Woman: He’s coming here?
Couldn’t put him off, Susan.
When you’ve took a gent’s money,
you’re obliged to go through with the job.
Gammon, Bozzle. I has to see him right.
But he ain’t in the right, is he?
The paternal parent has a right to his infants.
What’s he gonna do with ’em when he gets ’em?
(knock on door) That’s him.
(baby crying)
Mr. Trevelyan, come in, sir.
Here we are, sir.
Mrs. Bozzle.
This is our own little chap.
Give him your finger, sir. He’ll take it.
Is there perhaps a place where we can talk?
(crying continues)
Cloth lot, sir, if you prefer, sir.
Well?
There hasn’t been nothin’ to be done, sir,
not with things as they stand.
Why not?
They won’t give the child up, sir.
Not without a court order and bailiffs.
Does he question my right to have the care of my own child,
after all that has happened?
Do I have to drag her through the courts?
I believe you must, sir,
or leave the child with the lady, sir.
Mrs. Bozzle advises the latter, sir.
Where is he now?
The Colonel, sir, is in town, sir.
Parliament’s sitting.
He’s been here two weeks.
Have they seen each other?
Well, now, sir, it’s so hard to say.
Ladies are so cute and cunning.
I’ve watched her sharp as watching can go pretty near.
He’s been at the house just the once,
but I couldn’t stand up in court
and swear that he’s seen her, sir.
Of course he’s seen her.
Why else would he go there?
As you say, sir,
but I couldn’t put my hand on the Bible –
Never mind that.
I’ve heard enough.
Hold yourself in readiness, Bozzle,
and wait for my instructions.
Has he gone?
Yes, he’s gone.
Something not right about him, Susan.
He was looking at me very strange.
Staring right through me.
You take my advice, Bozzle.
Get in what’s owin’,
and don’t have nothin’ more to do with it.
Penny for your thoughts.
Hugh Stanbury, I suppose.
As soon as we’re with mama and papa,
he can come and see me again.
Do you think they’ll approve of him?
I very much doubt it.
They must do, when they see how much I love him.
I wonder you’re so keen to be married to anyone
after all you’ve seen.
Better drown yourself than do what I’ve done.
I suppose I shall have to go back to the Islands now,
and live my life out there.
Who else would take me in?
I know who would take you in.
No, that’s all over now.
I believe he never wants to see me again.
If you were to write him.
And say what?
If you were just to say, “Can’t we be together
and let bygones be bygones?”
Nora, if that were possible, I’d wish for nothing more.
Outhouse: If you want to claim the child,
you must do it by law, not by force.
They’ve come for Louis.
They shan’t take him – they shan’t.
Uncle Oliphant won’t let them, I’m sure.
Come here, Louis. Come to mama.
Louis is here, my dear,
and wishes to see you and his son.
He has promised Mr. Outhouse that he will make no attempt
to take little Louis away with him today.
What can I say to him?
You know what you can say to him, Emily.
I will go down to him alone,
and he can see Louis afterwards if he wants to.
Aunt Mary asked me to come to you.
Louis, you look so ill.
Ill at ease, Emily.
Very ill at ease.
Since we’ve parted, I’ve not had much to comfort me.
Nor have I, nor any of us.
We’re still man and wife, Emily.
In spite of all that has come and gone,
I’m yours and you’re mine.
You should’ve remembered that always.
You came all the way across the world to find me.
And you make me so happy.
I have never forgotten it.
I thought that you had.
No. Never.
Oh, Louis, this has been such a terrible time.
Then you have suffered too?
Yes, perhaps you have.
I have been in such doubt and despair, such torment.
I thought I had lost your love.
No. I love you.
I have always loved you.
Can you forget all that has passed?
If you can, I believe I can.
Then you will promise me.
Promise you what?
That all your dealings with Colonel Osborne
shall be at an end.
Louis, you have no need to ask me to promise such a thing.
Don’t you understand what I’m saying?
I forgive you.
I’m prepared to take you back.
So long as you give me your promise,
I am willing to believe that you have not.
Have not what?
Have not...
disgraced me.
Louis, I have not disgraced you at all.
It’s you that has disgraced us both
with your insane suspicions.
Were you right to see him in Somerset?
Of course I was right.
Why should I not see him, or anyone?
So you intend to see him again?
Louis, it’s nothing to do with Colonel Osborne.
I don’t believe you.
