The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders (1996): Season 1, Episode 3 - Episode 3 - full transcript
Moll falls for a Roman Catholic and converts before marrying him. Travelling to his estate in Ireland, she finds her husband's "sister" was paid to find him a rich wife, as he is as broke as her. They part and she travels back to London, but the coach is robbed by a highway man. A fellow passenger offers to stand guard in her room for protection and becomes for financial adviser as well as her lover. Learning that his wife is a whore, she persuades him to divorce her so that they can marry. When his bank fails and the shock kills him, Moll must flee the bailiffs again and now turns to theft.
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This way, ladies and gentlemen.
Follow close! Don't stray!
They'll slit your throat
for tuppence.
Follow, brave people,
for entertainment and enlightenment.
Moll Flanders!
Born in Newgate, stolen by gypsies,
saved by the mayor of Colchester.
Seduced at 17 by one brother.
Married to the other at 18.
Married five times in all.
MOANING AND WAILING
Once to her brother.
Moll Flanders. Aye. There she sits.
'My fortune-hunting
had not gone to plan.'
'It was meant to be business but Mr
James Seagrave spoke to my heart.'
'There is one matter which I should
broach with you before we go on.'
'I should have mentioned it before.'
You mean money, I suppose.
No! No, indeed.
For I would live on air for you,
if I had to.
No, I mean religion, Molly.
Religion?
Aye.
I must tell you that
all my family are Roman Catholics.
God save us!
Our children must be Catholic.
We'll keep it secret
till we get over the water.
If this is abhorrent to you, tell me
If it is, I must leave my faith.
Now that I have found you,
I could never let you go.
I understand you wish to be received
into the Holy Catholic Church...
..and be married with the full
Catholic rites according to Rome.
Yes, Father. I do.
A man and wife should be of the same
religion. The wife should submit.
Do you do this willingly, my child?
Gladly, Father. Happily.
You must receive instruction.
Yes, Father.
And make a full confession
of all your sins.
A full confession?
Yes, indeed, my child.
Or you will be condemned
to the eternal fires of hell.
Why should this worry you?
We have all done something
we are sorry for...
..and would not have others know!
My poor child, holy confession is
between yourself and the Almighty.
You are casting yourself
on the infinite mercy of God.
But I have to tell you, don't I?
Tell you all my secrets.
Molly, the priest won't blab.
He's a good old skin, so he is.
The secrecy of the confessional
is absolute.
For a priest to reveal anything...
..would condemn him
to instant excommunication.
Oh, I see!
All right, then.
Well, Father...
It's hard to know where to start.
I do believe I may have sinned
somewhat in my brief life.
When I lay with my first husband...
..I wished
it was his brother on top of me.
I suppose that's a sin of a kind.
I tried to be a good wife to Robin.
And to the second,
the gentleman draper.
It was a sin to spend money
the way we did but - bankruptcy!
He fled to France
and I haven't seen him since.
He may be alive or dead.
So, not knowing if I had a husband,
maybe I shouldn't have married again
But it wasn't a proper marriage
because the man was my own brother.
You married your own brother?
I didn't know that then.
When I found out,
I went right off him.
I couldn't bear to lie with him.
Well, I did
because I didn't like to upset him.
But I didn't enjoy it.
When I told him, he didn't want to
live with me, so I came to England.
So, you have
two husbands still alive?
One, your own brother?
They may both be dead by now.
The one that's my brother was never
really my husband, was he, Father?
No, I suppose not.
Is there anything else, my child?
Are you sure
this won't go any further?
The secrecy of the confessional
is absolute.
I'm not really Lady Flanders.
Oh, God!
I just wanted to find
a man of property to marry.
That's not so bad, is it?
Do you heartily repent
and renounce all your sins?
I do, Father. I do.
May I say, it's been a real pleasure
to get them all off my chest.
I hope it hasn't been too tedious.
No. No.
Not at all.
Not at all. Not at all.
'..should not lawfully
be joined together...
..let him speak now
or else for ever hold his peace.'
I require and charge ye both,...
..as you will answer
at the dreadful day of judgement,...
..that if you know of any impediment
wherefore ye should not...
..be together in matrimony,
ye do now confess it.
For be ye well assured...
..that those coupled together
otherwise than God's word allows...
..are not joined together by God
nor is their matrimony lawful.
Well, what would you do?
Go ahead, Father.
James Macneill Seagrave,...
..wilt thou take this... woman...
..to be thy lawful wedded wife?
To have and to hold
from this day forward,...
..for better, for worse...
CHEERING
'We were to travel to Westchester
for our honeymoon night,...
..and then on to Ireland,
to my new husband's estates.'
You don't mind, do you, Molly?
No! No, not at all.
'His sister was to travel with us,
which surprised me.'
'But they were a close family,
as I had observed.'
GIGGLING
COUGHS
My dear, I...
I should have asked before.
Do you have any affairs to settle
in London?
Nothing that can't be done
by letter from Dublin.
My solicitor informs me...
..your estate is on deposit
at the Bank of England.
In London you can arrange
the transfer of funds.
We can wait. I'm impatient
to see your estates in Ireland.
Isn't it better
to be safe than sorry?
Safer than the Bank of England?
I'm sure Jemmy has enough.
But my dear -
Enough, sister! Molly is right.
This is a day for joy,
not business.
Talk of money on our wedding night?
But brother -
Leave it, Selina.
What care I for money,
when I have the woman of my dreams?
'Something was wrong and I knew it.'
'But I went along with it all.
And why?'
'I was in love with him now.
That's why.'
'I couldn't get enough of him.
That's how it is sometimes.'
'We stayed
at the finest inn in Westchester.'
'And a very merry evening
we had of it.'
'We went to bed.'
'Jemmy and I in the best room.
Selina, next door.'
Good night, Molly.
Good night, Selina.
Good night, sister.
Good night, brother.
What is it? What's the matter?
I'm ashamed to say it.
Come, we should have no secrets
from each other.
Well, my dear...
