Lark Rise to Candleford (2008–2011): Season 4, Episode 5 - Episode #4.5 - full transcript

LAURA: When it came to human relations,

it was commonly believed that men
seem to seek out conflict.

- You lost the game!
- You're a cheat. A cheat!

No, I'm not a cheat.

As though they needed to prove
themselves against one another.

Where women looked for unity
and togetherness.

Local mysteries always intrigued me.

And I seem naturally to see romance
and harmony.

As we women do.

It was not always so.

Sometimes women, too, needed to
assert themselves over one another.



Especially when it was a matter
close to the heart.

And sometimes a woman may even try
to be just like a man.

I am so glad you can join us
for breakfast, Margaret,

whilst Thomas is away.

I'm sure you must miss him already.

I feel as though he is still here.

It was such a sweet party.

Ma'am,

I made the most delightful discovery
in Oldwood copse.

Two gravestones marked 1746.

So close together. It was so touching.

Rufus and Bess.

Why were they in the woods, Laura, when
graves is meant to be in graveyards?

Well that is the mystery of it, Minnie.



The writings on the stones
were so distressed and lost...

But I think they said "Humble."

Rufus and Bess Humble.

I know of no family hereabouts
called Humble.

Perhaps they were so in love that
they ran away and died in the woods

and then were forgot about.

But there were headstones, Minnie.

(SIGHS)

What a captivating riddle it is.

I'd so like to discover
who this couple were

and what they were doing out there.

Daniel, please. Come and join us.

I'm afraid I can't eat, Miss Lane.

I know that face, Daniel Parish.

Has Lawrence Jupp been to town?

Surely you're not still in dispute
about the cricket match.

It is not, Miss Lane,
simply a cricketing squabble.

It is a matter of principle.

And honour.

And truth and morality.

Goodness.

Then no wonder your brow is so furrowed
for the best part of every week.

I hadn't realised the result of the game

had taken on the proportions
of a Greek tragedy.

(CLEARS THROAT)

I am sorry, Daniel.

I hope you know that my compulsion
to tease

is meant only to cheer you up a little.

Lawrence Jupp won the last game
of the season dishonestly.

Daniel, forgive me for pointing this out

but what riles him so is what you wrote
in the match report.

I simply presented
the events objectively.

You're both so fixed on
your own idea of what is right

that there will be no end to it
until one of you lets it be.

Daniel,

if he says he won and you say you won,

and now you're fighting and arguing
and calling names,

perhaps you should play another game.

That is not possible, Minnie.

The season is finished,
cricket is a summer game.

Why is it?

Because of the weather, I suppose.

And tradition and custom.

(SCOFFS) I say "boo" to custom.

Issue a challenge, Daniel.

Then you can at least
rest your mind in the knowledge

that you are standing up
for what you believe, hmm?

Gabriel is late joining us this morning.

Well, Ma'am, he's gone over
to Lark Rise.

Oh? So early?

Oh, don't worry.

I packed him three sausages.

He has important work there, Ma'am.

Work?

Mr Cochrane, sir?

I've seen you here so many times.

Now my curiosity has the better of me

and I must ask you
what it is you're after.

I'm interested in how the men work
the fields.

I watch them and I see how taxing it is.

We have a saying here.

"Never flinch."

Men older than my pa turn out
if they can get a day's labour.

And you do, too?

I have a family to feed.

I married young.

That becomes the purpose
of a woman's life.

So you will not flinch?

I notice, sir, how you enquire after
my family so that

I am still left with the mystery

of why you spend so much time
here watching the work.

Excuse me.

I must get back to Candleford.

I do not mean to be rude, Mrs Timmins.

I do have a purpose here

and soon, I hope, it will be revealed.

And I believe it will be
a benefit to all.

Whenever I hear a man
with grand intentions,

I brace myself for trouble.

(TWISTER STAMMERS)

You took the honey up to their house.

Pots of it!

I did.

And they said they would
pay me next week.

That was last week.

That was a week before last week.

Or the week before that.

Right is right. That was your honey
from your bees, my dear.

You who worked the summer long.

Tending and collecting.

I see now it'll be the same
as last year.

They shan't pay at all.

Them Jupps is well enough off. (LAUGHS)

We ain't.

They must pay.

