01x03 - Episode 3

[bunniefuu]

If Miss Isabella is to vacate
the vicarage,

I am resolved to ensure she is
settled with her sisters.

Thank you.
Beth and Mr Lidderdale?

Cassandra, there's illness here.

Miss Austen, you cannot be in here.

They did seem very familiar
with one another.

Did you find any letters from Jane?

Not a single one.

The Austens of Hampshire
are embarking

on the first of their great
holiday schemes.

Mr Henry Hobday.

It's my pleasure, ma'am.

I'm quite sure I saw sparks
flying between you.

You have caught him in your powers.

CASSANDRA GASPS

We should send for Mr Lidderdale.

Mr Lidderdale is too busy.

We'll nurse her ourselves.

No... No!

All is well. You must rest now.

The letters...
You must...

Isabella, you must...you must...

There are no letters, my dear.

Rest now.

No.

No, no. N-Not you.

Cassandra, this is Dinah
cooling your brow.

No, not you.

Isabella, you must hide the letters.
She's delirious.

She doesn't know what she's saying.

No.

Where are they? You must...

You must keep them hidden.
There are no letters, my dear.

Rest now.

Jane. I promised Jane.

You must...
You must hide the letters

Sh! You must be still.

Keep them hidden.
Keep them hidden.

There is nothing to hide.

My dear sister!
You are safe, my dear.

No!

No!

No!
Cassandra...

Look, I've got...

She's getting worse, Miss Isabella.

She's going to peg it on us,
God forbid.

I can run and fetch
Mr Lidderdale now.

No, her fever will break soon.

Besides, I'm sure Mr Lidderdale
and my sister

are far too busy to be disturbed.

Go up to the big house
and beg for ice.

They'll have plenty this time
of year.

Oh!

Dinah?

Is something the matter?

Look, Cassandra.

She's fetching water.
No!

No, no!
Cassandra.

You must...

We are helping you.

We are helping you.

It's all right.
No.

It's cold. It's cold.

It's cold. Help me!

We are helping you.
Help me, Isabella.

I know she's ill and I am sorry
to say it,

but she's brought it on herself,

going to see Miss Beth and
stirring the pot.

That's enough, Dinah.
I'll hear no more.

The laudanum now.

CASSANDRA MUTTERS

No!
We are here.

Cassandra, we are here.

Dinah.

No!

Look at this one.
Maybe this one...

Your niece seems to have found even
more marvellous shells

for her collection, Miss Austen.
Or maybe this one?

So it appears, Mr Hobday.

I'm bewildered as to how
we'll transport

these multitudes back home.

LAUGHTER

Forgive me if this seems intrusive.

She is a charming child...

..but I do detect an air
of melancholy,

unusual in one so young.

She lost her mother when
she was very small.

She is, I fear, still scarred by it.

Yes, the loss of a parent is
a heavy burden to bear,

especially at such a young age.

Your mother told us of your
own bereavement,

of which I'm very sorry. Ah...

Yes, my father was an excellent man.

My mother found it exceedingly hard

to stay in the family home
afterwards,

hence our peripatetic existence.

But I do hope to return there soon.

Where is home?

Derbyshire.

The thought of Derbyshire
amuses you?

No, not at all.

No.

My sister declares it to be a place
of some perfection -

alongside Hampshire, of course,
though never Shropshire.

HE LAUGHS

I'm enjoying your Susan.

I must say, dear sister,
your Mr Thorpe

is the devil of a bounder.

If he is an Oxford man, I'm grateful
not to have gone there.

I dare him to come on to my ship.

We'd run him up the yardarm at once.

He'd never be on your ship!

Mr John Thorpe has neither the heart
nor the head for it.

You sailors are the best of men.

Yet not once has any of your
heroines ever been blessed

with a dashing sailor brother.

Oh, Frank! If the heroine was
fortunate enough

to have a dashing sailor brother,

she's spoiled for any hero
I could create.

No man could match him.

HE LAUGHS

So this is why my sisters
are still unmarried.

No man can match me.

