Dangerous Liaisons (2022–…): Season 1, Episode 6 - You Are Not My Equal - full transcript
I hope we're not so late,
we've missed all the fun.
[Jean] Aha!
[Camille] There has to be
a letter from Christine here.
[Henri] But I'm about to become
the most powerful surgeon
in France.
[Jacqueline]
She tried to take my husband.
And when that failed,
she cut her wrists before me.
[Pascal] You asked me
to seduce this woman,
yet you give me
no proof of her wrong.
[Camille]
She took everything
that mattered from me.
[Camille] Valmont!
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.
Stop this, Camille.
[Camille] It seems we cannot
trust one another after all.
- [gunshot]
- [Camille grunts]
Musket makes a fool of you
and libels the very heart
of this monarchy
with her immorality.
[Camille]
You should marry your equal.
You should marry me.
[dramatic music plays]
[Camille]
Are you a spirit now, Valmont,
come to haunt me in this crypt?
I hope you're here to apologize.
[Pascal] I received a visit
from the chevalier.
Told me Christine de Sevigny
is ruined.
[Camille] He is prone to drama.
I was there too.
She's... humbled.
It will soon pass.
[Pascal] She is disowned...
...her head shaved already
for her sins.
She's to go to the convent.
She will never see
her daughter again.
Emilie will also bear her shame.
Are you listening to me?
She's ruined!
Maurice too.
They're pariahs because
of accusations of infidelity
and a higher scandal too,
which apparently
was revealed in her letter.
Were these pawns
not captured in your game?
Prove to me
you did not use my letter
to bring her destruction.
Bring it to me,
or I will walk away from you
and never come back.
Why does she matter to you?
[scoffs]
Jacqueline's right.
To get what you want,
you will destroy anyone.
I cannot bear the sight of you.
[dramatic string music plays]
[indistinct chatter,
bell tolling]
[Léonard] Finally,
someone to tell us the truth
about Rambouillet.
- [Ondine laughs]
- [Léonard] What happened there?
[Ondine] You know I'm not one
for gossip, Léonard.
- [Léonard] Scandal, then.
- [laughs]
[sighs]
I heard there was a letter
full of the Comtesse's
wicked secrets.
[Ondine] Do you recall
a letter, Camille?
We witnessed the same
awful event, Vicomtesse,
a lesson to all
who fall from the path.
[Ondine] Christine didn't fall.
She was pushed.
She's ruined and, through her,
poor Maurice.
That is a fate akin
to stepping on a kitten.
[Léonard] Though dullness
might be considered a crime,
- might it not?
- [Léonard and Ondine chuckle]
Perhaps the real crime
is that men do not suffer
for their own failings,
only the failings
of their wives.
Mademoiselle, shall we?
[Ondine] Yes, let us not
keep you, Camille.
And let us hope the Masked Ball
isn't similarly overshadowed.
It's the event of the year.
They say the king and queen
themselves will be there...
[chuckles]
...which is why I cannot fathom
how you've been invited.
[sighs] I haven't.
I'm the Marquis' guest,
though I suppose he could hardly
leave his new fiancée at home,
could he?
[tense music plays]
It's a crime how such a face
leads one to presume
you are an innocent,
when I know how little
you can be trusted.
[Camille chuckles]
Someone should warn
your misguided fiancé,
even if only to prevent
his fortune dwindling.
[Camille scoffs]
When do we choose our masks,
Madame Bert he?
Do you need another one?
Paris is a lonely place
without friends
but a lethal one with enemies.
I'm sorry you are lonely.
[Bert he] Come.
[soft dramatic music plays]
[person] Your candle, madame.
[Bert he] I see these masks
not as facades,
but as reflections.
Choosing them
is my private pleasure.
[Camille]
What did you choose for me?
[Bert he] The fox, of course.
It's like looking
in the mirror, no?
Now, this mask
must be kept secret.
The women arrive first...
Time to gossip,
take in their rivals,
don their masks.
Then the men arrive.
That's when the game begins.
Tell me who will wear
which mask.
I'm nervous
I will offend the marquis
through some liaison
of mistaken identity.
One can get away
with almost anything
when masked
at the Maison de Rieux.
[Camille] And it is true
that all of society
will be there,
even Madame de Montrachet?
I heard all she attends
is church.
How she has anything left
to confess is beyond me.
I think we met long ago.
I'd love to be reacquainted.
All the pious...
...will be lambs.
And her husband?
He will be a lamb too?
Monsieur de Montrachet...
is not a lamb.
[tense music plays]
He's a wolf.
[dramatic music plays]
[both moaning]
[knock at door]
[Pascal gasps]
Azolan!
[knock at door]
Forgive my intrusion.
It's not an intrusion if you
were already in my thoughts.
My husband
has informed me he is...
to receive a great advancement
in his work.
[Pascal] I'd congratulate him,
but I cannot.
This advancement will mean...
we will be required
at Versailles...
indefinitely.
That being so,
I-I came to ask if-if...
if you...
could come to the ball tonight.
[soft music plays]
It might be the last time
that we see each other
for some time.
I don't want you to go.
I have to stay
beside my husband.
If you are beside him,
then where will I stand?
Behind me, before me.
I will always turn to face you.
I'll pray on it.