If you’re still obsessed about that man,
then it is hopeless.
Send me my child.
You promise not to take him away?
You ask me for promises and refuse to give me any.
Go. Send me the boy.
Oh, Mr. Gibson!
You have made me the happiest girl in Wells.
Why is he closeted in there with Camilla?
Why can’t I see him?
What is he doing with her?
Bella darling,
he is asking her to marry him.
No.
No!
If I could’ve arranged it the other way,
you know that I would, dear.
He shan’t do it. He hasn’t the right!
And as for her,
I’ll never speak to her again,
the nasty, sly, good-for-nothing.
I will speak to her
and tell her what I think of her.
Don’t make a show of yourself.
I don’t care if I do.
Arabella.
I hope you’ll congratulate me.
Why, yes, of course.
(Arabella weeping)
Oh, dear.
Dear Bella feels these things so strongly.
Yes, we have never been parted yet, you know.
(door slams)
The condition is serious.
The bronchitis is very stubborn,
and there are complications around the throat and chest.
As you didn’t marry that man,
I had better change my will again.
I’ll do it tomorrow.
Don’t think of such things now.
When do you think will be a better time?
You don’t suppose I’m afraid of dying,
do you?
I’m not a bit afraid of it.
And I don’t think I shall die this time.
But I must get things straight,
in case the Almighty has other plans for me.
You better send for Brooke.
Hello, Dolly.
Is she very bad?
She’s a little better today.
Go up to her.
She’s asking for you.
I’ve changed nothing, Brooke,
except I’ve done a little something for Dolly
that will have to come out of your pocket.
I’m very glad to hear it.
You couldn’t have done better.
Why do you say that?
She’s nothing to you.
She’s a very great deal to me, aunt.
Oh?
And what is she then?
A friend.
A great friend.
I see.
I’m sure her brother Hugh would want to see you.
May I tell him he can come?
I don’t think much of deathbed reconciliations.
I loved him dearly, but he didn’t love me,
and I don’t know what good we should do each other.
Oh, aunt, you know that’s not true at all.
That’s enough, Brooke.
I don’t want to talk about him.
She always says he never loved her.
There are these people who fancy no one cares for them.
What a way to go through life.
Can she really imagine that no one cares for her
apart from her money?
Her money gives her importance.
She has the means to change other people’s lives.
If she had none, who would care for her,
except you and me and one or two others?
The world is full of people no one cares for –
people that nobody thinks about,
nobody talks about.
It’s as if they’re hardly there at all.
But they are there,
and they have to live their lives.
“Nobodies,” people call them,
when they can be bothered to call them anything.
Yes, I suppose I’ve known a few men like that.
A man who’s a nobody can make himself into a somebody.
At any rate, he can try.
But a woman has no means of trying.
She doesn’t earn anything,
or do any good in the world.
She’s...just there,
and that’s all.
You, at least, are not one of them.
Am I not?
I suppose Mr. Gibson took a brief interest in me,
but that was only because of Aunt Stanbury’s money.
I think you did very well
to escape Mr. Gibson’s brief interest.
Oh, yes, and I didn’t mean to complain about myself.
I have a great deal to make me happy.
Well...
You’re not going yet?
I think I will.
She sleeps better when I’m in the room with her,
and Martha will be waking me at 5:00 in the morning.
Don’t go quite yet.
I know all about the hours,
and it wants 20 minutes to the proper time.
There is no proper time.
Then you can stay a few minutes longer.
I’m back off to London tomorrow morning,
and the fact is, I’ve got something I want to say to you.
I should’ve told you before,
but that infernal Gibson fellow was always in the way.
Oh.
You see, the first time I saw you, I thought,
“There. That’s exactly the kind of girl I’d like to marry.”
And then I was told you were going to marry him.
But you’re not, and so...
I’d like you to marry me.
I love you, Dorothy.
I think I loved you
from the first moment I saw you.
But you...
you hardly know me.
I know you quite well enough to be sure of my feelings.
About some things, I make up my mind very quickly, and I rarely regret it.
Perhaps you mean that you don’t know me very well.
I don’t.
Do you like what you know?
Yes. Oh, yes, but –
But what?
I don’t know what to say.
Don’t say anything then.
No. This is wrong.
Say you’ll marry me then and make it right.
I think, if you please, I’ll go up to Aunt Stanbury.
And you won’t answer me?
I don’t...
You must give me time to...