I fear Cassy is about to
betray you, brother,

with her new suitor.

Suitor? Pray tell?

Jane!

Sorry, I appear to have spoken
in error.

Cassy has no suitor,

especially no suitor by the name
of Henry or Hobday.

Or Henry Hobday.

Papa, please!

Or any suitor with those names

who just so happens to be the heir
to an estate in Derbyshire.

An estate? In Derbyshire?

Papa, I beg you. Come now. You're
making your sister uncomfortable.

Besides, I have seen no evidence
of any such romance.

That's because it's a deep secret

known only to the whole of Sidmouth.

LAUGHTER

Enough!

Jane's love of fiction appears
to have spread from the page

into our lives.

I'm sad to report she now routinely
spouts nonsense.

We can no longer believe a single
word that comes out of her mouth.

DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES

Cass?

Did you really mind Mr Hobday
accompanying us today?

Very much.

It was all Frank's doing.

Of which you played no part.

None whatsoever.

Very well, I admit it.

But you cannot deny Mr Hobday
is deeply enamoured of you.

As he should be. It proves he is
a man of excellent taste.

In fact, he appears to be the model
of perfection, which, if I may say,

is most infuriating.

For, you know, as a woman
of many faults,

I abhor faultlessness in others.

You are faultless in my eyes.
JANE SCOFFS, CASSANDRA LAUGHS

You just bear me better
than anyone else.

It is you who is faultless.

Which is why you deserve
something better

than this wretched future of ours.

Jane, why must you always make such
a drama out of nothing?

Our future is not wretched.

We still have our parents.

We have good brothers who will never
neglect us.

And most importantly of all,
we have each other.

Unless you find someone good enough
and, well,

even then, I shall not starve.

Is that your ambition?

Not to starve?

"Here lies Cassandra Austen.

"She did not starve."

I have no crystal ball, Cass,

but one thing I know for certain -

we will be poor

and we will become objects
of pity

or, worse still, derision.

This must be my fate.

It does not have to be yours.

I love you above all,

but we do not have to live as one.

We are two different women.

I beg you, if you are offered
any means of escape,

do not refuse it.

Isabella?
Hmm?

I want to die in my own...
my own bed. Sh!

You are not dying, Cassandra.

I will not countenance it.

The letters.

DOORBELL RINGS

Mr Lidderdale. May I help you?

Forgive me for intruding,
Miss Fowle,

but I just saw your maid,

and the urgency of her demeanour
gave me cause for some concern.

There is no need.

She was merely on an errand, and
I instructed her to be quick.

There is nothing more to it.

Then she was carrying out your
instructions to the letter.

I'm delighted to hear it.

I understand...
I do hope...

Please, after you.

It was only to enquire if there is
still a deal of sickness

in the village.

Some, but thankfully it is
on the wane now.

Good.

For I am sure my sister
will be eager to return

to her pupils.

I believe Beth has been
assisting you,

has she not?

Indeed she has.

Her presence has been
most beneficial.

That does not surprise me.

She is a woman of great competence.

Indeed she is.

If you'll excuse me, I must...
Of course.

But, er...

..first, may I enquire
after Miss Austen?

I trust she has not suffered
any ill effects

after her visit to the village?

No, none.

But I will inform her of
your kind concern.

Good day.
Good day.

"Captain Wentworth was more
obviously struck

"and confused by the sight of her

"than she had ever observed before.

"For the first time since their
renewed acquaintance,

"she felt she was betraying the
least sensibility of the two."

BELL TOLLS

Mr Hobday.
Miss Austen.

A beautiful day, is it not?

Yes.

Quite beautiful.

Forgive me if I'm intruding.

You will not forgive me?

No, you are not intruding.

Then I wonder if you might consider
walking out with me.

Mm.

I'd be delighted.

Ooh!

Perhaps we should sit for a moment?

THEY SIGH

Mr Hobday...
Please, I...

I must speak,

before I am unable to say
a single word.

Miss Austen...

Cassy.

May I call you that?

