Charles    Just – could you, just until they pay me, could you ask him if I can, if they’ll put me in another . . .

Charles starts to weep again.

Bert    What? . . . Go on, Charlie? What do you want? What do you want me to ask Merv?

Pause.

Charles    . . . No . . . nothing, Bert . . . I can’t, I don’t want you to ask him anything. I can’t –

Bert    Anything.

Charles buries his head in the pillow. Bert ponders for a while then makes for the door.

Bert    I’ll go get us something to drink, Charlie. Calm you down, OK? I’ll get us a bottle to calm you down, right?

Bert exits. Charles climbs down and goes and stands at the side of Philomena’s bed. He reaches up and tugs on her leg.

Charles    Please . . . Philomena, wake up, Philomena.

Philomena sits up.

Philomena (angry)     I wasn’t asleep.

Charles    I’m sorry, Philomena.

Philomena    What do you want, Charles?

Charles    I’m sorry for, I need to . . . Philomena, have you any money you could loan me? I’ll wire it to you as soon as I get home, I promise –

Philomena    You’ve got to be kidding, Charles! Loan you money, loan you money so you can buy more liquor and opium!

Charles    No, no, I won’t – I’ve got to get away from here. I’ll make sure you get my pay, you can have it, have it all, I don’t want it . . . I just want to go home. I’ll wire you –

Philomena    I haven’t got any money to give you, and if I did I wouldn’t. You didn’t listen to me, I told you time and time again to stay away from that monster but you wouldn’t listen to me. Mr Benedict-Porter . . . Raymond . . . was right –

Charles    Don’t! Don’t talk about that . . . I can’t . . . I just need to go home.

Philomena    I’m sorry for you, Charles, I really am, but sure you’ve got to learn . . . Will you look at yourself. You’re a wreck, Charles Merryweather. That’s what alcohol and opium does to people . . . I didn’t hear you – why didn’t you ask Kowalski? You didn’t ask him for money, did you? You should have asked him for your money back!

Charles    He won it from the Cowardly Lion.

Philomena    You don’t believe that, do you? You don’t seriously – you don’t believe the Cowardly Lion would seriously have anything to do with an animal like Kowalski?

Charles    He’s not an animal!

Philomena    I’ve worked with animals and I’m telling you he is.

Charles    Bert’s good to me. He listens.

Philomena     I listen. Mr Benedict-Porter listens. That’s all we ever do. All we ever do is listen to you, Charles. It’s you that doesn’t listen . . . if you, if you listened you’d know that.

Charles    I just . . . I just want to go home.