Upstairs Downstairs (2010–2012): Season 2, Episode 2 - The Love That Pays the Price - full transcript

DR GASCOINE: All very pleasing.

I think we can pronounce your ladyship
fully recovered.

I had hoped the scarring might improve.
But it still seems so livid.

(SIGHS) One rather feels obliged to make
jokes about zip fasteners and so forth.

Ah.

I hope that isn't wishful thinking.

Because I don't want to have to
open you up again.

This old tummy wouldn't stand for it.

Well, there were no complications
with my first child.

Time to shut up shop, I think.
No more babies.

I'm sure your husband
will take care of matters.



Nurse will help you with your hat.

PERSIE: Hello? (SPEAKING GERMAN)

Persie, is that you?

Are we going to have
the usual conversation?

Does Agnes send her love
and say the door is always open?

We both want you to know
that you're welcome to come home.

Don't wait till the world
goes up in flames.

Hallam, you're the only person I know

who thinks the world is going
to go up in flames.

Everyone else has been
all smiles since Munich.

I think the Jewish population
might disagree with that.

I told Agnes how you were living
and she wasn't very happy.

Did you tell her that we kissed?

No.



I suspect that's for the best.

(LAUGHING)

Uh, do you think the tan gloves
or the blue suedette?

I think the tan introduces
a nice autumnal note.

Seasonal, neat,
and without excess pretensions.

But the suedette go with my shoes.

(SIGHS) I've never met my nephew's wife.

She looks like a mannequin
in her photographs.

Is he a big noise, then, this nephew?

He had a desk job with the income tax
in Belfast for nine years.

But he's very ambitious.

He's come home to London
and set up selling insurance.

What's the matter?
My rabbit foot not straight?

It's straight
but it looks matted round the claws.

Well, genuine fur will always perish.

But I wore it on my Sunday coat
when Tommy was a boy.

We will be inviting
Their Royal Highnesses

the Duke and Duchess of Kent

and His Excellency and Mrs Kennedy
will be bringing two additional guests,

their son Jack and someone she
describes as a business acquaintance.

- A Mr Caspar Landry.
- Very good, my lady.

You will be requiring
full formal settings?

Naturally.
It's what this house does best.

I have to say, you don't half look well,
Auntie Clarice.

That must be the Belgravia air.

(CHUCKLES) Oh, I don't get
much of that, dear.

I'm not like Enid, all manicured
and coiffed at her perfume counter.

She does herself down, Enid.
When my dad was at his last,

she turned up at the hospital
with these beautiful biscuits.

Lovely they were,
all sort of purple and round.

- Like little cushions.
- You mean my violet macaroons?

Most households buy them in
from French confectioners,

but I've always made my own.

I thought they might
tickle Godfrey's palate.

Were they the last thing he ate?

No, he'd gone beyond swallowing
by that point.

But I've never tasted anything so good.

Cyril, elbows. And stop staring.

She's got a dead dog's paw on her.

Aunt Clarice, I am sorry.

What have I said about passing remarks?

It's off a rabbit, not a dog.
You can touch it if you like.

TOMMY: He's been a bit out of sorts
since we arrived.

Missing his pals, I reckon.

There are some lovely parks in London.
You should get him out playing.

He'd soon make friends.

Well, he's got his family for now,
hasn't he, Auntie Clarice?

Yes, he has.

I feel horribly awkward
about the whole thing.

We've scarcely seen the Kents

since he suggested
I take a letter to Herr Hitler.

The Duchess sounded delighted to accept.

And the Duke's
one of your oldest friends.

Ambassador Kennedy
isn't one of my oldest friends.

He'll have some sort of plan,
just you wait and see.

Everyone has a plan, Hallam.
That's how things get done.

(HALLAM SIGHS)

I'm sorry.
I ought to be more enthusiastic.

I suppose I was shaken by your news.

Oh, yes. My news.

Was that the thing you dreaded most,
being told "no more"?