I don’t think you’re quite serious.
Heaven and earth, what more proof do you need?
I’ll go down on my knee –
No, no, please don’t.
And please don’t ask me again.
I’m sure it would never do.
At any rate, I must go now.
Dolly.
No, I must indeed.
Mrs. French: “My dear Mr. Gibson:
“Please call on us as soon as you possibly can
“on a matter of urgency.”
We have seen you a good deal
about the town, Mr. Gibson,
but we have not seen you here.
My dear Mrs. French,
a clergyman has so many duties...
...visiting the sick and so on...
and all the...all the demands of the Dean and Chapter.
The truth is, Mr. Gibson,
my poor child is pining.
Pining, Mrs. French?
Yes. Pining, Mr. Gibson.
I’m afraid you don’t understand how sensitive
a young girl’s heart can be.
(crying)
Shh!
(door slams)
You wouldn’t like it if Camilla spent her evenings with other gentlemen
now that she’s engaged to you,
and just so, she expects you
to spend your evenings with her...you know.
But, Mrs. French, my engagements as a clergyman.
We know all about that, Mr. Gibson.
And while things are as they are,
it would be more like an honest man of you
to spend a little more time with your betrothed.
I think this is the cruelest thing I ever heard.
Oh, no, Mr. Gibson, it is you who are cruel.
I’ll tell you what it is, Mrs. French.
If I am to be treated in this way,
I won’t stand it.
I won’t, indeed. I’ll go away.
I won’t be suspected,
and I won’t be interrogated.
I think I behaved very handsomely...
at any rate, to Camilla.
We’ve set the date for September 30.
I don’t see what more I can do.
Quite so.
If you would only come and see her in the evenings.
I’ll come and see her as often as I think fit.
But if I’m to be treated in this way, I’ll go.
I will.
I’ve had thoughts of it as it is.
I’ve already been invited to Natal.
(gasps)
And if I hear any more of these accusations,
I shall certainly make up my mind to go.
Good day to you, Mrs. French.
(whimpers) Oh!
Ma!!
So how’d you find the old woman?
Pretty bad, but she won’t let it beat her.
I think she’s good for at least another 20 years.
But she wouldn’t see you.
I asked her, but she wouldn’t hear of it.
She didn’t quarrel with you then?
No, not a bit of it.
Mind you, it’s not to say she won’t in the future.
How’s my sister?
Very well, indeed. Blooming.
In fact, I thought she was looking so pretty, I asked her to marry me.
You are joking, Brooke.
Not in the least.
I think she’s the loveliest, sweetest young woman in the world.
I thought she was being wooed by a clergyman.
Hmm.
Well! I never thought of Dolly being fought over by rivals.
Brothers never think much of their sisters.
I assure you, I think a great deal of Dorothy.
I think she’s as sweet a woman as God ever made.
There we are then.
She hasn’t said yes, by the way.
You think she will?
You don’t object, I hope.
No, no. Couldn’t wish for a better man for her.
’course, you know we haven’t got a brass farthing between us.
That won’t matter,
if the old lady takes it kindly.
And you think she will.
Why shouldn’t she?
“One leak will sink a ship,
“and one sin will destroy a sinner.
He that –”
Here’s a letter just come, Miss Dorothy.
From your sister Priscilla, I suppose.
No.
It’s from Mr. Brooke Burgess.
From Brooke? Why didn’t you say so?
Hand it over.
The letter is addressed to me, Aunt Stanbury.
Yes, yes, I’m sure it is.
How is he to know whether I was dead or alive?
But it concerns me, doesn’t it?
What else would he have to write to you about?
Well, answer me, child.
He does have something else to write to me about, aunt.
What?
What is wrong?
Is he in some trouble?
Or is it some scandal to do with your brother?
That would not surprise me.
Not one bit.
Nothing is wrong, aunt.
Well, then, show me the letter.
It’s...a private letter, aunt.
I’m sure he didn’t mean that I should show it to anyone.
What is it?
Aunt Stanbury, Brooke...
Brooke wants me...
...to be his wife.
What?!
I don’t believe it.
Now you may read the letter.
He must be a fool.
I never thought he’d be such a fool.
He may be foolish in this,
but I don’t think you should call him a fool.
I shall call him what I please.
I suppose this was going on when you refused Mr. Gibson.
Nothing was going on.
Nothing has gone on at all.
Do you mean to say this is the first you ever heard of it?
