Little Dorrit (2008): Season 1, Episode 7 - Episode #1.7 - full transcript
The day dawns when Pet Meagles marries her Henry with Arthur as best man. Henry's mother tells her friend Mrs. Merdle that she has dropped her opposition to the union because the 'Miggles' family's dowry will contribute to the couple's visit to Italy, where Henry can study art. Mr. and Mrs. 'Miggles', however, are less than elated at the marriage. Rigaud charms Arthur's mother when he visits her with the contents of the stolen box, and, whilst her butler stands by uncomfortably, she lets the Frenchman know that she will do business with him when she is ready. Flora lets it slip to Arthur that she realizes that her father is a greedy charlatan, allowing Pancks to take the scorn of Casby's over-taxed tenants but Mr. Pancks himself is on a high. Thanks to his detective work in cahoots with his friends Mr. and Miss Rugg and John Chivery - and subsidized by cash he has borrowed from Casby under false pretences -- he has 'moled out' the fact that William Dorrit is the heir to a fortune that has long lain dormant and, as a consequence, is in a position not just to buy himself out of the Marshalsea but to establish himself and his family as very rich indeed.
Oh, Lord! Now I'm locked out!
He's at the tavern
and she can't come downstairs!
Perhaps I can be of some assistance,
madame.
I see there is a little window
up there.
(HE WHISTLES)
Are you a burglar, sir?
No, madame! I am here on business
with Mrs Clennam!
Oh!
Oh!
Toujours gai!
Oh, he'll murder her
and then Jeremiah'll murder me!
- Will you step in, madame?
- Affery!
- Oh, good Lord!
- Who's this?
(WHISPERING) Death of my soul!
- How did you get here?
- I could ask the same of you.
Well, you see, I got locked out.
He's here on business with the missus
and he climbed...
That's enough from you, old woman!
You shall have such a dose for this.
In you go!
(HE GROWLS)
This way, sir.
Sir!
You! Sit down,
and don't stir till I say so!
(HE GROWLS)
MRS CLENNAM: Who's there?
What's going on down there?!
(BANGING)
Perhaps you could take me
to your mistress now,
if you would be so kind, monsieur?
Your name?
Blandois.
From Paris.
And yours, sir?
Jeremiah Flintwinch.
Ah, of course!
You know, you are so like
a friend of mine. Well...
shall we go up?
(CREAKING)
What the devil is that?
This is an old house,
Monsieur Blandois.
(BANGING)
MRS CLENNAM: Where's my tea?! It's late!
Affery! Tea!
Ow!
FLINTWINCH: Monsieur Blandois.
On business.
Madame.
You were expecting me, I think?
- I was not, sir.
- Ah.
Here is my letter of introduction.
The House of Arromanche.
BLANDOIS: Just so, madame.
And they speak well of you, sir.
The House of Clennam, of course,
carries great respect.
That is why, when we thought
of opening up a line of business here,
naturellement,
we came to you, madame.
Have you been long with
the House of Arromanche, monsieur?
I was formerly in Marseilles,
and before that...everywhere!
You have no ties, I suppose.
You are not married?
I adore your sex, madame...
(HE INHALES DEEPLY)
(WHISPERING)
...but, madame, I am not married.
(NORMAL VOICE)
Never was.
MRS CLENNAM: Affery!
What is the matter with you?
I don't know. It ain't me. It's him!
Don't pay no heed to her, sir!
She shall have a dose,
she shall have such a dose!
Get along with you,
while you know you're Affery,
and before you're shaken to yeast!
Take sugar, sir?
No, thank you. No tea for me.
That is a remarkable watch.
Very fine.
What is this?
"Do not forget".
I wonder...what is it,
dear madame,
that you wish never to forget?
Some...youthful indiscretion?
A lost love?
That is my concern, sir, not yours.
The watch, please, Monsieur Blandois.
There are secrets
in all families, I suppose.
Yes.
Yes, there are.
There are the devil's own secrets
in some families. Huh?
(WHISPERING) N'est-ce pas...ma cherie?
Monsieur Blandois,
have we business to do or have we not?
