A Reflection of Fear (1972) Movie Script
1
Where are you, my little creatures?
You think I can't see you?
I see you.
If only you were
a little brighter, Aaron,
a little more veill,
I might let you
look at this.
Cat got your tongue?
What makes you think I even want
to look at whatever it is?
It is phylum protozoa, Aaron.
Not that that would have
the slightest meaning
to an intelligence
as limited as yours.
What would you do if you
didn't have me to make fun of?
And what would you do
for a friend
if you didn't have me?
Some friend.
We don't play anymore.
We don't even talk.
You and your French,
your flowers,
your fancy microscope.
Honestly,
you're such a child.
Marguerite, stop it.
You're jealous.
You know that?
Maybe I am.
I can get lonely too.
You keep me cooped up
in here
like one of the dead dolls
in your trunk.
Kevin said he saw you sneaking
in the garden last night.
How could he? He left at 6.
How would you know that
if you weren't in the garden?
Oh, what does he know?
He's just the gardener.
I don't like that, Aaron.
Sneaking.
I was looking for you.
I don't like lies, either.
What's come over you?
Don't be so smart.
I think you'd best stay
in your room tomorrow.
No, I won't.
Aaron.
It's not fair, hiding me as if
I'm something to be ashamed of.
Poor, poor dear.
You know perfectly well
that if anyone caught you here,
they'd toss you right out
on your bottom.
Oh, you'd like that.
Well, I've got feelings too.
Not that anybody cares.
Least of all you.
But I do care.
No, you don't.
Dominating, making fun.
I'm sorry.
Truly I am.
Don't pout.
We'll take long walks together.
I'll even teach you French.
I love you, Aaron.
Quickly,
hide back to your room.
Marguerite.
Marguerite.
It's 12:00.
Had you forgotten?
I was studying my samples,
Grand-mre.
In the dark?
On a day like this?
There. That's better.
Did I hear you talking
to someone?
My amoebas.
Mother.
You better change for lunch.
And don't forget to fix your hair.
It's from Michael.
I tell you, I won't have him here.
I hardly think he's coming
again for you, my dear.
She is his daughter after all.
We've been so careful, Mother.
A glimpse would perhaps satisfy him
for another 10 years.
A glimpse of Michael
would hardly satisfy Marguerite.
Would you stir his curiosity?
And Marguerite,
seeing Michael might temper
her absurd idolatry of the man.
I shall show him my pinks
and my carnations.
Oh, and my dahlias
and my mums.
Here, Mother.
This is a marguerite.
It's really a rather elegant
daisy, don't you think?
Did you know that daisy
means day's eye?
Old English. I think
that's lovely, don't you?
Chrysanthemum frutescens.
That's my true generic name.
Marguerite's also called
a Paris daisy.
Oh, will we see Paris one day?
Grand-mreand I
were just discussing a trip.
After your father's visit.
Oh, could we visit Mont-Saint-Michel?
Could we? Where the tides rush
in and out so extravagantly?
My French is so atrocious.
Does father speak French?
Living abroad, traveling,
publishers in foreign lands.
I suppose he speaks
scads of languages.
One was all I remember.
Women are
the natural linguists.
Men just don't have music
in their ears.
What are those dreadful things?
Why, they're not dreadful.
Why, it's common goldenrod.
Aaron's rod, Mother.
I had Kevin put them in.
That's right, ma'am.
Why on earth spoil a perfect garden?
Take them out, Kevin.
No!
I won't let you.
Why, it's nothing
but a weed, dear.
But all flowers are beautiful.
Even the wild ones.
It's cousin to mullein,
which is sometimes called
the velvet plant
because its leaves
are so soft and wooly.
Second cousin to orpine.
Mother, did you know that orpine
is sometimes called
"live forever"?
Nothing dreadful about that.
Huh.
My, aren't we giddy today?
I'm so happy
father's coming.
Thank you, Peggy.
I'll serve.
Would you, uh--?
Would you bring
this hot chocolate
to Marguerite, please?Yes, ma'am.
Some more coffee, Katherine?
No, thank you, Mother.
Will there be anything else, ma'am?
No, thank you, that's all.
You may go.
Thank you, ma'am.
Be sure the gate lock clicks
when you leave, Peggy.
Kevin forgot the other evening.
Some urchins from Georgetown
were running around the grounds.
Oh, yes, ma'am.
I always click the lock.
Good night.
Good night, Peggy.
And now you're even
keeping secrets from me.
How long have you been there?
Anyway, I'm not keeping secrets.
I simply hadn't told you yet.
Oh, I see.
I thought we shared everything.
We do.
But he is my father.
I do have a life of my own.
What a horrid little laugh.
And what are you doing
on my bed?
I thought we were always
going to be together.
Best friends and all that.
But just maybe you're saving
all that for Father?
Oh, there you go
being all jealous again.
And stop feeling sorry
for yourself.
I just don't want
to get shoved back into a corner
because of your precious father.You.
If he's all that bloody wonderful,
Why doesn't he live here?
You.
Get out! Get out! Get out!
Get out of here!
I'm not a child anymore.
I can get along on my own.
Annie, come on, get out,
look at this. It's beautiful.
Oh, Mickey, it's fantastic.
Mr. and Mrs. Heffernan?
Mr. Heffernan, Miss Havord.
Heh, heh.
Excuse us.
Here are the keys.
You Caraquet's son, then?
Yes. Father died
five years ago.
Oh, sorry to hear
about that.
I'm only here summers
to help my mom.
We gave up the boats.
Mother runs the inn now.
Do you hear much at all
from up at the Headland?
Mm, not very much.
I'm usually in Montreal.
But I'm sure your daughter
will be happy to see you.
She's a very pretty girl.
It is very good to see you again.
It's been a long time.
Mrs. Caraquet, this is Miss Havord.
Enchant. Hello.
Come with me, please.Thank you.
Will you ask her right out,
first thing?
There's no reason
she should hang onto me.
She hates me.
Just remember what you've come for.
Oh, he just wants to spoil everything.
I hate him.
Katherine.
Michael.
Julia.
Come in.
Yes, thank you.
You've hardly changed.
I'm not sure how you mean that.
I mean, you look beautiful.
And you, Michael,
look terribly distingu.
May I?
Now you've done it,
you've really done it,
destroying my flowers.
Maybe now you'll have
a little more respect for me.
Shh, he's here.
And I'm gonna tell on you.
I've not come here to agonize
over past guilts.
What have you
come for, Michael?
To ask you for a divorce.
Well, we have certainly come
full circle, haven't we?
Julia, if you don't mind,
I really think this does concern
Katherine and me.
Huh, there's nothing, absolutely
nothing between you and me.
That's precisely why
we should end this marriage.
Thank you, Peggy. I'll serve.
There is a woman, isn't there?
Yes, there is.
Sugar?
Thank you.
She's here as a matter of fact.
Oh, I don't mean here.
She's at the inn.
Does she know about you?
So now you want a second chance.
Katherine, you know I wanted
that 10 years ago with you.
