Dangerous Liaisons (2022–…): Season 1, Episode 5 - The World Should Be Afraid of Us - full transcript
Why do you hate
Madame de Montrachet?
You do not need
to understand, Valmont,
you simply need to do
as I ask you.
I'm to be a student
at his school for orphans.
I will see you have
some money for your school.
It will bind us together
in venture.
So be it.
- You have a title!
- I have nothing.
The Comte de Valmont wins!
That's why I need you to use
your exemplary skills of deceit,
draw out the truth about
how this false vicomtesse
made a puppet of my father
to disinherit me.
From where may you
have heard of Ariadne?
There's a private club.
It's called the Labyrinth.
I know Jean's secret.
I know what Ariadne means.
The Marquis can do
whatever he wants
without consequence.
Where is he?
Gone to his engagement party.
The games are over.
Change is coming here.
And he left instruction for me
to ensure that
you left this house.
You can't win against
that sort of power.
You don't know me, Major do me.
You cannot mean to descend upon
Jean's engagement party
when you could
stay here with me.
Hmm.
Perhaps we might even share
this bed tonight.
You sleep in a chair
beside the fire,
and now you bring me coffee.
I had no idea
you were such a gentleman.
Oh, I'm not.
You don't seriously mean
to go to Rambouillet?
They will serve you up
alongside the boar.
- You've been there?
- Often.
With a friend. A composer.
The Sevignys were his patrons.
Yet you're not invited
to the engagement party.
My stepmother poisoned
that particular well.
She's never so happy as when
she's dispelling the affection
that others hold me in.
Don't forget your promise
to help me
get back what she stole from me.
Perhaps you should focus
on completing your own task.
Well, love cannot be rushed.
You were cursed the day
you made it your condition.
I won't.
♪ ♪
Tell me how to get
to Rambouillet.
♪ ♪
I hope we're not so late
we've missed all the fun.
We were not expecting further
guests here, mademoiselle.
♪ ♪
I'm a surprise.
♪ ♪
Ahh!
Yah!
♪ Beware, beware ♪
Chase, chase, chase, chase!
Who have you caught, Marquis?
And if you take my advice,
be careful with your answer,
lest you offend.
Mmm! Tuberose...
...and ambergris.
A woman of great taste
and beauty.
The Comtesse de Segur!
She's twice my age.
- How dare you?
- Oh!
♪ ♪
Where's he going?
Aha!
Such a delicate frame
and skin.
It can only be my future wife.
Ariadne is here.
♪ ♪
Did you really think
I would just disappear?
Yes.
Along with your
willful misrepresentation
of my wife's letter to me.
A pity to travel so far
to be spectacle
of your own humiliation.
Ariadne means nothing.
I've been to the Labyrinth.
Ariadne means a great deal.
Though to be sure, shall I ask
your wife-to-be
and all the guests?
Because of grief,
I have not treated you
with the tenderness you deserve.
You should not have
borne my suffering.
Or the dismissal
of your wife's wishes for me.
Remind me.
That I receive
a generous settlement
so that I may
live independently,
but under the protection
of the Merteuil name.
Ah. Christine!
I will have my lawyer
come in the morning
with a contract and some monies.
Have him come tonight.
Oh, a contract
and a large sum of money
are more than a day's work.
Besides, you are my guest here.
Do have fun.
Oh, Camille!
Oh, it's such a joy
to have you here.
Jean said you'd returned
to Carcassonne?
I wouldn't miss this weekend.
Aw!
Madame, find Camille a room.
Put her in the north room.
Do not unpack.
It will save your maid time
in the morning when you leave.
♪ ♪
That went well.
Madame de Montrachet,
it is good to see you.
You've taken on this boy.
Until we establish
the orphanage.
Save the young, we save us all.
Come.
Madame, you came!
Hello!
Good to see you again,
monsieur, madame.
I hope you do not mind.
I brought a friend with me.
Monsieur Lucienne.
Any friend's
welcome here, madame.
Oh, my little ones.
I've missed you.
Jessamine, you've grown.
I'm sure of it.
Is that another tooth gone?
I shall give you silver for it.
Monsieur Lucienne,
would you bring my basket?
Monsieur Lucienne?
My basket?
Thank you.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
Forgive me. I cannot stay.
Excuse me.
Monsieur Lucienne?
What on Earth has happened?
I suffered a memory of sorts.
I prefer not to think of it.
It brings me great pain.
Come in.
Now, what happened?
Please tell me.
I've let my own pain consume me.
It has stopped me
from doing my work.
The girl who threw the blood.
I haven't given alms since.
Until today.
A random act should not
prevent such goodness.
It was not random.
Though my husband thinks she's
a figment of my imagination.
He is wrong.
Five years ago,
she was my servant.
Though I treated her
as a daughter.
A daughter would not behave
in such a way.
The girl full of violent
thought and jealousy could.
This girl repaid my trust
and my affection
by attempting to take
everything that mattered to me.
I do not understand.
She tried to take my husband.
She tried to destroy
my marriage,
and when that failed,
she cut her wrists before me.
Her name is Camille.
She's a scar upon me.
♪ ♪
I make an incision
on the anterior aspect
of the throat
to locate the tumor.
♪ ♪
As soon as ligation
of the superior thyroid artery
is achieved...
...there is a whole new vista.
It could have easily
been removed,
and he would have lived.
But some still do not trust
the knowledge in medicine.
I hope rationality
will eventually
banish fear and superstition.
You speak of rationality,
yet it is true
you search for the soul?
It is a personal quest. Yes.
Why do you believe
the soul resides in there,
Monsieur de Montrachet?
I am drawn by the heart's power.
