine?
Oh, just a drop of vinegar, that's all.
Well, maybe it was more of a glug.
Well, it was good enough for our Lord on the cross.
Who knows? It may bring His Lordship nearer the light.
Hm... Oh, would you look at the state of my lawn!
You'll like Delhi.
We'll miss you.
Bags all packed for tomorrow?
Yes, sahib.
Don't do that.
Will Leena-auntie come and visit?
She'll certainly give it a try.
Where is she?
She's quite safe.
We're your family now.
Hazzah! Get off my ship!
Hazzah!
And this old thing...
belonged to my father.
Your grandfather.
Here.
- (Chuckles) - Was his head very big?
Yes. Yes, it was.
He drank a bit too much.
Which made it a bit sore.
My sister and I used to run and hide.
Still...
I want you to take this... as a keepsake.
Oh, of course.
Who is this?
Can't you guess?
That's my mother.
She always was a giggler.
Can you guess who that is?
- You, sahib? - Yes, me, sahib.
I'd forgotten we had this.
- Who tore it? - And where's the rest of it?
That's the mystery.
Hm...
How do I look?
(Snorts)
Like a crazy woman.
- Tell me something. - What?
What did you ever see in him?
My husband?
You know, I think he was the first man
to ever pay me a compliment.
No, not even that.
I had no-one, growing up.
No-one but a great-aunt and an absent brother.
(Dog barks in distance)
Nobody ever told me it was all right to say no.
(Violent rumbling)
- Get me out of here! - (Clattering)
(Bell ringing)
(Rumbling and rattling)
(Baby cries)
- Alice? Has anyone seen Alice? - Mummy!
Alice? Everybody all right?
- Alice? - Ssh!
Alice?
It's all right. It's all right. Here I am.
Where have you been?
Out. I went out. I couldn't sleep.
There was a dog barking. Didn't you hear it?
Yes. I heard it.
Oh, God. Yes, me too.
Chasing monkeys half way up the mountain. Usual story.
Look at the state of you. What happened?
It's just a tremor. Happens all the time.
Don't make a fuss. Mummy's perfectly fine.
RALPH: Outside. Bhupi, lead on. - Memsahib, follow me.
- What? - Good for you.
(Clanking of pans)
(Door opens)
Where is everyone?
Everyone well?
- Alive. - Here.
Ma wanted to send out a search party.
I said, "Don't bother."
- Listen. Kaira is at rest. - I don't want to hear it.
- The man who shot her is dead. - How do you know?
He was killed by an Army rifle. In Karachi.
Aafrin!
Where have you been? We've been so anxious.
- I was at the bazaar, helping. - Great help, I'm sure.
- Are you all right? - Look at his eyes, Daddy.
He's half asleep.
Ah. Thank you.
(Birdsong)
You know, the past two years...
...were very testing for your mother.
She had nothing to fear.
Yes, I know, but...
...she was convinced that you would never return.
Or if you did...
...you would be as I was after the war,
somehow... broken.
Some stranger, not yourself.
- But I'm quite well. - No, no, not well.
The heart is gone.
Well, not quite gone. Surrendered. Given up.
Did I give you too much freedom?
Baapi...
How did I not show you...
that happiness can be simple...
...easily won...
...nobody has to be hurt?
Who is hurt here? I am not hurt.
No, Aafrin. Too much!
Not just another man's wife, but...
What?
No, that... that's all.
No. Please, be honest.
You mean because she is English?
Aafrin...
We are Parsi, friendly to East and West.
But still we have our own traditions.
Tradition?
No. No, it is more than that.
Say it, baapi.
Well, it's not the thing to do. That's all.
How can you of all people say that,
when it was you, my father, who raised me to believe
- the British are our best hope? - Look, I'm not...
"One shelf". Do you remember?
"One shelf of a British library
is worth all that we can think or do."
And so it is. We may not wish it, but I stand by that.
You said they were our best friends.
- So they are. - Why may I not love my friend?
You're twisting my words!