Monsieur Lucienne,
should you come...
I will be wearing
the mask of a lamb.
I hope you will come.
[Camille gasps]
[chuckles] Come.
It makes me happy to spoil you.
If it's happiness you want,
don't marry the Marquis.
I'm beginning to think you
don't want me to marry anyone.
[Victoire]
Valmont or Jean de Merteuil?
Valmont and I are finished.
Well, then forgive
my lack of enthusiasm
for your remaining choice.
Should I forgive
your naivety too?
Do you think becoming a Marquise
was the destiny
for someone like me?
A woman with nothing
is a whore or a maid,
and I will no longer be either.
With him, you'll be both.
No, I will do as Madame did.
I will perfect a facade,
build walls around my heart
for a life completely mine.
And I will do it for us
so we will be safe.
[Victoire] Stop making enemies.
Then perhaps we will be safe.
Ondine, Florence,
the entire Sevigny family.
And I hope you're not
going to the ball tonight
because of the de Montrachets.
Walk away and find peace,
Camille...
...or you will lose me.
[dramatic music plays]
Keep it...
please.
It will suit you.
[Camille chuckles]
I do not want to lose you.
[both chuckle]
Shouldn't you be getting ready
for the ball?
[Jean chuckles]
Isn't it a chance
to show me off?
Are you sure it's not
the other way around?
I have an ancient title.
I'm very rich.
I understand the attraction.
[Camille scoffs]
You think that of me?
[Jean chuckles]
That you're no different
to any of these women...
Emilie, Christine, Ondine...
...my late wife,
for that matter?
Perhaps.
Is that why you've been
avoiding me
since we returned
from Rambouillet?
Perhaps it's safer
to remain a widower.
[Jacqueline] Monsieur Lucienne,
I do not know
which is the greater sin:
Lying to myself that I can
live without knowing you...
[person] Monsieur.
[Jacqueline]
...or that of knowing you.
Tonight I do not care.
In the anonymity of our masks,
I want to exist
without such questions,
beyond sin or purity,
truth or lies.
A present?
[Jacqueline]
And if you want me...
...know that I am yours.
Jacqueline.
You going to the Masked Ball?
[Pascal] No.
[Azolan] But what about
Madame de Montrachet?
She's better off without me.
[Camille] Jean thinks
he can push me away,
but I will win him back.
He has already turned you down.
No one turns me down.
[knock at door]
I require your advice.
Don't you know
everything already?
An opinion, then.
[soft dramatic music plays]
How far should I cinch
the waist on this corset?
I'm going to the ball.
[Jean]
Not without my invitation.
[chuckles]
You won't deny me that.
Of course...
you could come with me.
And I could share
some of those secrets
that are in my possession.
Like a fox...
tearing through hens.
[both laugh]
Aha.
I don't need a trail
of destruction in your wake.
Destruction...
is power in the wrong hand.
Control is power
in the right one.
It would be my gift to you...
for all the kindness
you've shown me.
[Jean laughs]
I wasn't born to be alone, Jean.
If your heart is truly
closed to me...
I will find another.
You will not go without me.
Good.
Get ready, then.
[tense music plays]
[people shouting indistinctly]
Boo! Boo!
[indistinct shouting]
[indistinct shouting]
[Victoire] Feels like
I have you back again,
that it's like
old times between us.
Come on, let's go in.
[Camille] No, wait.
[indistinct chatter]
[Victoire]
Camille, what's wrong?
[person] Good evening,
Madame de Montrachet.
[Victoire]
She is why we're here.
[Camille sighs]
I have to take this chance.
I'm going to be the Marquise,
Victoire.
This marriage
will make me someone
of higher rank than her,
someone people will listen to.
The Montrachets betrayed me
in the worst of ways.
But they cannot dismiss me now.
My revenge.
Come.
[door clicks shut]
[knocking]
Victoire.
[indistinct chatter, laughter]
[guard] Good evening.
Mademoiselle, your name, please.
Camille.
[ethereal music plays]
[Bert he]
Ah, Camille, beautiful.
[person] I need a name.
[indistinct chatter]
[Ondine] Ladies, welcome,
welcome, welcome, welcome.
[Bert he] What else
but the most ornate of birds?
I've always been fond of you,
Madame Bert he.
[person] Let me help you
tie your lace.
[tense music plays]
[indistinct chatter]
[banging on door]
- [Azolan] Victoire.
- No, no, no.
[Azolan]
What are you doing here?
[Pascal]
Close the door, Azolan.
Where she is, so too is Camille,
and I want
neither of them in here.
[Victoire] Please, Valmont.
I don't know what to do,
how to help her.
Camille is no longer my concern.
Camille's going to marry Jean.
[dark music plays]
She has chosen her equal.
- Congratulate her.
- I cannot live with him.
I cannot live with her.
She's not in her right mind.
That's the first
smart thing you've said.
[Victoire]
I mean because of her obsession
with Jacqueline de Montrachet.
It's made her unwell,
and it's scaring me.
Jealousy has made her unwell.
Jacqueline wronged her.
Oh, really? How?
I do not know all the details.
All the details,
some of the details,
any of the details...
That is who this woman is.
She is incapable of honesty.
Do you want to know
what Jacqueline did?
