Firelight (1997) - full transcript
In 1838, lovely governess Elisabeth agrees to bear a child of anonymous English landowner, and he will in return pay her father's debt. At birth she, as agreed, gives up the child. Seven years later she is hired as governess to a girl on a remote Sussex estate. The father of the girl, Charles Godwin, turns out to be that anonymous landowner. So Elisabeth has to be her own daughter's governess, and she can't reveal the secret of her tie with little Louisa.
"FIRELIGHT"
Sit down, dear.
(WHISPERS) "This one is Swiss
by nationality."
"Two years employment
here in London as a governess--"
"--piano, drawing, French,
of course."
- How old are you, dear?
- Twenty-two.
- Are you in good health?
- Yes.
- Are both your parents still living?
- My mother is dead.
What was the cause
of your mother's death, dear?
She died in childbirth.
(MAN WHISPERS)
Ask her to stand up.
- Stand up, dear.
Turn around.
All the way.
- Ask her what the money's for.
- Her father's in debt,
it seems.
- Does she have any other income,
any other way of making money?
Sit down, dear.
The gentleman asks, do you have no other
way to raise the sum you need?
Does the gentleman
have any suggestions?
My dear, you're very pretty.
You could marry, you know.
Yes, I could
sell myself for life.
The gentleman's needs, as I understand
it, are of a shorter duration.
Has she done this before?
- The gentleman asks--
- Can the gentleman not ask for himself?
You're not to know who he is, my dear.
No one is to know.
He need not tell me his name.
I'd like to hear his voice.
What can you tell from a voice?
A little.
Have you ever done
anything like this before?
No, never.
Will you do it?
Of course.
Why else am I here?
Shall I look further?
No, this is the one.
I hope you don't mind. I didn't want
to be seen entering the room with you.
- I'm afraid I can't introduce
myself, as you know. - Yes.
- Did you have a smooth crossing?
- For the most part.
- Is the hotel to your liking?
- I have no complaints.
Please.
It's of the utmost importance that
we're not seen together
in public over these next few days.
I have a reputation to protect,
not just for myself, but for others.
Do you understand?
Yes.
We'll meet together each evening
after dinner here in your room.
SHE: As you wish.
Are we to--
to meet this evening?
Yes.
We have three evenings.
When are we to begin?
I thought you might like
a little time to accustom yourself.
I have accustomed myself.
I'm ready now.
The fire gives more light
than one expects.
Does it trouble you?
No.
Will this do?
Yes.
Perhaps you think
I'm no better than him.
I think nothing.
You think what we're doing
is wrong?
You at least...
are doing it for someone else.
I, too, have a duty
to someone else.
Then, sir, since neither of us
are here for our own pleasure...
perhaps what we do
isn't so very wrong.
I don't want to know your name.
I don't want to know anything about you.
Aren't you afraid
to be seen with me?
There's no one to see.
I like it here.
Just sea and sky and--
And nothing.
I like it.
- Makes me want to shout.
- Then shout.
No, it's not so easy.
You're very--
I didn't expect it
to be like this.
What did you expect?
Last night...
I thought--
For a moment I thought that--
You thought that I liked it?
Did you?
No.
But I could.
Oh, I wish--
What do you wish?
I wish I could shout.
So, Mrs Jago will see to everything
when the time comes.
Yes, I know it all.
We made an arrangement.
I accept it.
You won't want to be seen
disembarking in my company.
Uh, no.
Goodbye, then.
Over soon, my dear.
- It's a little girl.
- Is she all there?
- Oh, yes, she's beautiful.
- Best to take her away at once.
There, my pet.
All over now.
I don't even know your name.
Happy birthday, darling.
I don't forget you.
You are ready?
Madames, messieurs.
Give me your bodies,
give me your souls.
Et danson ... La Polka!
Make a window with your legs!
Move from the waist!
Ladies, trust your gentlemen!
In the polka,
faith is the virtue that saves.
- Shame on you, Mr Godwin.
Not dancing?
You'll have to excuse me, Mrs Hurst.
I'm afraid I don't know the steps.
None of us know the steps, Mr Godwin.
That's the fun of it. We learn together.
As you can see,
I'm not dressed for dancing.
- Jenny, I want you. I shall have you.
- Oh!
- Seen enough?
- You have to admit it's quite a sight.
Quite a cost too.
There's the old monster.
- Want to meet him?
- Surely.
The lady with him
isn't exactly his wife.
- You don't exactly surprise me.
- Just the latest in a long line.
- Father, I'd like to introduce you to--
- You're not dressed, Charles.
- Go and get dressed.
- Father.
- You're a blot, boy.
- Father, may I introduce to you Mr John Taylor of Ohio?
My father, Lord Clare.
Miss Holland.
And what brings you
all the way from Ohio, sir?
Your son and I hope
to do business together.
- What business?
- I'm a sheep farmer.
A sheep farmer.
Get dressed, Charles, or get out.
There's a good fellow.
I wouldn't have missed that
for the world.
I wish I could laugh.
But my father's London life
all has to be paid for.
We don't live like this
down in the country.
The boy's not normal.
Don't ask me why.
Don't be hard on him,Jimmy.
When you think of his poor wife.
Damn it, Molly,
that was ten years ago.
You'd think he'd have found some
comfort of a female variety by now, but he won't do it.
- Are you sure?
- Quite sure. The boy's not normal.
Brought this fellow
over from Paris, you know.
First polka in London.
Come on, Molly.
Let's hop.
- You'd be the new governess.
- Yes.
Know about the child,
do you, miss?
I know what I've been told.
Left in a basket on the steps
of the Ram Inn.
They tell you that?
- No.
No. They don't tell them that.
I don't suppose you could
put something on the fire, could you?
Can't bend, miss ...
Wig falls off.
Please to come with me, miss.
You'll be the fourth
this year, miss.
- The fourth governess?
- They don't stay.
Miss Louisa sees to that.
Louisa?
The governess' room.
Thomas will bring your trunk up
when he has time.
Twenty-five pounds a year,
is it, your pay?
Cook gets 30.
Schoolroom this way.
We don't get many like you
at Selcombe, miss.
- Like what?
- Foreigners, miss.
We're all English here.
Schoolroom.
Know about Miss Louisa,
do you, miss?
- She was left in a basket on the steps of the Ram Inn.
- Don't you believe it.
Master bought her from a gypsy
for half a crown.
Thinks she's quite a little lady,
but she don't fool me.
Where is she now?
I wouldn't know, miss.
Maybe the gypsies have took her back.
Excuse me. Where would I find
Miss Louisa, please?
Oh, she'll be in her lake house.
She's always hiding in there.
Who are you?
Miss Laurier, your new governess.
You're not English, are you?
- No.
- Do you speak English?
Yes.
Then bugger away, lady.
I see you found your way
to Louisa's lake house.
- Yes.
- And she ran away from you, I suppose?
- Yes.
- That's what she does.
I'm afraid her father's not very strict
with her, as you'll discover.
Mr Godwin is not at home?
He's in town at present.
We expect him back tomorrow.
- Mrs Godwin?
- Oh, no.
No.
No. I'm not Mrs Godwin.
My sister, Amelia, married Charles.
So, she is Mrs Godwin.