My expenses in Lancashire have been
such that my ready cash is exhausted
I should be hard put
to pay the innkeeper.
Is that all? I have near £100 to
keep us till we come to your estate.
You're all goodness.
Come here.
When you say
you have £100 altogether -
Nearly £100.
Nearly £100.
You mean, besides your fortune
on deposit at the Bank of England?
Yes.
No, my love. I can't lie to you.
I have nearly £100. That is all.
You have £15,000
in the Bank of England.
Sir, I don't. Who told you that?
Selina swore to it.
I only let it be known
I was a gentlewoman.
Good God!
Lying whore. I'll cut her to ribbons
That is no way to speak of a sister.
She's no sister of mine!
She was my whore, two years.
She had 200 off me to bring you in.
I'll kill her stone dead for this!
No! No, Jemmy!
No!
SCREAMS
No! Don't kill me!
Leave her, Jemmy! Let her be!
CRYING
Are we not two of a kind?
I let her think I was rich. You gave
her money. Why would you do that?
God knows!
I wish I hadn't.
She had 200 off me. The rest
I spent putting up the front.
The house. Everything.
Fool that I am!
There's no estate across the water?
No. No. It's...
It's all sold to pay off debts.
£15,000 would have
bought it all back again, and more!
We could have lived like kings.
On my fortune.
Which I never had.
Believe me.
I never meant you any harm.
I would have loved you unto death.
I swear it.
Would have?
Aye.
Would have.
Circumstances alter cases.
I'm leaving!
Wait! Have you any money left?
Don't fret over me. I know as well
as you do how to get money from men.
You said you loved me once.
I had a heart in those days.
I...
I suppose you'll be wanting me away,
as well?
No!
I should but I don't.
Our wedding night.
God!
What a hellish juggle this has been.
I love you, Jemmy.
I can't help myself.
'I knew he was a rogue.'
'He knew I was little better.'
'We had tricked each other
into marriage.'
'How can I explain?'
'He was the love of my life.'
'There was nothing
I could do about it.'
COCK CROWS
Morning, sir.
Hold his head, boy.
But this is my master's horse.
He kindly lent it to me.
Hold hard, sir.
Stand aside, boy.
Stand aside, boy!
Hold hard, sir!
Hello, there! Thief! Stop, thief!
'My dear wife. Since there's
no help for it, we must part.'
'I have to get money, Moll.'
'I must try the world again.
A man must be a man.'
'I shall take to the road
and live by my wits and my sword.'
'Till I find you again -
and I shall, Moll -
- you never knew me,
and never heard my name.'
Jemmy!
JEMMY!
JEMMY, COME BACK TO ME!
JEMMY!
Get up!
'I had no doubt that I would never
see my lovely Jemmy again.'
'My heart was broken.
I'd lost the love of my life.'
'But the world goes on.
The wheel turns.'
'I had my way to make,
and I knew a way to do it.'
'But, God knows,
I hardly had the heart for it.'
You travel far, ma'am?
Yes, sir. All the way to London.
As I do myself.
You have family and friends there?
No, sir. I have no-one in the world.
I am a widow, lately returned
from Virginia, settling my affairs.
I wonder, could you,
or any of you good people,...
..advise me of lodgings in London?
London's a very wicked place, ma'am.
Whores. Strumpets. Cutpurses.
Thieves and vagabonds.
I think I might be able
to assist you, ma'am.
Thank you, sir.
Fornication. Sodomy.
Fellatio and cunnilingus.
Unbridled concupiscence
on every street corner.
Lord, sir! You make me nervous.
Indeed, it is not so bad as that.
It is! I wouldn't venture
nearer the capital than Lichfield!
Buggery. Incest. Bestiality.
Stand and deliver!
SCREAMING
Give up your arms
or I'll spill your guts.
And you, bonny boy,
step down and hold mine.
Slow and steady
and we'll all live to tell the tale.
Hold that.
Step out, if you please, ladies
and gentlemen. Nice and quietly.
There you are, ma'am.
Don't fret, for soon it'll be over
and you'll be on your way.
Out you come, sir, and you, sir.
And the reverend gentleman.
And you, ma'am. Don't be shy.
Do me the goodness
of standing in line there.
Clasp your hands
and look down at your feet.
Like good little maids
in Sunday school.
Now it's time for collection.
Parson first.
And the rest.
That's all I have -
I'll spill your brains on your shoes
if I don't have the rest!
Wait, wait, wait!
Please, sir. I beg you. I beg you.
Aaah!
Thank you.
Thank you.
I'm sorry, sir. I can't budge it.
Let it stay, ma'am,
with my compliments.
I wouldn't come between a lady and
her wedding ring. Now, you, madam.
I think there's more.
Indeed, sir, no.
Do you consent to be searched?
Under protest, sir.
Turn your backs!
Have a care for this lady's modesty.
Turn your backs and close your eyes.
Come.
So.
Do you despise me now?
No. A man must be a man.
Will you not search me, sir?
Why?
What do you conceal there?
Whatever you find there,
it is yours.
And here?
Yours.
Had we but world enough and time...
I thought I heard you call,
'Jemmy, come back.'
I did! Those were my very words.
Take me with you, Jemmy.
How can I take you?
I've set my life upon a cast.
You must live yours as best you can.
How can I, if we're not together?
I can ride and shoot
as well as any man.
No, Moll. This isn't woman's work.
This isn't lace and hankies.
This is blowing men's brains out.
I wouldn't see you do that.
If I prosper, I'll find you.
If I fail, you can
come see me hanged at Tyburn.
Here!
Take it! Take it.
Oh, it hurts to leave you, Moll.
WHISTLE
Coach coming!
Don't move!
I thought I should die of fright.
You are fortunate, ma'am.
Some highwaymen would hack off
fingers for the rings on them.
How did you fare, ma'am?
Did he take everything you had?
No, sir. Not quite everything.
I was sure that he would ravish you.
He was not long enough with you
to complete a full ravishment.
He offered some gross indecencies?
No, sir. He was most genteel.
Showed you his virile member?