The thing I dreaded most
was having none at all.

And we were spared it.

They've made us complete, haven't they?
The children?

Yes.

Of course.

Dinner plates and soup cups
ready for inspection.

That's beautiful. Is it porcelain?

Says "Limoges" on the back.

I reckon the gilt's been chipped
on this one.

Not by me.

This has been in mothballs
since before I came.

And make sure you root out
the finger bowls.

I've Grilled Lime and Shrimp in mind
for the hors d'oeuvres.

I have received advance notice
of the bill of fare.

Her ladyship has in fact
requested oysters.

But I go upstairs to discuss the menus.

I was planning to suggest
a New World theme for the Kennedys.

Poulet Maryland, perhaps,
and a seafood chowder.

Johnny, fetch the cellar book.

I shall recommend a Riesling
to Sir Hallam for the first course.

Schloss Vollrads, I think,
if we can get the '36.

A German wine?

War has been averted, Mrs Thackeray.

We must rise above
petty historical frets.

In your opinion, maybe.

Harrods? You're too generous.
You know that?

Who else am I going to spend
my nest egg on?

I've seen titled children
on quite inferior scooters.

- I am going to make my way, you know.
- Oh, I don't doubt it, dear.

One day, there's going to be nothing
but the best for my little soldier.

Oh! Your dad used to call you that.

(CHUCKLES) I know.

We used to have such lovely Christmases.

I think of us all sometimes,
crammed into the parlour in Edmonton,

with the gas light hissing
and a trifle on the sideboard.

And I think,
"How did that come to pass?"

How can a family just fizzle out

like fireworks?

- It's fate, isn't it?
- Mmm.

Well, fate and the Spanish flu.
(CHUCKLES)

- Oh, God.
- Oh, here.

Mucky pup.

I haven't fizzled out, Auntie Clarice.
You've still got me.

You've got me, too, for what it's worth.

- Look, Auntie!
- (LAUGHING)

Eunice, the oysters have arrived.

I want them shucked the minute
you've buttered the dariole moulds.

Please don't make me, Mrs Thack.
It's like fingering phlegm.

What, may I ask, are these?

They're just a few violet macaroons.

Lady Agnes ordered florentines
to go up with the coffee.

Mrs Kennedy favours them.

Violet macaroons were not commissioned.

Well, I actually made those
for my family.

As a gift, in my own time.

And utilising your own ingredients?

It's only a bit of ground almond
and some sugar.

And a bottle of violet essence
and six whites of egg.

Not to mention half a dozen yolks,

which one imagines
have already graced the plughole.

If you had any relatives to speak of,
Mr Pritchard,

you'd be sneaking them gratis Silvo
and complimentary hock,

and well you know it. So you needn't get
on your high horse with me.

- Write me out a bill.
- Don't provoke me.

And you needn't include the yolks.
They're going in a mayonnaise.

Blimey.
Haute cuisine in the nursery now, eh?

(LAUGHS) I've swapped with Eunice.

She's putting the nappies
through the wringer.

Don't you cut yourself on that knife.

I used to do this all the time
in my father's public house.

Mother didn't like me
even going into the kitchen,

but when those crates arrived you
could smell the seaside coming off them.

You could taste it, too,
if you had a sneaky one.

Go on.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

You want to be careful.
Feeding me aphrodisiacs.

You want to be careful,
making lewd remarks.

That will be eight shillings
and eightpence,

plus sixpence deposit on the tin,
which I would prefer to see returned.

I shall be keeping the tin, thank you.

Consider it purchased
for another half crown.

(LAUGHTER AND INDISTINCT CHATTER)

We followed the events at Munich
very closely at the Embassy

and I admired your opposition
to Chamberlain.

I don't agree with it,
but dissent takes guts.

LANDRY: Ambassador Kennedy
always studies form.

Never makes an ill-considered move.
That's why I like him.

I have caution bred into my bones.

My parents were pharmacists
who fled a pogrom.