Them with plenty
and always the paying kind.

And there's an end of it.

Jupp has accepted my challenge.

Well, hopefully that will
put it to rest.

What matters, Laura,
is that it will be put to rights.

Isn't it the most beautiful spot here?

That can be no accident.

Surely that was the couple's meeting
place when they were young lovers.

I've just realised.

Thomas Brown is away,
we will be a player short.

Our Edmund played cricket at school.

My pa said he had quite an eye for it.

Though I have no idea what
"quite an eye" is.

Well, then we must go over to Lark Rise
and speak with him right away.

Daniel...

I wanted to show you the graves.

We're so close by, Laura.

It makes sense to see Edmund
without delay.

Gabriel?

I am sorry you missed breakfast.

I hear you went over to Lark Rise.

There are some investigations there
that I need to conclude

before I can complete my machine.

Yes, I see.

And now you're absorbed
in putting it all into practice.

You see how it occupies my mind.

I can see how it occupies your hands
and your time.

Gabriel, I feel compelled to remind you
of the understanding we reached.

Your work for me is the reason
you are here in the forge.

Your efforts on your own business are
what you do outside of hours.

Miss Lane, I owe you an apology.

My enthusiasm for my endeavour

has caused me to lose sight
of my obligation.

It is not so much
an obligation, Gabriel.

It is your employment.

And I shall work late tonight
and start early tomorrow to put right...

That won't be necessary.

Please simply hold to the agreement
we made.

Yes, of course.

I will be finished soon.

And things will be different.

DANIEL: Mrs Timmins?

I hear that Edmund
is something of a cricketer.

I'm hoping to enlist him
for the Candleford team

in a match against Little Garth.

I'll play, 'course I will.

Isn't it a bit cold and wet
for the likes of cricket?

The game is intended
to settle a dispute with Lawrence Jupp.

I shall need more than Edmund.

A number of my team are unavailable.

Jupp? Did you say Jupp?

Them Jupps ain't paid my Queenie
what they owe her.

They ain't going to, neither.
They're famed for it.

DANIEL: Alfie.

Do you play cricket?

White and pads and the like
ain't for field hands.

ALF: Can't say I ever felt left out.

Candleford cricketers have plums
in their cheeks.

(TWISTER LAUGHS)

I thought so.

I need a wicket keeper.

TWISTER: Think on, Alfie.

We might put them Jupps in their place.

Rub their robbing noses in the dirt.

Teach them that poor folk
ain't to be trod on.

EMMA: When I was younger,
I was a nursemaid.

I worked for the Jupps.

I had the care of little Larry.

His sister was always brighter
than he was.

She could argue him
into standing on his hat.

So, the poor mite took to cheating.

No amount of tutoring could change him.
(SIGHS)

Then I can at least teach him
that his way will not triumph.

Not in English cricket, anyway.

Might I be right in supposing
that you are doing this

for the benefit of all, Daniel?

He wasn't the least bit interested
in the graves.

I thought he might see
how touching I find it.

How much romantic tales mean to me.

He's so preoccupied in winning
this wretched cricket match

that he's turned into such a...

(SIGHS) I don't know what.

A warrior, perhaps?

My brother played cricket as though
it were a battle to the death.

It's all so...

boyish.

DORCAS: It occurred to me this morning
that sometimes

we women ought not let men be men.

There is something in a man
that needs to be asserted.

They are hunters, after all.

And I can't help thinking
we ought to allow,

even encourage, their masculinity.

I speak only for myself, of course.

But I sometimes wonder if,
in being overbearing,

we might push men away.

Perhaps there is something to be said
in marrying young, after all.

Before bad habits set in.

Ma, do you suppose I might play
on Daniel's cricket team?

If you keep on practising, my dear,
he will not be able to refuse you.

But I have no one to practice with.

My brother liked to bowl at me.

Though I suspect he merely enjoyed
frightening me

with those thunderous balls
he hurled down at me.

There you are, Sydney.

LAURA: So,

you would recommend that
I encourage and support Daniel.

Even though I find this
contest all rather silly.

Not just support him, Laura,

but suppose we might relish
those things.

Cricket matches.

Machines.

Those endeavours that make a man...

Well...

So manly.

The more that you are a woman,

the more he will be a man.

Gabriel.