Forced you to touch and play with it
on pain of death, and so forth?
No, nothing of the kind.
Strange. Strange!
I heard only the other day
of three old ladies in a coach...
..subjected to
the most unspeakable indignities -
Please!
I am not well.
Ma'am, will you take some brandy?
These ladies do not care
for your stories. Nor do I.
Save them
for your colleagues in cloth.
Thank you, sir.
I meant no offence, ma'am.
None taken, sir.
'My kindly companion was a Mr Bland'
'A banker, in a small way.'
'A source of advice
on every practical matter.'
'He singled me out
for every courtesy...
..at every inn we stopped at.'
'He liked me very well, I think,
and I liked him.'
Fornication,
sodomy and flagellation.
Will you have them at the table
or sent to your chamber?
LAUGHTER
It's kind that you ordered this
table apart from our companions.
A little of that fellow
goes a long way.
Whores!
Are you quite recovered
from your ordeal?
I think I am, sir.
When that villain
took you away, I thought...
I feared... Well, I wished I'd had
the means to protect you from him.
I fear I cut a very sorry figure.
No! Had you resisted,
he would have killed you.
He didn't harm me. I am well.
You look very well, madam.
Thank you, sir.
But I am much in need of advice.
It can't be wise
to carry all my money about me.
Good God, no, ma'am!
There you go, sir.
Keep your voice down. There may be
thieves in this very inn now.
I've learnt my lesson.
I took the precaution of buying
a brace of pistols in town.
A brace of pistols!
Aye, and I'm prepared to use them.
It would be a compliment...
..if you placed yourself
under my protection.
As a widow, alone in the world.
Without friends...
When you say protection,...
..what exactly do you mean, sir?
Just what I say, ma'am.
I shall escort you on this journey.
I'll help you find lodgings
and advise you on safe investments.
What will you gain from all this?
The pleasure of your society, ma'am.
I ask no more.
Tell me. How do you plan
to protect me tonight?
Tonight?
You said there may be thieves here!
I may be
robbed and murdered in my bed.
Will you stand outside my door
with your brace of pistols or what?
Well... ma'am, I...
Yes, if necessary.
It would be cruel
to put you to such discomfort.
Forgive me, ma'am, I wonder...
..if there were
a chair in your bedchamber...
..I might mount guard from there.
In my bedchamber?
While I lie naked in bed?
Ma'am, be assured, I would place
the chair with its back to the bed.
Both barrels cocked.
You lie naked?
Oh, I was merely
using a form of words, sir.
But as you ask, yes, I do often
lie naked when the weather is warm.
If the chair were facing the door,
there could be no harm in it.
Er... No. Indeed.
Why, then, I think I may accept
your kind offer to protect me.
..that hole is for donkeys!
'What was I thinking of?'
'Entertaining another man's advances
two days after sobbing my heart out'
Ooooh!
'Insurance.'
Er... Sir.
'Highwaymen live fast and die young'
'I needed a solid citizen
with money.'
'Mr Bland would do very well -
until a better offer came along.'
This is very good of you, Mr Bland.
Think nothing of it.
Tell me more, before I sleep, of
lodgements and accounts and markets.
I love to hear of such things.
They have
such a safe and soothing sound.
Ma'am, if you
entrust your fortune to me...
Tis but a small one, sir.
A small one may grow and flourish...
..if it is handled in the right way.
That's true. I mean...
I can't help wondering.
Do you not grow stiff
sitting upright so long?
I am a little stiff, ma'am.
Then you may come over here.
If you lie on the covers,
there can be no impropriety.
You're very kind, ma'am.
Place the pistols between us.
There's no danger they'll discharge
spontaneously, is there?
No, no. No danger at all.
Then lie by my side, dear sir.
Tell me more
about banks and deposits.
That's the way.
Oh! Now we're in the dark.
Where are you, sir?
Oh! Ooh, there you are!
Ooh, mind the pistols!
'He was no Jemmy,
but he was a good man.'
'Very affectionate, respectful,
and knowledgable about banks!'
'Before the night was out, I did
let him creep under the covers.'
Oh, Mr Bland! Mind the pistols!
'We did what we pleased with each
other and became good friends.'
'So it continued to London.'
It's a new world, Moll.
In days gone by, a man would till
his field and seldom look further.
Now, the whole world is
a wheel of fortune. Capital is king.
Why should we work,...
..when our money can work for us?
Will our money lay tables
and launder linen?
It will. England is a nation
of merchant venturers.
Our ships circumnavigate the globe
and return laden with spoils.
The wise man sits at home
and draws on his investment.
If it is such an excellent way
to live, why don't everyone do it?
People don't have the wit for it.
Nor less the starting capital!
It would be braver
to be a merchant venturer...
..than live on their backs
like a louse on a sheep.
Aye, aye.
Braver, perhaps,
but they need us too.
They venture their lives,
we venture our capital.
That bold highwayman who robbed us.
Is he not a kind of venturer?
For God's sake, don't speak of him.
But is he, sir?
Aye. Of a kind. Perhaps.
But not the kind to invest in.
He'll never pay you back
and he's a high-risk enterprise.
I warrant he'll be swinging
from a rope before the year's end.
What's the matter?
Nothing. A little sickness.
The motion of the coach, I dare say.
'The matter was,
he spoke the probable truth.'
'What was I but a desperate
merchant adventurer?'
'With nothing to trade
but beauty and wit?'
'Adrift on the ocean of poverty,
greed and lust, with no safe haven.'
'So, I came back to London
to try my fortune again.'
CALLS OF TRADERS
'My new friend, Mr John Bland, the
banker, was as good as his word.'
'He opened an account
for me at his bank.'
'He found me a respectable landlady
whose apartments were suitable.'
There's a maid to do laundry
and light work. That's included.
As Mr Bland and myself are... old
friends, I shan't ask for a deposit.
Two weeks in advance
will do very well.
Thank you. You're most obliging.
I'll er... leave you now, then.
Mr Bland knows where to find me.
Well, now!
Good soft mattress.
Yes, it's very good.