Let us not be over-hasty.
Be assured, Blandois will return.
But for now, I must wish you
good evening.
Au revoir.
Affery!
MRS CLENNAM: Show Monsieur Blandois out.
This way, please, sir.
Don't follow too close.
Well, Flintwinch?
Didn't care for the smell of him.
'Ere.
Where's me brother?
He's gone, Mr Flintwinch.
- Did he leave anything behind?
- No, Mr Flintwinch.
Have you got a Frenchman, name of
Blandois, staying here, by any chance?
Did have, but he paid his bill
and left this morning.
Right.
ARTHUR: Over and over and over
before he died, he pressed it into my hand
saying, "Your mother, Arthur,
put it right. "
What did he mean?
What have we done?
Mr Dorrit! Are you on your way
to see your brother?
- That's right, sir.
- So am I. May I walk with you?
An honour, sir. An honour.
Were you always a musician, Mr Dorrit?
No, I was a gentleman of leisure, sir.
Owned a boarding house for young ladies
of the theatrical profession,
but that had to be sold, sir...
...many years ago. Everything was lost.
Except my old clarinet, fortunately,
so I had the means of making a living.
Might I ask how it was lost?
They showed me
something I had signed -
a surety for William,
I think it was called.
They spoke of something
called "unlimited liability".
I think unlimited liability
must be a terrible thing.
- It is.
- But here we all are!
Life's not so bad.
We jog along, Mr Clennam.
We jog along.
I used to know your father
very well, you know.
You knew my father?
Long ago. Before you were born.
He used to visit,
at the boarding house, now and then.
A very pleasant
and quiet-spoken gentleman.
Why didn't you say anything before?
Long-gone days, sir. Long-gone days.
Best not talked about.
Well, here we are.
I believe Tip is here today, as well.
(KNOCKS ON DOOR)
(DOOR OPENS)
William.
Mr Clennam!
You are very welcome, sir.
Edward, give Mr Clennam your chair.
No. I don't see why I should.
- Tip!
- Mr Clennam,
I must apologise
for the inexcusable...
Perhaps I should leave.
I feel like I'm intruding.
It is for him to leave! How dare you
treat my guest in such a manner, sir!
It's got nothing to do with you, Pa.
It has everything to do with me!
Your behaviour is unfilial! Unchristian!
You're no son of mine! Mr Clennam, please,
- please forgive us.
- Nothing to forgive.
- But I will be on my way.
- Do you see what you've done?!
Never speak to one of my guests
in that manner again! Do you understand?!
Mr Clennam!
Please don't be offended by Tip.
He behaved very badly,
but don't judge him too harshly.
He feels that no-one respects him...
so he demands respect,
but in all the wrong ways.
I know why he's angry.
I didn't give him the money he asked for.
- It's all right, I'm not offended.
- Thank you.
I should go back.
No, don't go.
It's really you I came to see.
I was worried about you
when Maggy had said
you'd been unwell the other day.
Are you feeling better now?
What? What is it?
Nothing!
Nothing...it's nothing.
It's just all that in there.
It's painful to me.
But you are sad. What is it?
I, um...I fancied
I was in love with someone.
The girl I spoke to you about.
And now I know
that she's in love with someone else,
and is to be married to him,
someone much nearer her own age.
Well, I've learnt my lesson.
I don't know why
I'm telling you all this, Amy.
PANCKS: Pancks, the gypsy!
Excuse me. I should go back.
Pancks, the gypsy! Fortune-telling!
And what a fortune, eh?
What are you doing here, Pancks?
You're not drunk, by any chance, are you?
Possibly I am.
But it makes no odds.
I've been treating 'em all round,
haven't I, Mr Rugg?
Mr Rugg, Mr Clennam.
Mr Clennam, Mr Rugg.
He has, sir. Been treating 'em
all round. We're all drunk!
I...I am coming into my property,
Mr Clennam,
and I can afford to be liberal.
Roast beef and plum pudding
for everybody!
A quart of double stout a head!
A pint of wine, if you like it!