Now I simply want my freedom.
Which is mine to give.
Is that all you want?
No.
I want to see my daughter.
Your daughter?
She's not your daughter.
You weren't even there
when she was born.
You're nothing in her life.
I'm her father.
You can cease all communications
with her.
What do you really want, Michael?
A divorce? Marguerite?
Or both?
Mother.
You will see her,
and then you will go.
Is that what she wants?
You still love twisting
the knife, don't you, Julia?
Marguerite.
Marguerite, this is your father.
I don't suppose
you remember me, do you?
I remember.
Would you like to sit down?
It's very difficult
to know what to say
to somebody you love so much
and whom you haven't seen
for so long.
Somebody who is so enchanting.
Did you get my books?
Oh, yes.
They're lovely books.
I like especially the one on botany.
Splendid color plates.
Yes, they're lovely.
Do you study flowers at school?
Marguerite is a very special child.
She doesn't require school.
She has the best tutors,
a library, everything.
Share my books with your friends?
Oh, yes.
Mother and grand-mre read them
all as soon as they arrive.
I don't mean Mother and
Grand-mre.Your friends.
You've got friends
your own age, haven't you?
I told you, Michael,
she's a very special child.
I show some of them to Aaron.
The simpler ones.
Now, really, Marguerite.
Aaron is one of Marguerite's
doll friends.
Well, that's no wonder
if she doesn't have
any human ones.
Oh, but he's quite human.
In fact, he's been
terribly, terribly naughty.
You've been crying.
He destroyed my garden.
I thought we were not going
to have a scene.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Please forgive me.
I didn't want you
to see me this way.
Some scamps broke
into the place last night.
They destroyed the flowers.
I tell you, it was Aaron.
Marguerite!
See that she washes her face.
So you insist
on upsetting the child
the moment you come here.
No school, no friends.
Does she ever get away
from this place?
We travel.
Last year, Morocco.
This year, Europe.
Oh, yes, I can imagine all that.
Hotel suites, museums, tutors.
Very well chaperoned.
A bit like those letters
I get once a year,
pathetic exercises
in suppression,
beautifully heartbreaking
writing,
excised of any emotion,
dictated by you
and censored by Julia.
What right have you?
Right?
I know I've done you
great damage.
God knows I know that.
Now it's your turn, I suppose.
Well, what's she doing now?
She forgotten her lines?
Julia rehearsing the next scene
or something?
Michael.
Michael,
Marguerite has something
to say to you.
It really doesn't matter.
Yes, I must.
Katherine.
Are they gone?
Yes.
I think so.
It's so good having you here.
Please...
Don't go.
Is that you, Mickey?
Yes, it's me.
We got an invitation
to a dinner party.
Have to put on a dress.
Not one of your sexy ones.
What's the verdict?
The verdict is,
I can have a divorce.
Oh, Mickey, how wonderful.
It's Marguerite.
She's a disturbing child.
Enchanting.
Bright as a button.
And she's their prisoner.
I mean that quite literally.
They've got her locked up away
from the world,
like some precocious doll.
Talks like a book.
Anne, Katherine will give me
the divorce
if I never again
have anything to do
with Marguerite.
You see, it's what
they're doing to her.
Anne, I'm gonna need
your help.
Mickey...
...you do love me, don't you?
There's quite enough
for the whole family.
All, that is, except Aaron.
No crackers and milk
for Aaron...
until he decides
to behave himself.
We're getting quite cocky,
aren't we?
Just learning my way around,
opening my eyes,
figuring a few things out
for myself.
What things?
Your mother, for one.
Your grandmother,
for another.
Oh, they're a couple
of dandies,
been pulling the wool
over your eyes,
like you've been doing to me.
You're just angry
because I told on you.
Heh. They didn't believe you
anyway.
They probably think
you're crazy.
Your father does.
Don't say that.
He thinks I'm enchanting.
What wool have they been
pulling over my eyes?
When you were 5,
they told you
your father was dead.
How did you know about that?
You told me.
I don't forget things like that.
And those shots
you take every day.
I have diabetes.
And what's in the bottles?
Don't you even know what insulin is?
It increases the glycogen
storage in the liver
and keeps a glucose balance
between water
and carbon dioxide.
If you're so smart,
why do they take the labels
off the bottles?
Well, they could be
poisoning my food
if I wanted to believe
the absolute worst.
You have to have a certain
amount of faith in people.
Blind faith.
Like your precious
Saint Michael?
What about him?
You treat him
like the Second Coming.
He's here to make a deal,
never to see you again
if Saint Katherine
will give him a divorce.
That's not true.
He'd never agree
to such a thing.
Oh, no? Are you quite sure?
There's a remarkable woman
in his life.
I heard every word.
I have to get dressed.
Father will be here--
Where did you get that?
My rod and my staff,
they comfort me.
Oh, Aaron,
you're scaring me.
There is evidence that hormones
furnished by the pollen
are transferred
to the unfertilized egg cell.
The basic parts of the flower
are modified leaves.
The showy colored petals
are the corolla.
Inside of that, the stamens
bear the pollen sacs
around the pistil. The ovaries
are underneath that.
And the amazing thing
is that--
Ma chrie, really,
I think we've heard enough.
Oh, Marguerite, I'd love to see
some of your prints.
I've heard so much
about them.
Oh, might I show them
my rooms?
Mama gave me this
for Christmas.
Isn't it lovely?
Yes. What do you study with it?
Oh, most anything.
Leaves, blood, amoebae.
I've a whole pond
full of friends in the garden.
Oh, and here's some others.
This is...
This is Moses
and his family,
Hugo, Janet,
and, uh, Cinnamon.
Oh, which one is Mrs. Moses?
Oh, well, she became ill
so Cinnamon ate her.
And Janet just laid some eggs
and Hugo fertilized them.
Oh, I know it all sounds
terribly childish,
but, well, these are modern relics
of the most ancient forms
of fish, the cyclostomes.
We all came out of the sea
and all that,
but, well, they ride
on the backs of the larger fish
and eat their flesh.
Ahem. It certainly accounts
for Mrs. Moses.
Sounds utterly revolting,
but it's quite natural.
For cyclostomes.
You're going to be
my stepmother, aren't you?
Really, I'm not very wicked.
No, I don't think you are.
Would you like to see my dolls?
Oh, how exquisite.
Are these her friends?
She's had an assortment
over the years.
Some become outmoded.
Some remain.
Like Aaron?
You know, you're very clever.
You're very clever.
You're very talented indeed.
Who is this?
Can't you tell?
It's Joan of Arc
before Saint Michael.
You don't know
how often I've--
I've imagined you here,
with me,
alone, in--
In this room.
This is our very special room.
Perhaps you can't imagine
how often I've wanted to be here
with you alone.
Each September 29th,
I celebrate Michaelmas.
And now you're here.
It's like a dream.
I like her, Father.
Really, I do. I...
I think she'll make
a splendid stepmother.
But...
you won't spoil my dream,
will you?
Marguerite, it's late.
Prepare for bed.