Nothing.
Her only wrongdoing
was being married to a man
that Camille wanted for herself.
- No.
- Yes.
- No.
- Yes!
Yes.
She's going to destroy
Jacqueline at the ball tonight.
Please, help me.
[grand orchestral music plays]
The men are here!
The men are here!
Come!
[indistinct chatter, laughter]
[person]
Mademoiselle, lovely to...
[person] Mademoiselle.
[baton taps]
[sprightly music playing]
[Jean] Did you tear
through the henhouse already?
[Camille] And have you miss
all the delicious details?
Do you see the ship?
That is Eloise de Chalon.
Her husband is impotent.
As, I'm sure, are half
the men in this room.
[Camille]
Doesn't it make you wonder
where her son came from,
the son that will inherit
all the Chalon fortune?
She also has
uncommonly sensitive lips...
not the ones you speak with.
You see the woman
in the butterfly mask?
[Jean] The Chancellor's wife?
There's no secrets on him.
I should know; I've tried
hard enough to find one.
She has two lovers.
I know the first,
a louche Parisienne.
The other
is from the English court.
You may thank me
with an engagement ring.
If it were anything but gossip.
I have written proof
of all these secrets,
private letters
I have intercepted.
All these letters will be yours
when we marry.
Consider them
my wedding gift to you.
[both laugh]
[Theo] Honored guests,
good evening to you all,
you, the most beautiful people
in all of France.
This evening,
I take this opportunity
to perform an excerpt
of my new opera...
[applause]
...dedicated to our queen,
wherever she may be.
[laughter]
[bright orchestral music
playing]
[dramatic orchestral music
playing]
[driver shouting indistinctly]
Hyah! Hyah! Hyah!
Your name, monsieur?
Monsieur Lucienne.
I'm a guest
of Monsieur de Montrachet.
- [guard grunts]
- Get your hands off me.
- We're with the dog.
- Off you go.
[Victoire] Come.
Let's find another way.
[guard] Monsieur.
[cheers and applause]
[light music playing]
Theo.
[Theo] Pascal.
[Pascal]
Not tonight, my friend.
I'm in disguise in name
as well as mask.
I heard your music.
What are you worried about?
It's magnificent.
Your opera will be a success.
[Theo] I have every note
written and rehearsed.
Even I am transfixed.
But the-the story,
the queen has torn
through every version...
Not modern enough,
not female enough,
not surprising enough.
Which in itself is no surprise,
given my librettist is so old,
he served our last king.
- [Pascal laughs]
- [Theo sighs]
I need a story for our times.
Come to my place tomorrow night.
I'll give you a story.
But now...
I need to find a lamb.
Have you seen one?
[Henri] There you are, my dear.
[Theo] She moves as if
being led to the slaughter.
[Pascal] She may well be.
[indistinct chatter]
Dance with me, mademoiselle.
[person sighs] Very well.
[bright orchestral music
playing]
[Henri] Thank you, Jacqueline.
It is so important
you are by my side tonight,
that we appear in good spirits.
I know all of this offends you.
I know my ambition
offends you also.
But I hope my gratitude
does not.
I'm not offended. I'm bored.
[Pascal] Your hand is cold,
Madame de Montrachet.
Let me warm it.
[Jacqueline gasps softly]
You prayed on it.
[Pascal] Yes.
[Camille] Excuse me.
[person 1]
One more dance, ma'am.
[person 2] Monsieur, please.
[Ondine]
Monsieur de Montrachet.
[Henri] Do we know one another?
[Ondine] No, but we should.
I know you by reputation:
The most talented
surgeon in Paris.
Your hands, in fact,
have a reputation
all of their own.
[Henri] And you are?
[Ondine chuckles]
An admirer.
The Vicomtesse de Valmont.
The Widow de Valmont.
Call on me.
[music muffles]
[tense music plays]
[bright orchestral music
loudens]
[Pascal]
We must find somewhere to talk.
[breathing heavily]
[Pascal] Jacqueline.
[Jacqueline] Lucienne.
I'm, uh... I'm trembling.
[person moans]
[Pascal] There is someone here.
[people moaning]
Oh, no.
I did not mean
to bring you here.
I am so sorry.
Forgive me for what I want.
I have prayed God intercede,
but He has not.
Stop.
Jacqueline, please.
You are too good a woman
to fall to a man like me.
[Jacqueline] Wait.
[soft dramatic music plays]
[Pascal] Jacqueline, please.
I care for you too much.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
It is a mortal sin.
[Jacqueline sighs]
[Pascal] Jacqueline...
come.
Let me take you
from this debauched place.
Come.
[horse neighs]
[Jacqueline sighs]
[whip cracks, hooves clop]
[Léonard] Little fox,
your fur is getting matted.
[Eloise giggles]
Do you remember Christine
last year
when she fell while dancing
and got up laughing?
She was completely shameless,
certainly in her ambition
and... in other things too,
so I hear.
[laughter]
I wonder how Jean
discovered her affair.
Where is your new fiancé,
Camille?
- Who are you marrying?
- The Marquis de Merteuil.
[Eloise]
The ward becomes the wife.
How does that happen, I wonder?
True love.
Perhaps some air,
Mademoiselle Camille?
