02x06 - Houses Divided

[bunniefuu]

Previously on TURN: Washington Spies We are home!

How dare you show your face in this place again?

You are a man who makes his own fate, and I wish to be a part of it.

Anna Strong: Abigail had an arrangement with me, she never volunteered to spy for Washington...

Anna she is vital to us.

Major Hewlett.

[struggling] What is this about? Release me.

[angry] Maybe we'll just release your tongue.

[angry] Tell another lie and I will see it scrutinized, whatever webs you weave, I will cut.

[Grunting]

We just caught us a spy.

( Thunder crashes )

O Mighty Father, we pray for the soul of Edmund Hewlett,

a kind and gentle man.

You make it sound as if he's dead.

( Thunder rumbling )

If the rebels had wanted that, they would have done it right here.

( Door opens )

( door closes )

Captain Wakefield to see you, sir.

( g*n clicks )

Very well.

Good day.

Have you word of the major?

Have they requested a ransom?

This is news best heard by you alone, Your Honor.

Whatever you tell me, they will insist on hearing it.

Very well.

We've just received this from the New York courier, addressed to Major Hewlett from an Inspector Yates of Livingston's prison inside the city.

It appears your son Abraham has been arrested as a spy,

having been found with treasonous correspondence on his person.

Aberdeen!

He claims his innocence.

Yes, swears he was operating under direct sanction from the major in order to expose rebel activity.

Inspector Yates requests Hewlett's confirmation to prove this.

I must ask, sir.

Do you have any knowledge of this?

Mm-mm.

Only the major can settle this.

What news of him?

News?

You know where the Continental outpost is.

The major showed me himself through his telescope.

Madam...

So why are you still here?

What is being done to rescue him?

My orders are to hold this garrison.

Diverting men across the sound would leave Setauket vulnerable.

So you're afraid, then? You're afraid of the rebels.

The women are emotional. They need time to recover.

Thank you, Captain. Please, forgive us.

( Thunder rumbles )

This... he couldn't. Where was Corporal Eastin?

He was supposed to be watching Abraham, protecting him at all times.

The major ordered Eastin to leave him free in the city.

He's most likely still there waiting for Abe at the Brooklyn Ferry.

So it is true.

Abraham was spying for Hewlett.

No.

No, it is the furthest thing from true.

But you already knew that, didn't you?

Father, please.

Don't "Father" me. You knew it as well.

Knew what?

That your husband is a spy for the rebels.

I didn't.

Yes, you did!

That business over dinner when you begged him not to go to the city.

And last Christmas, you didn't just come here because Thomas had the croup, did you?

Leave her be.

Not a word from you!

You have caused this family enough harm.

And if I had the proof that you were aiding the enemy, I would see you hanged as your husband should have been.

And my father, too, right?

Damn right your father, too.

That's what this has always been about.

But the cold truth is that it is not I nor my family that turned your son from you.

You can thank yourself for that.

My son is in prison.

And Major Hewlett is captured.

There's no one left for you to crawl into bed with here.

Get out of my house.

Now.

( Crying ) Anna.

You know how fast word travels here.

Please keep this quiet until we know more.

Pray for your husband, Mary, not your good name.

♪ Hush, hush ♪
♪ There's snakes in the garden ♪
♪ Soul for sale ♪
♪ Blood on the rise ♪
♪ Hush, hush ♪
♪ Know there will come a day ♪
♪ As they're hiding in the cover of night ♪
♪ I can't wait anymore ♪
♪ Soul for sale ♪
♪ I can't wait anymore ♪
♪ Hush, hush. ♪

( Thunder crashing )

( crying )

Anna's voice: "721.

I have urgent news you will consider most unwelcome.

722 has been arrested in 727.

And we must act quickly to free him.

The power to do so is in your hands.

But to know why that is, I must reveal a secret both Culper and I kept hidden from you... regarding a risk he felt compelled to take."

( thunder crashing )

"In order to secure safe passage to York City..."

