Love's Tragic Fall

Act 5 Scene 1

Act 5

Scene 1

Enter Anabella, Carson and Sir Nicholas in Anabella’s room. Anabella is passed out in her bed. It is twelve o’clock in the afternoon and she still hasn’t awoken. Carson and Sir Nicholas enter her room to wake her.

Carson: I am terribly worried about her, Nicholas. Doctor Morris gave her pills so she could sleep at night, but she hasn’t awoken for numerous hours.

Nicholas: Well, that is very odd.

Carson: Indeed it is. Can you try waking her?

Nicholas: Yes, I can try. [walk over to Anabella’s side] Anabella, wake up, my love. [tap her arm] Will you please wake up? [tap her arm again…pause…walk back over to Carson] I can’t wake her. [sigh] Now I am worried as well. Shall I go get the Doctor to see if he can wake her? If he was the one who gave her the pills, he should be able to identify what is wrong.

Carson: Yes, please. I have no other solution, but that as well.  

Nicholas: [nod] I shall be back soon.

Exit Nicholas.

Carson: Dear Anabella, please wake up my child. [walk over to the side of her bed] Anabella? [shake her arm] Why won’t you wake up? [cry a little] Have a really been such a horrible father lately? I am sorry for everything, my dear. Just please, don’t leave me. I lost your mother and I don’t want to lose you as well. You hear me; I don’t want to lose you. [lay head on her arm and weep]

Enter Nicholas and the Doctor.

Nicholas: [walk up to Carson’s side] Here, I brought the Doctor. 

Carson: [stop crying and stand back up] Thank heavens that you are here, Doctor. Anabella won’t wake up. Do you have something to help her wake up? You were the one who gave her those sleeping pills.

Doctor Morris: [walk to the other side of Anabella and look down at her] Do you know when she took the pills?

Carson: I think she took them last night before she went to bed.

Doctor Morris: Well, the pills are supposed to last for eight hours. [place hand on her neck] She is still breathing. [pull away]

Carson: But why won’t she wake then? You say the pills only last for eight hours, right?

Doctor Morris: Aye.

Carson: Then what is wrong with her? [yell] Why won’t she wake? It has been more than eight hours! You are the Doctor, do something!

Doctor Morris: Don’t you dare yell at me, Carson. If you want my help, you are going to have to be a lot nicer than that.

Carson: I will be a lot nicer once you figure out what is wrong with my daughter.

Doctor Morris: [growl] You know what, never mind, let’s just get this over with. [pull out a gun and aim it at Carson]

Carson: What are you doing?

Doctor Morris: I came here for Anabella, and I am not leaving without her.

Carson: What in the bloody hell does that mean?

Doctor Morris: I was the one who killed dear old Nina at your ball, why do you think I wasn’t there at the time of her body being by the staircase; Nicholas had to go fetch me. I was the one who poisoned May. She came to visit me one night and wanted help because she was so dearly depressed with Nina’s death. I gave her some medicine that had traces of poison in it and murdered her. I also murdered Mr. and Mrs. Lawson too. [grins] What part of this don’t you understand, Carson; all of it because you are a blimey idiot to think that young boy could have pulled off all those murders.

Carson: Why did you kill Mr. and Mrs. Lawson, they did nothing to you!

Doctor Morris: [chuckle] You see, killing them both was sort of an accident. Mr. Lawson just got on my nerves, and he was going to kill me anyways if I didn’t give him the medicine for his wife; so I killed him before he could kill me. Then for Mrs. Lawson, she figured out that I was the one who had murdered her dear old husband; I had to put an end to that. I didn’t want her going off and telling the police what I had done. [laugh]

Nicholas: You are a madman!

Doctor Morris: [laugh] I guess you can say that.

Carson: So you are the murder. But what does this have to do with my daughter?

Doctor Morris: The day your daughter was born, your wife told me to take care of Anabella. I am upholding that promise. I fancy your daughter very much. I have watched her grow up to be a beautiful woman, she looks exactly like her mother. [smile] You know that your wife loved spending time with me, more than she loved spending time with you.

Carson: That is complete rubbish! My wife loved me.

Doctor Morris: Loved you, did she now? [chuckle] Then why did her and I spend so much time together and sneak out late at night to be with one another.

Carson: You lie!

Doctor Morris: I do not, my lips speak the truth! Now back away, Anabella and I are going to run away and I don’t need you getting in my way.

Nicholas: You gave her those pills to make her sleep so it would be easy kidnapping her; also so she wouldn’t remember a thing, am I right?

Doctor Morris: My, my, Sir Nicholas, you are an intelligent one.

Nicholas: You shall not get away with this!

Doctor Morris: [laugh] Shall we wager a bet on that?

Nicholas: [lunge at Doctor Morris]

Doctor Morris: [point the gun at Nicholas, pull the trigger, and shoot Nicholas in the middle of the forehead]

Nicholas: [drop dead]

Carson: No! Nicholas!

Doctor Morris: [smile] Perfect shot. [pick up Anabella and throw her over shoulder] Good bye, Carson. Have a nice life.

Doctor Morris exits with Anabella.

Carson: [kneel down next to Nicholas] Nicholas, I am so sorry, so sorry. [stand back up] I must go fetch Lance and tell him what has happened. Doctor Morris shall not get away with this!

Carson exits leaving Nicholas’s dead body on stage. Curtain closes.