- Did you play school cricket?
- I did.

Daniel, look at me.

Watch me bowl this next one.

Village cricket?

A little.

You have the look of a leading batsman.

Middle order.

Daniel, look, I can do over arm.

DANIEL: Spin bowler.
GABRIEL: Fielder, boundary.

Still.

I hope I can enlist you
for the challenge match.

I need all the friends I can muster.

Go on, Sydney.

MARGARET: Sorry, Sydney!

(THUMP)

(ALL COMMENTING)

Sorry! Sorry! So sorry!

PEARL: More feminine?

What I mean is...

Something to accentuate femininity.

But, Miss Lane, don't we always
attire you in the latest fashions?

Oh, you do. Of course.

Perhaps what I mean is...

I feel inclined towards change.

Something lighter?

Oh!

I am hardly making sense to myself.

Is there a reason for this proclivity,
Miss Lane?

No.

Not at all.

But,

I do sometimes wonder...

How shall I put this?

We three are...

Spinsters.

Business women.

So, we must assert ourselves
in ways that are,

well, less than feminine.

It is a man's world, Miss Lane.
And those of us who are

(HESITANTLY) not the marrying kind must
draw on those attributes and strengths

which enable us to prosper.

But prosper at what cost?

I have never thought before, but,

it's as though I am

missing something precious.

What could have brought about
this change of heart?

I suppose, because...

Men are customers or employees

and they treat me as, well,

Dorcas Lane, postmistress.

And I would like to be appreciated for

other qualities.

This is dangerous talk, Dorcas.

And I suggest that you take to your bed
until you are restored to sanity.

(SIGHING)

I ain't played for a while.

Truth is, I ain't played
a proper cricket match before.

ALF: So, folks'll be here to watch?

I don't think this kind of thing
is for the likes of Alf Arless.

I need you, Alf.

I need all of you.

I haven't enough players as it is.

Daniel, let me show you how I can bowl.

I'm afraid you're too young, Sydney.

This match will need strength
and maturity.

TWISTER: Mr Daniel!

Them gloves that Alfie has,
might I have a pair?

Gloves are for the wicket keeper.

Fielders don't have gloves.

Please, can we concentrate?

Are we almost done?
I'd like to get back to the forge.

We must practise.

You bowled so well, Daniel.

I didn't realize how skilful you were.

It wasn't that I bowled so well,
it's that Edmund is so poor.

I'm sure, with you teaching them,
they will all improve.

You said he was a good player.

I only told you Pa said he had an eye.

Daniel, so many men
have stepped forward to help.

You must believe you can do this.

I have volunteers, yes.
What I don't have are cricketers.

I can't stay any longer, Daniel.

Gentlemen, please.

If we're so ragged and amateurish
we're going to be beaten

and I will get humiliated.

Then why do you insist on playing?

Because I issued a challenge
and now I can't back down.

- Don't you understand?
- No.

I don't understand.

And what's more,
I don't want to understand.

TWISTER: Whoa! What's that?

Sorry, Sydney, so sorry!

Do try again.

Mrs Brown? Did you do that?

(LAUGHS)

Would you do something for me?

Would you stand before the wicket?

Would you like me to take
the bat with me?

I would.

(LATCHES CLACKING)

(EXHALES) Miss Lane.

Gabriel.

Please, do call me Dorcas.

It feels so formal to address me
as Miss Lane.

I thought you said
there had been objections.

That is so,

but we must take into account that
you are a man of some standing.

Whatever your circumstances now.

Thank you.

Dorcas.

Your machine.

I assure you, Miss...

Dorcas.

I only turn my attention to this
at the end of the day.

I have not come
to check on you, Gabriel.

I simply wish to admire,
it looks so fascinating.

Are you ready to tell me what it is
and what it does yet?

I would appreciate your advice, Dorcas.

As a woman of business.

I have a dilemma.

Ah.

Don't you think that sometimes
human dilemmas

simply need a little feminine guile?

I am hoping to take
an early stroll tomorrow,

perhaps we could discuss
your conundrum then.

But it is only a simple question.

Nonetheless, I would prefer to give you
my proper, undivided attention.

Then, thank you.

Until then.

Laura, what are you writing
if you ain't writing in your journal?

I am sending off a letter
to the records office in Oxford

to see if I can trace Rufus and Bess.