But soon after her marriage, she had
a serious accident, a riding accident.
Charles had no one
to run the house for him.
So I came.
Thank you.
And, uh, Mrs Godwin?
Amy didn't die.
Her life is over,
but she lives on.
And here we are,
Charles and I...
and Amy and Louisa.
We're home!
Did you have a pleasant journey?
John Taylor, this is my sister-in-law,
Miss Skelton.
- Mr Taylor, welcome.
- Miss Skelton.
There was no need for you to walk down,
John. The carriage would've brought you.
- I'm not an old man yet, Charles.
- Ellen, will you help Louisa with her cloak?
- I was waiting for you.
- Would you take Mr Taylor's coat?
John, this is a man you have to meet.
Mr Ames, my farmer.
- Mr Taylor.
- Mr Ames.
Do you have any experience
with Southdowns, sir?
- Not yet. We run merinos.
- Ah, wait till you bring in the Southdowns.
There's no heartier breed
in existence.
- We have a new governess, Charles.
- Another one?
Send Miss Laurier down to meet Master.
Thomas, will you come with me?
Look at this girl.
She's so frightening, all the
governesses run from her squealing.
How do you do that, Louisa? Hmm?
- I don't want a governess.
- You don't want a governess.
- Did you miss me?
- No.
You must give me some breeding tips,
Mr Ames. I mean to win prizes.
Mr Godwin's your man.
He's our master breeder.
Be careful, John.
This breeding business can become
something of an obsession.
It's nothing less than
the endless pursuit of perfection.
How close do you reckon you've got?
To perfection, I mean.
The Selcombe flock
is as good as you'll find, sir.
That's what I hear.
What's your secret?
Ah, here's the new governess.
Uh, this is my brother-in-law,
Mr Godwin. Miss Laurier.
Mr Godwin.
Miss Laurier is from Switzerland,
but she's been employed in England for many years.
I see.
I'm sure Mr Taylor needs a drink.
I know I do.
You must leave at once. What are you doing?
What on earth possessed you to come here?
It's taken me seven years to trace
my child. Don't ask me to leave her now.
We had an agreement!
You had your money.
I didn't know how it would be when she was born.
All I heard was her cry.
I've never forgotten it.
- You were paid to forget!
- I tried.
You tried?
- I'd give you back
your money if I could.
- I don't want the money.
It wasn't for me.
It was for my-- It was for my father.
- He was in prison and--
- I don't want to hear this. I just--
I wanted an heir. I wanted a child.
Is that so wrong?
I swear to you, no one will ever learn
the truth from me, not even Louisa.
Not even Louisa, not even your own
daughter. You couldn't live with that.
I have no choice.
I have no home of my own.
- I must be governess to her or nothing.
- She hates governesses.
She needs me.
That's enough.
No. It's impossible,
the whole thing. You must go.
And there's an end to it.
We'll have to get another governess,
Connie. Miss Laurier can't stay.
Why?
Louisa doesn't like her.
Oh, Charles.
Louisa doesn't like any governess.
Can't a man choose who's
to educate his own daughter?
- Do you wish her to be
dismissed without a character? - No.
Well, then, she must be given
at least a month's notice.
A month?
Can't she just be paid?
Governesses make their homes
with their employers.
She can't leave until
she's found a new situation.
A month!
A month is an eternity.
-Does she really have no home but this?
-That's why governesses are governesses.
What happens to them?
When they aren't wanted as
governesses any more?
I really don't know.
All these huge rooms, and we live
our lives within three feet of the fire.
Would you come with me, please?
You're to have one month's notice.
- You said you'd swear to tell no one.
- You said you'd swear to tell no one.
- Yes.
- Oh.
- Thank you, Hannah.
- Have I time for my tea, sir?
- Yes.
- I'll stay till you return.
- Thank you, sir.
Amy, I've brought
someone to see you.
This is Miss Laurier.
Please.
This is my wife, Amelia.
Mrs Godwin.
I tell Amy everything.
She knows Louisa's my daughter.
But I promised her that
I'll never shame her before the world.
No one else knows but you.
- Does she understand what we say?
- I choose to believe that she does.
If there's any pity in you
for my wife's wasted life...
swear that you'll keep our secret.
I swear.
Now leave us.
Good morning, Louisa.
- Do you know your ABC?
- Do you know your ABC?
This is "L" for Louisa.
"This is "L" for Lou-eeza."
Don't go.
We have work to do.
"Don't go.
We have WORK to do."
- You're poor, I suppose.
- You're poor, I suppose.
- Yes.
I don't have to do what you say.
- No.
- You got to hoist them off.
- Bugger away, lady. Bugger away.
- Gently now.
- Come on.
- You see why?
Frankly, I don't.
They all look good to me.
You've a superb flock here.
Well, I should have. I've been breeding
the imperfections out for 15 years.
This one's a perfect breeding ewe.
See how the chine runs straight
from the nape of the neck to the sitting of the tail.
Good wide hips, straight forelegs,
plenty of wool between the ears.
Look into her eyes--
sweet, gentle disposition.
She'll feed well,
fatten well and lamb well.
- Go on.
- Good morning, Miss Laurier.
- Mr Taylor.
- Have you come to admire the Southdowns too?
No, sir. I've come
for Mr Godwin's instructions.
- Well?
- Am I to teach Miss Louisa, sir...
if even only for one month?
- Yes.
- Then I must be able to keep her in the schoolroom.
What forms of discipline
am I permitted to use?
None. If her lessons
give her no pleasure, why should she endure them? No.
She'll find out soon enough
what a hard world we live in.
For these few short years that she's
under my care, I want her to be happy.
- Is that clear?
- Is that clear?
- Yes, sir.
Let me out! I want my pa!
Let me out!
Come on! You gotta let me out!
Let me out!
I want my pa!
Come on! I want my pa!
Let me out now!
I want my pa!
- Let me out!
- After you've done your lessons.
Let me out! I want my pa! Just let me
out now! I want him! Hey! Let me out!
- What's that?
- Uh, Miss Louisa, sir, being educated.
I hate you!
No, I'm never. NEVER!
Papa!
- Open the door.
- Papa! Papa!
Miss Laurier,
open this door at once!
What do you think you're doing?
Open the door!
No, sir.
Please, Papa.
Come here, please!
I will not have you
treat my daughter like this.
- Would you have her grow up
ignorant and friendless? - I'll not have her imprisoned.
She cares for no one but you,
and so no one cares for her.
- Give me the key.
- She is unhappy and lonely.
She doesn't know who she is
or what she is to do or why!
Papa, help me!
Papa, I want you!
I can help her.
I know I can.
But first she has to be taught
to obey me.
If you harm so much
as one hair on her head--
Do you think I, of all people,
would ever hurt her?
I'll make you a promise.
Whatever I do to Louisa,
I'll do to myself.
You want her to love you.
I want her to be loved.
She won't have you forever.
Louisa?
Louisa, I'll see you
when your lessons are over.
All right, darling?
Louisa?
I love you.
- Lunch, miss.
- Thank you, Ellen. Put it on the table.
- Will that be all, miss?
- Yes. Thank you, Ellen.
Do you want your lunch?
One.
Two.
If you won't eat,
then neither will I.
- I'd say you're lucky to have her.
- I'd say you're lucky to have her.