Its undulations are,
at once, violent and graceful.
The perfect description of us,
do you not think?
And the perfect dwelling place
for the soul.
Thank you.
Monsieur?
My time is limited, I'm afraid.
I do not speak with the public.
No, I-I'm an officer
with the Unit
of Moral Discipline.
I'm here on business.
This was...
retrieved from a
dead woman's throat.
Is it possible
it could have caused her death?
It could cause asphyxiation.
Would such a death be painful?
It would be slow,
but the patient would have
no strength to struggle.
Hmm.
I have seen this thread before.
In a corpse I used
in an anatomy class.
- Who was she?
- Ariadne.
We name all our corpses.
Ariadne?
You don't know your Greek myths.
Ariadne gave Theseus
a skein of red thread
so he could kill the monster
in the maze
and find his way back to her.
I'm impressed, monsieur.
Few would go to such lengths
to investigate,
especially with such
an impediment... as that.
Do you experience
sensation in it?
- I could remove it...
- Um...
With minimal risk
and discomfort.
I'm working, sir.
Do you know who I am?
What I am offering you?
A limb such as this
is of no use.
A burden, surely.
Actually, it is not.
Everything is harder.
Takes more time, more effort,
but that is why I detect things
that others miss.
It is why I'm good at my job.
But the superstitious
among us maintain
the left hand
represents the devil.
My hand is not to be removed.
Thank you for your time,
monsieur.
♪ ♪
♪ L'amour ♪
- Bravo!
- My darling!
Oh, my darling!
Oh, this weekend
is one of celebration,
and we are honored
by the presence
of the Princesse de Lamballe,
who comes to us with blessings
from our queen
for this noble match.
These jewels are from
Her Majesty's collection
and are a gift to you
in recognition of her pleasure
at two families beloved
by the court joining in union.
Toast with me
our cherished daughter,
the future marquise,
and her husband-to-be,
the Marquis de Merteuil.
The loss of Geneviéve
has been hard to bear,
but I know she blesses
this union.
To love and marriage.
To love and marriage.
The title of marquise
is wasted on that child.
Far better it sit with me.
You cannot hope to make
a match with Jean.
Help me, and I'll help you.
Help you how?
I've seen an enmity
between you and Christine.
There will be no welcome
for you at Saint-Honoré
when her daughter's marquise.
But with me at Jean's side,
you will be championed
and treasured like a daughter.
- Because you are so maternal.
- My son is my god.
And your stepson Pascal?
I heard something
about a feud between you.
He is a story for another night
and a bottle of brandy.
It's not my choice.
Please believe me.
Mama has arranged all of it.
I cannot bear life without you.
Danceny?
Perhaps you would like
to concentrate
on your harpsichord?
Do not forget your marquis,
my love.
And how is Her Royal Highness,
our queen?
Sad she cannot join you
but glad
I am the envoy of her love.
She kissed my hand
so that you might kiss it
and receive the kiss
she has left for you.
Send this kiss back
to dear Marietta.
With my love.
Tonight, let us dance
the dance loved by our queen
and all of us of noble birth.
The contra dance allemande!
- Mademoiselle.
- I do not dance, monsieur.
Cannotl would imagine
is more accurate.
Do as I do, mademoiselle, hmm?
♪ ♪
Inviting that fraud
to stay is hardly the behavior
of a man who wants her gone.
This is your house, madame.
I've already thrown her
out of mine.
When one buys the gun,
one surely need not fire it too.
I hope you show more backbone
in marriage to my daughter.
Let's not pretend this marriage
has anything to do
with my backbone.
♪ ♪
Your beauty is the one
thing he does not exaggerate.
Valmont.
I'm to be a friend,
should you need one, hmm?
He waits for you
in the summer house.
Don't wait up for me.
I need to get some fresh air.
Camille...
Hors d'oeuvres
are for the guests.
For your mistress.
An inventory of everything
in your rooms.
Be sure it is all there
when you depart,
first thing tomorrow.
I like your chevalier.
I like you better.
I missed you.
I love you.
I said I love you!
I have my carriage.
Come with me.
I cannot. Let's stay here.
Why will you not come?
Because I have succeeded
with Jean.
Your blackmail.
He will be my guardian.
I will have his name,
and there will be money too.
I'll buy a great house for us.
Only I must stay another day
to do so.
You're good at getting
what you want.
Getting what I'm due.
Valmont!
Valmont, what's wrong?
♪ ♪
You asked me to seduce
this woman,
yet you give me
no proof of her wrong,
despite the bloody evidence
of what you're capable of.
What I'm capable of?
So it's true.
You are the proof...
of her suffering.
You make a fool of me.
- No.
- Tell me the truth.
What has she said to you?
Tell me,
or I will go no further.
What has she told you?
She doesn't matter.
I want the truth from you.
I have given it.
She took everything
that mattered from me.
Oh, I see it
with my own eyes, Camille.
The scars of what you did
because you could not get
what you wanted.
And me.
The willing fool who ruins her
so you may finally be with him
because you want him still.
My God, Camille.
All of this,
so you can take her husband.
You know nothing, Valmont.
Hmm.
Nothing!
♪ ♪
I don't want to know any more.
Valmont!
Don't walk away from me.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
You want to help me after all.
No, Vicomtesse.
I want to get
very, very drunk with you.
Your stepson.
What did he do
to make an enemy of you?
He told lies about me
to his father.
I hate him.
For you.
For his disloyalty.
For the stories he told.
For the damage he's done.
He's caused much damage.
The Comtesse de Sevigny
and I were once close
until I discovered the liaisons
between the two of them.
Christine is old enough
to be his mother.
That's why I'm invited
to everything.