Will you not come and try it out,
Moll?
You know what I mean, Moll.
Let me go, sir! Please!
Moll, whatever is the matter?
I am grateful to you
for your many kindnesses.
But I must think of my situation -
as a merchant venturer!
To put it bluntly, Mr Bland,
you have tried the goods.
Now, are you willing
to make me an offer for them?
This is very plain speaking.
Necessity drives me to it.
COUGHS
Um... Moll...
I wish I could offer you marriage
and in time I hope to do so. But -
Are you telling me
you already have a wife?
For shame on you, sir.
Indeed,
I am ashamed of my sad situation.
To tell the truth, Moll,
I have a wife and no wife.
In brief,...
..my wife is no true wife to me.
What do you mean?
SHOUTING AND LAUGHING
She was not always thus.
In earlier days
she'd take her pleasures discreetly.
A warrant officer.
A linen draper's apprentice.
Husband! Is that you?
Where are your horns?
Good evening, madam.
Do you care to join us?
You'll get no joy from him!
I loved her dearly once.
But she's a whore.
Not by necessity but by inclination.
Come.
Sir, I've seen enough.
Aye, Moll.
I can bear to look on her no longer.
She's taken my manhood away from me.
WIFE LAUGHING
WEEPING:
Now do you understand my situation?
Come, sir. Let me dry your eyes.
Now you have seen
my shame and sorrow.
I feel sorry for you but why do you
not throw her out onto the street?
She'd run up debts worse than ever.
Then you must divorce her.
Divorce her? Oh, no.
That's very tedious and expensive.
Is it not?
If you would have me or any other
honest woman, I think you must, sir.
Well, then, I shall.
For you, I shall.
I confess, until I met you, I still
loved my wife no matter what she did
You cured me of that, dearest Moll.
Then I have done you
a service and I am glad of it.
Dearly beloved friends.
We are here in the sight of God...
..to join this man
and this woman in holy matrimony.
'If he'd known I had three husbands
alive, one my own brother,...
..he might have
thought better of it.'
'We were married
at St Jude's in Cheapside.'
'We made our wedding journey
into Hertfordshire,...
..lying the first night
at The Bell in Ware.'
Mr and Mrs Bland?
There you are, sir and madam.
I think all is as you would wish.
If not, ring the bell.
'He was a good man and a kind man.'
'I confess I enjoyed
games of Mind The Pistol with him.'
'But every time
I wished he were another man.'
Shall I pull the trigger?
Fire away, my dear.
Oh! Ohh! Ohhhhh!
Ah! Ahhhhhh!
There now.
There now.
There now.
There now.
There now.
HORSES SNORTING
Good day, sir, you're early.
Aye. Feed the horses
and bring us three fresh ones.
Breakfast, sir?
No, we must be on our way.
What do you do here?
What do you?
I... Take me with you. I will come.
I cannot, Moll.
The train band is but 10 miles back.
God, I've missed you, Molly.
I love you, Jemmy. I love you.
Horses ready, sir!
I must go. One day, Moll. One day.
Here.
Get up!
'I lived three years
with my banker husband,...
..bore two children and lived
in comfort till fate took a turn.'
Mistress! Come quick!
Master's taken bad!
Quickly, ma'am. He's taken
very queer. He cannot speak.
My love! What is it?
We're ruined, Moll.
The bank is broken.
Our little ship is sunk.
You mean our venture capital?
All lost.
Will we still have our house?
All lost... and g... gone!
Quick! Help your master.
Help him into bed.
Send for the physician!
BANGING ON DOOR
Open up!
Oh, ma'am! The bailiffs!
All of you,
collect the plate and silver.
Wait for me in Fuller's Yard.
Mary, don't let them in
till I give you the word.
BAILIFF: Open up!
Open the door!
Open the door, now!
I said, open the door, now!
Well, he won't need them!
You be good, Joseph, hmm?
I hope to be back for them someday.
They're my husband's relatives.
They're good people.
What else could I do?
Come in, Mrs Bland!
I thought
we might be seeing you again.
You can have your old rooms,
and at the same rate.
I always like to help an old friend.
You're very kind, ma'am.
Two weeks in advance, then?
If you can wait
till the end of the month,...
..it would be easier.
My capital is tied up.
No exceptions. Two weeks in advance.
But you know me. I am a gentlewoman.
A gentlewoman to me is one
who pays a fortnight in advance.
'I had lived for three months
on savings from the wreckage.'
'Now I had nothing left to sell,
and was still short.'
'I had not eaten for two days.'
COUGHING
'Prompted by I know not what spirit,
I went out that evening.'
'I had no idea
where I was going or why.'
This one?
Yes.
A thief.
I am... a thief.
DOOR UNLATCHED
RATTLING
You look as if you've seen a ghost.
What do you want?
To enquire if you could pay
the rent, Mrs Molly.
I see you've got the makings of it!
Yes. I bethought me of some goods
I had still in Lancashire.
My cousin sent them down.
Oh, that was very kind.
See. This was
my little girl's christening robe.
Very fine.
And my dog Tray can speak in Latin!
I don't know what you mean.
Have it your own way.
Master Meikeljohn
will give you a fair price.
Tell him the silver's smoking hot
and ready to melt. He'll understand.
Well, I certainly do not.
Right at the back
of the linen closet, eh?
Forgotten all about it?
Yes, that's right.
Mrs Riordan said I should tell you
they were a little warm.
Warm? I won't say I didn't wonder.
And the silver, in particular?
Smoking hot and ready to melt!
Thank you for telling me.
It's good to know
what I'm dealing with.
Well, er...
Two guineas.
Oh, I know, my dear. I know, but...
It's a wicked world.
'Now I was truly
part of that wickedness.'
'Not through accident
but by design.'
'I was a thief, and the fruits
of my crime burned my pocket...
..as if my clothes were on fire.'
'I paid my rent
and stood my landlady supper,...
..to show
I was grateful for her patience.'
'The food should have
stuck in my throat but it did not.'
'It tasted as good
as any meat I've ever tasted.'