Forgive me, but whatever you say, in your heart,
you know that is a lie.
We are not these people's friends.
In the end, we are what?
We are their subjects. Their subjects.
And never the twain shall meet!
Can this be my boy?
Can my own boy speak with so much spite?
Forgive me, Father.
But I will not give her up.
Not for you. Not for anything in the world.
I'm sorry.
(Commotion)
- Please stay back! Be calm! - I have to get to Delhi.
- Be calm! Stay back! - You're not hearing me.
We have to go on! Right now!
- The road is not to be passed! - Why ever not?
- We have to get to Delhi! - Landslides!
RONNIE: We're getting reports of a massive earthquake in Quetta.
- I felt the tremor. Did you? - Yes.
It must have been around three o'clock.
- And yet we are... - 500 miles from Quetta.
There are 80,000 people stuck in the mountains.
God help them.
Excuse me.
- The roads are all blocked. - So what's to be done?
If the boy is to be protected, let's get him somewhere safe.
(Hums)
There we are.
Mummy won't know you, will she?
(Resumes humming)
Morning, Muddle!
Yes, morning it is. Only just.
- I thought you'd be at work. - Ah...
Looks dandy. Don't you think?
Sumitra?
Could you take Percy away, please?
Come, baby.
- Thank you. - Come on, Master Percy.
- But I'm still hungry! - What shall we play?
How could you?
The lad felt like a change.
Hurt me. Not him.
Word of advice - take a bath.
You smell rather like my breakfast.
Would you mind awfully going upstairs for a minute?
In you go. In you go.
There we are.
Lie down.
No, face down.
Don't move. (Shouts) Don't move!
Don't move!
Eyes closed. Eyes closed!
(Exhales)
Just tell me why you're trying to make me do it?
The truth is... you do it yourself.
No. No, no, no. No!
No, I'm not having that.
You are the one who took our only child
and you ran off with him out here,
to this place, to these...
...wretched people.
We were perfectly happy.
You ruined it.
No.
You were happy.
I was drowning.
Now I'm not.
You can do whatever the hell you like.
(Exhales deeply)
(Mouths)
Wait!
(Lock clicks)
This door remains shut.
No-one in and no-one out.
Hand!
(Chickens clucking and chatter)
Miss Dalal? What are you doing here?
Oh, you think this sort of work beneath me?
Not at all. It's fine, charitable work.
There would be no need for charity
if the state took proper care of the downtrodden.
I think someone has been reading Mr McLeod's precious pamphlets!
Don't be ridiculous. I have a mind of my own.
That is painfully evident.
Of course, we are all too vulgar
for a gentleman of your standing.
Not at all. Far from it.
See? I can jolly well muck in with the best of them!
Yes. Mind your shoes.
So you just stay indoors, just for a couple of days,
till we know what we're doing.
- We came as quick as we could. - Yes, Ralph called ahead.
Let's get him inside, out of sight.
What are you gonna do with him?
I don't know.
Adam?
You be good.
Come on.
(Replies in Hindi)
She will not come here again.
They say she burned a British man.
And now, because of this...
...because of you...
she will go to prison for many years to come.
(Clattering)
(Speaks Hindi)
(Door clatters shut)
(Keys rattling)
Al? He wants her locked up, does he?
- No matter. - Sahib?
- What? - Mr Charlie said...
I don't care what he said!
Al!
Hello, brother.
(Telephone rings)
It's all right. I've got it.
(Ringing)
ROWNTREE: Hello, sir. - Rowntree.
I hope you don't mind my ringing you at home.
- No. Quite all right. - Look, sir, the fact is,
- we had a visitor. - Oh, yes? And who was that?
I'd be more comfortable talking in person,
if you have five minutes to spare.
Thank you for letting us know. - Thanks, sir.
DOUGIE: Why not just tell them the truth?
It was an accident. Adam didn't know what he was doing.
- The judge will see that! - I plead guilty.
There is nothing to be said. The boy cannot be harmed.