[Ondine] How convenient
that anyone in the way
of your advantageous marriage
dies or goes to ruin.
Does Jean know
his bride is so lethal?
Let's warn him.
In fact, let's warn everyone.
[Bert he] Has anybody here
seen the queen?
I hear whispers
she's here already.
I have something
delicious to tell.
The Montrachets are leaving
for Versailles this week.
Henri is to be appointed
royal physician to the king.
[tense music plays]
- [Ondine gasps]
- [Léonard chuckles]
[Ondine]
He will have so much sway.
When Monsieur de Montrachet
has the king's ear,
he will be able to have
whatever he wants.
- [laughter]
- [echoing] Whatever he wants.
[laughs]
[distorted laughter]
[indistinct chatter]
[heartbeat thumping]
[light orchestral music playing]
Camille, Camille,
please, stop this.
- Come away.
- Victoire, go home.
- I need to finish this.
- Valmont says there's something
between you and Jacqueline
de Montrachet's husband.
And you believe him?
What am I supposed to believe
if you won't tell me the truth?
You're scaring me, Camille.
If you are scared, go.
I have no further need
of you tonight.
Don't treat me like a servant.
I'm your friend.
Every day,
I've watched over you.
I have done everything
to keep you safe.
I have sold myself
so you did not have to.
I was never for sale.
But you sell yourself
over and over again!
No servant
speaks to me that way.
Go home, Victoire!
[laughter]
[Léonard] The Montrachets
are leaving for Versailles.
[Ondine] Does Jean know
his bride is so lethal?
[Léonard laughs]
[Ondine] When Monsieur de
Montrachet has the king's ear,
he will be able to have
whatever he wants.
[Camille] Henri de Montrachet!
I'm the girl you raped
and threw in the gutter
like I was nothing.
I'm not nothing now.
Pascal.
[dramatic music plays]
I almost cut you.
Why didn't you stop me?
- I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
- [Camille sobbing]
I'm sorry.
Come.
Tell me.
Tell me what happened, please.
They took me in...
...the good, fine Montrachets.
I was so innocent.
And he was so kind...
at first,
but it was a lie.
He came into my room.
[door clicks open]
[door creaking]
[Camille gasping and grunting]
[Henri moans]
[Henri grunting]
He made me swear
I would not tell.
She could see I was with child.
And she dismissed
the stable hand,
even though I told her
the truth...
...that it was her husband's,
and that he forced me.
And they kept me out of sight...
...with this thing
growing inside of me.
And I wanted it to die...
...as I wanted to die
for what he'd done.
But then I felt her...
[baby whimpering]
...her skin on mine.
[Camille humming]
Then I saw her eyes.
[Camille humming]
And I knew she was innocent...
[baby whimpering]
...and that I wanted her
to be mine forever.
But I was tired, and I...
[baby whimpering]
...I fell asleep.
I shouldn't have fallen asleep.
[heartbeat thumping]
She wasn't strong,
but she was mine.
They didn't let me bury her.
[both]
Even God does not forgive.
[gate slams]
[wind whistling]
[Camille] I had nowhere to go.
[blade shings, blood dripping]
[moans]
[baby whimpering]
And they left me for dead.
[Pascal] I will cut his throat.
No.
I want to ruin them
the way they've ruined me.
Tonight I thought
I was powerful enough
to vanquish him.
And then he became
the king's man.
And I will not fail you.
I'll destroy her...
destroy them both.
Don't go back inside.
Don't go near those people.
Go back to Saint-Honoré.
Then come to me tomorrow.
I'll make a good life for us.
I promise you.
I love you.
[Camille] I'm yours.
I'm yours.
[Pascal] Camille.
[indistinct chatter]
[soft music plays]
[Jean] Camille, where are you?
Camille!
Are you unwell?
[person sighs]
Do you ever have this feeling
as if you cannot seem
to draw quite enough breath?
[Camille] Often.
I believe it is called a corset.
Do you need help
loosening yours?
It is not the corset.
[chuckles]
I think it is...
when there is too much feeling.
I lost a friend quite recently.
She... broke my heart
with her betrayal...
...but the pain of her absence
is worse.
I keep imagining I see her,
but it's not her.
I must, of course, act as if
I am not at all affected.
That is my great challenge.
If you are in pain, it is
because you have loved fully.
I have loved fully.
[chuckles]
I know this much to be true.
You will love
and be loved again.
[both chuckle]
[dramatic music plays]
[people]
Ten, nine,
eight, seven, six,
five, four,
- three, two, one!
- [people] Your Magesty.
[fireworks booming]
[people cheering]
[applause]
[indistinct chatter]
[fireworks popping
and whistling]
[Camille] Victoire!
Victoire.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
[Victoire] My dear Camille,
I never dreamed I would miss
our old world,
our old lives.
But I knew who you were then:
My friend, as I was yours.
Now I see
that I must find my own way
and that we're on
different paths.
So know that I will
always love you.
But do not come looking for me
or the letters I have taken.
I will destroy them
before they destroy you.
Yours, Victoire.
[tense music plays]
[Jean] I couldn't find you.
You're not my equal.
I'm relieved to hear you say it.
[sighs]
I wanted to talk to you too.
You're more than my equal.
The feeling when I
couldn't find you, Camille...