Keep your friends close
and your enemies closer.
Then I'm glad
you make him suffer.
♪ ♪
Azolan.
Who am I?
Pardon?
Am I Valmont pretending
to be Lucienne...
...or am I Lucienne
pretending to be Valmont?
Well, who do you want to be?
A good man.
I don't want to hurt someone...
...who should not be hurt.
Tell Madame de Montrachet
the truth about your mother.
You can't get
more honest than that.
There's pain
in sharing that truth, Azolan.
I'm not sure I'm brave enough.
Yesterday, when we gave alms,
and I left you,
it's because I heard a scream.
Bloodcurdling.
A child's scream.
No, Lucienne.
I would have heard.
You could not have,
for it was in my head.
It was my scream
from when I was a child.
A kindness.
The act of giving alms.
It reminded me of the day
my mother died.
A lunatic slit her throat
while she was giving alms.
I saw it happen.
All her blood emptied out
like wine into the snow.
I was too small
to get out of the carriage.
I used to wake up...
screaming for her.
No! Ma man! Ma man!
I don't talk about
this pain inside me.
I want you to know me.
♪ ♪
Jacqueline, please.
I don't want you to go.
I cannot possibly stay.
Not now.
Of course,
losing Gustav was such agony.
Do you care for dogs, Jean?
No.
It seems I am
to join the hunt, Emilie.
Oh, Camille.
May I confide in you?
Yes. Yes, of course.
He thinks I do not notice,
but every time I speak,
Jean seems to wince.
If he winces, he's a fool.
But if you love someone else,
you should tell your mother.
Your secret's safe with me,
Emilie.
Follow your heart.
♪ ♪
He is a fine shot.
Coming from you, Musket,
that is a compliment.
Ma, might I speak with you
for a moment?
Oh, yes.
Though I say the marquis
has a long pistol, that's all.
That is often enough, Chevalier.
I favor technique.
It amounts to the same thing.
The loss of beautiful birds.
♪ ♪
From the right, sir!
Where is your lawyer, Jean?
He'll be here soon.
I do hope you stay around
to meet him.
What do you mean, Jean?
Camille, let me teach you
how to shoot.
A parting gift.
Very well, a skill to protect
against assassins
may prove invaluable.
That depends how many
assassins there are.
With a gun like this,
you have but one shot.
If you are hunting
something dangerous,
be sure to finish it off,
or much like a wounded enemy,
it will do you more damage.
Do you understand?
- That you seek to threaten me.
- Oh, it's not a threat.
♪ ♪
You want to know why
they call me Musket?
Because I never miss.
I will not tolerate you
in my house
or your attempts to unsettle
my daughter a moment longer.
If she is unsettled, perhaps
you should ask yourself why.
I have done nothing
but listen to her.
Little more, and you'll curse
the day you ever came here.
You have no idea what a mother
will do for her child.
I am here
by the marquis' invitation.
Invitation withdrawn.
From the marquis
via his messenger, me.
Leave my house,
or the next shot is you.
♪ ♪
There has to be
a letter from Christine here.
I must have missed it.
These people mean
to do you harm.
It scares me
that you can't see that.
I see it.
I mean to make them pay.
♪ ♪
"What an explosion
that night between us
"when we both went off
with such a bang.
"How exquisitely
you pulled the trigger.
Your M."
The alphabet has changed.
Christine begins with M.
Musket begins with M.
She wrote the inventory.
Now, let's see.
♪ ♪
It is the same hand.
Look. The M.
"Your technique
was a new one to me.
"One I tried later
with my darling Marietta.
"Thank you, dear V,
for your tricks.
She cannot be without me."
Marietta is the name
I heard Christine whisper
to the chevalier.
This letter is about her.
Who?
The queen.
Then we must burn it.
Camille, it's a death warrant.
Not only for Christine.
For us, if we are found with it.
It is my salvation.
♪ ♪
Do you still want Jean?
Do I want to marry
a noble of the sword,
France's highest honor,
and gain the title of marquise?
Do I want power, wealth, status,
and a man with
very little sexual appetite,
if his lack of heirs
is anything to go by?
Yes, Camille.
I still want all of that.
You did not realize
what a catch your guardian is.
And if I could
make him available to you...
...what would you give me?
What do you want?
Enough for a fine house,
your backing in Paris,
and access to all that power
you'll have.
Can you make him available?
I have information
in my possession
that will destroy
the Sevigny name.
Gossip. Not enough.
A letter...
...that incriminates
the writer.
Show me it.
We will have to trust
one another.
♪ ♪
That is a deal...
if he becomes mine.
I cannot make a match,
but I can destroy
the one he has.
The rest is down to you.
That innocent heart of yours
is corrupting, Camille.
I'm glad.
There's no power in innocence.
♪ ♪
I wish to speak
to you in private.
You and I have nothing
to say to each other
except goodbye.
- The princesse on his right.
- Break the engagement.
Oh, dear.
Have you... have you
lost your mind?
Your daughter
doesn't love the marquis,
and he does not love her.
Leave us.
♪ ♪
Marriage is not about love.
It's an alliance.
One that will ensure my daughter
has everything she deserves.
You've made it
your business to humiliate me.
Now I will return the favor.
I knew you wanted him.
Get out of my house.
I want to talk about the queen.
You are not fit
to speak her name.
Marietta.
Though that is the name
that you save for her alone
when you make love...
...with the secrets
you learned from Valmont.
I have the letter
you wrote him, Comtesse.
If you want it back...
break the engagement.
Then you will have your letter,
and you can pretend to be
a good wife and mother...
while you fuck our queen.
♪ ♪
Jacqueline?
You are, as I hoped,
a man without vanity.