And what about you?
You'll go to prison for ten years!
You think I don't know that?
The truth of the matter is, I knew what that man wanted.
I knew and I was willing to let it happen.
- Rubbish. - Just once, I thought,
this one time, let my so-called pretty face
do me good, and then I can go to London
and live in a fine house, with a daughter and children,
- just as he promised. - No!
This is not you.
I'm sorry to disappoint - you more than anyone.
You silly man.
(Leena speaks Hindi)
Leena...
Look after Adam.
One day when we are gone,
he will be all that is left of us.
Yes, sir. A curious day.
First thing, bright and early,
I had a fresh confession, under oath,
volunteered to me by Miss Prasad.
A change of heart, or so I thought.
Do you mind if I, er...
Yes, I don't see why not.
Thank you.
The accused accepts sole blame for the attack and so on.
Her lawyer? Has he seen this?
No. Miss Prasad has dismissed the lawyer.
She intends to plead guilty.
Ah. And then?
- And then I received a visit. - From the house-boy?
Yes. And he... Well, he tells a very different story.
So I thought I'd telephone you straightaway, sir.
Thank you, Rowntree.
And the boy, has he made a formal statement
- about his part in all this? - Not yet, no.
Do you know, it's not our place to intervene.
You should act entirely as you see fit.
- Good of you to say so, sir. - Er...
May we look in on him, before we go?
Only, Madeleine has grown very fond of the little fellow.
Yes, I'm afraid I have.
Stop, will you? Stop that.
All right.
Now, why don't you tell me
clearly what you think happened?
The man hit Leena-auntie.
He hit her and he was ripping her dress.
Yes. And then?
I hit him back.
With the hurricane lamp?
- Yes, sahib. - Don't...
Don't... call me that.
And then... the lamp, it broke and...
...the man went on fire,
- and I pushed him. - And you hurt your hands.
Yes, sa...
Father.
All right.
Now, did Leena ask you to strike the man?
No.
Are you quite sure? Perhaps you can't remember.
I cannot bear it.
Bear what?
Always they are hitting her
and beating her and fighting with her.
Leena? Who was hurting Leena?
Not Leena. Amma.
Mummy.
We've had wire from the 1 st Queen's Regiment up in Quetta.
The earth's split in two.
Corpses lying in the hot sun.
Civil lines, railway, not a brick left standing
in the entire city.
Imagine... What if it happened right here, to us?
Only a few survivors. A hill town erased in one night.
There must be something more we can do to help them, surely?
- Alice? Alice! - Excuse me.
- What are you doing here? - Oh, I don't know, darling.
I suppose you could say I felt like it.
Did you bring your cheque book to make a donation?
Stop. Stop!
- Who let you out? - I did.
She was to be left in her room.
I gave strict instructions to that effect.
Are you drafting an official letter?
- She's a woman, not a deposit. - Alice... is unwell.
A doctor and a bank manager! We're lucky to have you!
- My wife. - My house.
For the time being, at any rate.
You do look cold.
(Murmuring)
Insatiable! Just...
(Chuckles)
Come on, darling. Let's get you home, hm?
Come on.
(Jazz playing and chatter)
CYNTHIA: No, no, no, no, no!
Ah, Mrs Coffin! May I say, you don't look a day older?
Look, McLeod, I don't know which part of my letter was unclear,
but your membership here has been revoked.
Yes, for the entire span of your colourful life.
So may I kindly suggest that you bugger off
back to your countless wives and unspeakable hygiene
before I call the police?
But I'm not here as a member of the Club.
I'm here for you.
(Scoffs) I find that very, very hard to imagine.
I'm donating, for the Earthquake Fund.
Those poor suffering folk. We're all bound to do what we can.
Personally speaking, I'd rather the earth swallowed me whole
than take anything from you.
But you're swallowing it whole even as we speak, Mrs Coffin.
That tea, in your hand...
Did nobody tell you? It's from my own crop.
Cheers. That one's on the house.
Aye, you're welcome.