And to think of him, up there,
old Dorrit, making his speeches,
and her up there in that little dress,
and neither of 'em knowing
what's coming to 'em, upon my soul,
it's enough to make me want to...
Make a back, Mr Rugg! Go on, bend over!
A little higher. That'll do!
(CHEERING)
Look here, Mr Clennam...
Iook here.
Have you made a discovery?
We rather think so.
- Does it...implicate anyone?
- How, implicate?
- In any wrong-doing of any kind?
- Can't say for sure yet. (SPITS)
We shall be all set soon. You shall tell
her, and then she shall break it to him.
But what, for God's sake, what?!
Just you wait and see, Mr Clennam.
Just you wait and see.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
MAN: Mrs Gowan, ma'am.
- My dear soul, pity me.
- Henry?
Henry.
- The thing is settled?
- It is.
He is to marry the Miggles girl.
My poor dear. I feel for you.
I, too, have a son.
How they make us suffer!
I should dearly like to know
what you think of it.
What society will think of it.
It sounds mercenary to ask what
the gentleman will get with his marriage,
but then...
society is a little mercenary.
From what I can make out,
Henry will be relieved from his debts
and the father will give them
an allowance, which, in Italy...
- Oh! Going to Italy?
- Yes.
Henry's to study...that dreadful art.
- An amateur he may be, but...
- I see.
Of course, the girl's family have made
strenuous efforts to capture Henry.
- Of course they have.
- And I have persisted in every objection.
Of course you have, my love.
But all of no use.
Now, tell me, my dear, am I justified
in at last yielding my most reluctant
consent to Henry's marrying
among people not in society?
Or have I acted
with most inexcusable weakness?
My dear Mrs Gowan, society...
will understand,
society will absolve you.
All will be well.
Thank you.
Thank you, my dear.
Thank you.
Good day, Clennam.
I was in the neighbourhood,
thought I'd pay a visit.
I'm sorry about my mother,
by the way.
She did seem to have got hold of the wrong
end of the stick about the Meagleses.
She knows very well I shall be dependent
on Mr Meagles' wealth and generosity
when I marry Pet, but she needs
to make out she's doing the world a favour
by condescending to have
anything to do with it.
It is a bore and it is a sham.
But then isn't everything
in this jolly old world a bit of a sham?
Including love? Marriage?
I hope you're not intending to treat
your marriage to Pet as a sham.
(LAUGHING) What a capital world it is, eh?
What a jolly, excellent,
lovable old world!
(SIGHING) I quite envy you
as a bachelor, you know,
being about to put my head in the noose.
- In the noose?!
- I know.
She's a beautiful and charming girl,
and I love her with all my heart.
Still, at one time,
I had other prospects...
and here I am without them.
And here you are...
what a comfortable life.
- And you deserve it.
- Gowan, would it be very rude of me
to ask you the purpose of this visit?
As a matter of fact, um,
I wanted to ask you
if you'd stand up with me.
Stand up with you? In what sense?
As my best man, of course.
Never you mind, old fellow.
(SQUAWKING)
I know. It's excruciating.
Just the same at the office -
a lot of pompous fools.
It makes a fellow...itchy.
Hmm? Eh?
Yes, it does.
Should we attend
Henry Gowan's wedding or not?
Hmm?
(CLICKS HIS TONGUE)
Hmm?
Mr Merdle, do you listen
to a single word I say, I wonder.
Mr Merdle!
Yes?
I might be better off talking to the bird.
He would at least have screamed.
Would you like me to scream,
Mrs Merdle?
I would like you to behave like
a proper member of society, Mr Merdle.
I mean, really,
you ought not to go into society
unless you can
accommodate yourself to society.
- What?
- Who does more for society than I do?
Do you see this furniture? Hmm?
Do you look in the glass
and see yourself?
Do you know the cost of all this?
And you tell me
I oughtn't to go into society?
Pray don't be violent, Mr Merdle.
Violent?! You are enough
to make me desperate!
You carry your business cares about
wherever you go
instead of leaving them in the City, and
there is a positive vulgarity about that.
- You think that, do you?
- If you doubt my judgment,
ask Edmund Sparkler....Edmund!