I don't want to be without you.
Marry me.
[dramatic music plays]
we've missed all the fun.
[Jean] Aha!
[Camille] There has to be
a letter from Christine here.
[Henri] But I'm about to become
the most powerful surgeon
in France.
[Jacqueline]
She tried to take my husband.
And when that failed,
she cut her wrists before me.
[Pascal] You asked me
to seduce this woman,
yet you give me
no proof of her wrong.
[Camille]
She took everything
that mattered from me.
[Camille] Valmont!
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.
Stop this, Camille.
[Camille] It seems we cannot
trust one another after all.
- [gunshot]
- [Camille grunts]
Musket makes a fool of you
and libels the very heart
of this monarchy
with her immorality.
[Camille]
You should marry your equal.
You should marry me.
[dramatic music plays]
[Camille]
Are you a spirit now, Valmont,
come to haunt me in this crypt?
I hope you're here to apologize.
[Pascal] I received a visit
from the chevalier.
Told me Christine de Sevigny
is ruined.
[Camille] He is prone to drama.
I was there too.
She's... humbled.
It will soon pass.
[Pascal] She is disowned...
...her head shaved already
for her sins.
She's to go to the convent.
She will never see
her daughter again.
Emilie will also bear her shame.
Are you listening to me?
She's ruined!
Maurice too.
They're pariahs because
of accusations of infidelity
and a higher scandal too,
which apparently
was revealed in her letter.
Were these pawns
not captured in your game?
Prove to me
you did not use my letter
to bring her destruction.
Bring it to me,
or I will walk away from you
and never come back.
Why does she matter to you?
[scoffs]
Jacqueline's right.
To get what you want,
you will destroy anyone.
I cannot bear the sight of you.
[dramatic string music plays]
[indistinct chatter,
bell tolling]
[Léonard] Finally,
someone to tell us the truth
about Rambouillet.
- [Ondine laughs]
- [Léonard] What happened there?
[Ondine] You know I'm not one
for gossip, Léonard.
- [Léonard] Scandal, then.
- [laughs]
[sighs]
I heard there was a letter
full of the Comtesse's
wicked secrets.
[Ondine] Do you recall
a letter, Camille?
We witnessed the same
awful event, Vicomtesse,
a lesson to all
who fall from the path.
[Ondine] Christine didn't fall.
She was pushed.
She's ruined and, through her,
poor Maurice.
That is a fate akin
to stepping on a kitten.
[Léonard] Though dullness
might be considered a crime,
- might it not?
- [Léonard and Ondine chuckle]
Perhaps the real crime
is that men do not suffer
for their own failings,
only the failings
of their wives.
Mademoiselle, shall we?
[Ondine] Yes, let us not
keep you, Camille.
And let us hope the Masked Ball
isn't similarly overshadowed.
It's the event of the year.
They say the king and queen
themselves will be there...
[chuckles]
...which is why I cannot fathom
how you've been invited.
[sighs] I haven't.
I'm the Marquis' guest,
though I suppose he could hardly
leave his new fiancée at home,
could he?
[tense music plays]
It's a crime how such a face
leads one to presume
you are an innocent,
when I know how little
you can be trusted.
[Camille chuckles]
Someone should warn
your misguided fiancé,
even if only to prevent
his fortune dwindling.
[Camille scoffs]
When do we choose our masks,
Madame Bert he?
Do you need another one?
Paris is a lonely place
without friends
but a lethal one with enemies.
I'm sorry you are lonely.
[Bert he] Come.
[soft dramatic music plays]
[person] Your candle, madame.
[Bert he] I see these masks
not as facades,
but as reflections.
Choosing them
is my private pleasure.
[Camille]
What did you choose for me?
[Bert he] The fox, of course.
It's like looking
in the mirror, no?
Now, this mask
must be kept secret.
The women arrive first...
Time to gossip,
take in their rivals,
don their masks.
Then the men arrive.
That's when the game begins.
Tell me who will wear
which mask.
I'm nervous
I will offend the marquis
through some liaison
of mistaken identity.
One can get away
with almost anything
when masked
at the Maison de Rieux.
[Camille] And it is true
that all of society
will be there,
even Madame de Montrachet?
I heard all she attends
is church.
How she has anything left
to confess is beyond me.
I think we met long ago.
I'd love to be reacquainted.
All the pious...
...will be lambs.
And her husband?
He will be a lamb too?
Monsieur de Montrachet...
is not a lamb.
[tense music plays]
He's a wolf.
[dramatic music plays]
[both moaning]
[knock at door]
[Pascal gasps]
Azolan!
[knock at door]
Forgive my intrusion.
It's not an intrusion if you
were already in my thoughts.
My husband
has informed me he is...
to receive a great advancement
in his work.
[Pascal] I'd congratulate him,
but I cannot.
This advancement will mean...
we will be required
at Versailles...
indefinitely.
That being so,
I-I came to ask if-if...
if you...
could come to the ball tonight.
[soft music plays]
It might be the last time
that we see each other
for some time.
I don't want you to go.
I have to stay
beside my husband.
If you are beside him,
then where will I stand?
Behind me, before me.
I will always turn to face you.
I'll pray on it.
Monsieur Lucienne,
should you come...