Kaiser? I need you. Where's Ralph?
- Good news. HAWTHORNE: No such thing.
Tell him.
The accused has seen the error of her ways.
There'll be no defence. She pleads guilty.
The trial will be moved to the District Court in Lucknow.
- That will be the end of it. - Have they found the boy yet?
- They have. - Ah! Progress!
Well, let's jolly well get him in front of a judge.
Yes. Why not indeed?
The woman and I were in the room. Perfectly civil.
In comes the boy,
who launches a vicious, unprovoked attack.
- Those are my terms. - Your terms?
- That's not how things work. - No, it's perfectly sensible.
There you are.
As luck would have it, the boy's made a statement of his own.
Which is what?
- You sure you're up to this? - Just get on with it.
According to him, you attacked the woman.
- I did not. - No. Quite right. Not attacked.
You were forcing yourself against her.
- Up against. - Quite right.
Up against her.
I've spoken with the District Superintendent
and kindly asked him if he would hold fire for an hour or two,
because, well, in the end, it's entirely up to you...
It seems to me what we have here is a choice.
We prosecute the woman, alone.
No perceptible stain on your honour.
Or we prosecute the woman and the child together,
and there is this... snag of the statement.
He's a child. Can't he be made to retract?
No. No.
But... it occurred to me, if you were to change your statement,
say there was no child in the room,
the boy's own account no longer pertains,
and you could be on your way home before the day's out,
and we could all put this whole business behind us.
What would you say to that, sir?
What about justice?
Where's the justice? You want Miss Prasad
to plead guilty to something she didn't do,
me to lie here in hell - in hell -
and the boy walks free to carry on maiming whoever?
I'm thinking about the next poor bugger.
No, I'm not standing for it. He has to pay! You can see that?
I'm thinking of your good name and nothing else.
Reflect on it.
And, as I said before, it's entirely up to you in the end.
(Chatter and laughter)
SOONI: Mr Khan!
Are you judging the roses today?
(Laughs) Not at all.
The truth is, I have little sense of smell.
What nonsense.
Did you not try blowing your nose, Mr Khan?
- (Sooni chuckles) Very good! - Here. Give it a good blast.
Yes, I did try that, many times, but without success.
It's clean, I promise.
The fact is, I have confounded all doctors.
But I always hope, you see, something will enter in.
Yes.
And are you here for work?
Well, in part.
The Viceroy will be making an announcement of some kind.
What a scoop! I can see the earthquake in Quetta
will come a poor second to the word of His Excellency.
Not at all.
And with the King's Jubilee almost upon us,
you must be planning something special for the occasion.
There will be one or two photographic collectables.
(Ian scoffs)
- Here he comes now. SOONI: Duty calls.
- I should, yes. - Mr Khan.
When will you rise to the occasion?
(Bagpipes playing God Save The King)
(Applause)
Good day.
(Chatter)
CYNTHIA: Ohh... here he comes!
Old Rigor Mortis.
What an honour! (Giggles)
Sweetie?
Oddest thing.
Al's got herself a young man. Apart from the husband, I mean.
Whelan?
Your Excellency.
Go on. Off you go. Before he starts to stiffen up.
You knew?
What? About Alice's man? Yeah.
Who is he?
Well, he's... He's er... down there.
- Ronnie? - Oh, Jesus wept!
No! A shade to the right.
Lieutenant Roberts. First name, Roger.
Oh, he's got plenty to go around.
Legend has it he's better equipped than Kaiser's kitchen.
I should have told you, love. I'm sorry.
It's just that... I didn't want to upset you, that's all.
Anyway, I say jolly good for her.
Oh, yes. Oh, yes.
Good for her all right.
Off you go.
Your daddy would be very proud.
Early this morning,
an earthquake shattered the peace of our nation.
All we can say for certain at this point
is that countless lives are lost.
But thanks to the diligence of our Indian Army,
no effort will be spared.
But we must all play our part,
yes, even here in our summer capital...