We want you here.
What is it, Mater? Evening, Guv'nor.
What do people say about your father?
I...I don't know.
Nothing at all, I should think.
Think, Edmund!
Er...well, um...
I have heard fellows saying the guv'nor's
tremendously rich and knowing,
perfect phenomenon
in the banking line, and all that,
but that the shop
sits a bit heavy on him.
Which is exactly my complaint.
Edmund.
(CHURCH BELLS PEAL)
Oh, Gowan, take care of her!
Take care of her!
Don't be so broken-hearted, sir.
By heaven, I will!
Pet! Pet!
Did you remember your warm shawl?
PET: It's in the trunk.
- Bye.
- Goodbye, Mama.
Well, it's done,
and we must bear it bravely
as best we can.
St Aldegonde, so it's said,
had a taste for marriages
and public executions.
Very similar events on occasion.
Oh, my poor boy!
PANCKS: Mr Clennam!
Mr Clennam!
Mr Clennam.
It is all done, Mr Clennam!
It is all signed, sealed
and copper-bottom guaranteed!
And you may tell her now, sir,
as soon as you like,
and she may tell him!
And won't they be amazed, eh?
- Won't they be flabbergasted?
- What do I have to tell her?
Remember I asked you if you were
one of the Clennams of Cornwall?
I said I wasn't. What of it?
Nothing. But I never then imagined
who would turn out to be
one of the Dorrits of Dorsetshire!
In fact, you could say THE Dorrit
of Dorsetshire, or his direct descendant!
- You mean...?
- Yes!
The Father of the Marshalsea!
Little Dorrit's pa!
He is heir to a great estate that is long
untouched, unclaimed and accumulating!
No more Marshalsea for him!
He is a very rich man!
- He's a very rich man, indeed!
- How did you find all this out?
Ah, I moled it out, sir, grain by grain.
I tracked down every Dorrit in the land,
and I kept on until I'd ruled out
every last one of them
except for our friend in the Marshalsea.
I spent all I had, and I borrowed, too,
from my old proprietor.
You know what he charged me? 20%!
You shall be recompensed fully by me,
Mr Pancks. And rewarded too, I imagine!
?1,000 would see me right, Mr Clennam,
and that's nothing to Mr Dorrit now.
But I leave that to you, sir,
and also to break it to the family.
Yeah, can't be done too soon,
in my opinion, sir.
(SNORING)
(DOOR OPENS)
- Mr Clennam, ma'am.
- Oh! Um...Arthur...
Doyce and Clennam.
Ooh! What a sight you must think me.
Pray excuse the wrapper,
and a faded check too, which is worse...
(LAUGHING)...but our little friend
is making me a skirt
and there was to be a trying-on
after breakfast.
I apologise for calling so early.
Oh, Arthur, Doyce and Clennam,
Papa need never know you are here
and, as you are well aware,
our little friend can be fully trusted
- to be discreet.
- Um, Flora...
it is our little friend
that I came to see.
Oh.
Yes, of course.
(SHE CLEARS HER THROAT)
Amy!
Flora, would you mind
leaving us alone for just a moment?
Amy, I have some very important news
about your father.
There's something up, John,
I feel it in my bones.
I feel it in my bones, too, Pa.
(DOOR OPENS)
Amy, my dear.
Father...I have been made so happy
this morning.
Mr Clennam brought
some wonderful news about you!
If he had not prepared me for it,
I do not think I could have borne it.
What is it?
- What is it?
- ARTHUR: Sir, compose yourself...
and think of the best surprise
that could possibly happen to you.
The very best.
Do not be afraid to imagine it.
The very best...that could happen to me?
Yes. What would it be?
To...
...to be free.
ARTHUR: You shall be.
And very soon.
And there is more.
You shall be prosperous.
You are heir to a great fortune.
Pancks was the one that found it out.
I shall be free?
You shall be free, Father.
And rich?
And you can be as you were again.
Oh, Father...Father.
Thank God, thank God!
And, er...
I-I-I can leave the Marshalsea?
As soon as you're ready to.
And rich? I shall be rich?