- Oh? Why?
She's got pride in herself.
Doesn't back down.
And she's lovely.
Don't tell me you haven't noticed.
Miss Laurier is here to teach Louisa.
She leaves at the end of the month.
So you won't mind
if I speak to her?
What do you mean,
speak to her?
Well, she doesn't seem
to have a home of her own.
- Do you mean to employ her?
- Not exactly.
- I was thinking of marriage.
- Marriage?
I could do a lot worse.
I leave tomorrow.
I don't have that much time.
Well, you'd better
ask her then.
- I'm cold.
- So am I.
- So am I.
- I hate you.
- Hate me if you want,
but you must obey me.
I won't.
I'll die first.
Hmm. How will you die?
I'll drown myself in the lake.
- How will you make your body
stay underwater?
- It just will.
No, it won't.
Bodies float.
- You could put stones in your pockets.
Do you have any pockets?
- Don't talk to me.
Or you could get a good, strong bag
and fill it with pebbles.
- I said, don't talk to me.
- What do you do in the lake house?
- If you come near it,
I'll kill you. I'll murder you. - How?
With a knife.
I'll stab you in the heart.
- Yes, that would do it.
- It would. You'd be dead.
- You'd have to bury me.
- I won't. I'll just leave you.
I'd rot. I'd smell.
Serve you right!
What are these
stupid lessons anyway?
Louisa...
Ioves... Papa.
Louisa ... loves ... grass.
Louisa...
EATS ... grass.
SHEEP ... eat grass.
"Papa loves sheep."
You see, it's not hard.
- Do you know about firelight?
- Do you know about firelight?
- What about it?
It's a kind of magic.
Firelight makes time stand still.
When you put out the lamps...
and sit in the firelight's glow...
there aren't any rules any more.
You can do what you want,
You can do what you want,
say what you want...
be what you want.
And when the lamps are lit again,
time starts again.
And everything you said
or did is forgotten--
more than forgotten.
It never happened.
- I can do what I want?
- I can do what I want?
- Yes.
- I want to go.
- I want to go.
- Then go.
It's been unlocked since lunch time.
All right?
MISS SKELTON:
To a famous victory.
Don't say that.
Louisa's too young to be defeated.
Oh, well.
Then we shall drink to you.
- To Miss Laurier.
MR. TAYLOR: Miss Laurier.
Governess after governess has tried
to control Louisa and failed.
Only Miss Laurier has realized
that first she must control Charles.
Yes. But look at him.
He's not at all grateful.
I ...understand you'll be leaving
in a month.
Where do you go?
Another situation.
- Then what?
- I don't understand.
Well, the years go by,
you're no longer required, then what?
Do you return to Switzerland?
I can't see into the future.
Some say the future
is what you make it.
Well, in-- in America,
certainly.
In America.
That's what I mean.
In America.
Good night, darling.
We've begun now.
You asked to see me?
Yes. I wanted a moment alone
with you before I go.
Please, have a seat.
Miss Laurier,
I won't waste your time.
I'm a single man
with 5,000 acres to my name.
If you would consider
a life in America...
I would be proud
to take you there...
as my wife.
You pay me a very
great compliment, sir.
But the answer's no.
I'm afraid so.
Well.
You don't know till you ask.
You're not too disappointed,
I think.
Well, I hardly know you, so I can't make out
I'll not be able to live without you...
but, well, a man can get his hopes up
pretty high, pretty quick.
I'm sorry.
Just so I know--
Guess I'll be doing something
like this again one of these days.
Is it anything I can fix...?
Like, my dress, or ... how I talk?
No, Mr Taylor.
Any lady would be fortunate
to be courted by you.
Any lady but you.
Louisa, darling, please.
You promised me.
- Louisa, I really can't bear this.
- That's why she does it.
Damnation, can't I feel
for my own child?
Feel for her, Mr Godwin,
but don't pity her.
Louisa, let go. Please.
Go, then.
If you want to go, go!
- Will you be all right, darling?
- You don't care,
so what does it matter?
Now, it's just you and me.
Shall we start our lessons?
I don't have to do what you say.
You're just a servant.
That's enough! Be silent.
You will obey me,
whether you want to or not.
You will obey me because, poor as I am,
I am placed in authority over you.
You will not speak disrespectfully
to me or raise your voice to me.
Servant .... Servant .... Servant.
Servant!.... Servant! .... Servant!
Servant! Servant! Servant! Servant!
Servant! Servant! Servant!
I'm not a servant.
I'm a prisoner.
So will you be when you grow up.
The day you come of age,
the gates will close around you
because you are a woman!
If you marry, everything you own
will become the property
of your husband.
If you don't marry, every profession
will be closed to you but one...
and that one is a life
of loneliness and humiliation.
They lock you up, Louisa!
But there's one door they can't lock.
They can't imprison your mind...
and that's why I want you
to learn to read.
I want you to have your own life.
Write and tell me when the Southdowns
start winning all the prizes.
- Come and see for yourself.
- Maybe I will.
Best grazing in the world.
Twenty dollars an acre. Think about it.
Did you find time
for that other business?
- She turned me down.
- She turned you down?
- Mm.
I guess there's somebody else.
Lucky fellow is all I can say.
- Bye, Charles.
- Bye, John.
Don't go.
Constance will be down directly.
As you wish.
Mr Taylor tells me he made you an offer
and, uh, you refused him.
Yes.
For Louisa's sake, I presume.
Yes.
The fire gives more light
than one expects, doesn't it?
Yes.
No lamps lit?
What's Jane thinking of?
I don't know how much
you want to know.
I remember her...
The firelight.
I remember her...
... too much.
LOUISA: "Bee."
"Tree."
"Eye."
- "See."
"Pig."
"Dig."
"Wig."
This is stupid.
- "Bad."
- "Bad."
- Mm-hmm.
"Sad."
- "Happy."
- Hmm-mm.
- I suppose it's "glad."
- I suppose it's "glad."
- Mm-hmm.
- "Mad."
- "Mad."
- Yes.
When I was young,
I had no mother.
She died just after I was born.
I loved my father very much...
but what I wanted most
was a mother.
The sick lady's
not my real mother.
- Yes, I know.
- My real mother's not sick.
Where is she?
It's a secret.
- Do you ever see her?
- Of course. Every day.
What do you do with her?
Just be with her.
Miss Laurier. See?
How do you know she doesn't just read
the pictures rather than the words?
- She does.
- Oh, yes? That's not really reading.
No, it's only pretending...
but after a while,
the pretence becomes a reality.
I see.
Louisa tells me you have
some story about firelight.
Yes.
I tell her firelight
is a magic time...
when time stands still.
Why'd you tell her that?
I find it helps.
A time with no rules
at the end of the day.
I must ask you to help me.
How?
There was a time-- it was a short time--
when we were close, you and I.
- Yes?
- Do you remember it?
Yes.
Just tell me that time is over
and can never come again.
You don't answer.
What happens when time stands still?
The firelight.
You can do what you want...
say what you want...
be what you want.
When the lamps are lit again...
time starts again, but...
everything you said or did
is forgotten.
More than forgotten.
Never happened.
- Oh, God, I hate the country!
It's always so damn cold.
Come on, Molly, into the mausoleum.