I will be wearing
the mask of a lamb.
I hope you will come.
[Camille gasps]
[chuckles] Come.
It makes me happy to spoil you.
If it's happiness you want,
don't marry the Marquis.
I'm beginning to think you
don't want me to marry anyone.
[Victoire]
Valmont or Jean de Merteuil?
Valmont and I are finished.
Well, then forgive
my lack of enthusiasm
for your remaining choice.
Should I forgive
your naivety too?
Do you think becoming a Marquise
was the destiny
for someone like me?
A woman with nothing
is a whore or a maid,
and I will no longer be either.
With him, you'll be both.
No, I will do as Madame did.
I will perfect a facade,
build walls around my heart
for a life completely mine.
And I will do it for us
so we will be safe.
[Victoire] Stop making enemies.
Then perhaps we will be safe.
Ondine, Florence,
the entire Sevigny family.
And I hope you're not
going to the ball tonight
because of the de Montrachets.
Walk away and find peace,
Camille...
...or you will lose me.
[dramatic music plays]
Keep it...
please.
It will suit you.
[Camille chuckles]
I do not want to lose you.
[both chuckle]
Shouldn't you be getting ready
for the ball?
[Jean chuckles]
Isn't it a chance
to show me off?
Are you sure it's not
the other way around?
I have an ancient title.
I'm very rich.
I understand the attraction.
[Camille scoffs]
You think that of me?
[Jean chuckles]
That you're no different
to any of these women...
Emilie, Christine, Ondine...
...my late wife,
for that matter?
Perhaps.
Is that why you've been
avoiding me
since we returned
from Rambouillet?
Perhaps it's safer
to remain a widower.
[Jacqueline] Monsieur Lucienne,
I do not know
which is the greater sin:
Lying to myself that I can
live without knowing you...
[person] Monsieur.
[Jacqueline]
...or that of knowing you.
Tonight I do not care.
In the anonymity of our masks,
I want to exist
without such questions,
beyond sin or purity,
truth or lies.
A present?
[Jacqueline]
And if you want me...
...know that I am yours.
Jacqueline.
You going to the Masked Ball?
[Pascal] No.
[Azolan] But what about
Madame de Montrachet?
She's better off without me.
[Camille] Jean thinks
he can push me away,
but I will win him back.
He has already turned you down.
No one turns me down.
[knock at door]
I require your advice.
Don't you know
everything already?
An opinion, then.
[soft dramatic music plays]
How far should I cinch
the waist on this corset?
I'm going to the ball.
[Jean]
Not without my invitation.
[chuckles]
You won't deny me that.
Of course...
you could come with me.
And I could share
some of those secrets
that are in my possession.
Like a fox...
tearing through hens.
[both laugh]
Aha.
I don't need a trail
of destruction in your wake.
Destruction...
is power in the wrong hand.
Control is power
in the right one.
It would be my gift to you...
for all the kindness
you've shown me.
[Jean laughs]
I wasn't born to be alone, Jean.
If your heart is truly
closed to me...
I will find another.
You will not go without me.
Good.
Get ready, then.
[tense music plays]
[people shouting indistinctly]
Boo! Boo!
[indistinct shouting]
[indistinct shouting]
[Victoire] Feels like
I have you back again,
that it's like
old times between us.
Come on, let's go in.
[Camille] No, wait.
[indistinct chatter]
[Victoire]
Camille, what's wrong?
[person] Good evening,
Madame de Montrachet.
[Victoire]
She is why we're here.
[Camille sighs]
I have to take this chance.
I'm going to be the Marquise,
Victoire.
This marriage
will make me someone
of higher rank than her,
someone people will listen to.
The Montrachets betrayed me
in the worst of ways.
But they cannot dismiss me now.
My revenge.
Come.
[door clicks shut]
[knocking]
Victoire.
[indistinct chatter, laughter]
[guard] Good evening.
Mademoiselle, your name, please.
Camille.
[ethereal music plays]
[Bert he]
Ah, Camille, beautiful.
[person] I need a name.
[indistinct chatter]
[Ondine] Ladies, welcome,
welcome, welcome, welcome.
[Bert he] What else
but the most ornate of birds?
I've always been fond of you,
Madame Bert he.
[person] Let me help you
tie your lace.
[tense music plays]
[indistinct chatter]
[banging on door]
- [Azolan] Victoire.
- No, no, no.
[Azolan]
What are you doing here?
[Pascal]
Close the door, Azolan.
Where she is, so too is Camille,
and I want
neither of them in here.
[Victoire] Please, Valmont.
I don't know what to do,
how to help her.
Camille is no longer my concern.
Camille's going to marry Jean.
[dark music plays]
She has chosen her equal.
- Congratulate her.
- I cannot live with him.
I cannot live with her.
She's not in her right mind.
That's the first
smart thing you've said.
[Victoire]
I mean because of her obsession
with Jacqueline de Montrachet.
It's made her unwell,
and it's scaring me.
Jealousy has made her unwell.
Jacqueline wronged her.
Oh, really? How?
I do not know all the details.
All the details,
some of the details,
any of the details...
That is who this woman is.
She is incapable of honesty.
Do you want to know
what Jacqueline did?
Nothing.
Her only wrongdoing
was being married to a man
that Camille wanted for herself.
