31 Plays in 31 Days, #28 - “Mr. Parkhill”

[breakinglight11]

Hmm, not sure about this one. It’s from Hawking 8, taking place after #25 - “Tweenies” and #27 - “Lord Love a Duck”, but while it may have some character and structural benefits, it doesn’t establish anything we don’t already know at this point in the story. So I don’t know if it will end up in the final draft. But at this point, I just really need to draft to finish the damn challenge. I’ve only got a few more days to catch up.


Photo by Mark Edwards

Day #28 - “Mr. Parkhill”
From Mrs Hawking part 8
By Phoebe Roberts

London, 1892

VICTORIA HAWKING, lady’s champion of London, early fifties
NATHANIEL HAWKING, Mrs. Hawking’s nephew and assistant, late thirties
CLARA HAWKING, his lady wife, early forties
BEATRICE HAWKING, their precocious daughter, mid teens
~~~

(A tearoom where NATHANIEL and CLARA wait impatiently.)

CLARA: For Heaven’s sake.

NATHANIEL: Steady on, dear.

(She stands and fretfully begins to pace.)

CLARA: This was madness. Absolute madness.

NATHANIEL: Darling, please sit. People are beginning to stare.

CLARA: She’s late, days late.

NATHANIEL: It hasn’t been days, now—

CLARA: How could we have agreed to this? We ought to march into that house and drag her home ourselves.

(MRS. HAWKING enters. CLARA whirls on her.)

CLARA: Well? Where is she?

MRS. HAWKING: The house is surrounded. People and carriages of all kinds.

NATHANIEL: A… house party?

MRS. HAWKING: I saw uniformed policemen. And a man in the hat of a funeral mute.

CLARA: What?

MRS. HAWKING: I couldn’t get close enough through the throng to tell any more.

(BEATRICE runs in, still dressed in her maid’s uniform.)

BEATRICE: I’m here!

CLARA: For heaven’s sake, girl, where have you been? What kept you? We’ve been worried sick!

BEATRICE: I’m sorry, I’ve been searching! Mr. Parkhill—

NATHANIEL: Are you all right?

BEATRICE: Perfectly all right! It’s only, Mr. Parkhill—

MRS. HAWKING: Did you find the ledger?

BEATRICE: Yes, I have it here! But Mr. Parkhill—

NATHANIEL: Oh, well done, my girl!

MRS. HAWKING: Yes, very good work. Now that we have the ledger, we can verify if Parkhill’s own finances account for the embezzlement.

NATHANIEL: Now, dear, we must be getting you home, before anyone—

BEATRICE: Oh, for Heaven’s sake! Mr. Parkhill is dead!

(Pause.)

MRS. HAWKING: What?