But, Mama, I must show
my gardens, the greenhouse.
Oh, you shall come,
shan't you?
Promise.
You will never see
your father again.
Father, would you say
my prayers with me?
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
They won't let you come back.
No.
I must see you.
Meet me tonight. Where?
Just inside the front gate.
At 12.
It's quite dark.
Will you be there?
Yes.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
Amen.
Oh, Mickey, my God,
how can you?
You saw her.
I've got to see if there's
some way I can help her.
What if you get caught?
Well, if there's one thing I know,
it's my way around that place.
I had a feeling
from the moment we arrived,
something was gonna go wrong.
Maybe you still do
have a resistance
to going through with the marriage.
I'm sorry, Mickey.
I didn't mean it.
Just where do you think
you're going?
I have a rendezvous with Michael.
You what?
You heard me.
I have a rendezvous with Michael.
He's going to take me away
from here. From them.
Oh, I hate them.
He's not taking you anywhere.
And I hate you too.
Me? Yes.
All you ever do
is undermine my faith
in everything I love.
How can you say that?
Everything I've told you is true.
Oh, you're just like them.
You just want me all to yourself.
Oh, no, Marguerite.
Well, I don't love you anymore.
And I don't need any of you.
Where are you?
Marguerite?
Is that you, chrie?
Marguerite?
Inspector, there's one thing
I think you should know.
I came back here last night,
um, after dinner,
about 12:00, to be exact.
You see, my daughter knew
my wife didn't want me
to see her again,
and during prayers,
she asked me if I'd slip back
and meet her later,
inside the main gate.
She said she had something very
important she wanted to tell me.
Miss Havord and I, we had quite a row
before I decided to come back,
because Miss Havord thought
it would jeopardize the divorce.
Your wife acceded
to your request.
I'll vouch for that.
Yes, of course.
Well, you don't need one now.
So you decided to come back.
Yes. But I...
Well, the gates were locked,
and Marguerite wasn't there.
Somebody else was there, though.
A boy, sitting
up there on the wall.
A boy.
Well, I think it was a boy,
about 12 or 13.
It was dark
and he was dressed darkly.
Dressed darkly.
Tell you one thing, he saw me.
Did you speak?
Well, I called out Marguerite.
I mean, I heard him
before I saw him,
heard the leaves rustling.
Then he jumped down
from the wall
and he ran away inside.
Marguerite simply wasn't there.
Got in the car,
drove back to the inn.
The whole thing couldn't have
taken more than 45 minutes.
No, I don't suppose it would.
He was back at 20 minutes
after 12.
I was watching the clock
the whole time.
I can imagine you were.
Is it true that the gates
were found open this morning?
Yes, they were.
Father!
Father!
Father!
All right,
all right.
Promise me you won't go now.
You just can't leave now.
I won't. I won't.
It's all right.
Skull's fractured.
Some heavy blunt instrument
administered with considerable force.
Both were sexually mutilated.
Some obtuse object.
Not lacerated.
Kind of punctured.
Molested?
Can't say yet,
but doesn't look like it.
The older one had water
in the lungs, but not much.
She was dead
when they dumped her in there.
You coming Saturday?Sure.
First I heard someone in the garden,
then I heard someone
near the house.
Did you see two people?
I don't know.
It was dark and foggy.
Then I saw someone running.
Now, the one you saw,
what did he look like?
Oh, just a kid
running through the woods.
Over about there.
Had on a sweater,
jeans or something.
I yelled out to him, "Hey, you,"
and off he went.
The child always kept talking
about someone
taking her away from here.
Maybe you'd like
to stay on here.
Me?
Me, stay here?
They were yelling
at each other.
Then I heard a slap.
I think she slapped him.
Don't touch that door
if you please, Mister Heffernan.
The girl was brought up
in almost total seclusion.
Well, as her father,
you should seem
to have some say now.
Miss Havord and I could
look after her at the inn.
Yes, you could,
couldn't you?
Inspector, I do realize I'm
in a very vulnerable position.
This all happens
the night of the day I arrive.
Apart from settling your case,
we do have the matter
of Marguerite's
immediate security.
I quite agree.
Why don't I talk to her
and see what she wants?
I overheard Peggy telling you
about my quarrel with Katherine
and that remark
about the gate.
You did find the gate locked,
didn't you?
Do you think I lied?
No.
That doesn't sound very convincing.
I'm sorry for what I sound,
Mickey.
It's all
a nightmare.
Marguerite tells me she feels
most at home right here.
One for you and one for you.
Delaying your trip to Toronto
a few days might be advisable.
Inspector, did she tell you
why she never turned up
last night?
No. Did she tell you?
Did she tell you
that she asked me to meet her?
Should I have asked her?
You told me that.
Is there any reason
I should doubt you?
Am I to consider this some
subtle form of house arrest?
Hello. I brought
your father's bags.
Oh, yes, well,
won't you come in, please?
Thank you.
Where shall I put these?
Come in, dear.
This is one of the guest rooms.
Never seen a guest.
I always called it
the ghost room.
But Grand-mrealways had Peggy
keep it spotless just the same.
Do you like it?
Oh, it's a lovely room.
Are both of you staying in here?
Yes.
Well, not that I mind.
I mean, I'm not exactly
a child anymore.
And you're as good
as married now.
But I'm right next door,
you know.
Does that bother you?
Good night.
Good night, dear.
Good night.
Now you've really done it,
with that monstrous stick of yours.
What did you do with it?
You threw it in the sea,
didn't you?
I bet you threw it in the sea.
Who said I did it?
Could just as well
have been Saint Michael.
He had everything
to gain by it.
He'd never do such a thing.
Maybe not. Maybe I did.
What's the difference?
Anyway, it's only what
you would have done yourself
if you had the nerve
and half the chance.
You are vile saying that.
Murder in your heart,
the Bible told me so.
I want you out of here.
Tonight.
Otherwise you'll be discovered.
Oh, no, Marguerite.
No, I'm not about to vanish now
that we have the place
to ourselves.
The way you pretend
with your dolls.
They still think Aaron's a doll.
I'm afraid of you
after what you've done.
Now that you have what you want,
our problem is your father.
He discarded Katherine, now Anne.
No, Marguerite,
he has what he's come for.
Your daughter stands to inherit
the entire Sterling estate.
You're her legal guardian.
To the fact of being her father,
I plead entirely guilty.
Yes.
Well, we, uh, picked up a couple
of lads over in Georgetown.
You know Georgetown?
No, we came
from Charlottetown.
Lovely this time of year.
Yes. No, I meant Georgetown.
The trees by the church,
the cows on the hill
overlooking the bay,
the water, a pure cerulean blue.
Well, the usual troublemakers.
Summerhouse looters and the like.
Blotter records, assaults,
unless someone is using your visit
as the proper time
for score-settling.
Mister Heffernan, we don't get
this sort of thing around here.
Have a nice day.
We were thinking
of going for a picnic.
Yeah.
Lovely day for a picnic.
We have your permission
to leave the grounds then?