You will take coffee?
I will take wine.
Good.
So will I.
Why did you ask me to come?
When I'm with you...
...I feel like I am
the man I want to be.
A good man.
But you are a good man.
No one has seen that in me.
Not since my mother.
I-I brought you a book.
It's my husband's early work.
Tell me you did not come here
to talk about your husband.
He searches for the soul,
and his work...
...has made me understand
this p...
peculiar feeling that I have.
The fluttering in my chest.
The tightness of the breath.
It is my soul.
And if it is the soul,
then it is of God.
And it cannot be a sin.
♪ ♪
I want to be known.
Truly known
within my very soul, monsieur.
I have been alone for so long.
As have I.
Let us pray.
For what?
For the thoughts
I have about you
and upon which
we can never act, can we?
♪ ♪
Are you lost, madame?
Absolutely.
I've stumbled
into the wrong room.
I will let
my mistress know you visited
and fell in her trunk.
You need not trouble her
with my silly mistake.
I'll see a pretty dress
and some trinkets, too,
are sent out to you.
We may make something
of you yet.
Camille. How lovely.
I found her
searching through your trunk.
It seems we cannot trust
one another, after all.
Another lesson
in the etiquette of Paris.
You're surprised she wants
the letters for herself?
She took everything
from Valmont.
I never thought I'd pity him.
Stop this, Camille.
You'll destroy both of us.
I am doing this for both of us.
Camille, wait.
Camille, I am sorry for our-our
playful sparring in the past.
It was childish of me, and I...
You tore me apart.
I do not recall it
being playful.
You cannot expect me
to go to the marquis.
What possible reason
would we have to turn him away?
Saving yourself.
Do you not recall
what you wrote about the queen?
I will deny it.
It is in your hand.
If it is a lie,
then it is sedition.
If it is true, then you make
a cuckold of the king.
Tell Jean you will not
let him marry Emilie
because you suspect
that he drove his first wife
to take her own life.
That is why you are
breaking the engagement.
And then tell your guests
the same.
♪ ♪
You have a glow about you.
It is good to see.
And you're reading my book.
Well, are you enjoying it?
It is as if I'm learning
what it is to be human.
Perhaps Versailles,
will be a chance for us
to start again.
Versailles?
It is not yet announced,
but I am about
to become the most
powerful surgeon in France.
Physician to the king.
So we will leave Paris,
and all the nightmares
you've had here...
...and start again together.
When will we leave?
When the king commands me.
I cannot risk her reputation...
It is a vicious lie!
There's nothing
more to say, Jean.
Get out!
I said I want to be alone.
It is not good to be alone
when you are suffering.
Humiliated.
I know what the comtesse
has done to you.
How could you know that?
Perhaps you underestimate
all women, Marquis.
Through the Labyrinth
you have spun a web
to draw out the secrets of men,
but men never have
as much to lose
as a woman with a secret.
They are not burdened
by the same shame
that drives a woman
to do anything to save herself.
You've been looking in the
wrong place for your power.
The lies
and the secrets of women.
So let us come to new terms,
and I will save you.
The country heir
has a balance due.
I don't need saving.
Your guests
are gathering downstairs.
The comtesse is about
to humiliate you further.
She's going to tell them
she called off the engagement
because you drove the marquise
to her death.
How do I know this?
Because it is by my instruction.
You do not have
the power to instruct!
I am the most
powerful person in this house.
Ha!
I have the comtesse's secrets
written in this letter.
Secrets so dangerous she will
do whatever I tell her to do
to have it back.
This letter, in your hands,
could also save you...
...if I were to give it to you.
♪ ♪
I show you what is possible
by a union between us.
Everything.
Everything.
Emilie is a child.
You should marry your equal.
You should marry me.
♪ ♪
Christine,
the princesse is waiting.
I know.
I've never doubted you
for one moment, my love.
All that matters is our family.
I heard the comtesse say
that Jean de Merteuil
is unfit for marriage.
That he drove Geneviéve
to her death.
♪ ♪
- Come with me.
- What? What is it?
Leave this to me.
- Come. We're leaving now.
- And miss this?
The marquis is going to get
what he deserves.
Victoire, let us go.
There is gossip circulating
about the marquis.
If it is true, you must put
a stop to this marriage
before your own good name
is torn into disrepute.
♪ ♪
Ladies and gentlemen,
our honored guests, please.
I'm so dreadfully sorry,
but we have received information
which means the marriage
of our daughter
to the Marquis de Merteuil
cannot take place.
It would be disrespectful
to discuss it further.
Disrespectful?
It is disrespectful to Emilie
that a man who drove
his first wife to her death
should dare to take a second
as innocent as her.
Though I enjoy a good
story as much as the next man,
I'm compelled
to speak the truth.
A truth which may be at odds
with what you've heard.
Forgive me,
Madame de la Princesse,
but a letter written
by the comtesse
has come into my possession.
Be silent, sir!
You are in my house.
I am in your wife's house, sir,
and it appears that you are
only a guest here too.
In the faithless poison
of her ink,
Musket makes a fool of you
and libels
the very heart of this monarchy
with her immorality.
That is not true!
It is not true!
My wife knows only faith,
devotion, and-and motherhood.
This marriage will not
take place
because I will not join
my house to a corrupted one.
The proof, if it's needed.
What have you done, Camille?
I made us safe.
♪ ♪
You fall by your own hand.
♪ ♪
Not true.
Not true.
Marquis, let us take some air.
Walk together.
I will save you the trouble
of pursuing me, Widow Valmont.
I knew your late husband,
and I assure you,
death was a comfort to him.
♪ ♪
I promised you an equal.
Here I am.