Hello, Connie.
- Hello.
Terrible journey.
The roads get worse every year.
How are you?
Jimmy, who are all these people?
Fiddlers.
You, more coal on the fire
before I freeze to death!
Come on in, Manzini.
Herd your fellows in.
We can't have a dance without music,
Connie. Everyone knows that.
- Dance?
- Fire!
Can't bend, milord.
Wig falls off.
- Father.
- Yes, yes. Here I am.
- Hello there, little missy.
- Who are all these people?
Christmas cheer.
What is it about this house?
The moment I walk in,
I want to kill myself.
Damn it, boy,
don't preach at me.
You do realize we have to sell
one of the farms?
Never sell land, Charles.
The one sensible thing my father ever said to me.
Why borrow money if all you mean
is to give it back?
Where's Molly?
She can't still be dressing.
- Are there any more charges
on the estate? - Well, what do I know?
I'm not a bank clerk.
I just live my life.
All for the sake of a few short years
of passing pleasure.
Passing pleasures are all we have, boy.
All we have between us and the grave.
- Hello. Who are you?
- This is Miss Laurier.
This is, uh, my father,
Lord Clare.
Miss Laurier
is Louisa's governess.
Never had governesses like you
in my day. What are you, French?
No, I'm from Switzerland.
Sacrifice your life if you want,
Charles. I mean to enjoy mine.
Miss Laurier, is it?
Do you polka?
Well done, Charles.
She's lovely.
- What?
- Your Swiss governess.
Oh. Yes.
She's an excellent teacher.
Well, I'm glad to hear it.
- Connie?
- Yes, yes.
What do you say
to a quick turn around the room?
Why not.
Oh! Oh, Lord Clare,
are you all right?
- Of course I'm all right.
- I'm so sorry. Was it me?
I'll see to him, Miss Laurier.
Please don't trouble yourself.
I tell you, I'm all right.
I want to dance, damn it.
Why didn't you say?
I never thought I'd get you
onto a dance floor, Charles.
There's a first time
for everything.
Oh!
You sent for me, sir?
Well, are you or aren't you?
- Am I what?
- Diddling Charles.
Molly says you are.
She can usually spot
these things, you know.
You judge everyone
by yourself, sir?
At least you understand
what I'm talking about.
You're not gonna sue him
or anything, are you?
- No.
- You're wrong, missy.
I don't judge everyone by myself,
least of all Charles.
I know he's not like me
'cause he's just like my father.
The old bastard
never thought much of me.
"Duty this, duty that."
And now Charles.
Odd to have your own son
acting like your father, you know.
He must have been a child once.
But of course
he was a child once.
Well, you're right there.
When he was a little fellow.
I'd forgotten that.
When Charles was about
16 years old, he stood up before me and said...
"Father, I can't respect a man
who lives only for his own pleasure."
- You know what I replied?
- What?
"My boy, you've no right to speak
to your father like that...
until you've got yourself
well and truly fucked."
Well...
Now he has.
Good for you, missy.
Good for you!
And you're right, of course.
He's my boy.
- She pretends she has a mother there.
- I know. We're all pretending.
When you come into a room,
I pretend that I haven't noticed you.
And then I look, and there's
nothing in the world but you.
Sometimes I think,
"Why don't we just go away?"
You, me, Louisa.
Would you come with me?
Why ask?
It's only pretending.
- You can't leave.
- I don't think I can bear it.
You have a duty to your estate,
to your family, to your wife.
How can you be so calm?
Not calm.
Stay with me tonight.
All night.
Louisa!
Come back!
It's not safe!
Louisa, don't leave me!
Sleep, darling. Sleep.
I'll never leave you.
Never.
They're making an inventory.
Charles left for town at first light.
Mr Dodds tells me
the estate is to be sold.
I wonder what will become of us all.
Who knows?
Maybe it's for the best.
Sometimes this house
feels like a prison.
Mr Godwin loves it very much.
Yes, he did once.
But the house died
the day Amy...
didn't die.
I wish she had died.
Does that shock you?
No.
There's a law, of course,
that forbids a man...
from marrying
his deceased wife's sister.
But it's an absurd law,
so easily evaded.
You think if Mrs Godwin were to die,
you and Mr Godwin would marry?
I don't pretend he loves me
as he loved Amy.
But ten years is a long time.
We've grown older together.
There's a kind of closeness
in that.
"Fire"?
"God."
- "Hat."
- What's that word?
- Hat.
- How do you know?
Because of the picture.
How do I know?
- Charles, you're back.
- Hello, Connie.
- Is everything going to be all right?
- No.
Nothing's going to be all right.
Are there so very many debts?
Yes.
Yes, the damage
is well and truly done.
The estate will have to go.
Oh, Charles.
I'm so sorry.
But it's not right.
Something should be done.
No, it's not right...
but nothing will be done.
What will become of us?
Who knows?
It's a cold night, Amy.
Bitter cold.
I've often thought that this is
a kind of prison for you...
and that if you could speak,
you'd ask me to--
You'd ask me to let you go.
I have to know that you want it.
Show me what you want, Amy.
Show me what you want.
Lord, from you we come,
to you we must return.
Take my beloved wife...
Sometime in the night, I'd say.
It was a very cold night.
I understand
that the fire had gone out.
Yes.
That was unfortunate.
It wasn't me, sir.
I swear on the Good Book.
Nobody's blaming you, Hannah.
It's been ten years.
- At least now she's at peace.
- Indeed.
Indeed.
I think we should leave.
You haven't eaten.
No, I--
Are you all right?
Am I all right ...
Yes, I think so.
I loved Amy dearly...
but I know--
I know that this is for the best.
You really believe that?
Yes, I do.
Dear Connie.
You've been good to me
all these years.
And you've been good to me,
Charles.
So much is changing.
What's to become of us all?
As your friend Mr Taylor said...
"The future's what we make it."
Hmm.
- I'm sorry.
- No, don't speak.
I...
- didn't mean--
- Well, it's just a mistake, that's all.
Uh, sorry to have disturbed you.
Connie.
- Yes, Charles?
You know how much
I loved her, don't you?
Yes, Charles, I do.
"Behold, I show you a mystery."
"We shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed..."
"in a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye..."
"at the last trump."
"For the trumpet shall sound..."
"and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible..."
"and we shall be changed."
"For this corruptible
must put on incorruption..."
"and this mortal
must put on immortality."
"So when this corruptible
shall have put on incorruption..."
"and this mortal shall have
put on immortality..."
"then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written..."
"Death is swallowed up
in victory."
"O death, where is thy sting?"
"O grave, where is thy victory?"
Does he love you?
Yes.
Do you love him?
Yes.
I would have made him happy.
Love him for me too.
Was it you?
Yes.
I think it's what she wanted...
but I'll never know.
I must live with that.
As must I.
- You? You've done nothing.
- Nothing?
I've wanted you and Louisa...
with all my mind and heart and will
for seven long years.
It seems to me that my desire...
has destroyed everything
that stood in its way:
your wife, your home, your world.
I never knew there was
so much power in desire.
And if it was so...
are you sorry?
No.
Then we deserve each other.
May God have mercy on us.
Why did you give me away?
I didn't.
I sold you.
How much for?
500 pounds.