Do as you like.
You do it.
Why?
Because it won't hurt so much
if you do it.
Please. Just this once.
Annie, you just can't go on
treating her as if
she's a normal child.
Don't give me any more
of your Oedipal crap, Mickey,
because I can't stand it.
She wants to devour you
like one of those
evil fishes of hers,
and I think you actually like it.
Oh, it's not that, Mickey.
It's just she's always
getting you off by yourself.
Like this afternoon
or the day at the beach.
I'm surprised we found
this moment alone.
Well, it's hardly surprising,
is it, in the circumstances.
I mean...she is lost.
I know how much she needs you
and all that, Mickey,
but she's...absolutely
carnivorous about it.
As if she's considerably
more than a daughter.
You're jealous.
Yes. Yes, I suppose I am.
And a little lonely too.
You do realize
these last few days,
she's been trying
to make up for 15 years
of being without a father.
I do realize that's
what she'd like you to think,
but it's rubbish,
because she's aware
of every move she makes,
like giving your leg
a good feel.
Annie, that's not fair.
What's the matter?
I don't know
who to believe anymore.
I want to believe you.
I sometimes wonder
why you did come back.
You're going to marry
my father now, aren't you?
We plan to.
So you should be more
than a stepmother.
No, I'm Anne.
I like to work
on several at once.
It's rather like me,
keeping 10 books going at once.
What's this one?
Oh, this is Aaron.
Your little friend?
Oh, he's not so little.
No, this is the Aaron
who brought forth water
out of rocks.
Whose rod made miracles,
turned into a serpent,
bore almonds and things.
I bet you don't believe
I have a friend in the world.
He used to be
my only friend.
But Mama just wouldn't have him.
She wanted me to believe
he was just a doll.
But I tell you, Father,
he's--
He's not a doll.
Anne knows that.
Good night.
Good night.
Well, surely you don't believe
there is such a friend,
apart from the friend
she imagines?
I'm sure there's an Aaron,
but I don't know who he is.
Did your mother tell you
not to meet me?
No.
Was it somebody else
who told you not to meet me?
No. I just decided that
I was being terribly foolish
and terribly unfair.
Are you aware
that McKenna thinks
I may have lied to him?
Oh, yes. I--
I do realize what...
What an unfortunate position
it put you in.
And that someone else
needs me very much.
Yes, I know that.
You see, I--
I was going to ask you
to take me away.
And I-- I know that would be
very unfair of me to ask
because you have your own life
to lead with Anne.
The mother cells divide
to form the pollen grains,
whose nuclei contain
half the normal number
of chromosomes characteristic
in the parent plant.
You know about meiosis,
but not about popsicles.
But I do now.
And sundaes and drumsticks.
I know an ice cream parlor.
Maybe, uh, someday
I could treat you.
Would you like to see
my power microscope?
They move by pseudopods.
False feet.
That's right.
And they reproduce by
splitting, or binary fission.
Then the nucleus divides
by mitosis.
Something like the pollen
in your flowers.
Oh, I can divide them myself,
by heat or light.
Well, yes, but when you divide
an amoeba artificially,
the portion containing
the nucleus forms a new membrane
and then continues
as a whole animal.
But the other portion
without the nucleus,
lives on whatever food
it can scrounge up,
but can't digest it...
and can't reproduce
and soon dies.
It doesn't really die.
Well, of course it does, heh.
That's not true.
Marguerite, is anything wrong?
Don't touch me.
And don't say that!
You're getting pretty bold,
aren't you?
Parading your boyfriends
past my door.
What's happening to us,
Marguerite?
Friends just grow apart,
I guess.
I've waited too long to let you
get away from me now.
You don't possess me.
But I do.
Never quite as much
as I do now.
And you'll do as I say,
exactly.
Or I'll have to do it for you.
As usual.
I don't know what you mean.
Listen.
Listen.
Yes, I need you.
That's the trouble.
You don't seem to need me
quite the way you did before.
I don't mean that.
You wish you were in there,
don't you?
Don't you?
You wish your boyfriend
were here, don't you?
Well, I'm here.
Father, Father.
Oh, Father, father.
Father, don't leave me.
Oh, God, why doesn't she just
ask you to live with us?
It's a sickness, Mickey,
all of you.
This, this house.
I can't stand it anymore.
I'm going back to the inn.
Don't leave me.
Don't, don't, don't.
Don't leave me.
Anne!
Hector.
Hector?
Hector?
I want to talk to you.
Hector?
No!
Honey?
Oh, Mickey.
Mickey, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
McKenna's on his way over.
Well, there were two sets
of footprints.
One matches yours, Mr. Heffernan.
The other set we'll know tomorrow.
Beer.
- You ever had a beer?
- No.
How do you like it?
Better than popsicles.
Would you like to live there
when you're a doctor?
Well, I would like
to intern there, yes.
It's a beautiful city.
But I love the sea.
Ah, who knows?
Life is so full of changes.
Would you like to see
Montreal one day?
Yes.
Aren't you warm in your things?
No.
You really should have worn
a swimsuit.
Well, I can't swim.
I could teach you.
The motor went berserk.
The boat hit the reef.
The body was catapulted
on the rocks.
You'll be all right.
Where are you taking me?
Where's her father?
Why isn't he here?
I want to go home.
No. No.
You know my trouble?
I drink too much.
Please.
The doctor will--
No! Don't! Let go of me!
I've gotta go home!
I gotta go home!
Please! I need to go home!
Don't! Don't make me.
Please, take me home.
Don't ever let a man touch you.
Their touch is death.
Now, where's her father?
Why isn't he here?
You can't treat me like that,
Marguerite.
I'm not a child anymore.
I can get along on my own.
I don't suppose you remember me,
do you?
I remember.
The way you pretend
with your dolls,
they still think Aaron's a doll.
I made a phone call to Boston.
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
Because you're a very special child,
my sweet.
And Jill went up the hill
to fetch a pail of water.
And when you are a young lady,
we shall travel together
everywhere,
mother and daughter.
Another book from her father.
Father. Father, father,
father, father.
Father.
They're going to take me away,
aren't they?
Yes, my love.
But I'm not the one, you know.
I can't protect him anymore,
even if he was my friend.
He hurt me.
He hurt us all, dreadfully.
Will you let me show you?
Yes.
Mickey, what is it?
Mickey, don't go up there.
You stay down here.
Father!
Wait.
Boston Hall of Records.
Oh, yes. Uh, I want to check on
the birth of a girl, please.
Born about 16 years ago.
I'll connect you
with Vital Statistics.
Vital Statistics.
Yes. I'd like some information on the birth
of a young girl.
Born about 16 years ago.
The mother's name
was Katherine Sterling.
The girl's name
was Marguerite.
One second, please.
Yes. I have the record.
I'm sorry, sir,
there was a child born
to a Katherine Sterling
on the date you mentioned.
But there seems to be
some mistake.
Our records do not show
the birth of a girl,
but we do show
born to a Katherine Sterling
in September of that year,
a 7-pound, 6-ounce...
boy.