It's true that we've only known
each other for a short time,

but it has been long enough
to know

that you are a woman of quite
remarkable character.

No, exceptional even.

The truth is, Cassy Austen,

I have loved you since the moment
that our hands first touched.

Of your beauty, there is no doubt.

But it is your intelligence
and your spirit

and your grace that have
done for me.

I am yours if you will have me.

I know I'm not the most
eloquent of men.

There are things I must say to you
before I leave...

..In case I do not return.

No, you will come back.

Let us not discuss this.
Cassy, we must.

If you cannot marry me,

you must feel free to marry another.

I promise you, Tom...

..faithfully here before God...

..that I will never marry
any other man but you.

FOOTSTEPS

So, did he speak?

Well?

What was your answer?

I refused him.

Refused him?!
Sh!

Mama will hear.

She cannot know of this, Jane.
It is done.

Cassy, why? I...

I do not understand you. What fault
could you find with Henry Hobday?

What more could you ask for?

A match like this,
at your time of life,

is a story beyond fiction!

Please.

My dearest one, help me understand.

CASSANDRA SOBS

I...I cannot marry him.

I cannot marry anyone.
Why?

Because I promised Tom.

Tom dared ask that of you?

No.

No, he begged me not to feel
beholden.

Well, then, you must not feel...

I cannot go back on my word, Jane.

Miss Austen?

Miss Austen!

Oh, Cassandra!

Oh, thank heavens!

What on earth are you doing in here?

Let's get this on, ma'am, shall we?

You're shivering.

No.

No, I am perfectly fine.

Look at me.

Back in the land of the living.

I owe you my life.

Nonsense.

You owe it only to yourself.

It would take more than a fever
to undo Cassandra Austen.

Oh, Isabella.

You were born to tend to the sick.

I hoped once that I might be
able to do so.

That time has passed.

Come.

And how is she today?
She is still in her room.

You're quite sure it's safe
to visit?

Quite sure, Aunt Mary.

She is much improved now.

KNOCKING

Oh!

My dear, I've been worried sick.

You have...

You have no idea the torment that
you have put me through.

You must feel quite awful.

Not so. I am...

..I am certainly on the mend.

No, I mean for causing so much
inconvenience

at a time when the house was already
at sixes and sevens.

It is a maxim of mine

that one should never fall ill
while visiting.

I'm proud to say that I have never
once had the misfortune

to break it.

Of course, there was that one time
in London

when I was brought down
by the face-ache.

Well, I shall take my leave of you.

You seem quite worn out
from resting.

And Mr Bunbury and I appear
to have reconciled,

so she is expecting me.

Oh, and one more thing.

Eliza's letters.

Am I to understand you already have
knowledge of their whereabouts?

Me?

No.

Why ever would you think that?

Something you said when you were
delirious.

It seemed you already had some
in your possession.

No, certainly not.

And if I had, I would have told you.

As you say, I...

I was delirious.

Hmm.

"My dear Eliza,

"you begged to be informed
of the next stage

"in the saga,

"so it is with a heavy heart
I comply.

"Once again, we are left
to be disappointed.

"Mr Hobday himself was not
the agent of this -

"indeed, the reverse.

"He proved himself as good a man
as those who love Cassy

"could ever hope for.

"Their attraction was mutual.

"They were in love, Eliza.

"I'm sure of it.

"Yet Cassy refused him.

"The sheer madness of it drives me
to distraction.

"I am no advocate of marriage
for the sake of it,

"but I am all for a good match,

"and this could've been
a splendid one.

"Cassy had the offer of
a comfortable future -

"wealth, stability, love
and respect -

"but she chose insecurity.

"I struggle to comprehend it.

"It is beyond me."

How could you think this?

How could you write it?

"Bereaved fiancee.

"Dutiful daughter.

"Caring aunt.

"These are the roles
Cassy embraces.

"Esteemed object of a worthy
gentleman's heart?

"No, that she would rather reject.

"If my sister has one fault,

"it is a wanton appetite to deny
herself the pleasures of life."

Did you not know?