"Culper offered to spy for the enemy to cover his true work for 711."

Abe, you dumb bastard.

Right, so I guess it didn't go well, then.

I'm being transferred.

He's dismissing you from camp?

I'm no longer head of intelligence.

Just goes to show he ain't got no head for intelligence himself.

He blames me for Abe going rogue.

He says if I couldn't command obedience from a friend handpicked for the task, then what hope do I have of gaining it from any other asset?

Well, I'm an asset, aren't I?

Not that I always do what you tell me, right.

Come the new year, I'm being sent to Boston to appraise the status of their defenses.

What horse shite!

It's a good thing Abe's in prison, otherwise I'd strangle the bastard with my own bare hands.

How could he just lie to us like that?

Calm down.

You lie to him all the time, Ben.

We both did right from the beginning.

No, this is different.

Pretending to be a double agent, he's caught himself in his own damn web.

Hey! Now, that's just a waste of good Madeira.

It's over, Caleb. It's all over.

Would you just calm down? It's not over.

According to Anna, if we get Hewlett back to Setauket, he can release Abe from prison, right?

And then we're back in business.

So where is Major Hewlett?

Our defender of Long Island?

Being held at an outpost near New Haven.

He's been found guilty of wartime atrocities.

Atrocities?

Yeah, that's right.

They said that he m*rder*d their commander, wrote a note in his blood, and pinned his tongue to it.

They were quite specific, and now they're calling for Washington to sign off on his execution.

Well, the man did try and blow me up with his cannon, but he never at all seemed to me like a fiend.

No, he released my father, he arrested Simcoe, he held to our truce.

He seemed like a man of honor.

Well, did you tell that to Washington?

( Scoffs ) No.

He hasn't decided what to do yet.

But he does not feel compelled to free an alleged m*rder*r on behalf of a failed spy.

Maybe we make up his mind for him.

If Hewlett's still there come the new year, we can make a detour on the way to Boston, right?

Outrank those New Haven boys.

They're not likely to just hand him over.

Right.

Well, then, we kidnap him ourselves.

Make it look like those lobsters stole him back.

Just the two of us?

Yeah.

If Washington found out, he'd...

He'd come round.

Abe isn't just Abe.

He's Culper.

( Abe grunting )

Get in there!

This colonel you asked me to write... Hewett.

Hewlett. Major Edmund Hewlett.

Is that from him?

What, this? ( laughs ) No.

This is from a Captain Wakefield.

Your man's second.

Wakefield?

Guess what.

Your friend, your Major Hewlett was kidnapped by rebels the same night that you were caught.

Quite a coincidence, that.

No, that... that can't be.

And this Wakefield, he has no idea what you're gobbing on about.

All right, then, you've got to contact my father, right?

My father's a judge. He's Richard Woodhull.

He's the magistrate. He can vouch for me.

Papa can't save you. No one can.

We've wasted seven bloody days on this charade, Mr. Woodhull.

It's time to confess!

Look, I already told you the truth.

All right? I put my hand on the Bible.

I took an oath before God to serve the king.

All right, please!

Come on, go.

No! Richard Woodhull!

He's my father.

Come on.

You all right, Abe?

Listen up, you sorry rebel traitors.

Something about our Mr. Woodhull he may not have told you yet.

He took an oath to the king and he swears it.

Tory bastard!

( Men shouting )

Have fun.

( Men shouting )

♪ Our fleets shall speak in thunder ♪
♪ To England, France, and Spain ♪
♪ And nations over the ocean spread... ♪

Man: Go, brothers!

♪ Shall tremble and obey... ♪

Man:Let's go!

♪ The sons, the sons, the sons ♪
♪ The sons of brave America ♪

( Fiddle playing )

I doubt many of them have seen a former sl*ve in uniform.

Must be very gratifying for you.

Grati...?

Pleasing.

To know that you could sh**t any one of them.

With my consent, of course.

Hey there, big man.

( laughs )

You a soldier now?

I'm a Queen's Ranger. Special kind of soldier.