- Is that a lot?
- It's a fortune.
I'm glad it was a lot.
Oh!
Mama.
- Mama.
- Oh, my pretty. My pretty.
Mama.
Mama.
Mama.
Repair and Synchronization by
Easy Subtitles Synchronizer 1.0.0.0
Sit down, dear.
(WHISPERS) "This one is Swiss
by nationality."
"Two years employment
here in London as a governess--"
"--piano, drawing, French,
of course."
- How old are you, dear?
- Twenty-two.
- Are you in good health?
- Yes.
- Are both your parents still living?
- My mother is dead.
What was the cause
of your mother's death, dear?
She died in childbirth.
(MAN WHISPERS)
Ask her to stand up.
- Stand up, dear.
Turn around.
All the way.
- Ask her what the money's for.
- Her father's in debt,
it seems.
- Does she have any other income,
any other way of making money?
Sit down, dear.
The gentleman asks, do you have no other
way to raise the sum you need?
Does the gentleman
have any suggestions?
My dear, you're very pretty.
You could marry, you know.
Yes, I could
sell myself for life.
The gentleman's needs, as I understand
it, are of a shorter duration.
Has she done this before?
- The gentleman asks--
- Can the gentleman not ask for himself?
You're not to know who he is, my dear.
No one is to know.
He need not tell me his name.
I'd like to hear his voice.
What can you tell from a voice?
A little.
Have you ever done
anything like this before?
No, never.
Will you do it?
Of course.
Why else am I here?
Shall I look further?
No, this is the one.
I hope you don't mind. I didn't want
to be seen entering the room with you.
- I'm afraid I can't introduce
myself, as you know. - Yes.
- Did you have a smooth crossing?
- For the most part.
- Is the hotel to your liking?
- I have no complaints.
Please.
It's of the utmost importance that
we're not seen together
in public over these next few days.
I have a reputation to protect,
not just for myself, but for others.
Do you understand?
Yes.
We'll meet together each evening
after dinner here in your room.
SHE: As you wish.
Are we to--
to meet this evening?
Yes.
We have three evenings.
When are we to begin?
I thought you might like
a little time to accustom yourself.
I have accustomed myself.
I'm ready now.
The fire gives more light
than one expects.
Does it trouble you?
No.
Will this do?
Yes.
Perhaps you think
I'm no better than him.
I think nothing.
You think what we're doing
is wrong?
You at least...
are doing it for someone else.
I, too, have a duty
to someone else.
Then, sir, since neither of us
are here for our own pleasure...
perhaps what we do
isn't so very wrong.
I don't want to know your name.
I don't want to know anything about you.
Aren't you afraid
to be seen with me?
There's no one to see.
I like it here.
Just sea and sky and--
And nothing.
I like it.
- Makes me want to shout.
- Then shout.
No, it's not so easy.
You're very--
I didn't expect it
to be like this.
What did you expect?
Last night...
I thought--
For a moment I thought that--
You thought that I liked it?
Did you?
No.
But I could.
Oh, I wish--
What do you wish?
I wish I could shout.
So, Mrs Jago will see to everything
when the time comes.
Yes, I know it all.
We made an arrangement.
I accept it.
You won't want to be seen
disembarking in my company.
Uh, no.
Goodbye, then.
Over soon, my dear.
- It's a little girl.
- Is she all there?
- Oh, yes, she's beautiful.
- Best to take her away at once.
There, my pet.
All over now.
I don't even know your name.
Happy birthday, darling.
I don't forget you.
You are ready?
Madames, messieurs.
Give me your bodies,
give me your souls.
Et danson ... La Polka!
Make a window with your legs!
Move from the waist!
Ladies, trust your gentlemen!
In the polka,
faith is the virtue that saves.
- Shame on you, Mr Godwin.
Not dancing?
You'll have to excuse me, Mrs Hurst.
I'm afraid I don't know the steps.
None of us know the steps, Mr Godwin.
That's the fun of it. We learn together.
As you can see,
I'm not dressed for dancing.
- Jenny, I want you. I shall have you.
- Oh!
- Seen enough?
- You have to admit it's quite a sight.
Quite a cost too.
There's the old monster.
- Want to meet him?
- Surely.
The lady with him
isn't exactly his wife.
- You don't exactly surprise me.
- Just the latest in a long line.
- Father, I'd like to introduce you to--
- You're not dressed, Charles.
- Go and get dressed.
- Father.
- You're a blot, boy.
- Father, may I introduce to you Mr John Taylor of Ohio?
My father, Lord Clare.
Miss Holland.
And what brings you
all the way from Ohio, sir?
Your son and I hope
to do business together.
- What business?
- I'm a sheep farmer.
A sheep farmer.
Get dressed, Charles, or get out.
There's a good fellow.
I wouldn't have missed that
for the world.
I wish I could laugh.
But my father's London life
all has to be paid for.
We don't live like this
down in the country.
The boy's not normal.
Don't ask me why.
Don't be hard on him,Jimmy.
When you think of his poor wife.
Damn it, Molly,
that was ten years ago.
You'd think he'd have found some
comfort of a female variety by now, but he won't do it.
- Are you sure?
- Quite sure. The boy's not normal.
Brought this fellow
over from Paris, you know.
First polka in London.
Come on, Molly.
Let's hop.
- You'd be the new governess.
- Yes.
Know about the child,
do you, miss?
I know what I've been told.
Left in a basket on the steps
of the Ram Inn.
They tell you that?
- No.
No. They don't tell them that.
I don't suppose you could
put something on the fire, could you?
Can't bend, miss ...
Wig falls off.
Please to come with me, miss.
You'll be the fourth
this year, miss.
- The fourth governess?
- They don't stay.
Miss Louisa sees to that.
Louisa?
The governess' room.
Thomas will bring your trunk up
when he has time.
Twenty-five pounds a year,
is it, your pay?
Cook gets 30.
Schoolroom this way.
We don't get many like you
at Selcombe, miss.
- Like what?
- Foreigners, miss.
We're all English here.
Schoolroom.
Know about Miss Louisa,
do you, miss?
- She was left in a basket on the steps of the Ram Inn.
- Don't you believe it.
Master bought her from a gypsy
for half a crown.
Thinks she's quite a little lady,
but she don't fool me.
Where is she now?
I wouldn't know, miss.
Maybe the gypsies have took her back.
Excuse me. Where would I find
Miss Louisa, please?
Oh, she'll be in her lake house.
She's always hiding in there.
Who are you?
Miss Laurier, your new governess.
You're not English, are you?
- No.
- Do you speak English?
Yes.
Then bugger away, lady.
I see you found your way
to Louisa's lake house.
- Yes.
- And she ran away from you, I suppose?
- Yes.
- That's what she does.
I'm afraid her father's not very strict
with her, as you'll discover.
Mr Godwin is not at home?
He's in town at present.
We expect him back tomorrow.
- Mrs Godwin?
- Oh, no.
No.
No. I'm not Mrs Godwin.
My sister, Amelia, married Charles.
So, she is Mrs Godwin.
But soon after her marriage, she had
a serious accident, a riding accident.
Charles had no one
to run the house for him.
So I came.
Thank you.
And, uh, Mrs Godwin?
Amy didn't die.
Her life is over,
but she lives on.