Could you not tell that I did it...
I did it for you, too?!

"I implore you, Eliza,

"help me release Cassy from this
unspeakable vow to Tom."

Cassy, what are you doing
with my letters?

Please!

I've left everything just so.

Forgive me.
I was only trying to help.

I'm sorry.

I've been unbearable these
past few days.

Even my work does not soothe me.

It is the prospect of Mary Austen's
impending visit.

Oh, my dear, I implore you,

let us both escape to Kintbury
at once.

Eliza will be happy to welcome us.

No, Jane.

I fear I've imposed on
the Fowles enough.

Then I will write to Catherine and
Alethea Bigg-Wither at Manydown.

Must you? Yes, I must, or
I will not be responsible

for my outrageous behaviour towards
our dear sister-in-law.

Oh, the joy of living here
in Hampshire, Cassy.

Tis the very king of counties.

Thank you, my dearest.

For what?

For insisting that we take
this trip.

If it had been up to me,
we'd still be at home.

Have you ever considered
the possibility

you do not always know what's best
for you, Cassandra Austen?

Do you have any notion of your
privilege, my dear friends?

To have all this at your disposal
is quite wondrous.

Oh, we do, Jane. We do.

We count our blessings every day

because we know it will not
always be so.

We cannot forget that one day
our brother

may bring a wife here.

She's unlikely to want his sisters
lurking about,

getting crosser and crosser.

Catherine, you and Alethea are the
least cross women I know.

But who could be cross here?

Even I seem to have lost the knack.

LAUGHTER

If I were the future
Mrs Harris Bigg-Wither,

I should make room for as many
sisters as possible,

and then take to the streets
and petition for more.

LAUGHTER

Behold the stuff of life.

A place for proper contentment.

Oh, is that all that you require?

A mere 150-acre slice of your own
rolling country?

I am a simple soul, modest
in my ambitions!

This place will do me very well.
THEY LAUGH

But what about our brother?

Would he suit you very well, too?

LAUGHTER

So, ladies, how are your parents
faring these days?

I have not seen them
out and about much.

We've just returned
from our adventures

in Sidmouth with them -
have we not, Cass?

Yes, indeed.

Are you an admirer of the seaside,
Mr Bigg-Wither?

The seaside?

Good grief, no.

That's the beauty of our neck
of Hampshire.

We cannot even see it.

They say the sea is of great
benefit to one's health.

Ha! k*ll you as soon as look at you,
Catherine.

Thankfully, our parents
are still quite well.

Thank you.
In spite of the sea.

Our mother complains constantly of
several ailments,

though suffers from none.

Thankfully, our father...
Has the patience of a saint.

I have often thought the rector
of a small country parish

to be an enviable existence,

without the onerous responsibilities
of having

too much of one's own land.

But imagine having no land
to call your own, sir.

What if you lived in a city
like Bath or London,

full of smoke and noise and people?

I wager you'd be dreaming of such
onerous responsibilities then.

Jane.
I hardly agree, madam.

Many a time my dear late lady wife
would drag me to London,

but I only ever wanted to be
at home.

That is exactly how I feel
about Steventon.

I wish to be nowhere else.

Yes, Miss Austen.

I am a great admirer of the seaside.

Is this place not heaven?

It is.

And you may have had a little
too much wine.

Who can blame me when the wine
is so good?

Besides, I may require Dutch courage
before the night is out.

What a fine instrument.

It's wasted on Catherine and me.

Play for us, Jane.

I fear I'm no longer the pianist
I once was.

You may regret asking me.

Nonsense. Play the Prelude.

SHE PLAYS BACH'S PRELUDE IN C MAJOR

SHE PLAYS INCORRECT NOTE

Oh! Well, I did warn you!

LAUGHTER

DOOR OPENS

Miss Jane.

Do excuse me,
but I come bearing a message.

If you'd be so kind,
my son is requesting

you join him back in
the dining room.

I'd be delighted.

CLOCK CHIMES

DOOR OPENS

LAUGHTER

Father, sisters, Miss Austen.