So how's that fine-looking mama of yours?

Now that I'm back, I'm hoping to swing by, see her one day in York City.

She in Philadelphia now.

Philadelphia?

Damn, we just come back from there.

You hear from her much?

She sends me things, I send her things.

Though they not really from me.

How's that?

Miss Anna, she writes letters for me since I can't do it myself.

Anna: Cicero.

Luke, if you and Cicero will bring my things upstairs.

I believe the northeast bedroom is still unoccupied.

That's all right. I'll assist her.

Mrs. Strong, it's good to see you.

Does this mean you'll be taking up residence again?

Uh, I didn't feel comfortable at Whitehall after the major's kidnapping.

I can only imagine how shocking that must have been.

If anything had happened to you, I never could have forgiven myself.

Of course, now you're back, I insist you take your former quarters.

Thank you, but I'll be fine with one of the smaller rooms.

Nonsense.

Here we go.

Captain, wait.

There we are.

I'll have my things out in a jiff.

Captain Simcoe, I don't want to inconvenience you.

It's no inconvenience.

I do not wish to stay in this room.

Why can't you just respect my wishes?

Because I don't wish to see you make another decision you'll come to regret,

such as moving to Whitehall in the first place.

I warned you you wouldn't be safe there.

Major Hewlett has proved himself incapable of defending this town even with an entire company at his disposal.

He is a fine officer and a gentleman.

He is weak, a quill-pushing clerk unsuited to the rigors of w*r.

And you are not half the man he is.

That was a very rude thing to say.

Or perhaps you're just unused to hearing the truth from those you can bully and intimidate.

So I will speak plain, Captain.

I do not love you.

I never will.

I may have lost my home, the protection of a husband, and what little standing I had in this town, but if there's anything left of me that you want, you will have to take it because I'll give you nothing of me, ever.

( Gasps )

Go on, get it over with.

I expect at least it will be quick.

You wrong me, madam.

( Breathing heavily )

Thank you, Abigail.

I find it exhausting to move about this city without being noticed.

The rain helps.

Does it?

Oh, I wish Freddy were here.

And who is this Freddy whom you long for?

My coiffeur. You know Freddy.

I loathe to hear any man's name cross your lips.

Believe me, you don't have to worry about Freddy.

Abigail, thank you for bringing this vision to me.

Abigail knows all sorts of routes and back alleys to conceal us.

My father retired later than usual tonight.

You're here now.

And I have a surprise for you.

( Thunder crashes )

( playing )

Not to your taste?

I did not wish it to end.

Who is the composer?

Handel? Haydn?

No, no, no, I'm afraid.

Some novice by the name of John André.

His first composition if I'm not mistaken.

Oh, John.

I don't know what to say.

You don't have to say anything.

A muse needs only to be in order to inspire mortal man to reach for something greater than himself.

( Knocking )

My father.

It can't be.

I told him I was staying with Becky, but he must have had me followed.

Abigail.

Get her out of sight. I'll get the door.

It's a Lieutenant Gamble here to see you, sir.

The only other person that makes sense at this hour.

And who is this Gamble who visits so late?

A man with news I have to hear.

But it shouldn't take long.

All the same, I think it's better if you weren't seen.

We can wait upstairs.

I need your help with something.

Come on.

( thunder rumbles )

It's good to see you alive.

It's good to be alive.

( Both laughing )

André: Is this blood?

Not mine.

From a civilian assigned to debrief me.

A Mr. Nathaniel Sackett.

Sir, the first question he asked me was about you.

They know you're the army's head of intelligence.

But theirs was a civilian?

No, he seemed an advisor.

My main interrogation came at the hands of a Major Benjamin Tallmadge.

Major now, is he?

You know him?

Of him and of his interrogation methods.

You look like you escaped the worst of them.

This is an estimate of our naval strength in New York Harbor.

And the numbers are accurate.

Washington has a man inside New York?

No, he mentions surveying the ships from the Brooklyn Ferry on his way home.

