INT. LADY DUNLAVIN'S MANOR - DAY
The Lady of Dunlavin stands before Jack in her elegant and richly furnished parlor. She is in the middle of speaking when a servant comes up to her and hands her a note. They whisper for a short moment, and then the servant bows and leaves.
LADY DUNLAVIN. Every last coin is there. I'm rather impressed. Someone like you... I wouldn't put it past you to take out a handful, thinking there were so many coins inside that I wouldn't miss a couple. And you would be right. I wouldn't miss the whole bag, actually. I'm sorry you've brought it all this way, but surely you don't mind keeping it?
Two servants enter: one with the bag of gold coins, and another with a letter. Lady Dunlavin nods toward Jack, and the servant with the bag moves toward him. The second moves toward a small writing table. Lady Dunlavin walks over and signs the letter, and then picks it up and moves toward Jack.
LADY DUNLAVIN. Get yourself a bath, some new clothes. Here's a letter, too, so they don't put you in jail thinking you're the robber.
Just as she is about to reach him, Lady Dunlavin stops in her tracks, and the letter flutters in her hand.
LADY DUNLAVIN. But on second thought... I think it's better for you that I keep this. Yes, it seems so. There's a band of angry robbers out there right now, and of course I don't trust the police to catch them, do you? Clearly, all of them together are worse than a fourteen-year-old boy.
JACK. I'm not fourteen.
LADY DUNLAVIN. I didn't say you were, my dear. But if I let you leave with that gold, there'll be a whole angry band of robbers, as angry as bees when you've shaken their hive, and they won't stop till they get you. And they will get you, of course. Who won't talk about the boy who stole a fortune from a band of robbers, and then took it back to the original owner, who was so magnanimous she let him keep it? The whole country would know! It would only be a matter of time.
The lady pauses in her speech; and her feline eyes light slyly on Jack.
LADY DUNLAVIN. But, my dear--I suppose you could always stay here. You'd be safe, well-paid, well-fed, well-taken-care-of. Become my steward, my dear. What do you say? It's nothing less than a good fortune.
YOU ARE READING
The Enniscorthy Thieves
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