No doubt of it.
I shall be rich.
Mr Clennam, am I to understand
that I could pass through the gate
at this very moment?
I think not quite yet.
- So I am still confined?
- It is but a few hours, sir.
A few hours.
You talk easily of hours, sir.
How long do you think an hour is
to a man who is choking
for want of air?
But perhaps it's...
...perhaps it's, um...for the best.
Yes, for the best.
Yes, perhaps it is as well.
- Father, I think you should rest now.
- Yes, yes, I'm, er...
It's all been, um...
Yes...very tired.
Oh.
Oh...
I shall be rich.
I shall be free.
He's at the tavern
and she can't come downstairs!
Perhaps I can be of some assistance,
madame.
I see there is a little window
up there.
(HE WHISTLES)
Are you a burglar, sir?
No, madame! I am here on business
with Mrs Clennam!
Oh!
Oh!
Toujours gai!
Oh, he'll murder her
and then Jeremiah'll murder me!
- Will you step in, madame?
- Affery!
- Oh, good Lord!
- Who's this?
(WHISPERING) Death of my soul!
- How did you get here?
- I could ask the same of you.
Well, you see, I got locked out.
He's here on business with the missus
and he climbed...
That's enough from you, old woman!
You shall have such a dose for this.
In you go!
(HE GROWLS)
This way, sir.
Sir!
You! Sit down,
and don't stir till I say so!
(HE GROWLS)
MRS CLENNAM: Who's there?
What's going on down there?!
(BANGING)
Perhaps you could take me
to your mistress now,
if you would be so kind, monsieur?
Your name?
Blandois.
From Paris.
And yours, sir?
Jeremiah Flintwinch.
Ah, of course!
You know, you are so like
a friend of mine. Well...
shall we go up?
(CREAKING)
What the devil is that?
This is an old house,
Monsieur Blandois.
(BANGING)
MRS CLENNAM: Where's my tea?! It's late!
Affery! Tea!
Ow!
FLINTWINCH: Monsieur Blandois.
On business.
Madame.
You were expecting me, I think?
- I was not, sir.
- Ah.
Here is my letter of introduction.
The House of Arromanche.
BLANDOIS: Just so, madame.
And they speak well of you, sir.
The House of Clennam, of course,
carries great respect.
That is why, when we thought
of opening up a line of business here,
naturellement,
we came to you, madame.
Have you been long with
the House of Arromanche, monsieur?
I was formerly in Marseilles,
and before that...everywhere!
You have no ties, I suppose.
You are not married?
I adore your sex, madame...
(HE INHALES DEEPLY)
(WHISPERING)
...but, madame, I am not married.
(NORMAL VOICE)
Never was.
MRS CLENNAM: Affery!
What is the matter with you?
I don't know. It ain't me. It's him!
Don't pay no heed to her, sir!
She shall have a dose,
she shall have such a dose!
Get along with you,
while you know you're Affery,
and before you're shaken to yeast!
Take sugar, sir?
No, thank you. No tea for me.
That is a remarkable watch.
Very fine.
What is this?
"Do not forget".
I wonder...what is it,
dear madame,
that you wish never to forget?
Some...youthful indiscretion?
A lost love?
That is my concern, sir, not yours.
The watch, please, Monsieur Blandois.
There are secrets
in all families, I suppose.
Yes.
Yes, there are.
There are the devil's own secrets
in some families. Huh?
(WHISPERING) N'est-ce pas...ma cherie?
Monsieur Blandois,
have we business to do or have we not?
Let us not be over-hasty.
Be assured, Blandois will return.
But for now, I must wish you
good evening.
Au revoir.
Affery!
MRS CLENNAM: Show Monsieur Blandois out.
This way, please, sir.
Don't follow too close.
Well, Flintwinch?
Didn't care for the smell of him.
'Ere.
Where's me brother?
He's gone, Mr Flintwinch.
- Did he leave anything behind?
- No, Mr Flintwinch.
Have you got a Frenchman, name of
Blandois, staying here, by any chance?
Did have, but he paid his bill
and left this morning.
Right.