This Samuel Culper must live on Long Island.

Perhaps close to the city.

Oyster Bay, Flatbush.

I can ride for New York come morning.

There's no need. I already have an asset on Long Island.

Captain Simcoe has quartered the Queen's Rangers there for winter.

I'll have him scour the island for this Culper fellow.

You stay on your current mission.

The coast is clear. You can send Miss Shippen down.

She asked to see you upstairs.

How was your meeting?

I hope you didn't end it sooner on my behalf.

That was business.

This is far more important.

( Men laughing )

Mary.

What are you doing here?

Is there somewhere else we can talk?

I've already written to everyone I could think of who could help...

Colonel Floyd, Mr. Loring the Commissary of Prisoners.

I even tried writing General Clinton and General Howe in Philadelphia.

Have you heard back from any of them?

Just a reply from Floyd's aide acknowledging that he received my letter.

But I suppose it's all I should expect as the wife of a traitor.

Is that how you see yourself?

My letters aren't working.

So I was hoping that you could write to the people that you know on the rebel side.

I have no contact with the rebels.

Now I should get back before Mr. DeJong decides to dock my pay.

Anna!

I am doing all I can to get Abe out of prison.

And if your feelings for him are even half of his for you, then you would do the same.

I don't care if you're a Patriot.

All I care about is freeing Abraham.

And if Hewlett is being held by the Patriots, then you should write them.

I did.

I haven't heard back.

If they won't release him or trade him, then he must be rescued.

You know I've already asked Wakefield. You were there.

What about Simcoe?

Simcoe?

The only person he hates more than Abe is Hewlett.

The only person he cares for is you.

Not anymore.

The day I came back here, I told the man what I really thought of him.

Perhaps you could talk to him instead.

If he truly despises Abraham, he's not going to want to hear from his wife.

Besides, I don't have anything he wants.

You do.

If I go to Simcoe, then you need to go to the only other man who can get Abe free...

His father.

The judge could vouch for Abe's story if he wanted to.

He's barely said three words to me in the last two weeks.

He's been very stubborn.

You know how to handle stubborn men, don't you?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Abigail.

I believe this is for you.

Appears to be a gift from your son.

I didn't know he could write.

Someone must have written it for him, sir.

What does it say?

"Cicero 1777."

Ironic since his namesake was responsible for introducing the art of refined letter writing into European culture.

"Silence is one of the great arts of conversation."

Marcus Tullius Cicero.

Thank you.

This ain't you.

Ben's voice: "Madam, the information you recently transmitted has come to my attention and I in turn relayed it to General Washington.

He found it intriguing, but asked that I take further steps to verify the context in which you came across it as well as communicate various standards and procedures for you to follow in conveying additional intelligence.

Further... "

Abigail.

I'd like to talk to you about something that's been troubling me.

Please, sit.

I grew up in a house full of servants.

I know how they keep an eye on their masters.

How they hear things. How they talk.

I don't know.

Abigail, I want you to be very frank with me.

Is John the jealous sort?

Pardon?

I recently received this letter from another gentleman.

I guess you could call him a rival to the major.

John is aware I wrote him, but he might be taken aback by the tenor of his reply, which could be perceived as the sentiments of an ardent suitor.

I know he likes to joke, but...

Miss Shippen.

Peggy. Peggy, please.

Miss Peggy, I guess I'm confused.

Why'd you write this man if he's a rival?

And why do you have to show his letter to the major?

It's... complicated.

You're afraid it's gonna make him push you away.

Yes.

I haven't been with the major that long, but one thing I know is that he values honesty very highly.

More so than most gentlemen.

Whatever that letter says, he won't think less of you for sharing it.

You think so?

He wouldn't have me smuggling you across Philadelphia if he didn't love you.

( laughs )

I only wish I could tell someone else about my love for him.

Oh, what I mean is...

A secret can be a burden.

Thank you, Abigail.

Do you know how this got here?

The cook's son was playing with it.

His mother made him put it back.