And here we are,
Charles and I...
and Amy and Louisa.
We're home!
Did you have a pleasant journey?
John Taylor, this is my sister-in-law,
Miss Skelton.
- Mr Taylor, welcome.
- Miss Skelton.
There was no need for you to walk down,
John. The carriage would've brought you.
- I'm not an old man yet, Charles.
- Ellen, will you help Louisa with her cloak?
- I was waiting for you.
- Would you take Mr Taylor's coat?
John, this is a man you have to meet.
Mr Ames, my farmer.
- Mr Taylor.
- Mr Ames.
Do you have any experience
with Southdowns, sir?
- Not yet. We run merinos.
- Ah, wait till you bring in the Southdowns.
There's no heartier breed
in existence.
- We have a new governess, Charles.
- Another one?
Send Miss Laurier down to meet Master.
Thomas, will you come with me?
Look at this girl.
She's so frightening, all the
governesses run from her squealing.
How do you do that, Louisa? Hmm?
- I don't want a governess.
- You don't want a governess.
- Did you miss me?
- No.
You must give me some breeding tips,
Mr Ames. I mean to win prizes.
Mr Godwin's your man.
He's our master breeder.
Be careful, John.
This breeding business can become
something of an obsession.
It's nothing less than
the endless pursuit of perfection.
How close do you reckon you've got?
To perfection, I mean.
The Selcombe flock
is as good as you'll find, sir.
That's what I hear.
What's your secret?
Ah, here's the new governess.
Uh, this is my brother-in-law,
Mr Godwin. Miss Laurier.
Mr Godwin.
Miss Laurier is from Switzerland,
but she's been employed in England for many years.
I see.
I'm sure Mr Taylor needs a drink.
I know I do.
You must leave at once. What are you doing?
What on earth possessed you to come here?
It's taken me seven years to trace
my child. Don't ask me to leave her now.
We had an agreement!
You had your money.
I didn't know how it would be when she was born.
All I heard was her cry.
I've never forgotten it.
- You were paid to forget!
- I tried.
You tried?
- I'd give you back
your money if I could.
- I don't want the money.
It wasn't for me.
It was for my-- It was for my father.
- He was in prison and--
- I don't want to hear this. I just--
I wanted an heir. I wanted a child.
Is that so wrong?
I swear to you, no one will ever learn
the truth from me, not even Louisa.
Not even Louisa, not even your own
daughter. You couldn't live with that.
I have no choice.
I have no home of my own.
- I must be governess to her or nothing.
- She hates governesses.
She needs me.
That's enough.
No. It's impossible,
the whole thing. You must go.
And there's an end to it.
We'll have to get another governess,
Connie. Miss Laurier can't stay.
Why?
Louisa doesn't like her.
Oh, Charles.
Louisa doesn't like any governess.
Can't a man choose who's
to educate his own daughter?
- Do you wish her to be
dismissed without a character? - No.
Well, then, she must be given
at least a month's notice.
A month?
Can't she just be paid?
Governesses make their homes
with their employers.
She can't leave until
she's found a new situation.
A month!
A month is an eternity.
-Does she really have no home but this?
-That's why governesses are governesses.
What happens to them?
When they aren't wanted as
governesses any more?
I really don't know.
All these huge rooms, and we live
our lives within three feet of the fire.
Would you come with me, please?
You're to have one month's notice.
- You said you'd swear to tell no one.
- You said you'd swear to tell no one.
- Yes.
- Oh.
- Thank you, Hannah.
- Have I time for my tea, sir?
- Yes.
- I'll stay till you return.
- Thank you, sir.
Amy, I've brought
someone to see you.
This is Miss Laurier.
Please.
This is my wife, Amelia.
Mrs Godwin.
I tell Amy everything.
She knows Louisa's my daughter.
But I promised her that
I'll never shame her before the world.
No one else knows but you.
- Does she understand what we say?
- I choose to believe that she does.
If there's any pity in you
for my wife's wasted life...
swear that you'll keep our secret.
I swear.
Now leave us.
Good morning, Louisa.
- Do you know your ABC?
- Do you know your ABC?
This is "L" for Louisa.
"This is "L" for Lou-eeza."
Don't go.
We have work to do.
"Don't go.
We have WORK to do."
- You're poor, I suppose.
- You're poor, I suppose.
- Yes.
I don't have to do what you say.
- No.
- You got to hoist them off.
- Bugger away, lady. Bugger away.
- Gently now.
- Come on.
- You see why?
Frankly, I don't.
They all look good to me.
You've a superb flock here.
Well, I should have. I've been breeding
the imperfections out for 15 years.
This one's a perfect breeding ewe.
See how the chine runs straight
from the nape of the neck to the sitting of the tail.
Good wide hips, straight forelegs,
plenty of wool between the ears.
Look into her eyes--
sweet, gentle disposition.
She'll feed well,
fatten well and lamb well.
- Go on.
- Good morning, Miss Laurier.
- Mr Taylor.
- Have you come to admire the Southdowns too?
No, sir. I've come
for Mr Godwin's instructions.
- Well?
- Am I to teach Miss Louisa, sir...
if even only for one month?
- Yes.
- Then I must be able to keep her in the schoolroom.
What forms of discipline
am I permitted to use?
None. If her lessons
give her no pleasure, why should she endure them? No.
She'll find out soon enough
what a hard world we live in.
For these few short years that she's
under my care, I want her to be happy.
- Is that clear?
- Is that clear?
- Yes, sir.
Let me out! I want my pa!
Let me out!
Come on! You gotta let me out!
Let me out!
I want my pa!
Come on! I want my pa!
Let me out now!
I want my pa!
- Let me out!
- After you've done your lessons.
Let me out! I want my pa! Just let me
out now! I want him! Hey! Let me out!
- What's that?
- Uh, Miss Louisa, sir, being educated.
I hate you!
No, I'm never. NEVER!
Papa!
- Open the door.
- Papa! Papa!
Miss Laurier,
open this door at once!
What do you think you're doing?
Open the door!
No, sir.
Please, Papa.
Come here, please!
I will not have you
treat my daughter like this.
- Would you have her grow up
ignorant and friendless? - I'll not have her imprisoned.
She cares for no one but you,
and so no one cares for her.
- Give me the key.
- She is unhappy and lonely.
She doesn't know who she is
or what she is to do or why!
Papa, help me!
Papa, I want you!
I can help her.
I know I can.
But first she has to be taught
to obey me.
If you harm so much
as one hair on her head--
Do you think I, of all people,
would ever hurt her?
I'll make you a promise.
Whatever I do to Louisa,
I'll do to myself.
You want her to love you.
I want her to be loved.
She won't have you forever.
Louisa?
Louisa, I'll see you
when your lessons are over.
All right, darling?
Louisa?
I love you.
- Lunch, miss.
- Thank you, Ellen. Put it on the table.
- Will that be all, miss?
- Yes. Thank you, Ellen.
Do you want your lunch?
One.
Two.
If you won't eat,
then neither will I.
- I'd say you're lucky to have her.
- I'd say you're lucky to have her.
- Oh? Why?
She's got pride in herself.
Doesn't back down.
And she's lovely.
Don't tell me you haven't noticed.
Miss Laurier is here to teach Louisa.
