BORGO PRESS BOOKS BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS
Anthony
The Barricade at Clichy; or, The Fall of Napoleon
Bathilda
Caligula
The Corsican Brothers (with Eugène Grangé & Xavier de Montépin)
The Count of Monte Cristo, Part One: The Betrayal of Edmond Dantès
The Count of Monte Cristo, Part Two: The Resurrection of Edmond Dantès
The Count of Monte Cristo, Part Three: The Rise of Monte Cristo
The Count of Monte Cristo, Part Four: The Revenge of Monte Cristo
A Fairy Tale (with Adolphe de Leuven and Léon Lhérie)
The Gold Thieves (with Countess Céleste de Chabrillan)
Kean
The Last of the Three Musketeers; or, The Prisoner of the Bastille (Musketeers #3)
Lorenzino
The Mohicans of Paris
Napoléon Bonaparte
Queen Margot
Richard Darlington (with Prosper Dinaux)
Sylvandire
The Three Musketeers (Musketeers #1)
The Three Musketeers—Twenty Years Later (Musketeers #2)
The Tower of Nesle (with Frédéric Gaillardet)
The Two Dianas (with Paul Meurice)
Urbain Grandier and the Devils of Loudon
The Venetian
The Whites and the Blues
The Widow’s Husband; and, Porthos in Search of an Outfit
Young Louix XIV
Related Dramas:
The Queen’s Necklace, by Pierre Decourcelle
The Seed of the Musketeers, by Paul de Kock & Guénée (Musketeers #5)
The San Felice, by Maurice Drack
The Son of Porthos the Musketeer, by Émile Blavet (Musketeers #4)
A Summer Night’s Dream, Adolphe de Leuven & Joseph-Bernard Rosier
The Widow’s Husband; and, Porthos in Search of an Outfit: Two Dumasian Comedies, edited by Frank J. Morlock
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Copyright © 2001, 2012 by Frank J. Morlock
Published by Wildside Press LLC
www.wildsidebooks.com
DEDICATION
To my dear friend, Mala Belli,
for many years of friendship.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Tom Cooper
Williams (25 years old)
Max Fulton
Doctor Ivans (50 years old)
Paul (the Marquis)
Joanne
The Parisian
Mobile
Le Faucheux
Melida
Albert
Mother Joseph
Émeraude
Louisa
Jenny
Catalin
Patrick (30 years old)
Robinson (60 years old, merchant)
PROLOGUE
A salon in Doctor Ivan’s home in Portsmouth.
At rise, Louisa is alone, preparing.
LOUISA
(looking at the clock)
Four o’clock. The offices close at 4:15. Mr. Williams will be here at 4:30.
(rapping)
Good, that’s the doctor knocking.
(she goes to open. Knocking in the English manner—four or five rapid taps which increase)
DOCTOR
A man didn’t come here in my absence?
LOUISA
With a word from you, Doctor, allowing him to visit the house?
DOCTOR
Exactly.
LOUISA
Oh—sir—what’s he come to do here? He looked and inventoried all the furniture as if he were going to buy them.
DOCTOR
He came precisely for that. Did he speak to the ladies?
LOUISA
Only to Miss Émeraude.
DOCTOR
Fine. Where is he?
LOUISA
He must be in your office now.
DOCTOR
My poor furniture. Each of them brings back a memory.
(Patrick enters and looks at him.)
DOCTOR
What are you doing here?
PATRICK
Me? Nothing, sir. I was coming in to help Miss Louisa prepare the tea. If you have orders for me—
DOCTOR
Have you prepared your accounts?
PATRICK
Then the Doctor is sending me away?
DOCTOR
On the contrary, it’s you who are sending us away since you don’t wish to come with us.
PATRICK
You didn’t give me time to think it over, sir.
DOCTOR
(low to Louisa)
Are they busy packing?
LOUISA
The ladies have done nothing else all day.
DOCTOR
And with what mood?
LOUISA
Miss Melida was sad; Miss Émeraude was joyful.
DOCTOR
Poor Melida—but it has to be done. I’m going to my office, if the ladies ask after me, you will say I’ve returned but that I am busy.
LOUISA
Yes, doctor.
(He leaves, sighing.)
PATRICK
Ah—then—so it’s decided—completely decided?
LOUISA
What?
PATRICK
The departure.
LOUISA
You can see plainly since the Doctor told you to deliver your accounts to him.
PATRICK
Well—and you?
LOUISA
And me—what?
PATRICK