Sense & Sensibility (2008): Season 1, Episode 3 - Episode #1.3 - full transcript

What are your intentions towards
Miss Marianne Dashwood?

And what right have you to ask me?

Everything about their conduct suggests
that they are engaged in private.

So why do they not make it public?

(SOBBING)

My aunt has exercised
the privilege of riches

upon her poor dependent cousin
by sending me on business to London.

When are you coming back?

Marianne will want to know.

Willoughby!

MRS DASHWOOD:
I couldn't get it out of my head



why Edward hasn't come to see us.

So, I decided to write
and invite him directly.

Please let him alone
to come in his own good time.

MARIANNE: What did he come here for
if not to propose to you?

ELINOR: I don't know.

ELINOR: Are you acquainted
with Mr Robert Ferrars?

No, with his elder brother.

Mr Edward Ferrars?

We are engaged.

We are invited to an evening assembly.

Look, he is here.

Tell me, for heaven's sake,
what is the matter?

Excuse me.

(MARIANNE GASPING)



Allow me.

MAN: Come to your marks.

(GRUNTING)

(SHOUTING)

Marianne, it's too early.
Come back to bed. You'll catch cold.

This will be soon done.

(WILLOUGHBY EXCLAIMS)

- Marianne, could I ask...
- No, Elinor, ask nothing.

You will know everything by and by.

(WILLOUGHBY SCREAMING)

MRS JENNINGS: Oh, what a crush
of people there was last evening.

No wonder you left early,
I was close to fainting myself.

Dear Charlotte should not have been
there so close to her confinement.

But she would go.
She loves an evening party so.

Mr Palmer said he'd as soon be
in the Black Hole of Calcutta.

Now, what about Mr W?

What will he think of you?
You wait a week to see him,

and then run home before
you spoke two words to him.

Come now, try one of these
soused herrings.

No, thank you, ma'am.

Well, shall cook grill you a chop, then?

A fine big girl like you
and not eat anything.

- Ah, here comes the post.
- Two for you, ma'am,

and one for Miss Marianne Dashwood.

I hope you find it to your liking, miss.

Oh, dear.

Well, I hope he don't keep her
waiting much longer,

for it's quite grievous to see
her looking so pale and peaky.

I hope there's nothing wrong
between her and Mr W.

Just a little lovers' tiff.

Marianne and Mr Willoughby
are not lovers, ma'am.

And the moon is made of green cheese.

Come, come, Miss Elinor,
I wasn't born yesterday.

Truly, ma'am, you are mistaken.

If you will excuse me, I will go to her.

Oh, Elinor, it's the worst.

Worse than I ever imagined.
It's as if I never knew him.

"My dear madam,

"I am very much concerned
to find there was anything

"in my behaviour last night
that did not meet your approbation.

"If I have been so unfortunate
as to give rise

"to a belief of more than I felt,
I entreat your forgiveness.

"My affections have been
long engaged elsewhere."

(EXCLAIMS)

"I return your letters as you request,

"together with a lock of hair
which you so obligingly bestowed on me.

- "I am, dear madam..."
- I can't understand it, Elinor.

We were like two halves
of the same soul.

It's contemptible.

Marianne,

if this is what he is truly like,
you are well rid of him.

Just think if your engagement
had been carried on for months

before he decided to put an end to it.

There was no engagement.

What?

He is not so unworthy
as you believe him.

- But he told you he loved you.
- Yes.

No.

Never in so many words,
but everything he said and did...

He knew I loved him
and he made me think he loved me.

- You do believe me, Elinor?
- Of course I do.

I saw you together. No one could have
doubted that you're in love.

Oh, Elinor, I must go home.
Can we go tomorrow?

- Tomorrow?
- Yes.

I only came here for Willoughby's sake,
and now who cares for me?

All your friends care for you and
it would be impossible to go tomorrow.

We owe Mrs Jennings more than that.

Another few days, then, but I can't bear
to stay in London any longer.

How are you, my dear?

Poor thing.

She looks very bad.

Charlotte is downstairs.
It is all over town.

He is to be married to a Miss Grey
with £50,000.

(SOBBING)

Well, I wish with all my soul
she'll plague his heart out.