Where are you, my little creatures?
You think I can't see you?
I see you.
If only you were
a little brighter, Aaron,
a little more veill,
I might let you
look at this.
Cat got your tongue?
What makes you think I even want
to look at whatever it is?
It is phylum protozoa, Aaron.
Not that that would have
the slightest meaning
to an intelligence
as limited as yours.
What would you do if you
didn't have me to make fun of?
And what would you do
for a friend
if you didn't have me?
Some friend.
We don't play anymore.
We don't even talk.
You and your French,
your flowers,
your fancy microscope.
Honestly,
you're such a child.
Marguerite, stop it.
You're jealous.
You know that?
Maybe I am.
I can get lonely too.
You keep me cooped up
in here
like one of the dead dolls
in your trunk.
Kevin said he saw you sneaking
in the garden last night.
How could he? He left at 6.
How would you know that
if you weren't in the garden?
Oh, what does he know?
He's just the gardener.
I don't like that, Aaron.
Sneaking.
I was looking for you.
I don't like lies, either.
What's come over you?
Don't be so smart.
I think you'd best stay
in your room tomorrow.
No, I won't.
Aaron.
It's not fair, hiding me as if
I'm something to be ashamed of.
Poor, poor dear.
You know perfectly well
that if anyone caught you here,
they'd toss you right out
on your bottom.
Oh, you'd like that.
Well, I've got feelings too.
Not that anybody cares.
Least of all you.
But I do care.
No, you don't.
Dominating, making fun.
I'm sorry.
Truly I am.
Don't pout.
We'll take long walks together.
I'll even teach you French.
I love you, Aaron.
Quickly,
hide back to your room.
Marguerite.
Marguerite.
It's 12:00.
Had you forgotten?
I was studying my samples,
Grand-mre.
In the dark?
On a day like this?
There. That's better.
Did I hear you talking
to someone?
My amoebas.
Mother.
You better change for lunch.
And don't forget to fix your hair.
It's from Michael.
I tell you, I won't have him here.
I hardly think he's coming
again for you, my dear.
She is his daughter after all.
We've been so careful, Mother.
A glimpse would perhaps satisfy him
for another 10 years.
A glimpse of Michael
would hardly satisfy Marguerite.
Would you stir his curiosity?
And Marguerite,
seeing Michael might temper
her absurd idolatry of the man.
I shall show him my pinks
and my carnations.
Oh, and my dahlias
and my mums.
Here, Mother.
This is a marguerite.
It's really a rather elegant
daisy, don't you think?
Did you know that daisy
means day's eye?
Old English. I think
that's lovely, don't you?
Chrysanthemum frutescens.
That's my true generic name.
Marguerite's also called
a Paris daisy.
Oh, will we see Paris one day?
Grand-mreand I
were just discussing a trip.
After your father's visit.
Oh, could we visit Mont-Saint-Michel?
Could we? Where the tides rush
in and out so extravagantly?
My French is so atrocious.
Does father speak French?
Living abroad, traveling,
publishers in foreign lands.
I suppose he speaks
scads of languages.
One was all I remember.
Women are
the natural linguists.
Men just don't have music
in their ears.
What are those dreadful things?
Why, they're not dreadful.
Why, it's common goldenrod.
Aaron's rod, Mother.
I had Kevin put them in.
That's right, ma'am.
Why on earth spoil a perfect garden?
Take them out, Kevin.
No!
I won't let you.
Why, it's nothing
but a weed, dear.
But all flowers are beautiful.
Even the wild ones.
It's cousin to mullein,
which is sometimes called
the velvet plant
because its leaves
are so soft and wooly.
Second cousin to orpine.
Mother, did you know that orpine
is sometimes called
"live forever"?
Nothing dreadful about that.
Huh.
My, aren't we giddy today?
I'm so happy
father's coming.
Thank you, Peggy.
I'll serve.
Would you, uh--?
Would you bring
this hot chocolate
to Marguerite, please?Yes, ma'am.
Some more coffee, Katherine?
No, thank you, Mother.
Will there be anything else, ma'am?
No, thank you, that's all.
You may go.
Thank you, ma'am.
Be sure the gate lock clicks
when you leave, Peggy.
Kevin forgot the other evening.
Some urchins from Georgetown
were running around the grounds.
Oh, yes, ma'am.
I always click the lock.
Good night.
Good night, Peggy.
And now you're even
keeping secrets from me.
How long have you been there?
Anyway, I'm not keeping secrets.
I simply hadn't told you yet.
Oh, I see.
I thought we shared everything.
We do.
But he is my father.
I do have a life of my own.
What a horrid little laugh.
And what are you doing
on my bed?
I thought we were always
going to be together.
Best friends and all that.
But just maybe you're saving
all that for Father?
Oh, there you go
being all jealous again.
And stop feeling sorry
for yourself.
I just don't want
to get shoved back into a corner
because of your precious father.You.
If he's all that bloody wonderful,
Why doesn't he live here?
You.
Get out! Get out! Get out!
Get out of here!
I'm not a child anymore.
I can get along on my own.
Annie, come on, get out,
look at this. It's beautiful.
Oh, Mickey, it's fantastic.
Mr. and Mrs. Heffernan?
Mr. Heffernan, Miss Havord.
Heh, heh.
Excuse us.
Here are the keys.
You Caraquet's son, then?
Yes. Father died
five years ago.
Oh, sorry to hear
about that.
I'm only here summers
to help my mom.
We gave up the boats.
Mother runs the inn now.
Do you hear much at all
from up at the Headland?
Mm, not very much.
I'm usually in Montreal.
But I'm sure your daughter
will be happy to see you.
She's a very pretty girl.
It is very good to see you again.
It's been a long time.
Mrs. Caraquet, this is Miss Havord.
Enchant. Hello.
Come with me, please.Thank you.
Will you ask her right out,
first thing?
There's no reason
she should hang onto me.
She hates me.
Just remember what you've come for.
Oh, he just wants to spoil everything.
I hate him.
Katherine.
Michael.
Julia.
Come in.
Yes, thank you.
You've hardly changed.
I'm not sure how you mean that.
I mean, you look beautiful.
And you, Michael,
look terribly distingu.
May I?
Now you've done it,
you've really done it,
destroying my flowers.
Maybe now you'll have
a little more respect for me.
Shh, he's here.
And I'm gonna tell on you.
I've not come here to agonize
over past guilts.
What have you
come for, Michael?
To ask you for a divorce.
Well, we have certainly come
full circle, haven't we?
Julia, if you don't mind,
I really think this does concern
Katherine and me.
Huh, there's nothing, absolutely
nothing between you and me.
That's precisely why
we should end this marriage.
Thank you, Peggy. I'll serve.
There is a woman, isn't there?
Yes, there is.
Sugar?
Thank you.
She's here as a matter of fact.
Oh, I don't mean here.
She's at the inn.
Does she know about you?
So now you want a second chance.
Katherine, you know I wanted
that 10 years ago with you.
Now I simply want my freedom.