If I am equal to the carnage
you have wrought,
the world should be afraid
of us both.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
Madame de Montrachet?
You do not need
to understand, Valmont,
you simply need to do
as I ask you.
I'm to be a student
at his school for orphans.
I will see you have
some money for your school.
It will bind us together
in venture.
So be it.
- You have a title!
- I have nothing.
The Comte de Valmont wins!
That's why I need you to use
your exemplary skills of deceit,
draw out the truth about
how this false vicomtesse
made a puppet of my father
to disinherit me.
From where may you
have heard of Ariadne?
There's a private club.
It's called the Labyrinth.
I know Jean's secret.
I know what Ariadne means.
The Marquis can do
whatever he wants
without consequence.
Where is he?
Gone to his engagement party.
The games are over.
Change is coming here.
And he left instruction for me
to ensure that
you left this house.
You can't win against
that sort of power.
You don't know me, Major do me.
You cannot mean to descend upon
Jean's engagement party
when you could
stay here with me.
Hmm.
Perhaps we might even share
this bed tonight.
You sleep in a chair
beside the fire,
and now you bring me coffee.
I had no idea
you were such a gentleman.
Oh, I'm not.
You don't seriously mean
to go to Rambouillet?
They will serve you up
alongside the boar.
- You've been there?
- Often.
With a friend. A composer.
The Sevignys were his patrons.
Yet you're not invited
to the engagement party.
My stepmother poisoned
that particular well.
She's never so happy as when
she's dispelling the affection
that others hold me in.
Don't forget your promise
to help me
get back what she stole from me.
Perhaps you should focus
on completing your own task.
Well, love cannot be rushed.
You were cursed the day
you made it your condition.
I won't.
♪ ♪
Tell me how to get
to Rambouillet.
♪ ♪
I hope we're not so late
we've missed all the fun.
We were not expecting further
guests here, mademoiselle.
♪ ♪
I'm a surprise.
♪ ♪
Ahh!
Yah!
♪ Beware, beware ♪
Chase, chase, chase, chase!
Who have you caught, Marquis?
And if you take my advice,
be careful with your answer,
lest you offend.
Mmm! Tuberose...
...and ambergris.
A woman of great taste
and beauty.
The Comtesse de Segur!
She's twice my age.
- How dare you?
- Oh!
♪ ♪
Where's he going?
Aha!
Such a delicate frame
and skin.
It can only be my future wife.
Ariadne is here.
♪ ♪
Did you really think
I would just disappear?
Yes.
Along with your
willful misrepresentation
of my wife's letter to me.
A pity to travel so far
to be spectacle
of your own humiliation.
Ariadne means nothing.
I've been to the Labyrinth.
Ariadne means a great deal.
Though to be sure, shall I ask
your wife-to-be
and all the guests?
Because of grief,
I have not treated you
with the tenderness you deserve.
You should not have
borne my suffering.
Or the dismissal
of your wife's wishes for me.
Remind me.
That I receive
a generous settlement
so that I may
live independently,
but under the protection
of the Merteuil name.
Ah. Christine!
I will have my lawyer
come in the morning
with a contract and some monies.
Have him come tonight.
Oh, a contract
and a large sum of money
are more than a day's work.
Besides, you are my guest here.
Do have fun.
Oh, Camille!
Oh, it's such a joy
to have you here.
Jean said you'd returned
to Carcassonne?
I wouldn't miss this weekend.
Aw!
Madame, find Camille a room.
Put her in the north room.
Do not unpack.
It will save your maid time
in the morning when you leave.
♪ ♪
That went well.
Madame de Montrachet,
it is good to see you.
You've taken on this boy.
Until we establish
the orphanage.
Save the young, we save us all.
Come.
Madame, you came!
Hello!
Good to see you again,
monsieur, madame.
I hope you do not mind.
I brought a friend with me.
Monsieur Lucienne.
Any friend's
welcome here, madame.
Oh, my little ones.
I've missed you.
Jessamine, you've grown.
I'm sure of it.
Is that another tooth gone?
I shall give you silver for it.
Monsieur Lucienne,
would you bring my basket?
Monsieur Lucienne?
My basket?
Thank you.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
Forgive me. I cannot stay.
Excuse me.
Monsieur Lucienne?
What on Earth has happened?
I suffered a memory of sorts.
I prefer not to think of it.
It brings me great pain.
Come in.
Now, what happened?
Please tell me.
I've let my own pain consume me.
It has stopped me
from doing my work.
The girl who threw the blood.
I haven't given alms since.
Until today.
A random act should not
prevent such goodness.
It was not random.
Though my husband thinks she's
a figment of my imagination.
He is wrong.
Five years ago,
she was my servant.
Though I treated her
as a daughter.
A daughter would not behave
in such a way.
The girl full of violent
thought and jealousy could.
This girl repaid my trust
and my affection
by attempting to take
everything that mattered to me.
I do not understand.
She tried to take my husband.
She tried to destroy
my marriage,
and when that failed,
she cut her wrists before me.
Her name is Camille.
She's a scar upon me.
♪ ♪
I make an incision
on the anterior aspect
of the throat
to locate the tumor.
♪ ♪
As soon as ligation
of the superior thyroid artery
is achieved...
...there is a whole new vista.
It could have easily
been removed,
and he would have lived.
But some still do not trust
the knowledge in medicine.
I hope rationality
will eventually
banish fear and superstition.
You speak of rationality,
yet it is true
you search for the soul?
It is a personal quest. Yes.
Why do you believe
the soul resides in there,
Monsieur de Montrachet?
I am drawn by the heart's power.
Its undulations are,
at once, violent and graceful.
The perfect description of us,
do you not think?