(Speech in background)
Wakey-wakey.
...offer the hand of friendship.
Hear, hear! Bravo!
(Bagpipes playing)
What's that bloody noise?
It's time for your skin medicine.
- No Kaiser? - Oh, he's too busy.
So... Have you decided yet...
what to do?
No.
It's a heavy burden I carry.
Oh, is it?
I only wanted to help that young woman, you see.
No harm in that.
Better, Your Lordship?
Yes. Thank you.
Perhaps under the circumstances you might call me Edward.
I've been thinking...
...the mendacity of that child...
...and the necessity for justice,
the guilty shall go punished...
Not this time, Edward.
Oh. Why's that?
It's time you went home...
...where you will give Mr Whelan a glowing report.
(Scoffs)
What makes you think I'm going to do that?
You were seen.
By the boy?
By me.
Termites. That's the trouble.
Boring holes in the wood. We're being eaten alive.
But they do afford me a very, very good look at my guests.
No, stop. Stop it.
The truth is, Edward...
...you may fool other people...
...you may even fool yourself...
...but I see you.
I see that greedy little mouth of yours, Edward.
And how does it go?
How does it go, that greedy little mouth?
It goes gobble gobble.
It goes gobble gobble gobble
until we're all gobbled up.
But I think you've gobbled up
just about as much as you can chew here now, Edward.
- Don't you? - (He moans)
I told the police there was no boy.
- It was all the woman's doing. - Very good, sir.
Let me know how you get on back in London.
Progress will depend on how well you steer the Princes
round to this Bill.
I'll play my part.
I'd do a bit more than that if I were you.
Ride on.
(Lively chatter)
Thank you. After you, sir.
You'll be pleased to get home, I imagine.
Still, it was an eventful trip.
Your poor wife.
She'll be in for the most dreadful shock.
And your daughter, Anna, is it?
Still stuck for a governess. Assuming she ever needed one.
Fear not, Whelan. You can count on my full support.
Thank you, sir.
Perhaps it's true what people say.
Perhaps a touch more class wouldn't have gone amiss.
What do you say to that?
Stay out of the sun, old man.
(Birds calling)
ADAM: Auntie!
Adam!
(Naresh recites in Bengali)
Aafrin, you remember your old colleague.
I'm afraid I've been keeping your father up with my Bengali.
Not at all. It's always a pleasure to hear Gurudev
recited as he should be.
Please, if you will excuse me, I'll take my leave.
Until next time, sir.
Good evening.
- What? - I heard you were dead.
- Shot dead in Karachi. - (Laughs)
Not dead. Not quite, my friend.
Not until our time has come.
Time for what?
Time to light the fuse.
And when all the lords and ladies meet and greet
to toast the King,
we are going to blow them all to kingdom come!
Are you ready?
Funny. It's been eating away at me
where I'd seen the other bit of that picture.
Yeah...
What is my mother doing with that man?
With Reggie?
- What does it mean? - Oh, love...
Did you never think?
- He's... - Yes. Yeah.
He's your daddy.
All these years. Not one word.
Well, what good would it have done?
My own mother! How could she?
Reggie wasn't a bad man.
Despite what you might have heard.
But he...
Well, he did have a certain way about him.
Very persuasive, he was,
when he went after something.
And he went after her...
...your mummy.
I mean, he didn't mean any of it.
I'm sure of that. It was just fine sport for him.
But she...
Well, I'm afraid she... made herself quite unwell over him.
We all did, in our different ways.
But those two, oh, my God,
they were past caring, you see.
Much as I could do to keep things decent.
Shut up! Shut up!
Shut up.
I deserved that. (Laughs nervously)
Well, I've been living with this for so long,
- I'm just glad it's out. - Don't get up!
Just give it time, Ralph. It's bound to take a few days.
But I want to tell you something.
He would have been... so proud to see what you are.
You are... the very figure of a man.
You...
You're a proper gentleman.
And that meant the world to him.
(Exhales)
Ralphie...
Ripped By mstoll