I never said that.
I only said that nothing was...
nothing was going on when Mr. Gibson was...
If you choose to suspect me, Aunt Stanbury, I’ll go away.
When Brooke spoke to me, I told him you wouldn’t like it.
Of course I don’t like it.
I won’t have it.
Do you hear me?
If you’re angry, I’m very sorry.
But you haven’t a right to be angry.
Oh, yes, go on.
Go on.
Drive me into my grave.
I’m so weak I can hardly stir myself.
It’s the first time I’ve been out of my bed
for weeks.
Well, you’ll soon have me back there,
and then, in a very little time,
you can both make fools of yourselves
just as you like.
Won’t you take a little broth, aunt?
There must be nothing more about this, Dorothy.
Remember that.
Nothing at all.
I won’t have it.
“Dear Brooke:
“I’ve shown your letter to Aunt,
“and she says that what you propose
“is quite out of the question.
“I’m aware that I am bound to respect her wishes,
“and so I shall try to think no more
“of what might have been.
“I am very grateful for the compliment
“you have paid me.
“I shall think of you always,
“’til I die.”
Telegram! Telegram!
Emily!
Papa sent us a telegram.
They will be in London tomorrow.
They’ve rented a house in Manchester Street,
and we’re to meet them there tomorrow evening.
Thank God.
Well?
I don’t advise it, Mr. Trevelyan.
Mrs. Bozzle’s very strong against it.
Damn Mrs. Bozzle.
Are you with me or against me?
I’m with you, sir.
Can it be done?
Very difficult, sir.
The expenses will be considerable.
Can you do it, man?
I think I can, sir.
Then let it be done.
Thank you for everything you’ve done for us.
Without your help and protection,
we’d have been lost indeed.
It was our duty to care for you, Emily.
I hope we know our duty when we see it before us.
Please give our best wishes to your unhappy parents.
Thank you.
Another month of that would put me in my grave.
Well, it’s all over now, Oliphant.
Another journey.
First from Curzon Street to Somerset,
then from Somerset to the East End,
and now, across London again
to Manchester Street,
back to the care of my parents
to be treated like a child again –
not fit to live in the world
like a grown woman.
And my marriage – a disgraceful memory.
Not to be spoken of.
Taken back to the Islands, never to be seen
in the wider world again.
A fairy prince turned out to be a poor, mad creature –
addled in his wits.
But he seemed like a God at first.
He took me from my parents
with such proud confidence.
He loved me with such strength and tenderness.
He gave me my lovely son.
Oh, Louis,
the best of your father went into you,
and as the years go by,
I’ll learn to be content with that.
nothing worse can happen to me than what has happened already.
Nothing.
Evening, ladies.
Are we there?
Is Sir Marmaduke Rowley arrived yet?
All ready and waiting, ma’am.
Follow me.
If you care to hand me the child, miss,
I’ll go ahead.
We don’t want him catching cold now, do we?
That’s it.
That’s my boy.
Wait, wait. Don’t –
Steady there, miss.
Just wait. I’ll help you down.
But this isn’t Manchester Street.
Who told you to come here?
Mowbray Street, miss.
Where’s Louis?
Where’s Louis?!
Louis! Louis! Louis!
My child! My child! They’ve stolen my child!
Calm down. Now who’s they?
Who else but my husband?!
Oh, matrimonial.
That man must’ve been in the plot. Arrest him!
I ain’t done nothin’ but what I was told to do.
Take these ladies to Mowbray Street.
Who told you that?
The gentleman in the black bowler hat.
He’s lying. Take him in charge.
Are you sure it was your husband taking the child?
Of course I’m sure.
He’s threatened to do it, and now he’s done it.
Don’t you understand? He’s taken my little boy.
I’m very sorry, ma’am, but if it’s your husband,
I don’t see there’s nothin’ to be done.
If it’s his child, the child is his, isn’t it?
Oh, God!
Nora, what are we to do?
You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Bozzle.
£100 clear of expenses, Susan.
Look.
And it all went off like clockwork.
Oh, yes, I’ll bet you’re very proud of yourself, ain’t ya?
If I hadn’t have done it, another would have,
and likely made a mess of it.
It’s not as if it’s wrong or against the law,
’cause it ain’t.
Well, it may not be against the law,
but it’s wrong, and you know it.
A wife ain’t got no rights against her husband –
not in a matter like that.
That’s a wrong that should be righted.