Dear Marianne, exert yourself.

Happy Elinor, you have no idea
of what I suffer!

(MARIANNE SOBBING)

(DOOR CLOSING)

Oh, Miss Dashwood, what a calamity.
Is she very distressed?

My sister is not well, Miss Steele,
and keeps to her room.

Oh, but such old friends as Lucy and me,
she would see us,

and we would never speak a word
about Mr Willoughby.

But what filthy beasts these men are.

There was a Dr Davies
who paid me great attention

when we was coming up in the coach,
though I never set any store by it.

And now he's gone without
so much as a word.

So your sister is not the only one
to be cast aside like an old shoe.

Anne, hold your tongue.

Tell your sister I feel for her
in her distress.

To be jilted and spurned
after giving her love so very freely.

Fortunately,
we know a man who is too honourable

to stoop to such conduct, don't we?

- Are they gone?
- Yes.

Thank you.

Will you write to Mama?

Yes.

Directly if you wish.

Oh, it's Colonel Brandon.

I can't see him, Elinor.
Tell them I can't see him.

Miss Dashwood,
I have something to tell you

which I think your sister should know.

Do you remember a conversation
I had with you once,

when I said your sister Marianne
reminded me of someone I once knew?

I do remember.

She was a relation of mine.
We grew up together as children.

It's impossible to convey to you what...

I believe we were everything
to each other.

At my father's insistence,
she was married to my elder brother,

but he had no regard for her.

And his pleasures were not
what they ought to have been.

I was in the East Indies
when I heard of their divorce.

When I came back to England,
I searched for her everywhere.

Finally, I found her
in a paupers' hospital, dying.

And she had a child.

A little girl, three years old,
who became my ward.

What age is she now?

She is but 15 years old.

Imprudently, as it turned out,

I allowed her to go to Bath
to stay with the family of a friend.

Last February, she suddenly disappeared.

The first news that reached me of her
was in a letter I received

on the morning of our intended party
to Delaford.

- That's why you left so suddenly.
- She had been abandoned by her seducer.

And she has now borne his child.

Perhaps you have guessed the connection.

Willoughby.

You will know best how to tell Marianne

and how much she needs to know.

I'm so sorry, Marianne.

William the Conqueror, William Rufus,
Henry I, Stephen,

um, Henry II, Richard I
and bad King John.

What are you writing?
Are you telling them to come home?

No, I think it would be
better for Marianne

not to come home for a while.

Because if she came home,
everything would remind her of him?

Exactly. Kings and queens.

Richard II...

Willoughby's a scoundrel,
isn't he, Mama?

Kings and queens, Meg.

If I were a brother instead of a sister,

I would fight Willoughby
and kill him with my sword.

Well, then it's a good job you're not,

for I would hate to see you
hanged for murder.

I wish I was a man.
Girls can never do anything.

Men can ride about the country
and do things,

and girls just sit
and wait for things to happen.

FANNY: One does fear
for Marianne's prospects.

I gather she made her infatuation
for this man Willoughby

so widely talked about

that only marriage could have
rendered it respectable.

Poor Marianne.

Well, to be sure,
it was only to be expected.

No doubt his expenditure
exceeded his income,

and only a fool would turn down
the chance of £50,000.

I should say.

She will be considered
damaged goods now.

Perhaps she is.

I was thinking, my dear.

Perhaps we should have the Dashwood
girls to stay with us for a while.

Oh, no, John.

I don't think Mother would approve,
under the circumstances.

But I really think
we should do something, Fanny,

for Elinor at least.

Thank you.

Are you well? And the child?

Very well, I thank you.

But what is to become of us?

Oh, rest assured you'll be looked after.

I will see that you want for nothing,
both of you.

- I was wondering.
- What?

Speak.

If I could see him once more,

I thought if he could see his child,
he might...

That's out of the question.

Willoughby has just announced his
engagement to a young woman of fortune.

(PLAYING CLASSICAL MUSIC)

I hear that Colonel Brandon
has been with you a good deal.

Yes.

You should try for him, Elinor,
you should indeed.

And I do think you might
have a chance there.

You have it in you to attract the men

if you were to go about it
the right way.

But poor Marianne,
I fear it is all over for her.