- I presume they were Jewish?
- They still are.

We just spell our name
a little differently.

That's the American way.
We move forward, we mutate.

LANDRY: Take Mr Kennedy.

He made his money from moonshine
and motion pictures.

Gave the people what they wanted,
now he's getting his heart's desire.

And what's your heart's desire,
Mr Landry?

- I'd rather like to dance with you.
- (CHUCKLES) Oh!

A rumba, if the band were good enough.

The challenge I am faced with, Hallam,

is that I need access to brains
entirely geared to European policy.

They must be the finest brains available
and at my disposal in the long-term.

Hallam, as and when
we return to Washington,

my sons and I are going to need

a consultant advisor
in overseas diplomacy.

Well, the position is yours,

if you wish to accept it.

What did Sir Hallam say?
Did he say he'd go?

I told you.

He said he was flattered by the offer
and he'd give it his best consideration.

Meanwhile, Lady Agnes laughed and said,
"What an enthralling prospect!"

Upstairs, while there's still some air
in these soufflés.

THACKERAY:
You'd better start on the dishes.

And watch out for the gilt,
in case you chip it and get charged.

(DOOR OPENS)

- May I help you, sir?
- I was wondering, ma'am,

do you have such a thing as a spoonful
of baking soda and some water?

Only I feel a little nauseous

and I generally find that
that will settle things.

Oh, of course, sir.

I've oil of peppermint, if you prefer.

No. Just the baking soda, please.

(GROANS)

I'm sorry, ma'am.
Can you direct me to the bathroom?

Um...this way.

The florentines have melted. They look
like something a cat's sicked up.

Somebody must have left them
on the plate stand near the gas.

It wasn't me.

Lady Agnes'll do her nut.

Go in the pantry, get me the tin
with Windsor Castle on.

- They look like they taste of perfume.
- Upstairs.

THACKERAY: Excuse me!

Where do you think you're going
with my family's macaroons?

Coffee cannot be served without
petits fours. Johnny, carry on.

I paid for those. They're my property.

- Johnny! Proceed!
- (DOOR CLOSES)

Excuse me, ma'am.
I think I need to rejoin the party.

- THACKERAY: Of course, dear.
- You've been very kind.

(DOOR CLOSES)

You do not address any guest
of the family upstairs as "dear",

let alone the son of
the American ambassador!

As far as I was concerned,
he was just a poorly young man

who needed looking after.

Spending time with my family's
brought out my caring side.

It's brought out your foolish side.
You have a duty to the family upstairs!

I don't think you should be
lecturing me about my duty,

given your record in the war.

Oh! Four left. Fancy.

So, you only owe me...

- six and 11.
- What for?

The macaroons you sent upstairs.

And you may post the remittance to me
at 26 Mafeking Road, Pimlico,

which will be my residence
from this evening onward.

I've resigned! Tin pot martinet.

I think you know what you should do,

although I'll wait for a decision
for the sake of form.

Sir.

You've always done things so elegantly!

I'm only sad I'm too old
to come out dancing with you.

Nonsense, Mrs Kennedy!

Will you take care of Jack?

He's recovered his colour,
but he doesn't know London at all.

He'll be supremely safe with us.

(CHUCKLES)

(LAUGHTER)

Agnes, unhand that boy! He's barely 21.

(GIGGLING)

- Dorchester, was it, sir?
- Oh, no, not the Dorch!

Bag O' Nails Club, Soho, I think.

(LIVELY MUSIC PLAYING)

(INAUDIBLE)

KENT: It does so make my heart leap up
to see you embracing society again.

(LAUGHING)

- You were absent far too long.
- I know. It wasn't good for Hallam.

He needs my support
and I intend to give it.

Even if we end up in America.

Whither he goest, thou shalt go.

That's rather biblical
for the Bag O' Nails.

Believe me, on occasion, this place puts
Sodom and Gomorrah in the shade.

(LAUGHING)

Sir, I want Hallam to say yes
to Joseph Kennedy.