A child belongs with its mother.
She should’ve thought of that
before she started carryin’ on with her fancy man.
Come on, Susan.
Let’s not quarrel over this.
What do we know about how these rich folks carry on
after all?
Our child is safe with me, and will remain so.
A home for yourself with me is still open to you
as soon as you give me the promise
I have demanded of you.
You may see him
as soon as you guarantee not to attempt to take him.
While you remain away from me,
I will cause you to be paid £50 a month,
as I do not wish that you should be a burden on others.
Impudent scoundrel.
I’d like to pull him limb from limb.
I think you should go back to him, Emily.
What?!
After he’s insulted her and slandered my oldest friend?
I don’t believe that Colonel Osborne
has acted very well
throughout this unhappy business.
Mama, he has done nothing improper.
How can you say such a thing?
I’m not accusing you, my dear.
But I do think that Colonel Osborne is to blame.
And I think it would be best
if he did not come into your company anymore.
Good God, the man’s not a philanderer.
Perhaps not,
but I think he takes pleasure in arranging things
so he is thought to be one.
Louis’ conduct towards Emily
has been very bad, very harsh,
almost unforgivable.
But none of this would have happened
if it were not for Colonel Osborne.
Yes, it would.
He would’ve found some other excuse
To suspect me and set spies upon me.
Think, my dear.
You have a child with him.
I have no child.
He has my child.
I think, with a little good will,
all this will pass.
Let me go to him.
I’ll thrash the fellow with a horse whip.
And lose little Louis forever.
I think a little patience and sweet reasoning
are indicated here.
I shall write to him at his club
and ask for an interview with him.
Let me see what I can do.
No, Marmaduke, wait here.
You’d only lose your temper.
Lose my temper? Not a bit of it.
I’ll simply call the scoundrel out.
And what good would that do?
Wait here.
I shall be perfectly safe.
Lady Rowley?
Bozzle, at your service.
I wish to speak to Mr. Trevelyan.
’course you do, milady.
And I hope you can make it up with him.
Mrs. Bozzle’s been quite hard on me
for takin’ the gentleman’s part.
Whatever the lady’s done,
I’d still like to see them back together again, ma’am,
for my own peace of mind.
And why do you think I should consider
your peace of mind, mister...
Bozzle, milady.
Best to keep on the right side of Bozzle.
Bozzle’s got considerable influence with Mr. T.
There’s not many can say that.
This way, milady.
This is a sad occasion.
A very sad occasion, Louis.
A very sad business altogether.
How can we mend it?
Very simply.
If Emily will do as I request of her,
then she may see her child as soon as she likes.
Not only that.
I will welcome her back to my home and my heart.
And what exactly is it that you request
of my daughter?
All I want is her acknowledgment
that she has done me wrong
by persisting in this friendship with Colonel Osborne,
and to promise that she will never
see him or speak to him again.
That is all, Lady Rowley.
Surely, it’s not too much of a man
to ask of his wife.
Louis, you and I both know
that Emily’s a spirited girl.
She has a little of her father’s quick temper,
and she cannot admit herself to be wrong
when she knows herself to be right.
She knows nothing of the kind.
She has made me a laughingstock
by her behavior with that man,
but worse than that,
she has betrayed my trust in her.
No, I can’t believe that.
I’m sure you’re mistaken.
I do have some sympathy with you.
By all I hear,
Colonel Osborne’s conduct was thoroughly mischievous.
But I cannot agree with you
that Emily has done anything that deserves penitence.
She may have made some innocent mistakes –
No.
She’s deliberately gone behind my back.
She has corresponded with the man.
She has received him secretly.
When I first met Emily,
I thought she was the purest, loveliest...
Don’t you understand?
Your daughter has betrayed me
with another man.
No, this is more than I can bear.
My daughter is as pure a woman
as you have ever known,
or are likely to know.
You should have protected her
against the world,
not turned her out and maligned her.
One day, you will blame yourself
for what you have done,
and what you have lost.
I beg your pardon.
I don’t understand you, madam.
I’m not to blame, not in the least way.
Your daughter is the sinner, not me.
She should be on her knees to me,
begging me for forgiveness.
And she should have it.
I would forgive her.
Louis, I think you have lost your reason.
I think you are mad.
And that is all you have to say to me.
Is it mad for a man
to expect his wife to be faithful?
Is it mad to expect a woman
to govern her indecent behavior?