I think they might have been called
Humble or Humboldt.

Or I've sometimes seen
a letter for Huntley.

Laura, why do you want to find out
about the graves so?

I want to show Daniel that
there are things that matter more

than a boys' row about runs and overs.

Minnie, a true love has been forgotten.

I feel they ought to be remembered.

DANIEL: But, Mrs Brown.

I bowled three overs at you
and you hit all 15 balls.

Did I?

Do you hit every shot?

Not everyone, no.

I did get out once.

Once!

It's been so long since I held the bat.

Years.

My brother used to bowl so fast at me
I simply had to bat them all.

(LAUGHS) Mrs Brown,
you have a true gift.

And such a natural technique.

Thank you.

My brother was always
so irritated with me

I thought I must just be a silly girl.

(WOMEN LAUGHING)

I've found a hidden gem,

and I cannot play you.

Oh, never mind.

I did enjoy those plays.

I mean hits.

Or is it scores?

I'm not so very confident
with cricketing words.

Daniel,

if you are short of players
and Margaret is a hidden gem,

then why can't she take part?

Because it is forbidden
for a woman to play.

Margaret, do you want to play?

If it were to help Daniel, then...

Well, surely you can simply insist.

The county's cricket rules
expressly disallow mixed matches.

But cricket is not so severe
an exercise as tennis,

and surely not as dangerous
as hunting or skating?

There is nothing I can do.

What an injustice.

It is a man's world, indeed.

We will lose this match.

And Candleford has the most
natural batsman in the county.

Batswoman, dear boy.

Oh, Ma,

I've had such a falling out
with Daniel.

I did try to admire him
at his cricket practice,

even though I was bored.

It only seemed to make things worse.

Why on earth would you do such a thing?

Miss Lane said I am to look up to Daniel
because he is a man.

Cousin Dorcas said such a thing?

She said that if a woman is a woman,
then a man can be a man.

Dorcas Lane?
Said this to my daughter?

When we always taught you to stand up
for your own independence?

Now, Emma, don't let that Timmins temper
get the better of you.

And she said that sometimes it's better
for a woman to marry young.

They have all manner of machines, now.
My idea is particular.

Really?

I only hope that no one else
has invented it before me.

Gabriel, you are a modern wonder.

So, Dorcas,

my question is

my only trial of machine, so far,
has been at the forge.

I need now to put it to the test
in a field.

Do I bring it to Lark Rise and perform
a demonstration before Farmer Morris?

There may be some unforeseen defects.

I might spoil my one opportunity
to impress him.

You are confident in your work.

Trust that.

What is it?

Can't you see?

I see a piece of wood.

Look. Here.

Nature has shaped it.

Don't you see a dancer?

I see

something.

Yes.

It's how we look that gives it beauty.

It could be a piece of wood
in the ground

that we walk past without noticing,

or it could be something to treasure.

I ain't known Lawrence
since you were a boy.

I'll wager he hasn't changed.

I don't have the players
to beat his team,

so I need tactics.

I need as much insight into my opponent
as I can muster.

Lawrence could never bear to lose.

He would risk everything to win.

That's it.

That is his weakness.

A man who must win so severely
can overplay his hand,

if he is tempted to.

Before you can know your foe well,

you need to know who your foe is.

That's obvious.

Is it, now?

You seem determined
to prove you are right, Daniel.

Suppose you lose.

I can't.

It is beyond consideration.

Lawrence Juppe has been
the same troublemaker all his life,

but now you feel compelled
to prove him wrong and crooked.

Seems to me that a man who likes
to wield his will on others,

he might do that
in all quarters of his life.

How can you say such a thing,
Mrs Timmins?

I remember how you were
when you first came here.

Every inch the city boy,

only concerned with his own triumphs.

I fear I see
that look about you again, now.

But surely you can see
that I have a just cause.

(DOOR OPENING)

TWISTER: Mr Daniel,

(PANTING)
I've just been over to Little Garth.

I posed as a man with no other business
than selling a few nuts,

when I had no nuts to sell.

(CHUCKLING)

(STAMMERS) Well,
ain't you gonna thank me?

Thank you for what, you old duffer?

For what I heard while I was there.

You ain't told us what it was you heard.

I was asking about, see.