Her bloom is quite gone, poor girl.

Quite gone.

As to any previous attachment,

you have to realise that would be
quite out of the question.

Mrs Ferrars has quite
definite intentions

for your cousin Edward's marriage.

- Oh?
- The lady is the honourable Miss Morton.

- Miss Morton?
- Yes, with £30,000.

A very desirable connection
on both sides.

But Colonel Brandon,
now, that would be an excellent thing.

Indeed, I come with an invitation
to dine with us

at Berkeley Square tomorrow evening,

where you will meet the Colonel,
and also my mother-in-law, Mrs Ferrars,

who has expressed
a positive inclination to welcome you.

How delightful that you
were able to come.

- Ah!
- LUCY: Imagine.

Anne and I arrived here
only this afternoon

and we've been invited to stay
for the whole week.

Pity me, dear Miss Dashwood,

there is nobody here but you
who can feel for me.

I am all of a tremble.

In a moment, I shall see the person
that all my happiness depends on.

Edward?

- Will he be here?
- No, no.

He's kept away by that
extreme affection for me,

which he cannot conceal
when we are together.

Oh, I see.

I meant Mrs Ferrars. The person
I hope one day to call Mother.

Ah.

So, Mr Willoughby is married
and has quit the town.

Yes, indeed, Mama.

Greatly to the disappointment
of certain young ladies, I understand.

They hoped to catch him, Mama,

but Willoughby knew a game
worth two of that.

He wouldn't be caught
by anything but a fortune.

(SCOFFS)

(WHISPERING) This is insufferable.

Will Mr Edward Ferrars
be joining us this evening, ma'am?

No. My elder son
is staying with the Mortons.

- Perhaps you know Lord Morton?
- No, ma'am, I have not had the pleasure.

It's a very distinguished family.

The honourable Miss Morton
is an exceptionally charming

and accomplished young lady.

Are you fond of the country, Mr Ferrars?

If you are, we could offer you
some pretty good hunting and shooting.

Fishing as well.

I confess I'm not enamoured
of country sports, Sir John.

Country manners, however,
can be very pleasing,

in their way.

I hope you don't take us for
country bumpkins, Mr Robert.

We have some very fine beaux
in Plymouth, you know,

and I'm sure your brother Edward
was very happy there.

Very happy indeed, weren't he, Lucy?

Really, Anne, how should I know?

I have heard him say
that he was never happier

than when he was with us at Norland.

Ladies.

Pray, take this seat here, ma'am.

It is out of the draught
and not too near the fire.

- Let me arrange the cushions for you.
- Oh, I'm obliged to you.

- What did you say your name was?
- Lucy Steele, ma'am.

She seems a decent,
modest sort of girl, Fanny.

Yes, indeed.

- Would you play for us, Marianne?
- If you wish.

Marianne
is a very accomplished musician.

Miss Morton
plays the pianoforte very well.

And the harp, I understand.

(PLAYING PIANO)

Does Miss Elinor Dashwood play?

- No, ma'am.
- Oh.

Elinor is something of an artist, Mama.

Here is her painting of Norland Park.

Yes.

Do you not think it has something
of Miss Morton's style?

She does paint most delightfully.

But she does everything well.

(PIANO STOPS)

Excuse me, ma'am,
but what is Miss Morton to us?

It is Elinor of whom we think and speak.

Dear Elinor, don't mind them.
What do they know?

Don't let them make you unhappy.

(MARIANNE SOBBING)

What is the matter with the girl?
She seems quite unhinged.

Willoughby.

Ah.

My dear friend, I am so happy.

I was so afraid last night,
but Edward's mother was charming.

I think she took quite a fancy to me.

- She was certainly very civil to you.
- Civil?

Did you see nothing more than civility?
I saw a vast deal more.

Do you know,

I think we are halfway to securing
Mrs Ferrars' consent already.

I am very happy for you.

But I fear the honourable Miss Morton
may prove a stumbling block.

Has Mrs Ferrars not settled it
that she is to be Edward's bride?

No, you shan't dampen my spirits.

Miss Morton may be this or that,
but it is me he has made his promise to,

not her or anybody else.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

Mr Edward Ferrars.