God in heaven.
Who could have been more forgiving than I have been?
And still am.
All she has to do is give me her promise.
Tell her that!
No go, sir?
No go, Bozzle.
Her father and mother uphold her
in her vicious conduct.
I think she’s lost to me forever.
But I still have my boy.
I look to you
to see that none of them learn of our retreat.
She seemed like a sensible lady, sir,
Lady Rowley.
What if they was right after all, sir?
It’s not as if we’ve got evidence
that would stand up in court.
What if it was all a misunderstanding, sir?
You understand nothing, Bozzle.
Think twice, Mr. T.
The boy’s so young, you see.
A mother’s heart’s softer and loving-er than anything.
Dear God, I wish it were.
I think perhaps we shall have to think of humoring him.
If you were to give him his promise, Emily,
it doesn’t commit you to anything
you wouldn’t wish to do in any case.
And offer him my humble penitence
for sins I have never committed.
But to have your home again, dear,
and your little boy.
By telling lies and living a lie.
you wouldn’t be the first woman to do so.
If I simply said the words to him,
might they work like a spell?
Would he change back to the Louis I first knew?
I could pretend...
pretend to be the humble, penitent wife he wants,
and wait and take my chance and escape with little Louis.
But where could we go that he couldn’t find us?
Well, under the 1839 Custody Of Infants Act,
a mother has the right to apply to chancery
for custody of a child under seven years.
Ah, there. Boy’s only three.
If she’s living apart from her husband
whose conduct is demonstrably intolerable.
Well, it is.
I understand he’s offered your daughter a home.
Yes, but under such terms.
I don’t think a judge would find those terms
to be unusually cruel.
Mr. Trevelyan has never beaten your daughter.
Good God, no!
He’d answer to me if he did.
Forgive me.
Forced upon her any unnatural practices?
No?
Oh, well.
The man’s insanely, irrationally jealous.
He’s mad.
Yes.
Well, that is for the medical men to decide, of course.
But in general,
a man has to be very mad indeed
to be stripped of his custody rights.
Barking like a dog, and so forth.
I see.
In my opinion, the law’s an ass.
(playing classical music)
(door opens)
Mr. Stanbury, Miss Rowley.
Nora.
Papa.
This is our friend Mr. Hugh Stanbury.
How do you do, sir?
(grunts)
Oh, Hugh.
Louis has taken little Louis,
and he’s holding him in secret.
I never thought it would come to anything like this.
He must be out of his mind.
My mother has seen him.
She believes he is.
(door opens)
Hugh. Mama, this is Mr. Hugh Stanbury,
who is so helpful to us.
How do you do, Lady Rowley?
You’ve heard what Louis has done now?
Yes, Nora’s just told me.
Have you any idea where they are?
we don’t know. He won’t say.
Do you think you could help us find where he’s living, Hugh?
I think perhaps I could.
There’s a man called Bozzle.
I have met Mr. Bozzle.
I think Bozzle could be worked upon.
Would you leave it to me to see what I can do?
We’d be most grateful, Mr. Stanbury.
I’ll set about it at once.
Good day, Lady Rowley.
Good day, Sir Marmaduke.
Who is that fellow?
Why should he be told of our family business?
He is our friend.
He used to be Louis’ best friend.
He’s helped us in so many ways.
And he is attached to Nora.
Is he, by God?
I thought as much.
He’s the reason you turned down
young Glascock, is he?
Yes, papa, he is.
I love him.
Has he any profession?
He’s a journalist, papa, a very clever one.
He writes for the Daily Record.
It’s a penny newspaper.
A radical paper.
Papa!
I hope he won’t come here anymore.
And if you understand your duty, Nora,
you’ll never let me hear his name again.
He’s a very pleasant young man,
But you’re quite right, he’s utterly unsuitable.
And to think that she could have had a position
that any girl in England would have envied.
Perhaps Mr. Glascock will ask her again.
He won’t, mama.
And it wouldn’t do a bit of good if he did.
She loves Hugh Stanbury.
No one else will do for her.
Then she’ll end her days an old maid.
Dear heaven, who would be the father of daughters?
I’m going to the Club.
(men chatting)
Thank you.
It’s not as if one isn’t –
Rowley, what a piece of luck.
I wanted to call on you as soon as you arrived,
but there seems to be some difficulty
about me being let in.
Ah. Yes, well, that’s Lady Rowley’s doing.