ARTHUR: Over and over and over
before he died, he pressed it into my hand
saying, "Your mother, Arthur,
put it right. "
What did he mean?
What have we done?
Mr Dorrit! Are you on your way
to see your brother?
- That's right, sir.
- So am I. May I walk with you?
An honour, sir. An honour.
Were you always a musician, Mr Dorrit?
No, I was a gentleman of leisure, sir.
Owned a boarding house for young ladies
of the theatrical profession,
but that had to be sold, sir...
...many years ago. Everything was lost.
Except my old clarinet, fortunately,
so I had the means of making a living.
Might I ask how it was lost?
They showed me
something I had signed -
a surety for William,
I think it was called.
They spoke of something
called "unlimited liability".
I think unlimited liability
must be a terrible thing.
- It is.
- But here we all are!
Life's not so bad.
We jog along, Mr Clennam.
We jog along.
I used to know your father
very well, you know.
You knew my father?
Long ago. Before you were born.
He used to visit,
at the boarding house, now and then.
A very pleasant
and quiet-spoken gentleman.
Why didn't you say anything before?
Long-gone days, sir. Long-gone days.
Best not talked about.
Well, here we are.
I believe Tip is here today, as well.
(KNOCKS ON DOOR)
(DOOR OPENS)
William.
Mr Clennam!
You are very welcome, sir.
Edward, give Mr Clennam your chair.
No. I don't see why I should.
- Tip!
- Mr Clennam,
I must apologise
for the inexcusable...
Perhaps I should leave.
I feel like I'm intruding.
It is for him to leave! How dare you
treat my guest in such a manner, sir!
It's got nothing to do with you, Pa.
It has everything to do with me!
Your behaviour is unfilial! Unchristian!
You're no son of mine! Mr Clennam, please,
- please forgive us.
- Nothing to forgive.
- But I will be on my way.
- Do you see what you've done?!
Never speak to one of my guests
in that manner again! Do you understand?!
Mr Clennam!
Please don't be offended by Tip.
He behaved very badly,
but don't judge him too harshly.
He feels that no-one respects him...
so he demands respect,
but in all the wrong ways.
I know why he's angry.
I didn't give him the money he asked for.
- It's all right, I'm not offended.
- Thank you.
I should go back.
No, don't go.
It's really you I came to see.
I was worried about you
when Maggy had said
you'd been unwell the other day.
Are you feeling better now?
What? What is it?
Nothing!
Nothing...it's nothing.
It's just all that in there.
It's painful to me.
But you are sad. What is it?
I, um...I fancied
I was in love with someone.
The girl I spoke to you about.
And now I know
that she's in love with someone else,
and is to be married to him,
someone much nearer her own age.
Well, I've learnt my lesson.
I don't know why
I'm telling you all this, Amy.
PANCKS: Pancks, the gypsy!
Excuse me. I should go back.
Pancks, the gypsy! Fortune-telling!
And what a fortune, eh?
What are you doing here, Pancks?
You're not drunk, by any chance, are you?
Possibly I am.
But it makes no odds.
I've been treating 'em all round,
haven't I, Mr Rugg?
Mr Rugg, Mr Clennam.
Mr Clennam, Mr Rugg.
He has, sir. Been treating 'em
all round. We're all drunk!
I...I am coming into my property,
Mr Clennam,
and I can afford to be liberal.
Roast beef and plum pudding
for everybody!
A quart of double stout a head!
A pint of wine, if you like it!
And to think of him, up there,
old Dorrit, making his speeches,
and her up there in that little dress,
and neither of 'em knowing
what's coming to 'em, upon my soul,
it's enough to make me want to...
Make a back, Mr Rugg! Go on, bend over!
A little higher. That'll do!
(CHEERING)
Look here, Mr Clennam...
Iook here.
Have you made a discovery?
We rather think so.
- Does it...implicate anyone?
- How, implicate?
- In any wrong-doing of any kind?
- Can't say for sure yet. (SPITS)
We shall be all set soon. You shall tell
her, and then she shall break it to him.
But what, for God's sake, what?!
Just you wait and see, Mr Clennam.