- No.
- Yes.
- No.
- Yes!
Yes.
She's going to destroy
Jacqueline at the ball tonight.
Please, help me.
[grand orchestral music plays]
The men are here!
The men are here!
Come!
[indistinct chatter, laughter]
[person]
Mademoiselle, lovely to...
[person] Mademoiselle.
[baton taps]
[sprightly music playing]
[Jean] Did you tear
through the henhouse already?
[Camille] And have you miss
all the delicious details?
Do you see the ship?
That is Eloise de Chalon.
Her husband is impotent.
As, I'm sure, are half
the men in this room.
[Camille]
Doesn't it make you wonder
where her son came from,
the son that will inherit
all the Chalon fortune?
She also has
uncommonly sensitive lips...
not the ones you speak with.
You see the woman
in the butterfly mask?
[Jean] The Chancellor's wife?
There's no secrets on him.
I should know; I've tried
hard enough to find one.
She has two lovers.
I know the first,
a louche Parisienne.
The other
is from the English court.
You may thank me
with an engagement ring.
If it were anything but gossip.
I have written proof
of all these secrets,
private letters
I have intercepted.
All these letters will be yours
when we marry.
Consider them
my wedding gift to you.
[both laugh]
[Theo] Honored guests,
good evening to you all,
you, the most beautiful people
in all of France.
This evening,
I take this opportunity
to perform an excerpt
of my new opera...
[applause]
...dedicated to our queen,
wherever she may be.
[laughter]
[bright orchestral music
playing]
[dramatic orchestral music
playing]
[driver shouting indistinctly]
Hyah! Hyah! Hyah!
Your name, monsieur?
Monsieur Lucienne.
I'm a guest
of Monsieur de Montrachet.
- [guard grunts]
- Get your hands off me.
- We're with the dog.
- Off you go.
[Victoire] Come.
Let's find another way.
[guard] Monsieur.
[cheers and applause]
[light music playing]
Theo.
[Theo] Pascal.
[Pascal]
Not tonight, my friend.
I'm in disguise in name
as well as mask.
I heard your music.
What are you worried about?
It's magnificent.
Your opera will be a success.
[Theo] I have every note
written and rehearsed.
Even I am transfixed.
But the-the story,
the queen has torn
through every version...
Not modern enough,
not female enough,
not surprising enough.
Which in itself is no surprise,
given my librettist is so old,
he served our last king.
- [Pascal laughs]
- [Theo sighs]
I need a story for our times.
Come to my place tomorrow night.
I'll give you a story.
But now...
I need to find a lamb.
Have you seen one?
[Henri] There you are, my dear.
[Theo] She moves as if
being led to the slaughter.
[Pascal] She may well be.
[indistinct chatter]
Dance with me, mademoiselle.
[person sighs] Very well.
[bright orchestral music
playing]
[Henri] Thank you, Jacqueline.
It is so important
you are by my side tonight,
that we appear in good spirits.
I know all of this offends you.
I know my ambition
offends you also.
But I hope my gratitude
does not.
I'm not offended. I'm bored.
[Pascal] Your hand is cold,
Madame de Montrachet.
Let me warm it.
[Jacqueline gasps softly]
You prayed on it.
[Pascal] Yes.
[Camille] Excuse me.
[person 1]
One more dance, ma'am.
[person 2] Monsieur, please.
[Ondine]
Monsieur de Montrachet.
[Henri] Do we know one another?
[Ondine] No, but we should.
I know you by reputation:
The most talented
surgeon in Paris.
Your hands, in fact,
have a reputation
all of their own.
[Henri] And you are?
[Ondine chuckles]
An admirer.
The Vicomtesse de Valmont.
The Widow de Valmont.
Call on me.
[music muffles]
[tense music plays]
[bright orchestral music
loudens]
[Pascal]
We must find somewhere to talk.
[breathing heavily]
[Pascal] Jacqueline.
[Jacqueline] Lucienne.
I'm, uh... I'm trembling.
[person moans]
[Pascal] There is someone here.
[people moaning]
Oh, no.
I did not mean
to bring you here.
I am so sorry.
Forgive me for what I want.
I have prayed God intercede,
but He has not.
Stop.
Jacqueline, please.
You are too good a woman
to fall to a man like me.
[Jacqueline] Wait.
[soft dramatic music plays]
[Pascal] Jacqueline, please.
I care for you too much.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
It is a mortal sin.
[Jacqueline sighs]
[Pascal] Jacqueline...
come.
Let me take you
from this debauched place.
Come.
[horse neighs]
[Jacqueline sighs]
[whip cracks, hooves clop]
[Léonard] Little fox,
your fur is getting matted.
[Eloise giggles]
Do you remember Christine
last year
when she fell while dancing
and got up laughing?
She was completely shameless,
certainly in her ambition
and... in other things too,
so I hear.
[laughter]
I wonder how Jean
discovered her affair.
Where is your new fiancé,
Camille?
- Who are you marrying?
- The Marquis de Merteuil.
[Eloise]
The ward becomes the wife.
How does that happen, I wonder?
True love.
Perhaps some air,
Mademoiselle Camille?
[Ondine] How convenient
that anyone in the way
of your advantageous marriage
dies or goes to ruin.