I want him to go where
he'll feel valued and respected.

And you want me to have a little word?

I had to show the bartender
how to mix martinis.

He was using too much vermouth.

An imperfect martini?
Well, that would never do.

Mmm!

Thank you, Mr Landry.

- LANDRY: Better?
- I rather think it is.

I worked shifts in a speakeasy
when Prohibition was coming to an end.

I knew that one day very soon
the whole of America

would be waking with a headache
and crying out for a pill.

I see. So you studied the poison
to find the antidote?

And I did. It comes in the form
of a soluble tablet

and now every bathroom in America
has a bottle on the shelf.

(MUSIC STOPS, DANCERS APPLAUD)

The whole of my fortune is founded
on a thing that dissolves

- when you drop it in water.
- (LAUGHS)

(MUSIC RESUMES)

- Oh! A rumba!
- Oh, yes.

But they're playing it so badly.

(BELL DINGS)

(DOG BARKING)

(TRAIN PASSING NEARBY)

I'm sorry to say I just saw red.

He's been over-reaching himself

ever since our housekeeper
went into the sanatorium.

Telling me what I can and can't do.

I mean, it's not as though
Lady Agnes had taken me in

under some sort of sufferance.

I'm highly skilled
and I had to be enticed.

Thank you, dear. Is it sugared?

One and a bit,
just the way you like it.

They're all hanging on to 165
like limpets, and what for?

A cursory "thank you and goodbye and
we're all on the next boat to America"?

- Aren't you having tea, dear?
- I have to be up in the morning.

Oh. Anyway, I just thought,
"I don't have to stand here

"tugging on my forelock.

"I've got savings. I can retire.
Now I've got somewhere to go."

Say yes.

I'm giving it my serious consideration.

And then say yes.

Sometimes, old chap,
one simply comes to a fork in the road.

One doesn't know
why the path should bifurcate,

where the new lane leads or why.

I'm going to be sent to Australia
next year.

- Governor General. Mmm.
- No.

But carpe diem and all of that.

You're talking Latin.
It's probably time to go home.

I absolutely refuse to flag or fade.

I've asked the band to play
my favourite song

and I am determined to enjoy it.

(MUSIC CONTINUES)

Ah!

(PEOPLE LAUGHING IN THE STREET)

BOTH: # Anytime you're Lambeth way

# Any evening, any day

# You'll find us all
doing the Lambeth walk #

I don't think that American
could believe his eyes.

- Caspar Landry? The hangover king?
- (BOTH LAUGH)

You won't be saying his name
so scornfully in the morning.

And neither, I suspect, will I.

(GIGGLES)

(BOTH LAUGHING)

- Did we ever do this when we were young?
- Not together.

Not in evening dress.
And we're not old.

Not yet.

Shall we be brave, darling?

Shall we make sure we never
have to say we didn't dare?

Would you say yes?
Would you go back to America?

I'd go anywhere with you.

(TELEPHONE RINGING)

It's 2:00 in the morning.

(CLAMOURING)

Who is this? Who's calling?

(LINE BUZZING)

(WOMEN SCREAMING)

(OFFICERS SHOUTING, GLASS SHATTERING)

(TELEPHONE RINGING)

(PHONE RINGS)

Hallam?

(MAN YELLING)

I don't want to be here any more!

(SCREAMS)

They're arresting people
and burning schools and synagogues.

Persie? Where are you?

Persie, stay calm
and tell us exactly what is happening.

They're attacking shops. Jewish shops.
There are buildings on fire everywhere!

(SPEAKING GERMAN)

Help me.

(PERSIE SOBS, LINE GOES DEAD)

Hallam, I want her home.

(CHILDREN SCREAMING)

Oh!

Ugh!

I think Cyril was caught a bit short
in the night.

Cyril! Not again.

I'm sorry, Aunt Clarice.
You couldn't quickly rinse them through?

Tom went out early
and I've got to walk Cyril to school.