(CHUCKLES) Folks think I'm an old fool

with no wit or fathoming.

Mr Turrill, you still haven't
told us your message.

Didn't I?

Did I not tell you that Lawrence Juppe

has a cricketer playing
in his cricket team?

I mean, a real bowler,

a county cricketing man.

This is wonderful news.

You think you might catch him out
and call him for the deceiver he is?

Oh, no, I want to beat him.

This means if he can bend the rules,

then so can I.

But you said that women
were forbidden from playing.

DANIEL: I did.

But supposing Mrs Brown wasn't a woman.

(CHUCKLES) Young man,
you are making no sense.

Supposing she were a man...

Can you do it?

A man?

Dress her,

disguise her.

Can you, for the sake of Candleford?

Margaret, are you willing to be a man?

I am willing to try.

(SIGHS)

Then, Ruby, this will be
the greatest ever test of our skills.

(INDISTINCT)

EMMA: Dorcas.

What brings you to these parts
this morning?

Oh.

I was simply stretching my legs
and enjoying the air with Mr Cochrane.

Since you're here, Cousin Dorcas,
might I ask you

did you suggest to our Laura

that her role
is to abide by a man's wishes?

Oh.

I don't know that I used
quite those words, Emma,

but I did propose to Laura
that sometimes it benefits us

to appreciate that a man's nature
is to prove himself.

Of all girls, our Laura

might be different.

And did you suggest to her
that it might be as well to marry young?

I might have said that
in some instances,

for some girls. Emma,

I want the same for Laura as you do.
I want her to be happy...

Why should it matter
what you want for Laura?

Is she not my daughter?

All that you have,

has been given to you.

You can choose the life that you live.

I do not mean to tread on your toes
when it comes to Laura,

but she seemed
so hostile toward Daniel...

Who are you to declare what is right
and wrong when it comes to relations?

You have never known what it is
to be close to a man,

how loving a man can take over
a woman's whole life.

She can lose herself,

so that her every day is given
to standing beside him.

I fear you may be judging me
a little too harshly

because your own emotions...

You have never been married,

and everyone knows you never will.

Yes, you are right.

I have no right

to advise Laura on matters of the heart.

(DOOR OPENING)

I'm sure once the hair is

up.

Maybe not.

Margaret, walk up and down.

LAURA: Has Daniel asked you to do this?

The problem is not so much the clothes
as the deportment.

Margaret, you must be a man.

Surely there is something wrong
if a woman must pretend to be a man.

But how does a gentleman walk?

With his chin up,
and his back straight.

No.

No, no, no, no, no.

The male plants his feet,

like this.

Am I the only one
who thinks this is ridiculous?

It's no use.

We must study our subject.

I think we are ready for stage three.

Yes, stage three.

What is stage three?

What worries me about Daniel is,
I see it in his character,

he will dominate our Laura.

And Dorcas Lane,

that woman thinks she has the right
to direct my daughter's life.

As if she knows best.

Hmm, maybe she does.

Or perhaps the person who knows best
is called "Laura Timmins".

Are you suggesting
I was wrong to speak out?

When I'm Laura's ma?

And that gives you the right

to be the one to pull the strings,
does it, Emma?

By the way, my dear,

I can't say as I do believe
that Dorcas Lane will never marry,

so I'd be grateful if you'd leave me
out of such charges next time.

What did I say?

You said that everyone knows
she will never marry.

Oh, Lordy.

(TURNIP THUMPING)

It must be the way you're throwing them.

If you can't so much as catch a turnip,

I fear for young Daniel
and his need to win.

(BALL THWACKING)

Mrs Brown, a corker.

Now, Edmund,

don't be afraid of the ball.
Move toward it.

Only try to head after the balls
that don't come straight.

Will we have to wear
that kind of outfit?

I'm not sure I'm cut out
for white trousers.

What does it matter what we wear?
The point is to win.

Daniel, will we be much longer?
I have work to do.

Does no one appreciate

that we have a chance
to defeat that man,

but we must stand as a team.

I want you all to listen.

I know that the Little Garth team
will bowl at us dangerously.

It is their way.

High bowls, bowls directly at us,
they want to unnerve us,

but we must not buckle.

They'll expect us to play
our best batsman first-up,

but I will hold on to Margaret
until the end

when their bowlers are tired and spent.