Told him he's not to play with Mr. Franklin's things.

No, it was carved by my boy.

You have a son? Where is he?

He's on Long Island with my former mistress.

You must miss him terribly.

( Knocks )

Mrs. Strong.

To what do I owe the pleasure?

Or have I perhaps offended you in some new way that I am as yet unaware of?

I understand your anger, Captain, and I want to apologize for being the cause of it.

May I come in?

You're not filled with terror at my vengeful lust?

Please, John, can we talk?

I'd offer you a chair, but I wasn't expecting to entertain company here.

I'm ashamed of my words that day.

You were being kind to me, thinking only of my comfort and welfare.

And I responded with vitriol.

In my defense, I can only say that I was still reeling from the kidnapping at Whitehall.

A distress aggravated by the loss of Major Hewlett's protection.

When you offered me your protection in his stead, it reminded me of all that I had lost.

Particularly Edmund himself.

Edmund?

The major, I mean.

During your absence, he offered me his friendship.

And, well... it grew into something else.

Something romantic.

I know this may come as a shock, but I came to care for him deeply.

And to think... how he must be suffering.

Captain Wakefield knows where he's being held, but will do nothing.

But you have your own force of men and if you...

You wish for me to rescue Major Hewlett?

The man who had me court-martialed?

I know the two of you have had your disagreements.

But what better way to show there's no bad blood than by retrieving him?

And whatever your differences, they pale beside those you both have with the rebels.

I'm indeed anxious to show my forgiveness, but I must also follow orders.

I'm stationed here to hunt for rebels in Long Island, not to make forays into enemy-held Connecticut.

In fact, I have orders to search for a hidden traitor on Oyster Bay.

We're to deploy next week.

I would consider this a personal favor of the highest order.

If you were able to rescue the major, I would be deeply in your debt.

Whatever favor you might request from me in return, I would be obliged to fulfill.

I've told you, madam, you have me all wrong.

I'm a warrior, yes, but I'm not a monster.

There's a heart b*ating inside me that wants the same thing you do.

To love and to be loved.

Forgive me.

Good night, Mrs. Strong.

( Bird screeching )

Father, excuse me.

I wondered if I might ask a favor.

Can you watch over Thomas for a few days?

For a few days?

Are you going to visit your folk in this weather?

My husband on York Island.

To reassure myself that he's all right and to reassure him that his family hasn't forgotten about him.

Maybe give him some things to ease his hardship... a warm cap, a Bible.

I'm afraid I can't allow that.

You can't...

A prison is no place for a woman.

Isn't a wife's place at her husband's side?

Abraham seems to have had little interest in having you by his side of late.

That was unkind.

Seems you have as little feeling for me as you have for your son.

Have you even written him since his arrest?

Surely you're not going to just let him languish in there forever.

They'll feed him, keep him clothed, and with Abe swearing he was sanctioned by Hewlett and with Hewlett unaccounted for, they cannot move to sentence him.

There's little else I can do.

You can vouch for his story.

The word of a father, that is the very definition of bias.

You're not just his father.

You're a man of power and influence.

Why won't you use it?

Because he broke the law. He committed treason.

This is your son we're talking about.

He's probably fearing for his life.

Cold and starving and now feeling utterly abandoned.

If he was my son, I'd be doing everything that I could to help him.

And how would that teach him a lesson?

Abraham should use this time to reflect on the error of his ways, as perhaps you should reflect on the error of yours.

Mary, are you insane?!

( Groans )

You realize that is a year of my accounting?

Yes, I'm sure your numbers are very important to you.

Just as Abraham's were to him.

He was quite upset.

What are you talking about?

His codebook.

When I discovered it after the raid last spring, I b*rned it, too, hoping it would put an end to his spying.

But, of course, that was before I helped him burn down our farm to cover up his sh**ting of Ensign Baker,

who happened to have the misfortune to walk in on our argument.

His sh**ting?

I've done everything that I could to protect him, everything I could to stop him.