'So did the wine!'
Here's a health, Mrs Molly.
May your cousin send
many such bundles from Lancashire!
Would that she could,
but I'm afraid that was the last.
Oh, I doubt that!
I think there'll be many
such bundles from Lancashire!
LANDLADY CACKLES
---
This way, ladies and gentlemen.
Follow close! Don't stray!
They'll slit your throat
for tuppence.
Follow, brave people,
for entertainment and enlightenment.
Moll Flanders!
Born in Newgate, stolen by gypsies,
saved by the mayor of Colchester.
Seduced at 17 by one brother.
Married to the other at 18.
Married five times in all.
MOANING AND WAILING
Once to her brother.
Moll Flanders. Aye. There she sits.
'My fortune-hunting
had not gone to plan.'
'It was meant to be business but Mr
James Seagrave spoke to my heart.'
'There is one matter which I should
broach with you before we go on.'
'I should have mentioned it before.'
You mean money, I suppose.
No! No, indeed.
For I would live on air for you,
if I had to.
No, I mean religion, Molly.
Religion?
Aye.
I must tell you that
all my family are Roman Catholics.
God save us!
Our children must be Catholic.
We'll keep it secret
till we get over the water.
If this is abhorrent to you, tell me
If it is, I must leave my faith.
Now that I have found you,
I could never let you go.
I understand you wish to be received
into the Holy Catholic Church...
..and be married with the full
Catholic rites according to Rome.
Yes, Father. I do.
A man and wife should be of the same
religion. The wife should submit.
Do you do this willingly, my child?
Gladly, Father. Happily.
You must receive instruction.
Yes, Father.
And make a full confession
of all your sins.
A full confession?
Yes, indeed, my child.
Or you will be condemned
to the eternal fires of hell.
Why should this worry you?
We have all done something
we are sorry for...
..and would not have others know!
My poor child, holy confession is
between yourself and the Almighty.
You are casting yourself
on the infinite mercy of God.
But I have to tell you, don't I?
Tell you all my secrets.
Molly, the priest won't blab.
He's a good old skin, so he is.
The secrecy of the confessional
is absolute.
For a priest to reveal anything...
..would condemn him
to instant excommunication.
Oh, I see!
All right, then.
Well, Father...
It's hard to know where to start.
I do believe I may have sinned
somewhat in my brief life.
When I lay with my first husband...
..I wished
it was his brother on top of me.
I suppose that's a sin of a kind.
I tried to be a good wife to Robin.
And to the second,
the gentleman draper.
It was a sin to spend money
the way we did but - bankruptcy!
He fled to France
and I haven't seen him since.
He may be alive or dead.
So, not knowing if I had a husband,
maybe I shouldn't have married again
But it wasn't a proper marriage
because the man was my own brother.
You married your own brother?
I didn't know that then.
When I found out,
I went right off him.
I couldn't bear to lie with him.
Well, I did
because I didn't like to upset him.
But I didn't enjoy it.
When I told him, he didn't want to
live with me, so I came to England.
So, you have
two husbands still alive?
One, your own brother?
They may both be dead by now.
The one that's my brother was never
really my husband, was he, Father?
No, I suppose not.
Is there anything else, my child?
Are you sure
this won't go any further?
The secrecy of the confessional
is absolute.
I'm not really Lady Flanders.
Oh, God!
I just wanted to find
a man of property to marry.
That's not so bad, is it?
Do you heartily repent
and renounce all your sins?
I do, Father. I do.
May I say, it's been a real pleasure
to get them all off my chest.
I hope it hasn't been too tedious.
No. No.
Not at all.
Not at all. Not at all.
'..should not lawfully
be joined together...
..let him speak now
or else for ever hold his peace.'
I require and charge ye both,...
..as you will answer
at the dreadful day of judgement,...
..that if you know of any impediment
wherefore ye should not...
..be together in matrimony,
ye do now confess it.
For be ye well assured...
..that those coupled together
otherwise than God's word allows...
..are not joined together by God
nor is their matrimony lawful.
Well, what would you do?
Go ahead, Father.
James Macneill Seagrave,...
..wilt thou take this... woman...
..to be thy lawful wedded wife?
To have and to hold
from this day forward,...
..for better, for worse...
CHEERING
'We were to travel to Westchester
for our honeymoon night,...
..and then on to Ireland,
to my new husband's estates.'
You don't mind, do you, Molly?
No! No, not at all.
'His sister was to travel with us,
which surprised me.'
'But they were a close family,
as I had observed.'
GIGGLING
COUGHS
My dear, I...
I should have asked before.
Do you have any affairs to settle
in London?
Nothing that can't be done
by letter from Dublin.
My solicitor informs me...
..your estate is on deposit
at the Bank of England.
In London you can arrange
the transfer of funds.
We can wait. I'm impatient
to see your estates in Ireland.
Isn't it better
to be safe than sorry?
Safer than the Bank of England?
I'm sure Jemmy has enough.
But my dear -
Enough, sister! Molly is right.
This is a day for joy,
not business.
Talk of money on our wedding night?
But brother -
Leave it, Selina.
What care I for money,
when I have the woman of my dreams?
'Something was wrong and I knew it.'
'But I went along with it all.
And why?'
'I was in love with him now.
That's why.'
'I couldn't get enough of him.
That's how it is sometimes.'
'We stayed
at the finest inn in Westchester.'
'And a very merry evening
we had of it.'
'We went to bed.'
'Jemmy and I in the best room.
Selina, next door.'
Good night, Molly.
Good night, Selina.
Good night, sister.
Good night, brother.
What is it? What's the matter?
I'm ashamed to say it.
Come, we should have no secrets
from each other.
Well, my dear...
My expenses in Lancashire have been
such that my ready cash is exhausted
I should be hard put
to pay the innkeeper.
Is that all? I have near £100 to
keep us till we come to your estate.
You're all goodness.
Come here.
When you say
you have £100 altogether -
Nearly £100.
Nearly £100.
You mean, besides your fortune
on deposit at the Bank of England?