Nothing to do with me.
Glad to hear it.
How the committee of inquiry?
Oh, a lot of damn nonsense.
Wish I’d never come over.
I’ll tell you something else.
I wish I’d never sent my daughters over.
Nothing but trouble and grief, the pair of them.
And I’m not sure
that you’re not the cause of all the bother.
What? Me? It has nothing to do with me.
It is, though.
Ah, there’s Peters.
Would you excuse me?
Come up to the library, would you?
I want a word with you.
As God is my witness, Rowley,
all I wanted to do is keep a friendly eye on the girl.
Her father being so far away, as you know,
and she was happy for me to do so.
And I should’ve thought you would’ve been, as well.
Good God, you don’t suspect me, do you?
And your daughter, too?
I don’t know what to think.
No, of course I don’t suspect my own daughter.
But you do me?
No. If I did,
I don’t suppose I should be sitting with you here.
We’d be on Hampstead Heath with a pair of pistols each.
I don’t suspect you, Osborne,
but why couldn’t you let her alone
when you saw the way things were going?
Going down to Somerset to see her.
Writing her letters and so on.
Who’s been telling you all this?
Outhouse.
Outhouse is an ass!
That’s easily said, but why did you go?
Why should I not go and see my goddaughter?
What the deuce?
And as for those letters –
they were mostly about your coming home.
She was so eager for me to arrange that.
Is it my fault that man chose to behave like a lunatic about them?
And as for Outhouse, if it weren’t for the gown on his back,
I’d pull his nose.
There’s been trouble enough without that.
That’s as may be.
But it is hard, Rowley.
By God, it’s hard
when a man tries to do his best
by the daughter of an old friend.
There is one comfort.
If he hadn’t taken against me,
it would’ve been someone else.
She’s much better off with this accusation against her
than she would be if her name were coupled with a younger man’s.
Better if there were no accusations at all.
I’ll tell you, Osborne.
The Mandarin Islands
are damned hot and uncomfortable,
and it rains half the year.
You can’t get a good roast dinner
for love or money.
And everything rots in the heat and the damp
from the books on your shelves to the clothes on your back.
You can’t get a good conversation
or a decent game of billiards.
Your servants steal anything that isn’t screwed down
and double riveted.
But after one week in London,
I’ll be quite happy to go back to the Mandarins
and stay there for the rest of my days.
What do you think?
You might show a little more interest, Arabella.
You mustn’t expect too much, Camilla.
My poor girl has been so very ill with her nerves.
I don’t think there’s nearly enough here yet.
I don’t want people saying,
“Oh, there’s Mrs. Gibson
in the same old gown she was wearing last Sunday fortnight.”
I should’ve been content with one poor dress
winter and summer,
so long as I had my love.
Well, that’s you.
No wonder he didn’t choose you.
Sh. There, there.
My dear, consider the expense.
Your poor father did his best for us,
but...
Mama, I don’t expect to get married
more than once, you know.
It’s perfectly proper to incur a little debt
if I’m to be a credit to my family.
September 30.
Time is getting so close,
and so much to be done.
As to that, my dear,
I...heard from Mr. Gibson this morning.
It seems that, owing to ecclesiastical duties –
What?
We may have to put off the wedding
For a week or two. What?!
Well, three weeks,
in point of fact,
was what he thought it might be.
Three weeks?!
Or a month.
The-the-the 25th of October was the date
he actually suggested. No.
Or...he said you could name any other day you pleased,
in November, that is.
In November?!
He wouldn’t dare to say it to my face.
The skulking, sneaking coward!
Camilla.
I beg you, don’t rage about so.
November? November?!
I shall go to his house directly
and make him come back to his old day.
He shall know who he has to deal with
if he plays tricks upon me.
I’ll shake it out of him!
(knock on door)
It’s him!
Mama?
Ask him if he would see me,
just for a few minutes.
I think it would do me good.
Yes, of course, dear.
If you think so.
What does all this mean, Thomas?
All what mean, dear?
All this delay.
If there’s anything the matter,
you better tell me at once.
Do you want to kill me with all this worry?
And here is mama, beside herself.
And Bella laid up in her bed of sickness.
Yes, I was so sorry to hear about poor Bella.
She has been asking for you.
If you would be so kind as to spare her a few minutes.
Yes, of course, Mrs. French.
I’ll go to her directly.
And what is all this about the date?