That means the rest of us

will have to face the full force
of their onslaught

and simply contain them,

wear them out.

Can we do that?

- Yes.
- ALL: Yes.

MARGARET: Yes.

Now, Mrs Brown, we need them
to be utterly convinced you are a man.

Do you think you might be able
to restrain some of your

expressiveness?

(LAUGHING)

Stage three, dear boy.
Stage three.

Hello, Minnie.

Sir?

Don't you recognise me, Minnie?

I do,

and I don't.

It is me, Mrs Brown.

- No, you ain't.
- Yes, I am.

I didn't know that you were a man,
sometimes.

I'm doing it to help Daniel.

I ain't never known a woman
who was a man, before.

Is it painful?

It is rather pleasing.

Laura,

you won't believe
who this gentleman is.

It is Mrs Brown.

Margaret, I must ask you to consider
what it is that you are doing.

Oh, am I not convincing enough?

That is not the problem, Margaret.

Supposing you were found out.

Think of how the church parishioners
will look upon this.

Oh, I hadn't thought of that.

People who look up to you
and respect you

as a Christian woman of honesty
and integrity,

they will see you as a charlatan.

Oh, I hadn't considered that.

And all because Daniel Parish
has his mind set on defeating an enemy.

You will risk your reputation
for no more

than the puffing up of a man's pride.

Oh, I...
I hadn't thought of that.

LAURA: That is not the worst of it.

Consider, Margaret,
for a woman to masquerade as a man,

to abandon her true self,
her womanhood,

all so a man can claim a victory
over another

with a pointless game.

I hadn't thought of that.

I am asking you to think of it now,

and reconsider.

Laura,

if Mrs Brown is a man sometimes,

does that mean men are women sometimes?

I wish they were, Minnie.

(SIGHING)

(LAUGHING)

Yes!

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

(DOOR OPENING)

Minnie, do you know where Laura is?

I ain't seen her at all,
except a little while ago.

Can you tell her that I came by,

that I will try to see her
after cricket practice?

Daniel,

are you upset with Laura?

I think she's upset with me.

You ain't vexed about Mrs Brown?

Why should I be vexed about Mrs Brown?

Because she don't want
to play cricket no more.

Minnie,

I want you to talk slowly

and to talk clearly.

What are you saying?

Oh, do I have to tell you?

Yes, you do.

Mrs Brown is against playing cricket
because Laura told her that being a man

ain't what a Christian woman
of honesty and inte...

integrity should be.

Are you upset, now?

This was a true beauty.

Rufus fell in love with her
from the first day that they met.

They first set eyes
on each other at school.

Only Rufus ever called her "Bess".

To everyone else, she was "Elizabeth".

- Did they live nearby?
- They did.

Bess was an artist.

She'd come out here to paint and draw.

Her family were once wealthy,

but they'd fallen on hard times.

Rufus was a gardener
on a big estate nearby.

They married young,
and were contented and settled,

but then tragedy struck.

Bess died in childbirth.

Rufus pined away.

He died himself within a year.

That's so sad, Laura.

Is it true?

I don't think we will ever know, Ethel.

I dreamed up their lives as I lay awake,
thinking of them.

LAURA: Come on.

What is it, Laura?

LAURA: It looks like another grave.

The little child who died.

"Flint"?

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

(DOOR OPENING)

Oh, Mr Cochrane, sir,

I was hoping to find Cousin Dorcas.

Dorcas has taken out her horse.

She may be some while.

Well, you've walked all this way.
Would you like some tea?

Thank you.

How is Dorcas?

Is she distressed?

Has she reason to be distressed?

(SIGHS)

I have such a sharp tongue when
I let my emotions get the better of me.

(SIGHS)

Now I shall walk home
with the same burden I brought here.

I've never known another soul
says such things as I do.

I cut and hurt a person
where they are most sore.

Cousins, relatives,

people we are closest to,

we know how best to wound them.

Cousin Dorcas never married.

That is her choice.

But I know how it pains her.

Why is she never married?

If a postmistress marries,
then she loses her position.

I didn't know that.

Why do I fear that I have again
said the wrong thing?

Laura, did you persuade Mrs Brown
to stand down from the cricket match?