Oh, yes, of course.
I'm glad to be of help.

I've already spoken to Whitehall.

Our man called from Berlin and says
the rioters are still going at it.

"Dozens of synagogues
have been destroyed

"and arrests of Jews
run into the tens of thousands."

This is the latest edition
of the Express.

There were even attacks
on Jewish orphanages.

And they say the German
government condones it.

Of course they condone it, Agnes!

They brought it about as surely
as if it was ordered by decree.

Don't you understand that?

I'm reading the papers
in an attempt to understand that.

But let's not snap, we're both tired.

- Will you try to speak to Persie today?
- I shall do my best.

And before you ask,
I won't be calling Joseph Kennedy.

Now is not the time
to be heading for America.

England has been pushed
to the edge of the abyss.

Any assumption
that war has been averted,

that Hitler was tamed or constrained
by the Munich Pact, is over.

I have work to do.

But you haven't had any sleep.
Or any breakfast.

Sir, there has been a telephone call
from Mrs Fuller at Harbury House.

Lotte's headmistress? What's the matter?

Mrs Fuller did not wish to say.

But she asked that either you visit
as Lotte's legal guardian or that I do.

Do you have time?
It's not distracting you from any work?

No, I have no work to do, sir.

- Where are you now? Are you safe?
- PERSIE: Not really.

Friedrich and I have had
a difference of opinion.

- Political opinion?
- No.

He thinks we ought to marry.

And I think if we did,
I'd be in exile forever.

Because he's divorced.
Or he would be by then.

Persie, this is no time for histrionics.
Get yourself to the station

and make your way to Hamburg
on the first available train.

There'll be boats to Harwich
twice daily.

All very sensible advice, except
you seem to presume that I'm in funds.

Are you out of funds?

I am a kept woman, Hallam,
who's been thrown out.

And I'm leaving my mink behind
on point of principle.

Hallam,

I'm begging you to help me.

You're family. You don't need to.

# Oh, ladybird, so far from home

(CHILDREN SQUEALING, PIANO PLAYING)

# Your children cry, your children cry

# I hear them calling for you

# Beware, a spider lurks about

# And a fire has broken out

# Can you hear them?

# Can you hear your children crying? #

(LAUGHING)

You've touched my heart
with that, Lotte.

Her diction is delightful, isn't it?

Now, run outside
and join in games, Lotte.

Mr Amanjit and I
will come and watch you.

Yes, Mrs Fuller.

Thank you, Mr Busch.

Her late mother used to
sing her that in German.

So did Lotte when she first came here.

But she's forgotten how now,
or so she says.

She wants to be English,
like everybody else.

She will never be English
like everybody else.

She's a Jewess,
she's of a different race.

Sir Hallam really has been
extraordinarily generous with Lotte.

I know she was only
his housemaid's child,

yet he takes care of her every need.

He was afraid of what may happen

if she was sent back to Frankfurt
by herself.

I'm sure you're aware of
what happened last night.

I am.

And it sickens me.

The attacks on the Jews
will gather apace,

there will be orphans without number.

I want to help more children,
Mr Amanjit.

Two, even three little girls.

Lotte's rabbi says
people are desperate to escape.

He did give me the address in London

for the Central British Fund
for German Jewry

but there's also a man called
Mr Silverman who might advise.

It all sounds terribly confusing.
Nothing seems straightforward.

That cannot be right.

Oh, nothing is right
in the world just now.

And nor will it be
for a very long time.

Which is why we must try to do
the little good that we can.

- Thank you for your time, Mr Silverman.
- And thank you for your interest, sir.

There is so much
we're trying to achieve.

I will do my utmost to assist.

Oh, Mr Amanjit.
What is my transgression this time?

I had hoped to avoid an upbraiding.

You may note I have avoided
your territory today.

Dr Mottershead, I have not come
before you with any complaint.

I have come to beg a favour,

on behalf of a place where
your skills are gravely needed.