Yes.
No, my love. I can't lie to you.
I have nearly £100. That is all.
You have £15,000
in the Bank of England.
Sir, I don't. Who told you that?
Selina swore to it.
I only let it be known
I was a gentlewoman.
Good God!
Lying whore. I'll cut her to ribbons
That is no way to speak of a sister.
She's no sister of mine!
She was my whore, two years.
She had 200 off me to bring you in.
I'll kill her stone dead for this!
No! No, Jemmy!
No!
SCREAMS
No! Don't kill me!
Leave her, Jemmy! Let her be!
CRYING
Are we not two of a kind?
I let her think I was rich. You gave
her money. Why would you do that?
God knows!
I wish I hadn't.
She had 200 off me. The rest
I spent putting up the front.
The house. Everything.
Fool that I am!
There's no estate across the water?
No. No. It's...
It's all sold to pay off debts.
£15,000 would have
bought it all back again, and more!
We could have lived like kings.
On my fortune.
Which I never had.
Believe me.
I never meant you any harm.
I would have loved you unto death.
I swear it.
Would have?
Aye.
Would have.
Circumstances alter cases.
I'm leaving!
Wait! Have you any money left?
Don't fret over me. I know as well
as you do how to get money from men.
You said you loved me once.
I had a heart in those days.
I...
I suppose you'll be wanting me away,
as well?
No!
I should but I don't.
Our wedding night.
God!
What a hellish juggle this has been.
I love you, Jemmy.
I can't help myself.
'I knew he was a rogue.'
'He knew I was little better.'
'We had tricked each other
into marriage.'
'How can I explain?'
'He was the love of my life.'
'There was nothing
I could do about it.'
COCK CROWS
Morning, sir.
Hold his head, boy.
But this is my master's horse.
He kindly lent it to me.
Hold hard, sir.
Stand aside, boy.
Stand aside, boy!
Hold hard, sir!
Hello, there! Thief! Stop, thief!
'My dear wife. Since there's
no help for it, we must part.'
'I have to get money, Moll.'
'I must try the world again.
A man must be a man.'
'I shall take to the road
and live by my wits and my sword.'
'Till I find you again -
and I shall, Moll -
- you never knew me,
and never heard my name.'
Jemmy!
JEMMY!
JEMMY, COME BACK TO ME!
JEMMY!
Get up!
'I had no doubt that I would never
see my lovely Jemmy again.'
'My heart was broken.
I'd lost the love of my life.'
'But the world goes on.
The wheel turns.'
'I had my way to make,
and I knew a way to do it.'
'But, God knows,
I hardly had the heart for it.'
You travel far, ma'am?
Yes, sir. All the way to London.
As I do myself.
You have family and friends there?
No, sir. I have no-one in the world.
I am a widow, lately returned
from Virginia, settling my affairs.
I wonder, could you,
or any of you good people,...
..advise me of lodgings in London?
London's a very wicked place, ma'am.
Whores. Strumpets. Cutpurses.
Thieves and vagabonds.
I think I might be able
to assist you, ma'am.
Thank you, sir.
Fornication. Sodomy.
Fellatio and cunnilingus.
Unbridled concupiscence
on every street corner.
Lord, sir! You make me nervous.
Indeed, it is not so bad as that.
It is! I wouldn't venture
nearer the capital than Lichfield!
Buggery. Incest. Bestiality.
Stand and deliver!
SCREAMING
Give up your arms
or I'll spill your guts.
And you, bonny boy,
step down and hold mine.
Slow and steady
and we'll all live to tell the tale.
Hold that.
Step out, if you please, ladies
and gentlemen. Nice and quietly.
There you are, ma'am.
Don't fret, for soon it'll be over
and you'll be on your way.
Out you come, sir, and you, sir.
And the reverend gentleman.
And you, ma'am. Don't be shy.
Do me the goodness
of standing in line there.
Clasp your hands
and look down at your feet.
Like good little maids
in Sunday school.
Now it's time for collection.
Parson first.
And the rest.
That's all I have -
I'll spill your brains on your shoes
if I don't have the rest!
Wait, wait, wait!
Please, sir. I beg you. I beg you.
Aaah!
Thank you.
Thank you.
I'm sorry, sir. I can't budge it.
Let it stay, ma'am,
with my compliments.
I wouldn't come between a lady and
her wedding ring. Now, you, madam.
I think there's more.
Indeed, sir, no.
Do you consent to be searched?
Under protest, sir.
Turn your backs!
Have a care for this lady's modesty.
Turn your backs and close your eyes.
Come.
So.
Do you despise me now?
No. A man must be a man.
Will you not search me, sir?
Why?
What do you conceal there?
Whatever you find there,
it is yours.
And here?
Yours.
Had we but world enough and time...
I thought I heard you call,
'Jemmy, come back.'
I did! Those were my very words.
Take me with you, Jemmy.
How can I take you?
I've set my life upon a cast.
You must live yours as best you can.
How can I, if we're not together?
I can ride and shoot
as well as any man.
No, Moll. This isn't woman's work.
This isn't lace and hankies.
This is blowing men's brains out.
I wouldn't see you do that.
If I prosper, I'll find you.
If I fail, you can
come see me hanged at Tyburn.
Here!
Take it! Take it.
Oh, it hurts to leave you, Moll.
WHISTLE
Coach coming!
Don't move!
I thought I should die of fright.
You are fortunate, ma'am.
Some highwaymen would hack off
fingers for the rings on them.
How did you fare, ma'am?
Did he take everything you had?
No, sir. Not quite everything.
I was sure that he would ravish you.
He was not long enough with you
to complete a full ravishment.
He offered some gross indecencies?
No, sir. He was most genteel.
Showed you his virile member?
Forced you to touch and play with it
on pain of death, and so forth?
No, nothing of the kind.
Strange. Strange!
I heard only the other day
of three old ladies in a coach...
..subjected to
the most unspeakable indignities -
Please!
I am not well.
Ma'am, will you take some brandy?
These ladies do not care
for your stories. Nor do I.