Which is mine to give.
Is that all you want?
No.
I want to see my daughter.
Your daughter?
She's not your daughter.
You weren't even there
when she was born.
You're nothing in her life.
I'm her father.
You can cease all communications
with her.
What do you really want, Michael?
A divorce? Marguerite?
Or both?
Mother.
You will see her,
and then you will go.
Is that what she wants?
You still love twisting
the knife, don't you, Julia?
Marguerite.
Marguerite, this is your father.
I don't suppose
you remember me, do you?
I remember.
Would you like to sit down?
It's very difficult
to know what to say
to somebody you love so much
and whom you haven't seen
for so long.
Somebody who is so enchanting.
Did you get my books?
Oh, yes.
They're lovely books.
I like especially the one on botany.
Splendid color plates.
Yes, they're lovely.
Do you study flowers at school?
Marguerite is a very special child.
She doesn't require school.
She has the best tutors,
a library, everything.
Share my books with your friends?
Oh, yes.
Mother and grand-mre read them
all as soon as they arrive.
I don't mean Mother and
Grand-mre.Your friends.
You've got friends
your own age, haven't you?
I told you, Michael,
she's a very special child.
I show some of them to Aaron.
The simpler ones.
Now, really, Marguerite.
Aaron is one of Marguerite's
doll friends.
Well, that's no wonder
if she doesn't have
any human ones.
Oh, but he's quite human.
In fact, he's been
terribly, terribly naughty.
You've been crying.
He destroyed my garden.
I thought we were not going
to have a scene.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Please forgive me.
I didn't want you
to see me this way.
Some scamps broke
into the place last night.
They destroyed the flowers.
I tell you, it was Aaron.
Marguerite!
See that she washes her face.
So you insist
on upsetting the child
the moment you come here.
No school, no friends.
Does she ever get away
from this place?
We travel.
Last year, Morocco.
This year, Europe.
Oh, yes, I can imagine all that.
Hotel suites, museums, tutors.
Very well chaperoned.
A bit like those letters
I get once a year,
pathetic exercises
in suppression,
beautifully heartbreaking
writing,
excised of any emotion,
dictated by you
and censored by Julia.
What right have you?
Right?
I know I've done you
great damage.
God knows I know that.
Now it's your turn, I suppose.
Well, what's she doing now?
She forgotten her lines?
Julia rehearsing the next scene
or something?
Michael.
Michael,
Marguerite has something
to say to you.
It really doesn't matter.
Yes, I must.
Katherine.
Are they gone?
Yes.
I think so.
It's so good having you here.
Please...
Don't go.
Is that you, Mickey?
Yes, it's me.
We got an invitation
to a dinner party.
Have to put on a dress.
Not one of your sexy ones.
What's the verdict?
The verdict is,
I can have a divorce.
Oh, Mickey, how wonderful.
It's Marguerite.
She's a disturbing child.
Enchanting.
Bright as a button.
And she's their prisoner.
I mean that quite literally.
They've got her locked up away
from the world,
like some precocious doll.
Talks like a book.
Anne, Katherine will give me
the divorce
if I never again
have anything to do
with Marguerite.
You see, it's what
they're doing to her.
Anne, I'm gonna need
your help.
Mickey...
...you do love me, don't you?
There's quite enough
for the whole family.
All, that is, except Aaron.
No crackers and milk
for Aaron...
until he decides
to behave himself.
We're getting quite cocky,
aren't we?
Just learning my way around,
opening my eyes,
figuring a few things out
for myself.
What things?
Your mother, for one.
Your grandmother,
for another.
Oh, they're a couple
of dandies,
been pulling the wool
over your eyes,
like you've been doing to me.
You're just angry
because I told on you.
Heh. They didn't believe you
anyway.
They probably think
you're crazy.
Your father does.
Don't say that.
He thinks I'm enchanting.
What wool have they been
pulling over my eyes?
When you were 5,
they told you
your father was dead.
How did you know about that?
You told me.
I don't forget things like that.
And those shots
you take every day.
I have diabetes.
And what's in the bottles?
Don't you even know what insulin is?
It increases the glycogen
storage in the liver
and keeps a glucose balance
between water
and carbon dioxide.
If you're so smart,
why do they take the labels
off the bottles?
Well, they could be
poisoning my food
if I wanted to believe
the absolute worst.
You have to have a certain
amount of faith in people.
Blind faith.
Like your precious
Saint Michael?
What about him?
You treat him
like the Second Coming.
He's here to make a deal,
never to see you again
if Saint Katherine
will give him a divorce.
That's not true.
He'd never agree
to such a thing.
Oh, no? Are you quite sure?
There's a remarkable woman
in his life.
I heard every word.
I have to get dressed.
Father will be here--
Where did you get that?
My rod and my staff,
they comfort me.
Oh, Aaron,
you're scaring me.
There is evidence that hormones
furnished by the pollen
are transferred
to the unfertilized egg cell.
The basic parts of the flower
are modified leaves.
The showy colored petals
are the corolla.
Inside of that, the stamens
bear the pollen sacs
around the pistil. The ovaries
are underneath that.
And the amazing thing
is that--
Ma chrie, really,
I think we've heard enough.
Oh, Marguerite, I'd love to see
some of your prints.
I've heard so much
about them.
Oh, might I show them
my rooms?
Mama gave me this
for Christmas.
Isn't it lovely?
Yes. What do you study with it?
Oh, most anything.
Leaves, blood, amoebae.
I've a whole pond
full of friends in the garden.
Oh, and here's some others.
This is...
This is Moses
and his family,
Hugo, Janet,
and, uh, Cinnamon.
Oh, which one is Mrs. Moses?
Oh, well, she became ill
so Cinnamon ate her.
And Janet just laid some eggs
and Hugo fertilized them.
Oh, I know it all sounds
terribly childish,
but, well, these are modern relics
of the most ancient forms
of fish, the cyclostomes.
We all came out of the sea
and all that,
but, well, they ride
on the backs of the larger fish
and eat their flesh.
Ahem. It certainly accounts
for Mrs. Moses.
Sounds utterly revolting,
but it's quite natural.
For cyclostomes.
You're going to be
my stepmother, aren't you?
Really, I'm not very wicked.
No, I don't think you are.
Would you like to see my dolls?
Oh, how exquisite.
Are these her friends?
She's had an assortment
over the years.
Some become outmoded.
Some remain.
Like Aaron?
You know, you're very clever.
You're very clever.
You're very talented indeed.
Who is this?
Can't you tell?
It's Joan of Arc
before Saint Michael.
You don't know
how often I've--
I've imagined you here,
with me,
alone, in--
In this room.
This is our very special room.
Perhaps you can't imagine
how often I've wanted to be here
with you alone.
Each September 29th,
I celebrate Michaelmas.
And now you're here.
It's like a dream.
I like her, Father.
Really, I do. I...
I think she'll make
a splendid stepmother.
But...
you won't spoil my dream,
will you?
Marguerite, it's late.
Prepare for bed.
