THE INHERITANCE

Screenplay

(900 words)

EXT. LONDON STREET, EARLY MORNING

JEREMY, 29, a handsome man with dark hair and a rough beard, walks long a road of London Townhouses. He is dressed smartly, but not extravagantly. He refers to a letter in his hand, and reads the house numbers as he walks. 

He reaches his destination and tucks the letter into his inside pocket. He walks up the steps and knock on the door three times. 

(Pause)

The door opens, revealing HANNAH TWITCHET, 56, a white women in a sombre yet ornamental dress. 

HANNAH

Good morning, young man. 

JEREMY

Good morning. Am I speaking to Mrs.  Spears?

HANNAH

Oh my no. You can call me Hannah. And you are young Jeremy Oak, are you not?

JEREMY

I am. I believe Mrs Spears is expecting me.

HANNAH

Of course, come in. 

HANNAH steps back and gestures Jeremy into the house.

INT. ENTRANCE HALL, EARLY MORNING

The entrance hall to the house is far bigger than it should be. It takes up the space where the houses either side should be. The floor is dark tile, while the walls are painted a clean white. The only ornamentation are some esoteric paintings. 

Jeremy looks around to see where the two front doors he assumed were for different houses stand. They are clearly ornamental. 

HANNAH

Come now, come now.

Hannah leads Jeremy into the house as he looked around. She stops at a small table. On it are a teapot and a single cup and saucer. She pours a cup and offers it to Jeremy. 

HANNAH (CONT'D)

Have some tea. 

JEREMY

Oh, thank you but I'm fine. 

HANNAH

Oh, have some tea. 

JEREMY

That's very generous...

HANNAH

Have some tea.

Jeremy pauses at the new tone in Hannah voice. He takes the cup. 

JEREMY

Well, of course. Thank you.

Hannah remains where she is, looking expectant. Jeremy takes a sip of the tea, and she finally turns and leads him up the stairs. 

HANNAH

Come on then. Annabelle and Frederick will be waiting. 

Jeremy follows Hannah up the stairs, carrying his tea. They continue up to the second floor, where Hannah opens a door and gestures Jeremy to walk through. 

INT. LIBRARY - EARLY MORNING

The library is a contrast to the rest of the house. The walls are shelves of dark wood. Several table stand with red velvet cloth over them, displaying odd artefacts. 

FREDERICK CANSOME, 49, is sitting in a chair opposite the door reading a heavy book. He is a friendly looking man with a mane of greying hair. He wears a linen suit that gives the appearance of being the same outfit her wears every day. 

FREDERICK

Ah, you're here. 

ANNABELLE

What? Oh, at last.

ANNABELLE, 62, is a thin white woman with strong features and long white hair bound ornately around her head. She turns from the window and stand uncomfortably close to Jeremy. 

ANNABELLE

Right on time. Good. I like that. Come now, drink up, there's a good boy. 

Annabelle takes Jeremy's hand and holds it to his lips until he is forced to drink. 

ANNABELLE (CONT'D)

There. Good. Let's not waste time, shall we. 

Annabelle turns and walks to a chair by the window and sits. 

FREDERICK

What do you know about lay-lines, Jeremy? 

Hannah closes the door and takes a seat opposite Annabelle. Jeremy is now stood between the three of them. 

HANNAH

Come now, finish your tea.

JEREMY

Look here, what's going on? I received a letter from a Mrs. Spears... 

He looks around for somewhere to put down his teacup, but there is no where free. Instead he holds it awkwardly in one hand while fishing out the letter from his jacket pocked.

JEREMY (CONT'D)

...informing me I was required to report to this address this morning to discuss a legal matter?

ANNABELLE

Oh, that's me. 

JEREMY

You're the legal matter?

ANNABELLE

No, of course not. I'm Mrs. Annabelle Spears. Pleased to meet you. The whole thing about the legal matter was a lie. No point in wasting time worrying about all that.

JEREMY

I'm sorry, you lied to me? Who are you people?

FREDERICK

You are Jeremy Oak, recent purchaser of 14 Letchway Road, Hackney, London. 

JEREMY

Yes...

FREDERICK

(interrupting)

How much do you know about spiritualism, young man? 

JEREMY

Spiritualism? 

ANNABELLE

Yes! The occult. The esoteric. That part of our world the masses of humanity choose to ignore to protect their own pale lives. 

HANNAH

Finish your tea dear. You'll feel better then. 

JEREMY

What...

FREDERICK

(Interrupting)

It's the house you bought, I'm afraid. It's not you. Where it sits you see. When you own the land, you own the responsibilities. 

JEREMY

I only bought the place last week.

FREDERICK

And that's how we found you. 

HANNAH

Drink your tea. 

JEREMY

Look, if you have no real business with me then I'm leaving. And I will be informing the police of this harassment. 

HANNAH

That's nice, dear. Finish your tea before you go. 

JEREMY

Fine!

Jeremy downs the remainder of his cup of tea. He marches across the room to the small table by Frederick, who smiles at him. 

When Jeremy turns around, the room is dark. The curtains remain open but no sunlight comes through the windows, as if someone has switched it off. There are now three lit candles, one by each of the three inhabitants of the house. 

ANNABELLE

Right, now we can move past all this posturing and get down to business. Everyone agreed? Good, agreed.