- Ooh!
- (CHUCKLING)

And there's a Queen of Puddings
to follow,

which a little bird told me
Master Cyril might like.

Perhaps you'd like to carve, dear,
as you're the man of the house.

It would be my privilege and pleasure.

It's like a Sunday dinner.
On a week night.

Oh, an ounce of planning
saves a pound of trouble.

We'll have the leavings minced up
in a shepherd's pie tomorrow

and then I've a chicken and ham
to be delivered Thursday.

And I've lodged an order
for store-cupboard staples

with Partridge's in Sloane Square.

I don't want you
putting yourself out of pocket.

Oh, don't worry about that, dear.

The bill won't come
till the end of the month.

What sort of organisation is this?

Is it a dedicated charity
or a government department?

It's the place where
the anguish of the trapped is kept.

There are rooms like this
all over London.

Jews write daily
from Germany and Austria.

These are cries for help,
people begging to be rescued.

Letters

drowning under the weight of letters.

A thousand more arrive daily.

It's not as if they can't get out
of Germany, travel is permitted.

Of course, a leaving tax is levied.

The problem is that
nobody else will have them.

Britain issues only 75 visas a day.

And there is deep resistance
to any change of rule.

This is chaos. Chaos with a capital C.

AMANJIT: No one in this building
is to blame. It has happened too fast.

Meanwhile, these people
are pursued by a bureaucracy

of such precision and intent
that they are quite without hope.

Pritchard, I cherished Mrs Thackeray.

I was proud to present my guests
and my family

with the food that she had cooked.

But we can't keep hoping
that she'll have a change of heart.

- What are we having for dinner tonight?
- Mock turtle soup.

Tinned?

And a pheasant pie from Fortnum's.
Followed by blancmange, homemade.

But Pritchard,
when Miss Buck was taken ill,

you promised me that we could manage
without a housekeeper.

I need you to act
as a housekeeper would

and place an advertisement
in tomorrow's Chronicle.

If Mrs Thackeray would like to reapply,
she may.

Reapply? Writing in with references?
I can't see Mrs Thackeray doing that.

Especially as her references
would have to come from you.

Are you going to put
a glacé cherry on that?

We've run out of glacé cherries.

(SNIFFING)

What's that?

Plaice and three penn'orth
with crispy bits.

I haven't had a hot meal
since Mrs Thack upped sticks.

All the effort's gone
into feeding upstairs

and they aren't the only ones
with stomachs.

Oh, I can smell them from here.

Well, get yourself a piece of bread,
I'll make you a chip butty.

Can I tempt you, Beryl?
Go on, you know you want to.

- Do I?
- I was only being jocular.

Mmm! Jocular spelt F-R-E-S-H.

You want to rein him in, Mr P.

This servants' hall
is going to lose its class.

- Oi!
- (CHUCKLING)

How do you intend to amend
the visa policy?

It is the principle obstacle
standing in our way.

It's perceived in the Commons
as an immigration issue.

Difficult, given the levels
of unemployment.

How do you perceive it, Hallam?

And it's no good pulling that po-face,

I can see right through it
and I always could.

I'm trying to keep some
professional distance.

No, you're hightailing it
away from your emotions.

You did it even as a boy, every time
I visited you in that wretched school.

You were the only relative
who ever came.

And I didn't see you particularly often.

Well, you were a very uninspiring child.

I did try my best. I brought you tuck,
I took you out for treats.

You brought me protein biscuits
and took me to a nudist camp.

(SCOFFS) Only the once.

It's probably your mother
you're really angry with.

If you wish to pursue it,
I can recommend a mesmerist.

I do not wish to pursue it.

The hard truth is, the Jews are seen
as immigrants, not refugees.

Hallam, they won't be refugees
if we don't let them in.

They will be statistics.

Sir, you must persuade
the Home Secretary

of the benefits to foreign policy.

Advise him that group visas
will save time.

And then advise him
to get the children out.