And the perfect dwelling place
for the soul.
Thank you.
Monsieur?
My time is limited, I'm afraid.
I do not speak with the public.
No, I-I'm an officer
with the Unit
of Moral Discipline.
I'm here on business.
This was...
retrieved from a
dead woman's throat.
Is it possible
it could have caused her death?
It could cause asphyxiation.
Would such a death be painful?
It would be slow,
but the patient would have
no strength to struggle.
Hmm.
I have seen this thread before.
In a corpse I used
in an anatomy class.
- Who was she?
- Ariadne.
We name all our corpses.
Ariadne?
You don't know your Greek myths.
Ariadne gave Theseus
a skein of red thread
so he could kill the monster
in the maze
and find his way back to her.
I'm impressed, monsieur.
Few would go to such lengths
to investigate,
especially with such
an impediment... as that.
Do you experience
sensation in it?
- I could remove it...
- Um...
With minimal risk
and discomfort.
I'm working, sir.
Do you know who I am?
What I am offering you?
A limb such as this
is of no use.
A burden, surely.
Actually, it is not.
Everything is harder.
Takes more time, more effort,
but that is why I detect things
that others miss.
It is why I'm good at my job.
But the superstitious
among us maintain
the left hand
represents the devil.
My hand is not to be removed.
Thank you for your time,
monsieur.
♪ ♪
♪ L'amour ♪
- Bravo!
- My darling!
Oh, my darling!
Oh, this weekend
is one of celebration,
and we are honored
by the presence
of the Princesse de Lamballe,
who comes to us with blessings
from our queen
for this noble match.
These jewels are from
Her Majesty's collection
and are a gift to you
in recognition of her pleasure
at two families beloved
by the court joining in union.
Toast with me
our cherished daughter,
the future marquise,
and her husband-to-be,
the Marquis de Merteuil.
The loss of Geneviéve
has been hard to bear,
but I know she blesses
this union.
To love and marriage.
To love and marriage.
The title of marquise
is wasted on that child.
Far better it sit with me.
You cannot hope to make
a match with Jean.
Help me, and I'll help you.
Help you how?
I've seen an enmity
between you and Christine.
There will be no welcome
for you at Saint-Honoré
when her daughter's marquise.
But with me at Jean's side,
you will be championed
and treasured like a daughter.
- Because you are so maternal.
- My son is my god.
And your stepson Pascal?
I heard something
about a feud between you.
He is a story for another night
and a bottle of brandy.
It's not my choice.
Please believe me.
Mama has arranged all of it.
I cannot bear life without you.
Danceny?
Perhaps you would like
to concentrate
on your harpsichord?
Do not forget your marquis,
my love.
And how is Her Royal Highness,
our queen?
Sad she cannot join you
but glad
I am the envoy of her love.
She kissed my hand
so that you might kiss it
and receive the kiss
she has left for you.
Send this kiss back
to dear Marietta.
With my love.
Tonight, let us dance
the dance loved by our queen
and all of us of noble birth.
The contra dance allemande!
- Mademoiselle.
- I do not dance, monsieur.
Cannotl would imagine
is more accurate.
Do as I do, mademoiselle, hmm?
♪ ♪
Inviting that fraud
to stay is hardly the behavior
of a man who wants her gone.
This is your house, madame.
I've already thrown her
out of mine.
When one buys the gun,
one surely need not fire it too.
I hope you show more backbone
in marriage to my daughter.
Let's not pretend this marriage
has anything to do
with my backbone.
♪ ♪
Your beauty is the one
thing he does not exaggerate.
Valmont.
I'm to be a friend,
should you need one, hmm?
He waits for you
in the summer house.
Don't wait up for me.
I need to get some fresh air.
Camille...
Hors d'oeuvres
are for the guests.
For your mistress.
An inventory of everything
in your rooms.
Be sure it is all there
when you depart,
first thing tomorrow.
I like your chevalier.
I like you better.
I missed you.
I love you.
I said I love you!
I have my carriage.
Come with me.
I cannot. Let's stay here.
Why will you not come?
Because I have succeeded
with Jean.
Your blackmail.
He will be my guardian.
I will have his name,
and there will be money too.
I'll buy a great house for us.
Only I must stay another day
to do so.
You're good at getting
what you want.
Getting what I'm due.
Valmont!
Valmont, what's wrong?
♪ ♪
You asked me to seduce
this woman,
yet you give me
no proof of her wrong,
despite the bloody evidence
of what you're capable of.
What I'm capable of?
So it's true.
You are the proof...
of her suffering.
You make a fool of me.
- No.
- Tell me the truth.
What has she said to you?
Tell me,
or I will go no further.
What has she told you?
She doesn't matter.
I want the truth from you.
I have given it.
She took everything
that mattered from me.
Oh, I see it
with my own eyes, Camille.
The scars of what you did
because you could not get
what you wanted.
And me.
The willing fool who ruins her
so you may finally be with him
because you want him still.
My God, Camille.
All of this,
so you can take her husband.
You know nothing, Valmont.
Hmm.
Nothing!
♪ ♪
I don't want to know any more.
Valmont!
Don't walk away from me.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
You want to help me after all.
No, Vicomtesse.
I want to get
very, very drunk with you.
Your stepson.
What did he do
to make an enemy of you?
He told lies about me
to his father.
I hate him.
For you.
For his disloyalty.
For the stories he told.
For the damage he's done.
He's caused much damage.
The Comtesse de Sevigny
and I were once close
until I discovered the liaisons
between the two of them.
Christine is old enough
to be his mother.
That's why I'm invited
to everything.
Keep your friends close
and your enemies closer.
Then I'm glad
you make him suffer.