Miss Austen has consented
to be my wife.

DELIGHTED LAUGHTER

Jane! I'm so happy for you, Jane!

We're going to be sisters!

Jane Bigg-Wither!

LAUGHTER

What have you done?

Should you not be congratulating me
on the splendour of my match?

I will bless you joyfully
once you have told me

that you are in love
with Mr Bigg-Wither

and that you admire him above
and beyond all others.

I cannot do that,
nor could he with me.

But when manna falls from heaven,

it would be foolish to squander it.

Oh, that goes against all
that you believe in.

It makes a mockery of everything
you've ever said

or written about love.

Love, Jane. Love!

It does not!

I've always maintained that love
is impossible without money,

so there must be some hope that,
with it, love can grow.

Do you truly believe that you could
one day love this man?

I cannot predict -
though I admit it, unlikely.

CASSANDRA SIGHS
But someone has to do something

to secure our futures.
He's from a good family.

Alethea and Catherine
can remain here

and we will be safe
and together.

And you, my best girl,

are free to marry your
beloved Hobday.

I can tell you now that
whatever you do,

you will not make me marry Hobday.

I have refused him. It is over.

Will I be happy here, do you think?

Well, you love Manydown.

But you are to be its mistress now.

With all the duty that requires.

I'm sure Catherine and Alethea will
help to shoulder that burden,

but you will be his wife, Jane.

And there will be children,
of course.

There are a lot of rooms to fill.

I shall be in-pig
for the rest of my years.

You love children.
You have a gift with them.

With other people's!

I'll have no time to myself -
for thinking, for writing.

I shall not write more than
a letter again.

I shall have a husband,
a master -

an overbearing master.

Harris Bigg-Wither is hardly
overbearing.

More like underbearing!

I cannot do it.

My darling, you have done it.
It is already done.

No, it was a mistake.
The most hideous error.

I do not know what I was thinking.
CASSANDRA SIGHS

I shall tell him in the morning.

Jane!

You're quite sure you cannot
go through with it?

We'll leave tomorrow.

To quote a philosopher of
my acquaintance,

"I shall not starve."

I hold you in extreme regard.

I would not be the wife...

DIALOGUE INAUDIBLE

CASSANDRA SIGHS

Ugh!

Always Sir Walter Scott.

I shall be lucky not
to relapse here.

Why are they here again?

I do not know.

Mary, how nice to see you.

And where is Anna?

With some sharp-featured governess,
no doubt.

It is most unsatisfactory.

I should run straight there

and insist they listen
to my latest outpourings,

for as soon as I begin, Mary Austen
will check the weather

and announce they must go.

I must confess, I do have some
sympathy with her.

Cassy! You do not appreciate how
clever you are with words

and how easily you can make
people laugh.

It is a gift, Jane.
She's been visiting us for years.

I've never noticed her discomfort.

Perhaps she...she feels the need to
shine in front of her husband.

Marriage - always an excuse for
failures of character.

Tis the root cause of
poor behaviour.

Though you would've been
the exception to that.

My own theory is the thrill
of being Mrs James Austen

has quite gone
to Mary Austen's head.

She has become
a little bumptious with it. Ha!

Happiness in a married woman
is irksome to witness,

and yet the single lady spreads
universal delight.

See? Even Father has need
of some respite.

Come, we must greet them.
Oh!

So, Father, I am - we are -

keen to advance.

We most certainly are.

The fact is, Father,

as I enter my 36th year,

I am keen to assume greater
responsibility

and perform to the full my role
as man of the church.

I hope you will agree that my
talents are more than equal

to the task ahead.

Oh, my dear boy, I have no need
to assure you of that.

You will make an exemplary rector
to the parish.

Exemplary.

The house, Austen -
remember the house.

HE CLEARS THROAT

Ah, yes. The house.

I - that is, we - with our
growing family...

We do have a child now.

You have two children.

Let us not forget Anna.

No, no, I meant to say
as we now have a son.

It occurs to us...

..to me, rather,

that the house may be growing
a little too much

for you both.