Just you wait and see.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
MAN: Mrs Gowan, ma'am.
- My dear soul, pity me.
- Henry?
Henry.
- The thing is settled?
- It is.
He is to marry the Miggles girl.
My poor dear. I feel for you.
I, too, have a son.
How they make us suffer!
I should dearly like to know
what you think of it.
What society will think of it.
It sounds mercenary to ask what
the gentleman will get with his marriage,
but then...
society is a little mercenary.
From what I can make out,
Henry will be relieved from his debts
and the father will give them
an allowance, which, in Italy...
- Oh! Going to Italy?
- Yes.
Henry's to study...that dreadful art.
- An amateur he may be, but...
- I see.
Of course, the girl's family have made
strenuous efforts to capture Henry.
- Of course they have.
- And I have persisted in every objection.
Of course you have, my love.
But all of no use.
Now, tell me, my dear, am I justified
in at last yielding my most reluctant
consent to Henry's marrying
among people not in society?
Or have I acted
with most inexcusable weakness?
My dear Mrs Gowan, society...
will understand,
society will absolve you.
All will be well.
Thank you.
Thank you, my dear.
Thank you.
Good day, Clennam.
I was in the neighbourhood,
thought I'd pay a visit.
I'm sorry about my mother,
by the way.
She did seem to have got hold of the wrong
end of the stick about the Meagleses.
She knows very well I shall be dependent
on Mr Meagles' wealth and generosity
when I marry Pet, but she needs
to make out she's doing the world a favour
by condescending to have
anything to do with it.
It is a bore and it is a sham.
But then isn't everything
in this jolly old world a bit of a sham?
Including love? Marriage?
I hope you're not intending to treat
your marriage to Pet as a sham.
(LAUGHING) What a capital world it is, eh?
What a jolly, excellent,
lovable old world!
(SIGHING) I quite envy you
as a bachelor, you know,
being about to put my head in the noose.
- In the noose?!
- I know.
She's a beautiful and charming girl,
and I love her with all my heart.
Still, at one time,
I had other prospects...
and here I am without them.
And here you are...
what a comfortable life.
- And you deserve it.
- Gowan, would it be very rude of me
to ask you the purpose of this visit?
As a matter of fact, um,
I wanted to ask you
if you'd stand up with me.
Stand up with you? In what sense?
As my best man, of course.
Never you mind, old fellow.
(SQUAWKING)
I know. It's excruciating.
Just the same at the office -
a lot of pompous fools.
It makes a fellow...itchy.
Hmm? Eh?
Yes, it does.
Should we attend
Henry Gowan's wedding or not?
Hmm?
(CLICKS HIS TONGUE)
Hmm?
Mr Merdle, do you listen
to a single word I say, I wonder.
Mr Merdle!
Yes?
I might be better off talking to the bird.
He would at least have screamed.
Would you like me to scream,
Mrs Merdle?
I would like you to behave like
a proper member of society, Mr Merdle.
I mean, really,
you ought not to go into society
unless you can
accommodate yourself to society.
- What?
- Who does more for society than I do?
Do you see this furniture? Hmm?
Do you look in the glass
and see yourself?
Do you know the cost of all this?
And you tell me
I oughtn't to go into society?
Pray don't be violent, Mr Merdle.
Violent?! You are enough
to make me desperate!
You carry your business cares about
wherever you go
instead of leaving them in the City, and
there is a positive vulgarity about that.
- You think that, do you?
- If you doubt my judgment,
ask Edmund Sparkler....Edmund!
We want you here.
What is it, Mater? Evening, Guv'nor.
What do people say about your father?
I...I don't know.
Nothing at all, I should think.
Think, Edmund!
Er...well, um...
I have heard fellows saying the guv'nor's
tremendously rich and knowing,
perfect phenomenon
in the banking line, and all that,
but that the shop
sits a bit heavy on him.
Which is exactly my complaint.
Edmund.
(CHURCH BELLS PEAL)
Oh, Gowan, take care of her!
Take care of her!
Don't be so broken-hearted, sir.
By heaven, I will!
Pet! Pet!