Save them
for your colleagues in cloth.
Thank you, sir.
I meant no offence, ma'am.
None taken, sir.
'My kindly companion was a Mr Bland'
'A banker, in a small way.'
'A source of advice
on every practical matter.'
'He singled me out
for every courtesy...
..at every inn we stopped at.'
'He liked me very well, I think,
and I liked him.'
Fornication,
sodomy and flagellation.
Will you have them at the table
or sent to your chamber?
LAUGHTER
It's kind that you ordered this
table apart from our companions.
A little of that fellow
goes a long way.
Whores!
Are you quite recovered
from your ordeal?
I think I am, sir.
When that villain
took you away, I thought...
I feared... Well, I wished I'd had
the means to protect you from him.
I fear I cut a very sorry figure.
No! Had you resisted,
he would have killed you.
He didn't harm me. I am well.
You look very well, madam.
Thank you, sir.
But I am much in need of advice.
It can't be wise
to carry all my money about me.
Good God, no, ma'am!
There you go, sir.
Keep your voice down. There may be
thieves in this very inn now.
I've learnt my lesson.
I took the precaution of buying
a brace of pistols in town.
A brace of pistols!
Aye, and I'm prepared to use them.
It would be a compliment...
..if you placed yourself
under my protection.
As a widow, alone in the world.
Without friends...
When you say protection,...
..what exactly do you mean, sir?
Just what I say, ma'am.
I shall escort you on this journey.
I'll help you find lodgings
and advise you on safe investments.
What will you gain from all this?
The pleasure of your society, ma'am.
I ask no more.
Tell me. How do you plan
to protect me tonight?
Tonight?
You said there may be thieves here!
I may be
robbed and murdered in my bed.
Will you stand outside my door
with your brace of pistols or what?
Well... ma'am, I...
Yes, if necessary.
It would be cruel
to put you to such discomfort.
Forgive me, ma'am, I wonder...
..if there were
a chair in your bedchamber...
..I might mount guard from there.
In my bedchamber?
While I lie naked in bed?
Ma'am, be assured, I would place
the chair with its back to the bed.
Both barrels cocked.
You lie naked?
Oh, I was merely
using a form of words, sir.
But as you ask, yes, I do often
lie naked when the weather is warm.
If the chair were facing the door,
there could be no harm in it.
Er... No. Indeed.
Why, then, I think I may accept
your kind offer to protect me.
..that hole is for donkeys!
'What was I thinking of?'
'Entertaining another man's advances
two days after sobbing my heart out'
Ooooh!
'Insurance.'
Er... Sir.
'Highwaymen live fast and die young'
'I needed a solid citizen
with money.'
'Mr Bland would do very well -
until a better offer came along.'
This is very good of you, Mr Bland.
Think nothing of it.
Tell me more, before I sleep, of
lodgements and accounts and markets.
I love to hear of such things.
They have
such a safe and soothing sound.
Ma'am, if you
entrust your fortune to me...
Tis but a small one, sir.
A small one may grow and flourish...
..if it is handled in the right way.
That's true. I mean...
I can't help wondering.
Do you not grow stiff
sitting upright so long?
I am a little stiff, ma'am.
Then you may come over here.
If you lie on the covers,
there can be no impropriety.
You're very kind, ma'am.
Place the pistols between us.
There's no danger they'll discharge
spontaneously, is there?
No, no. No danger at all.
Then lie by my side, dear sir.
Tell me more
about banks and deposits.
That's the way.
Oh! Now we're in the dark.
Where are you, sir?
Oh! Ooh, there you are!
Ooh, mind the pistols!
'He was no Jemmy,
but he was a good man.'
'Very affectionate, respectful,
and knowledgable about banks!'
'Before the night was out, I did
let him creep under the covers.'
Oh, Mr Bland! Mind the pistols!
'We did what we pleased with each
other and became good friends.'
'So it continued to London.'
It's a new world, Moll.
In days gone by, a man would till
his field and seldom look further.
Now, the whole world is
a wheel of fortune. Capital is king.
Why should we work,...
..when our money can work for us?
Will our money lay tables
and launder linen?
It will. England is a nation
of merchant venturers.
Our ships circumnavigate the globe
and return laden with spoils.
The wise man sits at home
and draws on his investment.
If it is such an excellent way
to live, why don't everyone do it?
People don't have the wit for it.
Nor less the starting capital!
It would be braver
to be a merchant venturer...
..than live on their backs
like a louse on a sheep.
Aye, aye.
Braver, perhaps,
but they need us too.
They venture their lives,
we venture our capital.
That bold highwayman who robbed us.
Is he not a kind of venturer?
For God's sake, don't speak of him.
But is he, sir?
Aye. Of a kind. Perhaps.
But not the kind to invest in.
He'll never pay you back
and he's a high-risk enterprise.
I warrant he'll be swinging
from a rope before the year's end.
What's the matter?
Nothing. A little sickness.
The motion of the coach, I dare say.
'The matter was,
he spoke the probable truth.'
'What was I but a desperate
merchant adventurer?'
'With nothing to trade
but beauty and wit?'
'Adrift on the ocean of poverty,
greed and lust, with no safe haven.'
'So, I came back to London
to try my fortune again.'
CALLS OF TRADERS
'My new friend, Mr John Bland, the
banker, was as good as his word.'
'He opened an account
for me at his bank.'
'He found me a respectable landlady
whose apartments were suitable.'
There's a maid to do laundry
and light work. That's included.
As Mr Bland and myself are... old
friends, I shan't ask for a deposit.
Two weeks in advance
will do very well.
Thank you. You're most obliging.
I'll er... leave you now, then.
Mr Bland knows where to find me.
Well, now!
Good soft mattress.
Yes, it's very good.
Will you not come and try it out,
Moll?
You know what I mean, Moll.
Let me go, sir! Please!
Moll, whatever is the matter?
I am grateful to you
for your many kindnesses.
But I must think of my situation -
as a merchant venturer!
To put it bluntly, Mr Bland,
you have tried the goods.