Does Jean know
his bride is so lethal?
Let's warn him.
In fact, let's warn everyone.
[Bert he] Has anybody here
seen the queen?
I hear whispers
she's here already.
I have something
delicious to tell.
The Montrachets are leaving
for Versailles this week.
Henri is to be appointed
royal physician to the king.
[tense music plays]
- [Ondine gasps]
- [Léonard chuckles]
[Ondine]
He will have so much sway.
When Monsieur de Montrachet
has the king's ear,
he will be able to have
whatever he wants.
- [laughter]
- [echoing] Whatever he wants.
[laughs]
[distorted laughter]
[indistinct chatter]
[heartbeat thumping]
[light orchestral music playing]
Camille, Camille,
please, stop this.
- Come away.
- Victoire, go home.
- I need to finish this.
- Valmont says there's something
between you and Jacqueline
de Montrachet's husband.
And you believe him?
What am I supposed to believe
if you won't tell me the truth?
You're scaring me, Camille.
If you are scared, go.
I have no further need
of you tonight.
Don't treat me like a servant.
I'm your friend.
Every day,
I've watched over you.
I have done everything
to keep you safe.
I have sold myself
so you did not have to.
I was never for sale.
But you sell yourself
over and over again!
No servant
speaks to me that way.
Go home, Victoire!
[laughter]
[Léonard] The Montrachets
are leaving for Versailles.
[Ondine] Does Jean know
his bride is so lethal?
[Léonard laughs]
[Ondine] When Monsieur de
Montrachet has the king's ear,
he will be able to have
whatever he wants.
[Camille] Henri de Montrachet!
I'm the girl you raped
and threw in the gutter
like I was nothing.
I'm not nothing now.
Pascal.
[dramatic music plays]
I almost cut you.
Why didn't you stop me?
- I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
- [Camille sobbing]
I'm sorry.
Come.
Tell me.
Tell me what happened, please.
They took me in...
...the good, fine Montrachets.
I was so innocent.
And he was so kind...
at first,
but it was a lie.
He came into my room.
[door clicks open]
[door creaking]
[Camille gasping and grunting]
[Henri moans]
[Henri grunting]
He made me swear
I would not tell.
She could see I was with child.
And she dismissed
the stable hand,
even though I told her
the truth...
...that it was her husband's,
and that he forced me.
And they kept me out of sight...
...with this thing
growing inside of me.
And I wanted it to die...
...as I wanted to die
for what he'd done.
But then I felt her...
[baby whimpering]
...her skin on mine.
[Camille humming]
Then I saw her eyes.
[Camille humming]
And I knew she was innocent...
[baby whimpering]
...and that I wanted her
to be mine forever.
But I was tired, and I...
[baby whimpering]
...I fell asleep.
I shouldn't have fallen asleep.
[heartbeat thumping]
She wasn't strong,
but she was mine.
They didn't let me bury her.
[both]
Even God does not forgive.
[gate slams]
[wind whistling]
[Camille] I had nowhere to go.
[blade shings, blood dripping]
[moans]
[baby whimpering]
And they left me for dead.
[Pascal] I will cut his throat.
No.
I want to ruin them
the way they've ruined me.
Tonight I thought
I was powerful enough
to vanquish him.
And then he became
the king's man.
And I will not fail you.
I'll destroy her...
destroy them both.
Don't go back inside.
Don't go near those people.
Go back to Saint-Honoré.
Then come to me tomorrow.
I'll make a good life for us.
I promise you.
I love you.
[Camille] I'm yours.
I'm yours.
[Pascal] Camille.
[indistinct chatter]
[soft music plays]
[Jean] Camille, where are you?
Camille!
Are you unwell?
[person sighs]
Do you ever have this feeling
as if you cannot seem
to draw quite enough breath?
[Camille] Often.
I believe it is called a corset.
Do you need help
loosening yours?
It is not the corset.
[chuckles]
I think it is...
when there is too much feeling.
I lost a friend quite recently.
She... broke my heart
with her betrayal...
...but the pain of her absence
is worse.
I keep imagining I see her,
but it's not her.
I must, of course, act as if
I am not at all affected.
That is my great challenge.
If you are in pain, it is
because you have loved fully.
I have loved fully.
[chuckles]
I know this much to be true.
You will love
and be loved again.
[both chuckle]
[dramatic music plays]
[people]
Ten, nine,
eight, seven, six,
five, four,
- three, two, one!
- [people] Your Magesty.
[fireworks booming]
[people cheering]
[applause]
[indistinct chatter]
[fireworks popping
and whistling]
[Camille] Victoire!
Victoire.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
[Victoire] My dear Camille,
I never dreamed I would miss
our old world,
our old lives.
But I knew who you were then:
My friend, as I was yours.
Now I see
that I must find my own way
and that we're on
different paths.
So know that I will
always love you.
But do not come looking for me
or the letters I have taken.
I will destroy them
before they destroy you.
Yours, Victoire.
[tense music plays]
[Jean] I couldn't find you.
You're not my equal.
I'm relieved to hear you say it.
[sighs]
I wanted to talk to you too.
You're more than my equal.
The feeling when I
couldn't find you, Camille...
I don't want to be without you.
Marry me.
[dramatic music plays]