Did you remember your warm shawl?
PET: It's in the trunk.
- Bye.
- Goodbye, Mama.
Well, it's done,
and we must bear it bravely
as best we can.
St Aldegonde, so it's said,
had a taste for marriages
and public executions.
Very similar events on occasion.
Oh, my poor boy!
PANCKS: Mr Clennam!
Mr Clennam!
Mr Clennam.
It is all done, Mr Clennam!
It is all signed, sealed
and copper-bottom guaranteed!
And you may tell her now, sir,
as soon as you like,
and she may tell him!
And won't they be amazed, eh?
- Won't they be flabbergasted?
- What do I have to tell her?
Remember I asked you if you were
one of the Clennams of Cornwall?
I said I wasn't. What of it?
Nothing. But I never then imagined
who would turn out to be
one of the Dorrits of Dorsetshire!
In fact, you could say THE Dorrit
of Dorsetshire, or his direct descendant!
- You mean...?
- Yes!
The Father of the Marshalsea!
Little Dorrit's pa!
He is heir to a great estate that is long
untouched, unclaimed and accumulating!
No more Marshalsea for him!
He is a very rich man!
- He's a very rich man, indeed!
- How did you find all this out?
Ah, I moled it out, sir, grain by grain.
I tracked down every Dorrit in the land,
and I kept on until I'd ruled out
every last one of them
except for our friend in the Marshalsea.
I spent all I had, and I borrowed, too,
from my old proprietor.
You know what he charged me? 20%!
You shall be recompensed fully by me,
Mr Pancks. And rewarded too, I imagine!
?1,000 would see me right, Mr Clennam,
and that's nothing to Mr Dorrit now.
But I leave that to you, sir,
and also to break it to the family.
Yeah, can't be done too soon,
in my opinion, sir.
(SNORING)
(DOOR OPENS)
- Mr Clennam, ma'am.
- Oh! Um...Arthur...
Doyce and Clennam.
Ooh! What a sight you must think me.
Pray excuse the wrapper,
and a faded check too, which is worse...
(LAUGHING)...but our little friend
is making me a skirt
and there was to be a trying-on
after breakfast.
I apologise for calling so early.
Oh, Arthur, Doyce and Clennam,
Papa need never know you are here
and, as you are well aware,
our little friend can be fully trusted
- to be discreet.
- Um, Flora...
it is our little friend
that I came to see.
Oh.
Yes, of course.
(SHE CLEARS HER THROAT)
Amy!
Flora, would you mind
leaving us alone for just a moment?
Amy, I have some very important news
about your father.
There's something up, John,
I feel it in my bones.
I feel it in my bones, too, Pa.
(DOOR OPENS)
Amy, my dear.
Father...I have been made so happy
this morning.
Mr Clennam brought
some wonderful news about you!
If he had not prepared me for it,
I do not think I could have borne it.
What is it?
- What is it?
- ARTHUR: Sir, compose yourself...
and think of the best surprise
that could possibly happen to you.
The very best.
Do not be afraid to imagine it.
The very best...that could happen to me?
Yes. What would it be?
To...
...to be free.
ARTHUR: You shall be.
And very soon.
And there is more.
You shall be prosperous.
You are heir to a great fortune.
Pancks was the one that found it out.
I shall be free?
You shall be free, Father.
And rich?
And you can be as you were again.
Oh, Father...Father.
Thank God, thank God!
And, er...
I-I-I can leave the Marshalsea?
As soon as you're ready to.
And rich? I shall be rich?
No doubt of it.
I shall be rich.
Mr Clennam, am I to understand
that I could pass through the gate
at this very moment?
I think not quite yet.
- So I am still confined?
- It is but a few hours, sir.
A few hours.
You talk easily of hours, sir.
How long do you think an hour is
to a man who is choking
for want of air?
But perhaps it's...
...perhaps it's, um...for the best.
Yes, for the best.
Yes, perhaps it is as well.
- Father, I think you should rest now.
- Yes, yes, I'm, er...
It's all been, um...
Yes...very tired.
Oh.
Oh...
I shall be rich.
I shall be free.