♪ ♪
Azolan.
Who am I?
Pardon?
Am I Valmont pretending
to be Lucienne...
...or am I Lucienne
pretending to be Valmont?
Well, who do you want to be?
A good man.
I don't want to hurt someone...
...who should not be hurt.
Tell Madame de Montrachet
the truth about your mother.
You can't get
more honest than that.
There's pain
in sharing that truth, Azolan.
I'm not sure I'm brave enough.
Yesterday, when we gave alms,
and I left you,
it's because I heard a scream.
Bloodcurdling.
A child's scream.
No, Lucienne.
I would have heard.
You could not have,
for it was in my head.
It was my scream
from when I was a child.
A kindness.
The act of giving alms.
It reminded me of the day
my mother died.
A lunatic slit her throat
while she was giving alms.
I saw it happen.
All her blood emptied out
like wine into the snow.
I was too small
to get out of the carriage.
I used to wake up...
screaming for her.
No! Ma man! Ma man!
I don't talk about
this pain inside me.
I want you to know me.
♪ ♪
Jacqueline, please.
I don't want you to go.
I cannot possibly stay.
Not now.
Of course,
losing Gustav was such agony.
Do you care for dogs, Jean?
No.
It seems I am
to join the hunt, Emilie.
Oh, Camille.
May I confide in you?
Yes. Yes, of course.
He thinks I do not notice,
but every time I speak,
Jean seems to wince.
If he winces, he's a fool.
But if you love someone else,
you should tell your mother.
Your secret's safe with me,
Emilie.
Follow your heart.
♪ ♪
He is a fine shot.
Coming from you, Musket,
that is a compliment.
Ma, might I speak with you
for a moment?
Oh, yes.
Though I say the marquis
has a long pistol, that's all.
That is often enough, Chevalier.
I favor technique.
It amounts to the same thing.
The loss of beautiful birds.
♪ ♪
From the right, sir!
Where is your lawyer, Jean?
He'll be here soon.
I do hope you stay around
to meet him.
What do you mean, Jean?
Camille, let me teach you
how to shoot.
A parting gift.
Very well, a skill to protect
against assassins
may prove invaluable.
That depends how many
assassins there are.
With a gun like this,
you have but one shot.
If you are hunting
something dangerous,
be sure to finish it off,
or much like a wounded enemy,
it will do you more damage.
Do you understand?
- That you seek to threaten me.
- Oh, it's not a threat.
♪ ♪
You want to know why
they call me Musket?
Because I never miss.
I will not tolerate you
in my house
or your attempts to unsettle
my daughter a moment longer.
If she is unsettled, perhaps
you should ask yourself why.
I have done nothing
but listen to her.
Little more, and you'll curse
the day you ever came here.
You have no idea what a mother
will do for her child.
I am here
by the marquis' invitation.
Invitation withdrawn.
From the marquis
via his messenger, me.
Leave my house,
or the next shot is you.
♪ ♪
There has to be
a letter from Christine here.
I must have missed it.
These people mean
to do you harm.
It scares me
that you can't see that.
I see it.
I mean to make them pay.
♪ ♪
"What an explosion
that night between us
"when we both went off
with such a bang.
"How exquisitely
you pulled the trigger.
Your M."
The alphabet has changed.
Christine begins with M.
Musket begins with M.
She wrote the inventory.
Now, let's see.
♪ ♪
It is the same hand.
Look. The M.
"Your technique
was a new one to me.
"One I tried later
with my darling Marietta.
"Thank you, dear V,
for your tricks.
She cannot be without me."
Marietta is the name
I heard Christine whisper
to the chevalier.
This letter is about her.
Who?
The queen.
Then we must burn it.
Camille, it's a death warrant.
Not only for Christine.
For us, if we are found with it.
It is my salvation.
♪ ♪
Do you still want Jean?
Do I want to marry
a noble of the sword,
France's highest honor,
and gain the title of marquise?
Do I want power, wealth, status,
and a man with
very little sexual appetite,
if his lack of heirs
is anything to go by?
Yes, Camille.
I still want all of that.
You did not realize
what a catch your guardian is.
And if I could
make him available to you...
...what would you give me?
What do you want?
Enough for a fine house,
your backing in Paris,
and access to all that power
you'll have.
Can you make him available?
I have information
in my possession
that will destroy
the Sevigny name.
Gossip. Not enough.
A letter...
...that incriminates
the writer.
Show me it.
We will have to trust
one another.
♪ ♪
That is a deal...
if he becomes mine.
I cannot make a match,
but I can destroy
the one he has.
The rest is down to you.
That innocent heart of yours
is corrupting, Camille.
I'm glad.
There's no power in innocence.
♪ ♪
I wish to speak
to you in private.
You and I have nothing
to say to each other
except goodbye.
- The princesse on his right.
- Break the engagement.
Oh, dear.
Have you... have you
lost your mind?
Your daughter
doesn't love the marquis,
and he does not love her.
Leave us.
♪ ♪
Marriage is not about love.
It's an alliance.
One that will ensure my daughter
has everything she deserves.
You've made it
your business to humiliate me.
Now I will return the favor.
I knew you wanted him.
Get out of my house.
I want to talk about the queen.
You are not fit
to speak her name.
Marietta.
Though that is the name
that you save for her alone
when you make love...
...with the secrets
you learned from Valmont.
I have the letter
you wrote him, Comtesse.
If you want it back...
break the engagement.
Then you will have your letter,
and you can pretend to be
a good wife and mother...
while you fuck our queen.
♪ ♪
Jacqueline?
You are, as I hoped,
a man without vanity.
You will take coffee?
I will take wine.
Good.
So will I.