I simply spoke with her and told her
the dangers of such a deception.

You know what this means to me and still
you robbed me of my best player.

My only batsman!

LAURA: Did you not consider, Daniel,
the consequences of asking Mrs Brown

to mislead neighbours?

Her face lights up when she hits
the ball.

She loves cricket.

It is you who have denied her that joy
with your high and mighty attitude.

You are not truly concerned
with Mrs Brown's pleasure, are you?

I'd hoped you might support me, Laura.

But instead you act against me.

I did not think it would be you
who would destroy our chances.

What kind of a girl are you?

What have I done to you, Laura?

I didn't mean for you to turn
against the man you love.

I speak too fast.

I did not realise how I barge
through the lives of others.

Ma,

sit with me for a while.

I do not want
to disturb your work, Laura.

Please.

My life, Laura,

I made my own choices.

If I'm truly honest,

I do regret

some things.

And so

I try to teach you what I have learned
from my own mistakes.

No.

Missed opportunities, perhaps.

I see how I try to influence you.

I try too hard at times.

If I ever push in, Laura,

in ways that hurt you,

then you have my permission
to tell me to stand aside.

Ma, there is no one on this Earth
I respect more than you.

You do not have to say
such things, Laura.

You've always known that you are
your pa's daughter.

Ma, it's your voice I hear guiding me
when I'm lost in struggle.

Like now.

I know I must admit if I am wrong,

or too harsh.

Or interfering.

I look at Queenie

and see she has the peace
of belonging in her own time.

And you, Laura.

You take those opportunities
that your own time gives to you.

I feel caught in the middle.

Lost in the middle.

I will marry.

And I will be a mother

one day.

I hope so anyway.

What you have given me, Ma,
I can see what women can be

in this world.

Oh, I'm sure.

- Cousin Dorcas...
- You, Ma,

you are the one who's inspired me.

Then, perhaps that bit of a chip
on my shoulder has done some good.

(BOTH CHUCKLING)

Oh, Emma, I was keeping
Miss Lane company till you got home.

DORCAS: I hope you don't mind me
waiting for you, Emma.

But I thought I must come and apologise.

You apologise?

I realise that

however well-intentioned I might be
where Laura is concerned,

it is not my position to give her
guidance on matters of such importance.

I would not appreciate it if someone
were to offer Sydney advice

on his education
or, well, relationships.

That's very kind, Dorcas,

but I am the worst offender.

I speak before I know what I am saying.

Why, only today in the post office...

Isn't it good to see relations restored
to good relations?

(LAUGHING)

It is. And I am glad
that no real harm has been done.

And so am I.

I intended no harm when I said
to you that you will never marry.

All I meant was,
since you are a postmistress...

Yes, I see.

But should I choose to marry

I'm sure I could find a way
around such regulations.

Well, I expect we've all had enough
of going over what has been gone over.

(WHIMPERING)

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

DANIEL: Mrs Brown, may I speak with you?

Mrs Brown, I know you are there.
Please, let me in.

At least let me state my case.

(KNOCKS ON DOOR)

I will not leave
until you let me speak with you.

- Mrs Brown!
- (KNOCKING CONTINUES)

Mrs Brown... Margaret, I've come
to plead with you not to abandon us.

Candleford needs you.
No, I know how you love to play cricket.

I can see how it makes you...

feel.

Mrs Brown, what are you wearing?

Please, Daniel,

I would be most grateful if you
did not tell anyone how you found me.

I know it must appear
a most peculiar thing to do.

(WHISPERS) But why are you dressed
in Thomas' uniform?

When I walked out into the street
as a man, I...

I experienced a kind of transformation.

I couldn't understand
why it affected me so.

Then I realised

I had glimpsed what it was like
to be a man in this world.

All my life I have felt
a little afraid of men.

There's always been a certain
timidity to me,

and to wear those clothes,

to walk with a stride,

just like an escape,

an escape from being Margaret Brown.

Little mouse.

Margaret, I promise you,

there is nothing wrong
with the way that you are.

You are more than a timid mouse.

So much more.

In the short time that I have been here,

I have seen your courage,

your fortitude,

in the most trying circumstances.

It was wrong of me to bludgeon you
into agreeing to play for the team.

It was selfish of me

and inconsiderate.

I don't ask you to hide behind disguise.