Now, are you willing
to make me an offer for them?
This is very plain speaking.
Necessity drives me to it.
COUGHS
Um... Moll...
I wish I could offer you marriage
and in time I hope to do so. But -
Are you telling me
you already have a wife?
For shame on you, sir.
Indeed,
I am ashamed of my sad situation.
To tell the truth, Moll,
I have a wife and no wife.
In brief,...
..my wife is no true wife to me.
What do you mean?
SHOUTING AND LAUGHING
She was not always thus.
In earlier days
she'd take her pleasures discreetly.
A warrant officer.
A linen draper's apprentice.
Husband! Is that you?
Where are your horns?
Good evening, madam.
Do you care to join us?
You'll get no joy from him!
I loved her dearly once.
But she's a whore.
Not by necessity but by inclination.
Come.
Sir, I've seen enough.
Aye, Moll.
I can bear to look on her no longer.
She's taken my manhood away from me.
WIFE LAUGHING
WEEPING:
Now do you understand my situation?
Come, sir. Let me dry your eyes.
Now you have seen
my shame and sorrow.
I feel sorry for you but why do you
not throw her out onto the street?
She'd run up debts worse than ever.
Then you must divorce her.
Divorce her? Oh, no.
That's very tedious and expensive.
Is it not?
If you would have me or any other
honest woman, I think you must, sir.
Well, then, I shall.
For you, I shall.
I confess, until I met you, I still
loved my wife no matter what she did
You cured me of that, dearest Moll.
Then I have done you
a service and I am glad of it.
Dearly beloved friends.
We are here in the sight of God...
..to join this man
and this woman in holy matrimony.
'If he'd known I had three husbands
alive, one my own brother,...
..he might have
thought better of it.'
'We were married
at St Jude's in Cheapside.'
'We made our wedding journey
into Hertfordshire,...
..lying the first night
at The Bell in Ware.'
Mr and Mrs Bland?
There you are, sir and madam.
I think all is as you would wish.
If not, ring the bell.
'He was a good man and a kind man.'
'I confess I enjoyed
games of Mind The Pistol with him.'
'But every time
I wished he were another man.'
Shall I pull the trigger?
Fire away, my dear.
Oh! Ohh! Ohhhhh!
Ah! Ahhhhhh!
There now.
There now.
There now.
There now.
There now.
HORSES SNORTING
Good day, sir, you're early.
Aye. Feed the horses
and bring us three fresh ones.
Breakfast, sir?
No, we must be on our way.
What do you do here?
What do you?
I... Take me with you. I will come.
I cannot, Moll.
The train band is but 10 miles back.
God, I've missed you, Molly.
I love you, Jemmy. I love you.
Horses ready, sir!
I must go. One day, Moll. One day.
Here.
Get up!
'I lived three years
with my banker husband,...
..bore two children and lived
in comfort till fate took a turn.'
Mistress! Come quick!
Master's taken bad!
Quickly, ma'am. He's taken
very queer. He cannot speak.
My love! What is it?
We're ruined, Moll.
The bank is broken.
Our little ship is sunk.
You mean our venture capital?
All lost.
Will we still have our house?
All lost... and g... gone!
Quick! Help your master.
Help him into bed.
Send for the physician!
BANGING ON DOOR
Open up!
Oh, ma'am! The bailiffs!
All of you,
collect the plate and silver.
Wait for me in Fuller's Yard.
Mary, don't let them in
till I give you the word.
BAILIFF: Open up!
Open the door!
Open the door, now!
I said, open the door, now!
Well, he won't need them!
You be good, Joseph, hmm?
I hope to be back for them someday.
They're my husband's relatives.
They're good people.
What else could I do?
Come in, Mrs Bland!
I thought
we might be seeing you again.
You can have your old rooms,
and at the same rate.
I always like to help an old friend.
You're very kind, ma'am.
Two weeks in advance, then?
If you can wait
till the end of the month,...
..it would be easier.
My capital is tied up.
No exceptions. Two weeks in advance.
But you know me. I am a gentlewoman.
A gentlewoman to me is one
who pays a fortnight in advance.
'I had lived for three months
on savings from the wreckage.'
'Now I had nothing left to sell,
and was still short.'
'I had not eaten for two days.'
COUGHING
'Prompted by I know not what spirit,
I went out that evening.'
'I had no idea
where I was going or why.'
This one?
Yes.
A thief.
I am... a thief.
DOOR UNLATCHED
RATTLING
You look as if you've seen a ghost.
What do you want?
To enquire if you could pay
the rent, Mrs Molly.
I see you've got the makings of it!
Yes. I bethought me of some goods
I had still in Lancashire.
My cousin sent them down.
Oh, that was very kind.
See. This was
my little girl's christening robe.
Very fine.
And my dog Tray can speak in Latin!
I don't know what you mean.
Have it your own way.
Master Meikeljohn
will give you a fair price.
Tell him the silver's smoking hot
and ready to melt. He'll understand.
Well, I certainly do not.
Right at the back
of the linen closet, eh?
Forgotten all about it?
Yes, that's right.
Mrs Riordan said I should tell you
they were a little warm.
Warm? I won't say I didn't wonder.
And the silver, in particular?
Smoking hot and ready to melt!
Thank you for telling me.
It's good to know
what I'm dealing with.
Well, er...
Two guineas.
Oh, I know, my dear. I know, but...
It's a wicked world.
'Now I was truly
part of that wickedness.'
'Not through accident
but by design.'
'I was a thief, and the fruits
of my crime burned my pocket...
..as if my clothes were on fire.'
'I paid my rent
and stood my landlady supper,...
..to show
I was grateful for her patience.'
'The food should have
stuck in my throat but it did not.'
'It tasted as good
as any meat I've ever tasted.'
'So did the wine!'
Here's a health, Mrs Molly.
May your cousin send
many such bundles from Lancashire!
Would that she could,
but I'm afraid that was the last.
Oh, I doubt that!
I think there'll be many
such bundles from Lancashire!
LANDLADY CACKLES