She leaves at the end of the month.
So you won't mind
if I speak to her?
What do you mean,
speak to her?
Well, she doesn't seem
to have a home of her own.
- Do you mean to employ her?
- Not exactly.
- I was thinking of marriage.
- Marriage?
I could do a lot worse.
I leave tomorrow.
I don't have that much time.
Well, you'd better
ask her then.
- I'm cold.
- So am I.
- So am I.
- I hate you.
- Hate me if you want,
but you must obey me.
I won't.
I'll die first.
Hmm. How will you die?
I'll drown myself in the lake.
- How will you make your body
stay underwater?
- It just will.
No, it won't.
Bodies float.
- You could put stones in your pockets.
Do you have any pockets?
- Don't talk to me.
Or you could get a good, strong bag
and fill it with pebbles.
- I said, don't talk to me.
- What do you do in the lake house?
- If you come near it,
I'll kill you. I'll murder you. - How?
With a knife.
I'll stab you in the heart.
- Yes, that would do it.
- It would. You'd be dead.
- You'd have to bury me.
- I won't. I'll just leave you.
I'd rot. I'd smell.
Serve you right!
What are these
stupid lessons anyway?
Louisa...
Ioves... Papa.
Louisa ... loves ... grass.
Louisa...
EATS ... grass.
SHEEP ... eat grass.
"Papa loves sheep."
You see, it's not hard.
- Do you know about firelight?
- Do you know about firelight?
- What about it?
It's a kind of magic.
Firelight makes time stand still.
When you put out the lamps...
and sit in the firelight's glow...
there aren't any rules any more.
You can do what you want,
You can do what you want,
say what you want...
be what you want.
And when the lamps are lit again,
time starts again.
And everything you said
or did is forgotten--
more than forgotten.
It never happened.
- I can do what I want?
- I can do what I want?
- Yes.
- I want to go.
- I want to go.
- Then go.
It's been unlocked since lunch time.
All right?
MISS SKELTON:
To a famous victory.
Don't say that.
Louisa's too young to be defeated.
Oh, well.
Then we shall drink to you.
- To Miss Laurier.
MR. TAYLOR: Miss Laurier.
Governess after governess has tried
to control Louisa and failed.
Only Miss Laurier has realized
that first she must control Charles.
Yes. But look at him.
He's not at all grateful.
I ...understand you'll be leaving
in a month.
Where do you go?
Another situation.
- Then what?
- I don't understand.
Well, the years go by,
you're no longer required, then what?
Do you return to Switzerland?
I can't see into the future.
Some say the future
is what you make it.
Well, in-- in America,
certainly.
In America.
That's what I mean.
In America.
Good night, darling.
We've begun now.
You asked to see me?
Yes. I wanted a moment alone
with you before I go.
Please, have a seat.
Miss Laurier,
I won't waste your time.
I'm a single man
with 5,000 acres to my name.
If you would consider
a life in America...
I would be proud
to take you there...
as my wife.
You pay me a very
great compliment, sir.
But the answer's no.
I'm afraid so.
Well.
You don't know till you ask.
You're not too disappointed,
I think.
Well, I hardly know you, so I can't make out
I'll not be able to live without you...
but, well, a man can get his hopes up
pretty high, pretty quick.
I'm sorry.
Just so I know--
Guess I'll be doing something
like this again one of these days.
Is it anything I can fix...?
Like, my dress, or ... how I talk?
No, Mr Taylor.
Any lady would be fortunate
to be courted by you.
Any lady but you.
Louisa, darling, please.
You promised me.
- Louisa, I really can't bear this.
- That's why she does it.
Damnation, can't I feel
for my own child?
Feel for her, Mr Godwin,
but don't pity her.
Louisa, let go. Please.
Go, then.
If you want to go, go!
- Will you be all right, darling?
- You don't care,
so what does it matter?
Now, it's just you and me.
Shall we start our lessons?
I don't have to do what you say.
You're just a servant.
That's enough! Be silent.
You will obey me,
whether you want to or not.
You will obey me because, poor as I am,
I am placed in authority over you.
You will not speak disrespectfully
to me or raise your voice to me.
Servant .... Servant .... Servant.
Servant!.... Servant! .... Servant!
Servant! Servant! Servant! Servant!
Servant! Servant! Servant!
I'm not a servant.
I'm a prisoner.
So will you be when you grow up.
The day you come of age,
the gates will close around you
because you are a woman!
If you marry, everything you own
will become the property
of your husband.
If you don't marry, every profession
will be closed to you but one...
and that one is a life
of loneliness and humiliation.
They lock you up, Louisa!
But there's one door they can't lock.
They can't imprison your mind...
and that's why I want you
to learn to read.
I want you to have your own life.
Write and tell me when the Southdowns
start winning all the prizes.
- Come and see for yourself.
- Maybe I will.
Best grazing in the world.
Twenty dollars an acre. Think about it.
Did you find time
for that other business?
- She turned me down.
- She turned you down?
- Mm.
I guess there's somebody else.
Lucky fellow is all I can say.
- Bye, Charles.
- Bye, John.
Don't go.
Constance will be down directly.
As you wish.
Mr Taylor tells me he made you an offer
and, uh, you refused him.
Yes.
For Louisa's sake, I presume.
Yes.
The fire gives more light
than one expects, doesn't it?
Yes.
No lamps lit?
What's Jane thinking of?
I don't know how much
you want to know.
I remember her...
The firelight.
I remember her...
... too much.
LOUISA: "Bee."
"Tree."
"Eye."
- "See."
"Pig."
"Dig."
"Wig."
This is stupid.
- "Bad."
- "Bad."
- Mm-hmm.
"Sad."
- "Happy."
- Hmm-mm.
- I suppose it's "glad."
- I suppose it's "glad."
- Mm-hmm.
- "Mad."
- "Mad."
- Yes.
When I was young,
I had no mother.
She died just after I was born.
I loved my father very much...
but what I wanted most
was a mother.
The sick lady's
not my real mother.
- Yes, I know.
- My real mother's not sick.
Where is she?
It's a secret.
- Do you ever see her?
- Of course. Every day.
What do you do with her?
Just be with her.
Miss Laurier. See?
How do you know she doesn't just read
the pictures rather than the words?
- She does.
- Oh, yes? That's not really reading.
No, it's only pretending...
but after a while,
the pretence becomes a reality.
I see.
Louisa tells me you have
some story about firelight.
Yes.
I tell her firelight
is a magic time...
when time stands still.
Why'd you tell her that?
I find it helps.
A time with no rules
at the end of the day.
I must ask you to help me.
How?
There was a time-- it was a short time--
when we were close, you and I.
- Yes?
- Do you remember it?
Yes.
Just tell me that time is over
and can never come again.
You don't answer.
What happens when time stands still?
The firelight.
You can do what you want...
say what you want...
be what you want.
When the lamps are lit again...
time starts again, but...
everything you said or did
is forgotten.
More than forgotten.
Never happened.
- Oh, God, I hate the country!
It's always so damn cold.
Come on, Molly, into the mausoleum.
Hello, Connie.
- Hello.
Terrible journey.
The roads get worse every year.
How are you?
Jimmy, who are all these people?
Fiddlers.
You, more coal on the fire
before I freeze to death!