Less tiring, slightly smaller
accommodation

might be more appropriate

to the diminishing needs
of your household...

..now that you only have my sisters.

That you will take over the parish
has long been the intention,

though the question of timing
is another matter.

Perhaps I have caused some confusion
by living too long and too well.

Oh, George! My dear, please!

Thank you for raising this, James.

I have no desire to stand
in your path.

That cannot be God's will.

But I must discuss this in private
with your mother,

that I may be led swiftly
to a judgment

that may benefit us all.

Tea, Mrs Austen?

Yes, of course.

Now, then...

HORSE WHINNIES

It is done.

It is perfect.

You must send it
to the publisher at once.

It is ready, Jane.

Now...we wait.

Follow me.

Just up here.
Yes.

That's it.

Just leave that at the side
of the wheel. Thank you.

No, that will travel with me!

It is my writing, sir!
Leave that!

You cannot take that!

I'm sorry, ma'am.

We will survive this, Jane.

I promise.

I think there's one more box.

Very well.

QUIET SOBBING

There, there, my dear.

Think of this as a new chapter,

as if Jane had written it.

Her stories always end well,
don't they?

Walk on.

Say goodbye, Anna.

And wave.

DOORBELL RINGS

I do not understand why Isabella
keeps that girl, Dinah.

She is quite simply
the worst servant

I've ever had the misfortune
to encounter.

Ring it again, Anna - this time
with more force, if you please.

DOORBELL RINGS

Longer, longer, longer.

DOORBELL RINGS

Ah!

My dear, they've even got you
answering the door now!

Where is that infernal girl?

Anna! What a surprise!

A pleasant one, I hope?

Oh, most pleasant!

Should I just stand here, then,
waiting for you to greet me,

Cassandra?

Forgive me, Mary. I have not seen
Anna for some time.

I am quite overwhelmed.

Yes, I suppose we can be grateful

that her last romantic interlude
came to nothing

and we are once again blessed
with her presence.

Oh, Isabella will be equally
as delighted to see you.

And I her. I trust she's looked
after you well, Aunt Cass?

She has been most attentive.

Anna, I'll get started upstairs.

Can I leave you with
the drawing room?

Yes, Mama.

We're here to work.

So I'm told.

Letters, letters...

Ah, Anna.

You have made splendid
progress today.

The new vicar and his wife

will be most impressed
by your labours.

Your labours, you mean. Isabella
says you've been a godsend.

Apart from when she was
at death's door.

And how is your leg today, my dear?

It does seem to give you a great
deal of inconvenience.

Um, it's strange.

I mean, I've always been unusually
lucky in the leg department,

unlike Mrs Bunbury.

And to think, I woke this morning
in a pleasant anticipation

of a hard day's labour.

Must we endure another reading,
Isabella?

What would you rather do, Aunt Mary?

Well, perhaps we could converse.

It is not often we're all together.

May never happen again, once
Cassandra returns to Chawton.

Very well. On what subject
would you like to converse?

Cassandra's patchwork
is most impressive,

do you not think?

Yes, you're so clever, Aunt Cass.

Yes.
All the Austens are clever.

My husband had a formidable
intellect.

My son, James Edward,
has inherited it.

Yes, and let us not forget Jane.

For what is cleverness when set
beside brilliance?

We are all in the shade of those
who shine brightest.

My father often said genius comes
with a difficult temperament.

Was this true of your Jane?

Jane was a perfectionist.

She was so very demanding of herself
and her work.

But to others, she was...
Not always kind.

At least not to me.

Well, she was the very best
of aunts to me.

I lived for my visits to Aunt Jane.

I would show her my own stories

and she would take them
so seriously,

as if I were a proper writer.

She was the very opposite
of difficult.

Was she not, Aunt Cass?

She was indeed.

If I recall, she was not
so cheerful in the years

after you left Steventon.

"We have arrived in Bath, Eliza.

"Mary Austen's keen delight to get
her feet through the door,

"propel ours out of it

"and rob us of all our worldly
possessions

"was quite the sight to behold."