I can't compel you
to announce who you are

when who are you are is Margaret Brown,

my dear friend.

But you will be a player short.

We will manage.

It was finding the other gravestone,
the name on it, Flint,

that gave me an explanation
for all of this.

Flint?

Isn't that the name
of old man Jupp's dog?

LAURA: It is.

What was inscribed on the stones
was not Humble or Herbert.

It was clear to read on the third stone.
It marked what they were.

Not who they were.

Hunters.

So the gravestones that you found...

I've tried the churches
at Ingliston, Newton Morrell,

Stratton Audley, Cottisford.

The reason I could discover no records
of births, marriages or deaths

for Rufus and Bess

is because they are hunting dogs.

- Dogs!
- Minnie, show some consideration.

There were tears in your eyes, and
now it's just a pair of hairy hounds.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

I am glad I was wrong.

I dreamed it all up.

A tragic passion between young lovers.

I accused Daniel of ignoring
this romantic, wondrous mystery.

It was my own imagination
that conjured up the whole tale!

Forgive me for staring, Dorcas.

I couldn't help noticing your work.

The post office.

How it fits you so well.

I love it. I always have.

I consider myself to be most fortunate.

And I hope you will continue to enjoy
that sense of belonging

- for as long as you live.
- And so do I.

I wanted to clean it
before I gave it to you.

Oh.

Gabriel.

I will treasure it.

Daniel,

you must sleep. Tomorrow's your big day.

I can't even close my eyes.

Whenever I do, I see the outcome
of tomorrow's match.

We will lose.

Do not be so fateful.

I've been a fool to force
this situation on the whole town.

Daniel,

sit here, tell us what's troubling you.

(SIGHING)

It is for the best if I lose.

You're making no sense.

How can it be better to endure defeat?

Because

then I must face myself.

Daniel Parish,

imagining himself to be
the knight in shining armour.

The one to lead a team out
to put Lawrence Jupp in his place.

I am the self-appointed guardian
of all that is right and proper.

Aren't you being just a little hard
on yourself?

Daniel, you're not considering
withdrawing from the match, are you?

And let Jupp accuse us of cowardice?

No.

I must play.

And lose.

(PEOPLE CHATTERING)

Can you forgive me, Laura,

if I admit what a headstrong fool
I have been?

Margaret told me what you said to her.

I am the one who must ask
for forgiveness, Daniel.

If I had listened to you...

Then you wouldn't be the stubborn,
proud, wilful man that I love.

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

MAN 1: Close in, lads.
MAN 2: Come on, little girl.

- MAN: How's that?
- That's out.

(ALL SIGHING)

(PEOPLE EXCLAIMING)

Poor Daniel.

I don't know what possessed me
to insist it was so wrong

for Margaret to play.

I can't help thinking
you were right, Laura.

Almost right.

It is rather a shame
that a woman cannot take part.

Perhaps she can.

Laura, I wonder, if in the next break,

you might ask Daniel to come
and join us.

Okay. (MUTTERING)

(MEN EXCLAIMING)

That's out.

And that's tea.

(CHATTERING)

Thank you for your proposal, ladies.

But it is explicitly against county
cricket rules for a woman

to play in a man's contest.

But this game is taking place
out of season.

So perhaps it is not strictly governed
by county law.

If I were to request for Margaret
to take part,

forgive me if this offends, ladies,
but we'd be laughed off the park.

Isn't that the point?

Candleford is short of a player.

So you are allowed to introduce
another player.

LAURA: They would not refuse.

No, 'cause it would give them
the perfect opportunity to mock us.

I think I'm beginning
to see your purpose.

Then perhaps you might like
to speak with the captain.

And may I suggest,

don't be afraid to let him
see you as a fool

who is a little desperate.

Mrs Brown, are you happy with this?

Would you like to play,
even in the rain?

Play as a woman.

Yes.

(EXHALES)

(WOMEN GIGGLING)

(CHATTERING)

(MEN LAUGHING)

LAURA: Sometimes a woman
may try to be just like a man.

Men and women,
we each have our own weaknesses,

strengths, and if we dare to admit it,

similarities.

(CHEERING)

It is only by making mistakes
and hurting one another,

that we learn the greatest
of human joys,

forgiving and being forgiven.