Miss Dashwood. Elinor.

Mr Ferrars,
you know Miss Lucy Steele, I think.

Ah, yes.

Of course.

- How do you do, Miss Steele?
- I am well. I thank you.

And yourself, Miss Dashwood?

- I am well, thank you.
- I am very glad to hear it.

- And Marianne?
- She will be very happy to see you.

I will go and tell her. Excuse me.

Edward.

- I knew you would come.
- Marianne.

We hoped to see you last night
at your sister's house.

Why didn't you come?

I was engaged elsewhere.

Engaged elsewhere?

But what was that
when there were dear friends to be met?

Perhaps, Miss Marianne, you think
young men never stand upon engagements

if they have no mind to keep them.

No, indeed. I am sure whatever it was,

it was a matter
of conscience for Edward.

He always keeps his word
when he's given it.

And that being so,

I regret I must leave you
for I am promised to my sister.

Indeed, I must go there directly.

- But you'll come again soon?
- Very soon, I hope.

Miss Dashwood, Marianne, Miss Steele.

If you're going to your sister's house,
perhaps you would walk with me?

Because I am expected there.

Of course.

My pleasure.

To be sure,
I don't know where Lucy has got to.

"I've just got a little errand, Anne,"
she said.

"And what errand is that?" I said.
"Never you mind," she said.

She never tells me anything.

And did you say Mr Edward
is coming today?

Oh, yes.

I suppose you haven't seen him
for some years,

since he was at school with your uncle.

No, indeed, we have seen him very often.
He comes to see us very regular.

In Plymouth?

- He visits you in Plymouth?
- Yes, very often.

- And why should he do that?
- Why, he comes to see Lucy, of course.

Oh, I shouldn't have told you that.
It's a secret.

What's a secret?

I demand that you answer me.

Why, that Lucy and Edward
are sweethearts.

- They've been engaged these four years.
- What?

- John! John!
- Please don't be angry with me.

- John!
- It ain't my fault.

What is the matter? Is it little Henry?

No, you fool, it's her.

Tell him.

Tell him. Tell him.

Mr Edward Ferrars and Miss Lucy Steele.

Oh, John.

Mother, Fanny, what is the matter?

Is it true that you have
secretly engaged yourself

to this young woman?

- Anne, what have you done?
- I'm sorry, it just popped out.

Answer me.

Yes, it is true, Mother.

And I ask your blessing for us both.

My blessing, sir?

Pray attend to this.

Unless you abandon this ridiculous plan,
you will have nothing from me.

Nothing at all. Do you understand?

Your brother shall have
all your inheritance

and you can starve on the streets
for all I care.

Miss Steele,
you are no longer welcome here.

You will leave at once.

If you send Lucy away, Mother,
I must go, too.

Go, then.

I have nothing else to say to you.

MARIANNE: Good God,
can this be possible?

JOHN: I'm amazed, too.
I thought he was a man of sense.

Well, well, I knew nothing of this.

I thought his fancy lay another way.

Um... Mrs Ferrars
was good enough to say, Elinor,

that whatever objections
there has been to another connection...

You understand me?

It would have been by far
the least evil of the two,

and she would be glad now
to compound for nothing worse.

She is in truth an excellent woman,

and it grieves me
to see her so distressed.

How long have you known this?

Lucy told me so herself at Barton Park.

- How could you bear it?
- I bore it because I had to.

And I was glad to spare you
from knowing how much I felt.

Now I can think and speak of it
without any great distress.

- I wish him very happy.
- You can say that?

Then perhaps you did not feel
so very much after all.

You think I did not feel so very much?

Marianne, for four months I have
had all this hanging on my mind

without being at liberty
to speak of it to a single creature.

I have had to listen to Lucy Steele's
hopes and exaltations again and again.

I have known myself
to be divided from Edward forever,

and endured the unkindness of his sister
and the insolence of his mother.

I've suffered all the punishment
of an attachment without enjoying any...

any of the advantages.

I may not have shown it, Marianne,

but let me assure you,
I have been very unhappy.

Hurry! Hurry!

Oh, there you are!

Charlotte has had her baby, a fine boy,

and we're all going home to Cleveland.

I shall go on ahead and
the Colonel will accompany you.