GEORGE SIGHS

Oh...!

Well, I think these rooms will do us
quite splendidly.

Yes, husband.

I believe they shall.

"It is of some comfort
that leaving our home

"has not caused our beloved Cassy
any particular distress.

"Place no longer matters to Cassy.

"Not as it does to me."

Jane, my darling, please.

You cannot lie here like
this all day, every day.

You must try to bear it.

"Cassy's determination that
I should enjoy the delights

"of the metropolis is admirable,

"and the famous Bath stone
does its best to glow.

"But I fear
I cannot be much company.

"Cassy tells me I must give it time,

"and I will,

"not least because I have no choice
in the matter."

You must remember, my dear Mary,

that we all suffered a great deal
after we left Steventon -

not just Jane.

That is why it is so imperative...

..that Isabella finds one place
that she can call home.

DOORBELL RINGS

Miss Austen.

Thank you.

CASSY GASPS

Jane!

Jane!

"Mr Crosby of London" -

who is the best of men, even though
we have never met him -

"promises publication
of your novel Susan

"with immediate effect,

"for the princely sum of £10."
£10?!

I am to be in print!

You're to be a published authoress!

And we are the proudest
Austens who ever lived!

I shall make a start on a new novel
at once.

I am determined! I will!

I am to be published.

Let us thank the good Lord!

Oh, my!

Urgh!
Papa?

Papa!

GEORGE GASPS

Papa?
Oh, my dearest daughter.

Your sister, she's...

You must take the greatest
care of her.

Hmm!
George!

I will, Papa. I will.

Hmm!
George!

LABOURED BREATHING

Can I have some numbers written
down here as well, please?

Yes, miss.

This is excellent.

Beth, my dear.

Miss Austen!

I'm delighted to see you've
recovered from your cold.

Children, we have a visitor.

Now, we must remember our manners.

What do we say when people are kind
enough to call on us?

ALL: Good day to you.

And to you.

BETH LAUGHS

Carry on.

So, this is where you spend
your time?

Yes.

I'm hardly ever at home.

My days are so busy here.

My charges arrive from
five in the morning.

Their mothers work at the mill
and do such long days.

By the time they've all left,
I've no energy

to do more than crawl
through there to bed.

So you often just sleep here?

I do.

BABY CRIES

Oh, sh, sh.

Beth, as you well know,

the date of Isabella's departure
from the vicarage

is almost upon her.

So I am here once more to ask
for your assistance

regarding her future.

Did Isabella ask you to come?

No. No, she did not.

But I cannot stand by and watch
while she suffers

the insecurity of her current
position.

I do not wish to appear rude,
Cassandra,

but why should it concern you?

Because since I have been here,

I have become
exceedingly fond of her.

And I am mindful of the toll
the same upheaval

had on my dear sister when we had
to leave our own beloved home.

And I promised your dying father
that I would ensure

she came to live with either you
or Mary Jane.

My father.

SHE SCOFFS

Even from the grave.

Poor Isabella, I...

I fear she's never to be able
to make her own decisions

about her future as I have done.

Beth, I am aware your future
is settled,

and I am delighted it is so.

However, I am also hopeful that
if you and Mr Lidderdale

do decide to marry,

that he might be generous enough
to allow her to live with you.

Married?

Myself and Mr Lidderdale?

Yes.

SHE LAUGHS

Wherever did you get such
a ridiculous notion?

I...I saw you together.

And so you concocted a story
for yourself?

BETH LAUGHS

Oh, Cassandra, you have
the wrong sister.

We did have feelings for one
another once.

I have refused him.

He will not ask again.

I do not think it was a dalliance.

I believe it to have been love.

Do not be ridiculous.

When my mother informed me that
you were a resident here,

I had a pressing need to
see you again.

"She fell on the pavement
on the lower cob

"and was taken up lifeless."

CASSY: You have k*lled her?!

BANGING

She must have fainted!

Go.
Go and fetch Mr Lidderdale at once!

Go, Isabella!

Mr Lidderdale!

PANTING