But, Mama, I must show
my gardens, the greenhouse.
Oh, you shall come,
shan't you?
Promise.
You will never see
your father again.
Father, would you say
my prayers with me?
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
They won't let you come back.
No.
I must see you.
Meet me tonight. Where?
Just inside the front gate.
At 12.
It's quite dark.
Will you be there?
Yes.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
Amen.
Oh, Mickey, my God,
how can you?
You saw her.
I've got to see if there's
some way I can help her.
What if you get caught?
Well, if there's one thing I know,
it's my way around that place.
I had a feeling
from the moment we arrived,
something was gonna go wrong.
Maybe you still do
have a resistance
to going through with the marriage.
I'm sorry, Mickey.
I didn't mean it.
Just where do you think
you're going?
I have a rendezvous with Michael.
You what?
You heard me.
I have a rendezvous with Michael.
He's going to take me away
from here. From them.
Oh, I hate them.
He's not taking you anywhere.
And I hate you too.
Me? Yes.
All you ever do
is undermine my faith
in everything I love.
How can you say that?
Everything I've told you is true.
Oh, you're just like them.
You just want me all to yourself.
Oh, no, Marguerite.
Well, I don't love you anymore.
And I don't need any of you.
Where are you?
Marguerite?
Is that you, chrie?
Marguerite?
Inspector, there's one thing
I think you should know.
I came back here last night,
um, after dinner,
about 12:00, to be exact.
You see, my daughter knew
my wife didn't want me
to see her again,
and during prayers,
she asked me if I'd slip back
and meet her later,
inside the main gate.
She said she had something very
important she wanted to tell me.
Miss Havord and I, we had quite a row
before I decided to come back,
because Miss Havord thought
it would jeopardize the divorce.
Your wife acceded
to your request.
I'll vouch for that.
Yes, of course.
Well, you don't need one now.
So you decided to come back.
Yes. But I...
Well, the gates were locked,
and Marguerite wasn't there.
Somebody else was there, though.
A boy, sitting
up there on the wall.
A boy.
Well, I think it was a boy,
about 12 or 13.
It was dark
and he was dressed darkly.
Dressed darkly.
Tell you one thing, he saw me.
Did you speak?
Well, I called out Marguerite.
I mean, I heard him
before I saw him,
heard the leaves rustling.
Then he jumped down
from the wall
and he ran away inside.
Marguerite simply wasn't there.
Got in the car,
drove back to the inn.
The whole thing couldn't have
taken more than 45 minutes.
No, I don't suppose it would.
He was back at 20 minutes
after 12.
I was watching the clock
the whole time.
I can imagine you were.
Is it true that the gates
were found open this morning?
Yes, they were.
Father!
Father!
Father!
All right,
all right.
Promise me you won't go now.
You just can't leave now.
I won't. I won't.
It's all right.
Skull's fractured.
Some heavy blunt instrument
administered with considerable force.
Both were sexually mutilated.
Some obtuse object.
Not lacerated.
Kind of punctured.
Molested?
Can't say yet,
but doesn't look like it.
The older one had water
in the lungs, but not much.
She was dead
when they dumped her in there.
You coming Saturday?Sure.
First I heard someone in the garden,
then I heard someone
near the house.
Did you see two people?
I don't know.
It was dark and foggy.
Then I saw someone running.
Now, the one you saw,
what did he look like?
Oh, just a kid
running through the woods.
Over about there.
Had on a sweater,
jeans or something.
I yelled out to him, "Hey, you,"
and off he went.
The child always kept talking
about someone
taking her away from here.
Maybe you'd like
to stay on here.
Me?
Me, stay here?
They were yelling
at each other.
Then I heard a slap.
I think she slapped him.
Don't touch that door
if you please, Mister Heffernan.
The girl was brought up
in almost total seclusion.
Well, as her father,
you should seem
to have some say now.
Miss Havord and I could
look after her at the inn.
Yes, you could,
couldn't you?
Inspector, I do realize I'm
in a very vulnerable position.
This all happens
the night of the day I arrive.
Apart from settling your case,
we do have the matter
of Marguerite's
immediate security.
I quite agree.
Why don't I talk to her
and see what she wants?
I overheard Peggy telling you
about my quarrel with Katherine
and that remark
about the gate.
You did find the gate locked,
didn't you?
Do you think I lied?
No.
That doesn't sound very convincing.
I'm sorry for what I sound,
Mickey.
It's all
a nightmare.
Marguerite tells me she feels
most at home right here.
One for you and one for you.
Delaying your trip to Toronto
a few days might be advisable.
Inspector, did she tell you
why she never turned up
last night?
No. Did she tell you?
Did she tell you
that she asked me to meet her?
Should I have asked her?
You told me that.
Is there any reason
I should doubt you?
Am I to consider this some
subtle form of house arrest?
Hello. I brought
your father's bags.
Oh, yes, well,
won't you come in, please?
Thank you.
Where shall I put these?
Come in, dear.
This is one of the guest rooms.
Never seen a guest.
I always called it
the ghost room.
But Grand-mrealways had Peggy
keep it spotless just the same.
Do you like it?
Oh, it's a lovely room.
Are both of you staying in here?
Yes.
Well, not that I mind.
I mean, I'm not exactly
a child anymore.
And you're as good
as married now.
But I'm right next door,
you know.
Does that bother you?
Good night.
Good night, dear.
Good night.
Now you've really done it,
with that monstrous stick of yours.
What did you do with it?
You threw it in the sea,
didn't you?
I bet you threw it in the sea.
Who said I did it?
Could just as well
have been Saint Michael.
He had everything
to gain by it.
He'd never do such a thing.
Maybe not. Maybe I did.
What's the difference?
Anyway, it's only what
you would have done yourself
if you had the nerve
and half the chance.
You are vile saying that.
Murder in your heart,
the Bible told me so.
I want you out of here.
Tonight.
Otherwise you'll be discovered.
Oh, no, Marguerite.
No, I'm not about to vanish now
that we have the place
to ourselves.
The way you pretend
with your dolls.
They still think Aaron's a doll.
I'm afraid of you
after what you've done.
Now that you have what you want,
our problem is your father.
He discarded Katherine, now Anne.
No, Marguerite,
he has what he's come for.
Your daughter stands to inherit
the entire Sterling estate.
You're her legal guardian.
To the fact of being her father,
I plead entirely guilty.
Yes.
Well, we, uh, picked up a couple
of lads over in Georgetown.
You know Georgetown?
No, we came
from Charlottetown.
Lovely this time of year.
Yes. No, I meant Georgetown.
The trees by the church,
the cows on the hill
overlooking the bay,
the water, a pure cerulean blue.
Well, the usual troublemakers.
Summerhouse looters and the like.
Blotter records, assaults,
unless someone is using your visit
as the proper time
for score-settling.
Mister Heffernan, we don't get
this sort of thing around here.
Have a nice day.
We were thinking
of going for a picnic.
Yeah.
Lovely day for a picnic.
We have your permission
to leave the grounds then?
Do as you like.