Come on in, Manzini.
Herd your fellows in.
We can't have a dance without music,
Connie. Everyone knows that.
- Dance?
- Fire!
Can't bend, milord.
Wig falls off.
- Father.
- Yes, yes. Here I am.
- Hello there, little missy.
- Who are all these people?
Christmas cheer.
What is it about this house?
The moment I walk in,
I want to kill myself.
Damn it, boy,
don't preach at me.
You do realize we have to sell
one of the farms?
Never sell land, Charles.
The one sensible thing my father ever said to me.
Why borrow money if all you mean
is to give it back?
Where's Molly?
She can't still be dressing.
- Are there any more charges
on the estate? - Well, what do I know?
I'm not a bank clerk.
I just live my life.
All for the sake of a few short years
of passing pleasure.
Passing pleasures are all we have, boy.
All we have between us and the grave.
- Hello. Who are you?
- This is Miss Laurier.
This is, uh, my father,
Lord Clare.
Miss Laurier
is Louisa's governess.
Never had governesses like you
in my day. What are you, French?
No, I'm from Switzerland.
Sacrifice your life if you want,
Charles. I mean to enjoy mine.
Miss Laurier, is it?
Do you polka?
Well done, Charles.
She's lovely.
- What?
- Your Swiss governess.
Oh. Yes.
She's an excellent teacher.
Well, I'm glad to hear it.
- Connie?
- Yes, yes.
What do you say
to a quick turn around the room?
Why not.
Oh! Oh, Lord Clare,
are you all right?
- Of course I'm all right.
- I'm so sorry. Was it me?
I'll see to him, Miss Laurier.
Please don't trouble yourself.
I tell you, I'm all right.
I want to dance, damn it.
Why didn't you say?
I never thought I'd get you
onto a dance floor, Charles.
There's a first time
for everything.
Oh!
You sent for me, sir?
Well, are you or aren't you?
- Am I what?
- Diddling Charles.
Molly says you are.
She can usually spot
these things, you know.
You judge everyone
by yourself, sir?
At least you understand
what I'm talking about.
You're not gonna sue him
or anything, are you?
- No.
- You're wrong, missy.
I don't judge everyone by myself,
least of all Charles.
I know he's not like me
'cause he's just like my father.
The old bastard
never thought much of me.
"Duty this, duty that."
And now Charles.
Odd to have your own son
acting like your father, you know.
He must have been a child once.
But of course
he was a child once.
Well, you're right there.
When he was a little fellow.
I'd forgotten that.
When Charles was about
16 years old, he stood up before me and said...
"Father, I can't respect a man
who lives only for his own pleasure."
- You know what I replied?
- What?
"My boy, you've no right to speak
to your father like that...
until you've got yourself
well and truly fucked."
Well...
Now he has.
Good for you, missy.
Good for you!
And you're right, of course.
He's my boy.
- She pretends she has a mother there.
- I know. We're all pretending.
When you come into a room,
I pretend that I haven't noticed you.
And then I look, and there's
nothing in the world but you.
Sometimes I think,
"Why don't we just go away?"
You, me, Louisa.
Would you come with me?
Why ask?
It's only pretending.
- You can't leave.
- I don't think I can bear it.
You have a duty to your estate,
to your family, to your wife.
How can you be so calm?
Not calm.
Stay with me tonight.
All night.
Louisa!
Come back!
It's not safe!
Louisa, don't leave me!
Sleep, darling. Sleep.
I'll never leave you.
Never.
They're making an inventory.
Charles left for town at first light.
Mr Dodds tells me
the estate is to be sold.
I wonder what will become of us all.
Who knows?
Maybe it's for the best.
Sometimes this house
feels like a prison.
Mr Godwin loves it very much.
Yes, he did once.
But the house died
the day Amy...
didn't die.
I wish she had died.
Does that shock you?
No.
There's a law, of course,
that forbids a man...
from marrying
his deceased wife's sister.
But it's an absurd law,
so easily evaded.
You think if Mrs Godwin were to die,
you and Mr Godwin would marry?
I don't pretend he loves me
as he loved Amy.
But ten years is a long time.
We've grown older together.
There's a kind of closeness
in that.
"Fire"?
"God."
- "Hat."
- What's that word?
- Hat.
- How do you know?
Because of the picture.
How do I know?
- Charles, you're back.
- Hello, Connie.
- Is everything going to be all right?
- No.
Nothing's going to be all right.
Are there so very many debts?
Yes.
Yes, the damage
is well and truly done.
The estate will have to go.
Oh, Charles.
I'm so sorry.
But it's not right.
Something should be done.
No, it's not right...
but nothing will be done.
What will become of us?
Who knows?
It's a cold night, Amy.
Bitter cold.
I've often thought that this is
a kind of prison for you...
and that if you could speak,
you'd ask me to--
You'd ask me to let you go.
I have to know that you want it.
Show me what you want, Amy.
Show me what you want.
Lord, from you we come,
to you we must return.
Take my beloved wife...
Sometime in the night, I'd say.
It was a very cold night.
I understand
that the fire had gone out.
Yes.
That was unfortunate.
It wasn't me, sir.
I swear on the Good Book.
Nobody's blaming you, Hannah.
It's been ten years.
- At least now she's at peace.
- Indeed.
Indeed.
I think we should leave.
You haven't eaten.
No, I--
Are you all right?
Am I all right ...
Yes, I think so.
I loved Amy dearly...
but I know--
I know that this is for the best.
You really believe that?
Yes, I do.
Dear Connie.
You've been good to me
all these years.
And you've been good to me,
Charles.
So much is changing.
What's to become of us all?
As your friend Mr Taylor said...
"The future's what we make it."
Hmm.
- I'm sorry.
- No, don't speak.
I...
- didn't mean--
- Well, it's just a mistake, that's all.
Uh, sorry to have disturbed you.
Connie.
- Yes, Charles?
You know how much
I loved her, don't you?
Yes, Charles, I do.
"Behold, I show you a mystery."
"We shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed..."
"in a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye..."
"at the last trump."
"For the trumpet shall sound..."
"and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible..."
"and we shall be changed."
"For this corruptible
must put on incorruption..."
"and this mortal
must put on immortality."
"So when this corruptible
shall have put on incorruption..."
"and this mortal shall have
put on immortality..."
"then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written..."
"Death is swallowed up
in victory."
"O death, where is thy sting?"
"O grave, where is thy victory?"
Does he love you?
Yes.
Do you love him?
Yes.
I would have made him happy.
Love him for me too.
Was it you?
Yes.
I think it's what she wanted...
but I'll never know.
I must live with that.
As must I.
- You? You've done nothing.
- Nothing?
I've wanted you and Louisa...
with all my mind and heart and will
for seven long years.
It seems to me that my desire...
has destroyed everything
that stood in its way:
your wife, your home, your world.
I never knew there was
so much power in desire.
And if it was so...
are you sorry?
No.
Then we deserve each other.
May God have mercy on us.
Why did you give me away?
I didn't.
I sold you.
How much for?
500 pounds.
- Is that a lot?
- It's a fortune.
I'm glad it was a lot.
Oh!
Mama.
- Mama.
- Oh, my pretty. My pretty.
Mama.
Mama.
Mama.
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