Why did you ask me to come?
When I'm with you...
...I feel like I am
the man I want to be.
A good man.
But you are a good man.
No one has seen that in me.
Not since my mother.
I-I brought you a book.
It's my husband's early work.
Tell me you did not come here
to talk about your husband.
He searches for the soul,
and his work...
...has made me understand
this p...
peculiar feeling that I have.
The fluttering in my chest.
The tightness of the breath.
It is my soul.
And if it is the soul,
then it is of God.
And it cannot be a sin.
♪ ♪
I want to be known.
Truly known
within my very soul, monsieur.
I have been alone for so long.
As have I.
Let us pray.
For what?
For the thoughts
I have about you
and upon which
we can never act, can we?
♪ ♪
Are you lost, madame?
Absolutely.
I've stumbled
into the wrong room.
I will let
my mistress know you visited
and fell in her trunk.
You need not trouble her
with my silly mistake.
I'll see a pretty dress
and some trinkets, too,
are sent out to you.
We may make something
of you yet.
Camille. How lovely.
I found her
searching through your trunk.
It seems we cannot trust
one another, after all.
Another lesson
in the etiquette of Paris.
You're surprised she wants
the letters for herself?
She took everything
from Valmont.
I never thought I'd pity him.
Stop this, Camille.
You'll destroy both of us.
I am doing this for both of us.
Camille, wait.
Camille, I am sorry for our-our
playful sparring in the past.
It was childish of me, and I...
You tore me apart.
I do not recall it
being playful.
You cannot expect me
to go to the marquis.
What possible reason
would we have to turn him away?
Saving yourself.
Do you not recall
what you wrote about the queen?
I will deny it.
It is in your hand.
If it is a lie,
then it is sedition.
If it is true, then you make
a cuckold of the king.
Tell Jean you will not
let him marry Emilie
because you suspect
that he drove his first wife
to take her own life.
That is why you are
breaking the engagement.
And then tell your guests
the same.
♪ ♪
You have a glow about you.
It is good to see.
And you're reading my book.
Well, are you enjoying it?
It is as if I'm learning
what it is to be human.
Perhaps Versailles,
will be a chance for us
to start again.
Versailles?
It is not yet announced,
but I am about
to become the most
powerful surgeon in France.
Physician to the king.
So we will leave Paris,
and all the nightmares
you've had here...
...and start again together.
When will we leave?
When the king commands me.
I cannot risk her reputation...
It is a vicious lie!
There's nothing
more to say, Jean.
Get out!
I said I want to be alone.
It is not good to be alone
when you are suffering.
Humiliated.
I know what the comtesse
has done to you.
How could you know that?
Perhaps you underestimate
all women, Marquis.
Through the Labyrinth
you have spun a web
to draw out the secrets of men,
but men never have
as much to lose
as a woman with a secret.
They are not burdened
by the same shame
that drives a woman
to do anything to save herself.
You've been looking in the
wrong place for your power.
The lies
and the secrets of women.
So let us come to new terms,
and I will save you.
The country heir
has a balance due.
I don't need saving.
Your guests
are gathering downstairs.
The comtesse is about
to humiliate you further.
She's going to tell them
she called off the engagement
because you drove the marquise
to her death.
How do I know this?
Because it is by my instruction.
You do not have
the power to instruct!
I am the most
powerful person in this house.
Ha!
I have the comtesse's secrets
written in this letter.
Secrets so dangerous she will
do whatever I tell her to do
to have it back.
This letter, in your hands,
could also save you...
...if I were to give it to you.
♪ ♪
I show you what is possible
by a union between us.
Everything.
Everything.
Emilie is a child.
You should marry your equal.
You should marry me.
♪ ♪
Christine,
the princesse is waiting.
I know.
I've never doubted you
for one moment, my love.
All that matters is our family.
I heard the comtesse say
that Jean de Merteuil
is unfit for marriage.
That he drove Geneviéve
to her death.
♪ ♪
- Come with me.
- What? What is it?
Leave this to me.
- Come. We're leaving now.
- And miss this?
The marquis is going to get
what he deserves.
Victoire, let us go.
There is gossip circulating
about the marquis.
If it is true, you must put
a stop to this marriage
before your own good name
is torn into disrepute.
♪ ♪
Ladies and gentlemen,
our honored guests, please.
I'm so dreadfully sorry,
but we have received information
which means the marriage
of our daughter
to the Marquis de Merteuil
cannot take place.
It would be disrespectful
to discuss it further.
Disrespectful?
It is disrespectful to Emilie
that a man who drove
his first wife to her death
should dare to take a second
as innocent as her.
Though I enjoy a good
story as much as the next man,
I'm compelled
to speak the truth.
A truth which may be at odds
with what you've heard.
Forgive me,
Madame de la Princesse,
but a letter written
by the comtesse
has come into my possession.
Be silent, sir!
You are in my house.
I am in your wife's house, sir,
and it appears that you are
only a guest here too.
In the faithless poison
of her ink,
Musket makes a fool of you
and libels
the very heart of this monarchy
with her immorality.
That is not true!
It is not true!
My wife knows only faith,
devotion, and-and motherhood.
This marriage will not
take place
because I will not join
my house to a corrupted one.
The proof, if it's needed.
What have you done, Camille?
I made us safe.
♪ ♪
You fall by your own hand.
♪ ♪
Not true.
Not true.
Marquis, let us take some air.
Walk together.
I will save you the trouble
of pursuing me, Widow Valmont.
I knew your late husband,
and I assure you,
death was a comfort to him.
♪ ♪
I promised you an equal.
Here I am.
If I am equal to the carnage
you have wrought,
the world should be afraid
of us both.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