You do it.
Why?
Because it won't hurt so much
if you do it.
Please. Just this once.
Annie, you just can't go on
treating her as if
she's a normal child.
Don't give me any more
of your Oedipal crap, Mickey,
because I can't stand it.
She wants to devour you
like one of those
evil fishes of hers,
and I think you actually like it.
Oh, it's not that, Mickey.
It's just she's always
getting you off by yourself.
Like this afternoon
or the day at the beach.
I'm surprised we found
this moment alone.
Well, it's hardly surprising,
is it, in the circumstances.
I mean...she is lost.
I know how much she needs you
and all that, Mickey,
but she's...absolutely
carnivorous about it.
As if she's considerably
more than a daughter.
You're jealous.
Yes. Yes, I suppose I am.
And a little lonely too.
You do realize
these last few days,
she's been trying
to make up for 15 years
of being without a father.
I do realize that's
what she'd like you to think,
but it's rubbish,
because she's aware
of every move she makes,
like giving your leg
a good feel.
Annie, that's not fair.
What's the matter?
I don't know
who to believe anymore.
I want to believe you.
I sometimes wonder
why you did come back.
You're going to marry
my father now, aren't you?
We plan to.
So you should be more
than a stepmother.
No, I'm Anne.
I like to work
on several at once.
It's rather like me,
keeping 10 books going at once.
What's this one?
Oh, this is Aaron.
Your little friend?
Oh, he's not so little.
No, this is the Aaron
who brought forth water
out of rocks.
Whose rod made miracles,
turned into a serpent,
bore almonds and things.
I bet you don't believe
I have a friend in the world.
He used to be
my only friend.
But Mama just wouldn't have him.
She wanted me to believe
he was just a doll.
But I tell you, Father,
he's--
He's not a doll.
Anne knows that.
Good night.
Good night.
Well, surely you don't believe
there is such a friend,
apart from the friend
she imagines?
I'm sure there's an Aaron,
but I don't know who he is.
Did your mother tell you
not to meet me?
No.
Was it somebody else
who told you not to meet me?
No. I just decided that
I was being terribly foolish
and terribly unfair.
Are you aware
that McKenna thinks
I may have lied to him?
Oh, yes. I--
I do realize what...
What an unfortunate position
it put you in.
And that someone else
needs me very much.
Yes, I know that.
You see, I--
I was going to ask you
to take me away.
And I-- I know that would be
very unfair of me to ask
because you have your own life
to lead with Anne.
The mother cells divide
to form the pollen grains,
whose nuclei contain
half the normal number
of chromosomes characteristic
in the parent plant.
You know about meiosis,
but not about popsicles.
But I do now.
And sundaes and drumsticks.
I know an ice cream parlor.
Maybe, uh, someday
I could treat you.
Would you like to see
my power microscope?
They move by pseudopods.
False feet.
That's right.
And they reproduce by
splitting, or binary fission.
Then the nucleus divides
by mitosis.
Something like the pollen
in your flowers.
Oh, I can divide them myself,
by heat or light.
Well, yes, but when you divide
an amoeba artificially,
the portion containing
the nucleus forms a new membrane
and then continues
as a whole animal.
But the other portion
without the nucleus,
lives on whatever food
it can scrounge up,
but can't digest it...
and can't reproduce
and soon dies.
It doesn't really die.
Well, of course it does, heh.
That's not true.
Marguerite, is anything wrong?
Don't touch me.
And don't say that!
You're getting pretty bold,
aren't you?
Parading your boyfriends
past my door.
What's happening to us,
Marguerite?
Friends just grow apart,
I guess.
I've waited too long to let you
get away from me now.
You don't possess me.
But I do.
Never quite as much
as I do now.
And you'll do as I say,
exactly.
Or I'll have to do it for you.
As usual.
I don't know what you mean.
Listen.
Listen.
Yes, I need you.
That's the trouble.
You don't seem to need me
quite the way you did before.
I don't mean that.
You wish you were in there,
don't you?
Don't you?
You wish your boyfriend
were here, don't you?
Well, I'm here.
Father, Father.
Oh, Father, father.
Father, don't leave me.
Oh, God, why doesn't she just
ask you to live with us?
It's a sickness, Mickey,
all of you.
This, this house.
I can't stand it anymore.
I'm going back to the inn.
Don't leave me.
Don't, don't, don't.
Don't leave me.
Anne!
Hector.
Hector?
Hector?
I want to talk to you.
Hector?
No!
Honey?
Oh, Mickey.
Mickey, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
McKenna's on his way over.
Well, there were two sets
of footprints.
One matches yours, Mr. Heffernan.
The other set we'll know tomorrow.
Beer.
- You ever had a beer?
- No.
How do you like it?
Better than popsicles.
Would you like to live there
when you're a doctor?
Well, I would like
to intern there, yes.
It's a beautiful city.
But I love the sea.
Ah, who knows?
Life is so full of changes.
Would you like to see
Montreal one day?
Yes.
Aren't you warm in your things?
No.
You really should have worn
a swimsuit.
Well, I can't swim.
I could teach you.
The motor went berserk.
The boat hit the reef.
The body was catapulted
on the rocks.
You'll be all right.
Where are you taking me?
Where's her father?
Why isn't he here?
I want to go home.
No. No.
You know my trouble?
I drink too much.
Please.
The doctor will--
No! Don't! Let go of me!
I've gotta go home!
I gotta go home!
Please! I need to go home!
Don't! Don't make me.
Please, take me home.
Don't ever let a man touch you.
Their touch is death.
Now, where's her father?
Why isn't he here?
You can't treat me like that,
Marguerite.
I'm not a child anymore.
I can get along on my own.
I don't suppose you remember me,
do you?
I remember.
The way you pretend
with your dolls,
they still think Aaron's a doll.
I made a phone call to Boston.
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
Because you're a very special child,
my sweet.
And Jill went up the hill
to fetch a pail of water.
And when you are a young lady,
we shall travel together
everywhere,
mother and daughter.
Another book from her father.
Father. Father, father,
father, father.
Father.
They're going to take me away,
aren't they?
Yes, my love.
But I'm not the one, you know.
I can't protect him anymore,
even if he was my friend.
He hurt me.
He hurt us all, dreadfully.
Will you let me show you?
Yes.
Mickey, what is it?
Mickey, don't go up there.
You stay down here.
Father!
Wait.
Boston Hall of Records.
Oh, yes. Uh, I want to check on
the birth of a girl, please.
Born about 16 years ago.
I'll connect you
with Vital Statistics.
Vital Statistics.
Yes. I'd like some information on the birth
of a young girl.
Born about 16 years ago.
The mother's name
was Katherine Sterling.
The girl's name
was Marguerite.
One second, please.
Yes. I have the record.
I'm sorry, sir,
there was a child born
to a Katherine Sterling
on the date you mentioned.
But there seems to be
some mistake.
Our records do not show
the birth of a girl,
but we do show
born to a Katherine Sterling
in September of that year,
a 7-pound, 6-ounce...
boy.