Most unfortunate.
Ecclesiastical duties.
And money matters, too,
which is taking much longer to settle than expected.
Then there’s the choir to enroll,
which can take several weeks.
Bella: Is that Mr. Gibson?
Yes, just coming.
You came.
Oh, Bella.
I know.
I wish that I’d never been born.
See all the harm I’ve done, and yet I never meant any of it.
You must try and do the best you can now.
Aye, and what is the best?
That is not for me to tell you.
You’re a man, and you must judge.
Oh, I don’t suppose that any man was ever before
in such a terrible position since the world began.
It is difficult, I am sure of that, Thomas.
I had meant to be so true.
I fancy sometimes,
that some mysterious agency
interferes with the affairs of a man,
and drives him on and on and on
until he doesn’t know where it drives him.
I know.
I will say one thing.
She is so strong.
She can bear anything.
You know what my feelings are, Thomas.
You have always known them.
There has been no change
Since I was the young thing you first knew.
Oh, Bella.
Now you have to make up your mind
and be bold.
She says you are a coward.
But I know you are not.
Dear Thomas.
I must go, Bella.
I can’t stand it any longer.
It’s too much for me.
I will pray
that I may decide right.
God bless you, Bella.
So, how do you find her, Thomas?
Uh...rather weak.
I’ve been reading to her
from the Gospel.
You know?
I think it did her good.
I’m sure it did.
And you know what would do me good?
Um...what?
A kiss from my fiancé.
Tell me you love me, Thomas.
Yes, of course I love you.
I hope you do. It would be very sad if you didn’t.
You’re not weary of me, are you?
How can you ask such questions?
You seem to want to get away from me
as fast as you can.
Because of the morning service.
The name of the place is Rivers Cottage, Willesden,
he said.
It’s quite isolated.
We turn off at the end of this lane,
and then we have to walk through the woods, Bozzle said.
You had to bribe him for the information, I suppose.
I did give him something,
but in truth, I think he was glad to tell me.
He knows this situation is all wrong.
Indeed, he has said as much,
even though, no doubt,
he had a hand in the kidnapping and profited from that.
We’re in your debt, Hugh.
I only wish I could do more.
We are very grateful to you, Mr. Stanbury,
but I do hope you won’t infer from that...well...
I understand, Lady Rowley.
It’s just up here, I think.
I think Mr. Stanbury had better wait here.
If Louis saw there were three of us,
he might think we’d come to try
and take the child by force.
You don’t think he trusts me?
I was his oldest friend.
He trusts no one now.
You’re not frightened to go unaccompanied?
If he’s as deranged as you say –
No, thank you, Hugh.
I know he would never hurt me.
Come, mama.
Louis, I have brought your wife to see you.
Who told you I was here?
Of course a woman would find out
where her child was.
With a little help.
I see you, Stanbury.
I expected better of you.
You should not have come here without notice.
Louis, you wouldn’t stop me seeing my child.
You know my terms and conditions.
I must go in, Louis. I shall go.
This is a horrid place.
It’s not fit for you and Louis.
You must let me take him back with me.
I can’t do that.
It would be wrong.
Wrong? For a child to be with his mother?
Oh, Louis.
All this is like some terrible dream.
No.
At first, I thought that.
But now I see I was wrong.
This is the reality of how it is with us.
How it is with women and men.
The other was a dream, I see now –
a foolish, happy illusion.
Louis, come back.
Let it all be forgotten.
You are ready to give me your promise?
Yes.
You promise me that you’ll never see that man again?
Yes, I promise.
And you repent of your sins,
and you ask my forgiveness for betraying my trust.
Yes.
Yes, whatever you say.
I don’t believe you.
You want your boy back,
so you say things you do not believe
in order to get what you want.
I do believe them.
I will never see Colonel Osborne again.
I have no wish to see him.
And you truly repent?
Oh, Emily, if you knew
how I long for us to be together again.
But this separation is killing me slowly.
But there must be no more lies.
No more lies.
You may be with our son for a little while now.
I will have him brought down to you.
Don’t think of taking him away.
Where can I go now
where I won’t be found and harried and tormented
by lies and false promises?
Next time, no doubt,
they will come with hired ruffians
to seize the child.
I shall have to take him away.
I shall take him abroad.
Yes.
To some secret corner of the world
and teach him to be very, very wary
of his fellow men...
and women.
Oh, yes.
Particularly women.