But I have never abandoned him, never stopped loving him, just as a wife should her husband,

as a father should his son.

m*rder.

He's a soldier just like his brother.

And while he may have picked the other side, at least he has principles he's willing to fight for, which is more than I can say for you.

I've lived in your house long enough to know when it comes to politics, you're a businessman.

You don't really believe in the king, you just believe the king's the safest bet.

You need to choose between your pride and your family.

You've already lost one son, don't lose another.

André: Well, read it to me, then.

"My Dear Miss Shippen, words cannot express the abundance of joy that flooded my heart upon your congratulating me on my victory and wishing me a speedy recovery from my wounds suffered in battle.

I do, in fact, recall our meeting at your esteemed family's gracious home in Philadelphia as if it were yesterday, not four long years ago.

Indeed, your beauty was as remarkable to me as it must have been for Paris the first time he beheld Helen of Troy."

( laughs ) It seems General Arnold missed his calling.

Who knew he was a poet?

And you're not upset?

Oh, on the contrary.

I am very pleased. Here, allow me.

( Loudly clears throat )

"I recall your flaxen hair, your curls as lovely as the golden rays of the rising sun.

Indeed, to behold you is like gazing upon Phoebus' orb itself."

( laughs )

Really? Wow.

"One's eyes cannot stare too long without being blinded by the splendor."

Ha ha.

Splendor.

Abigail was right.

Oh, yeah?

She said you wouldn't be upset.

You spoke of this with her?

I said it was from a rival suitor.

Oh.

I know better than to discuss your business, John.

Abigail merely urged me to be forthright with you.

She said you appreciated honesty in those around you.

An insightful woman, especially for a servant.

She continues to surprise.

She's been a great help to me, too.

I have no one else to confide in.

Hopefully we shall change that soon.

Hopefully?

I'm not the one with the stubborn father.

He just doesn't know you as I do.

Thank God.

Abigail.

I didn't imagine you'd be working this late.

I noticed the parlor was dusty, sir.

Didn't feel right going to bed with things looking untidy.

Is it all right if I move your papers so I can dust around them?

Leave them be.

I was just looking for some ink, but since you're here, I wanted to commend you for the discretion you've shown throughout my courtship of Miss Shippen.

Thank you, sir.

I believe it is I who should be thanking you.

It is customary at this time of year for a gentleman to reward a diligent servant with a token of appreciation.

A gift... coins, books, sweets.

But those are trifles compared to the service you have rendered me.

Where did you say your boy Cicero was again?

Oh, he's back in Setauket, sir.

My former mistress takes care of him.

That must be an unusual arrangement.

Yes, sir, it is.

Abigail, I would like to invite Cicero to take up residence here in Philadelphia under the same roof as his mother.

Thank you, sir.

You're too kind.

Nonsense. You've earned it.

I look forward to meeting Cicero.

If he is half as industrious and loyal as his mother, he will make a fine addition to this household.

( Seagulls screeching )

( men chattering )

Morning, Mrs. Strong.

And a lovely morning it is, too.

I thought your company was to deploy next week.

Are you heading to Oyster Bay?

Yes, but by way of Connecticut.

Connecticut?

I thought we might take a little detour to rescue my dear colleague Edmund Hewlett.

What caused your change of heart?

Why, you, of course.

Your overture reminded me why I fight.

Not for personal gain, but because I have a duty to uphold to my fellow officers and to the women who love them.

My only satisfaction will be in slaying our enemies and meriting your esteem.

k*lling two birds with one stone, as it were.

I... I don't know what to say.

How can I thank you?

Well, given the dangers we face and the possibility that I may not return, there's one favor I'll be bold enough to request.

A kiss.

What?

I know now that it's all I will ever have from you, but I'll treasure the memory all the same for as long as I live.

Madam.

Did I see that right?

Miss Strong just kiss you?

Fear not, Akinbode.

There'll be many of those soon to follow.

Captain.

We're going to save Hewlett?

No.

We're going to send him to his savior.