He's in the drawing room,

and particularly wishes
to speak with you, Miss Dashwood.

I believe he has a favour to ask of you.

Colonel Brandon give me a living?

Can it be possible?

But he barely knows me.

He has heard a good deal about you
from Marianne and from me.

He knows how much we...

How well we think of you.

- So I have you to thank for this?
- No.

Sir, your own merit.

Well, I am profoundly grateful to him,
and to you, Elinor.

Every time we have met,

it has seemed impossible to say
what I really think and feel.

Yes.

- And now more than ever.
- Yes.

Why do you not think badly of me?

You never deceived me.
And when I heard...

When I was told of your engagement,

everything became clear.

You have done nothing wrong.

I wouldn't think so highly of you
if you had acted differently.

Thank you.

Goodbye.

(DOOR CLOSING)

Thank you.

Welcome to Cleveland.

See, here's little
Mr Palmer to greet you.

Oh, Elinor.

I keep thinking about
that poor girl and her baby.

What strange creatures men are.

Yes. Indeed.

What do they want from us?

I cannot answer you.

Perhaps they see us not as people
but as playthings, Elinor.

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

- Where is your sister?
- I expect she's in the library.

No, she is not.

Has anyone seen her since breakfast?

Palmer, have you seen Miss Marianne?

She's gone out walking.
The devil knows which way she went.

Hya!

Marianne!

Marianne!

Marianne!

Marianne!

Marianne!

Hya!

She's very chilled.
Make a fire in her room.

She must be stripped
and chafed all over.

I have seen this too many times.
Build up the fire there.

I shall leave you. Be sure
to make haste. Time is of the essence.

Yes, thank you.

Poor Miss Marianne.

She gets more than
her share of misfortunes.

- How is she?
- She's a little recovered.

She asked to see you, Colonel.

MRS JENNINGS:
Aye, 'tis but a chill, I daresay.

Cheer up, Colonel.

You'll see her bright eyes
and laughing face tomorrow.

(MARIANNE BREATHING HEAVILY)

Marianne.

She has a very bad fever,

and I fear her lungs
have become congested.

The disorder would appear
to have a putrid tendency.

The poor girl.

DOCTOR: There is nothing more
I can do for her at present.

The fever is nearing the crisis.

Colonel Brandon,

I think if you could send a man
to fetch my mother,

I think she should be here
as soon as possible.

Of course, I'll go myself at once.

(GROANS)

- Elinor?
- Oh, Marianne.

If you please, ma'am, there's
a gentleman below asking for you.

A gentleman?

Miss Dashwood.

- Excuse me, I have no time for this.
- Please, wait, I want to explain.

I want to apologise.

To ask for forgiveness.

Mr Willoughby, you are not welcome here.

Perhaps you'll hardly think the better
of me, but it is worth me trying.

When I first came to Devonshire
and met your sister,

I confess I was only thinking
of my own amusement.

But against my will,
I fell genuinely in love with her

and made up my mind to marry her.

Unfortunately, a circumstance occurred.

- A circumstance?
- Yes!

An unlucky circumstance.

My aunt had somehow
been informed of an event.

An affair.

A connection.
No doubt you've heard the story.

I have. A child, an innocent girl,
only 15 years old,

whom you abandoned without a thought.

Because I was a libertine,
she must be a saint, I suppose?

I don't mean to justify myself.

So what did your aunt say?

I was dismissed from her favour.

And from her house.

I was virtually penniless,
in debt and without any prospects.

So you set off to London
to find yourself a rich wife.

What could I have done?

You could have made amends
to that poor girl you seduced.

And you could have
told my sister the truth.

Do you recall that letter
you wrote to her in London?

Sophia dictated every word!

Have you any idea how much
I suffered in writing those words?

Have you any idea how much I suffer now
living with a wife I detest?

You treated my sister
with dishonesty and cruelty,

and now you speak
of your wife with contempt.

She doesn't deserve your compassion.

She knew I had no regard for her
when we married.

So now do you pity me, Miss Dashwood?

Or have I said all this to no purpose?

You had my sister's love,
and now you have lost it forever.

- And I am glad of it.
- You despise me.

She can never be more lost to you
than she is now.

(DOOR CLOSES)

She is well. She is out of danger.
She is recovering.

Oh! Oh, thank God.

MRS DASHWOOD: Willoughby.

I can still hardly believe it.

We were all deceived in him.

I think he deceived himself as well.

He wanted to believe in his own
fine words,

as I did.

Oh, Mama, I shall be
so glad to be at home.

Colonel Brandon is an
exceptional man, I think.

He is.

What sadness he has known.

He kept faithful to his first love even
after she'd been torn away from him.

Even after she was dead.

He is the true romantic, I think.

It is not what we say or feel
that makes us what we are,

it is what we do.

Or fail to do.

Very true.

Marianne! I know all the kings
and queens of England now.

- Would you like to hear them?
- I'd love to.

William the Conqueror, William Rufus,
Henry I, Stephen.

Um, Henry II,
Richard I and bad King John.

Why is he leaving now
when he has the advantage?

I have heard that
the great tamers of horses do it

by being gentle, then walking away.

Nine times out of ten,
the wild horse will follow.

Elinor, I look back on my
conduct last autumn.

I was a fool to myself
and inconsiderate to everybody else.

You cannot compare
your conduct with his.

No, but I compare it
to what it should have been.

I compare it with yours.

I hope I am wiser now.

I am determined to enter
into a course of serious study.

Colonel Brandon has promised me
I can go to Delaford

as often as I wish to borrow books
and play his pianoforte.

He is so generous.

I'll leave you to explore.

- Come and find me when you're ready.
- Thank you.

(PLAYING CLASSICAL MUSIC)

Come.

Oh, beg pardon, Miss Elinor.
Mrs Ferrars sends her compliments.

- Mrs Ferrars?
- Well, Miss Lucy Steele as was.

I ran into them this morning in Exeter.

Married a week gone, she said.

So I made meself free to wish her joy.

Thank you, Thomas.

- Oh, Elinor.
- It is just as we expected.

Nothing to surprise or upset us.

And in a little while,

it will be just as if
nothing had happened.

Which, in a way, is true.
Shall we go in?

- Elinor?
- What?

I am well, Mama.

I am happy.

I am perfectly contented.

Elinor.

Colonel Brandon has
asked me to marry him.

- And how did you answer him?
- I said that I would.

Don't be angry with me.

Why should I be angry with you?

Because I thought myself
so much in love with Willoughby.

Because I have given you
so much grief and trouble.

Because I shall be happy
when you are unhappy.

Colonel Brandon is an excellent man
and we owe him a great deal.

But you should not
marry him out of gratitude.

I don't, Elinor.

My feelings for him
have changed so much.

I love him, Elinor.

Then I am very happy for you.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

- I wish you could be happy, too.
- So do I!

I must see if I can
find myself a colonel, too.

(HORSE NEIGHING)

(HORSE APPROACHING)

It's Edward!

Elinor! Elinor! It's Edward!

Elinor! Elinor! Edward is here.

(PIANO STOPS)

Oh, my dear.

(DOOR OPENS)

Mr Edward Ferrars, ma'am.

Edward, we're delighted to see you.

May I wish you joy.

Thank you.

I hope you left Mrs Ferrars very well.

Yes, yes, quite well, on the whole.

Is Mrs Ferrars at Exeter?

No, my mother is in town.

I meant Mrs Edward Ferrars.

Surely you mean Mrs Robert Ferrars.

You have not heard. My brother
is lately married to Miss Lucy Steele.

When my mother made over
my inheritance to Robert,

Miss Steele made over
her affections also,

thus releasing me from my engagement.

So now you can marry Elinor.

Miss Dashwood. Elinor.
I came here with no expectation.

After everything that has happened,

you have every right
to turn me away this instant.

But I cannot leave here

without conveying
the intensity of my feelings for you.

I loved you at Norland
almost from our first encounter.

I could not express it then
as I was bound by my promise to Lucy.

But I think you felt it
and were puzzled and hurt

by my lack of openness with you.

Let me be open now.

Every day since I first saw you,

my love for you has grown.

Elinor, I know I have no right to hope,
but I must ask.

Can you forgive me?

Can you love me?

Will you marry me?