It will avoid the unemployment issue
and capture public sympathy.

The Home Secretary
is receiving a delegation

of Anglo-German Jewry tonight.

He has to listen
to what they have to say.

And you must listen
to what I have to say.

Sir, we could take in tens of thousands,

yet we haven't relaxed
a single immigration law.

Britain should take the lead
and take the children.

Hello, Enid dear!

Venison pie tonight.

Mr Hynes had a delivery
from one of the Scottish estates.

- Will it be very rich?
- Oh, no. Venison's a lean meat.

My flaky's never turned out so well.

I think it's because this room
is quite chilly in the day.

(SIGHS) Cyril, go out on your scooter.

- I don't want to.
- Scooter, before I smack your legs!

(DOOR CLOSES)

I can't be doing with all this mess.

Oh, this isn't mess!
This is work in progress.

I've done my work for the day!

Standing up in a shop for nine hours
in high heels.

And when Tom comes home,
he's done his work, too.

We'd sooner have a tidy kitchen
and some tinned corned beef.

- Corned beef?
- I like corned beef.

I know where I am with corned beef.

I'm lying awake half of every night

and I don't know whether
it's all these bloody banquets

or if it's the fear of the bill
from the butcher's.

Oh, we'll cry over that
when it arrives, shall we?

You can cry on your own over that one.

The trouble with you is you're ruined.
You have no idea how normal people live.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

- Can I come in?
- Of course, dear.

I'm going to settle that wretched
butcher's bill the minute it arrives.

I'll do it out of my savings.

You and Enid don't deserve
a moment's worry.

There's something I need to tell you,
Auntie Clarice.

We've been having things rougher
than I've cracked on.

I'm not selling as much insurance
as I'd like.

My bike needs a new chain
and two new tyres.

It's going to cost me an arm and a leg.

Oh, do you need me to help you out?

No.

I've done a deal with the repairman.

He's taking Cyril's scooter in exchange.

Well, winter's on its way.

He'd be putting it in mothballs
in a week or two.

Penfold speaking,
Third Secretary. Berlin.

Hallam Holland, London.

I need to speak with you concerning the
transportation of a vulnerable person.

The name is Towyn, Persephone Anne.

Miss or Mrs, sir?

Lady. She's the daughter of an Earl.

Mr Pritchard.

Radcliffe and Hynes
sent this invoice by mistake.

It would seem Mrs Thackeray has
been feeding her relations on account.

I might have known
she'd be a stranger to the Co-op.

Hmm. We must forward it
to her new address.

Sometimes it seems to me no one
in the world is in their proper place.

There is no task so great that
it cannot be solved by categorisation.

Small groups must join forces,

larger masses broken down
into component parts.

Now the next phase commences,

finding foster parents
for children who have visas.

(SIGHS)

And I'm horribly afraid
I don't know where to start.

We start with list number one.

Sponsor number one, Miss Sylvia Fuller,
Harbury House School, Oxfordshire.

I thought you might join me for tea
in the drawing room

and then I realised you must be busy.

- Thank you, dear.
- You're doing such splendid work.

(SIGHS) I've always loved a puzzle.

But the finances for this
Kindertransport just don't seem to work.

In what way?

The government insists on a £50 bond
for every single child,

paid in advance, to ensure they don't
become a charge upon the state.

Hallam and I would be happy to donate.

Hallam already has.

You have more to offer
than money, Agnes.

(CHUCKLES) Have I? I'm not sure.

You have intelligence, tact and charm.
I have the former in abundance,

but when I turn to the latter two,
the bucket comes up dry.

No.

Yes. I know my weaknesses.
But you don't know your strengths.

(SIGHS)

Macaroons don't wait.

I'm making them
for Werner's of Brook Street.

It might turn into a regular order,
if they sell.

Any more news?

Miss Pamela sent flowers from her asylum
to put on the monkey's grave.

Oh, bless her.

And Johnny corked a bottle of port
which he thought was claret.

(LAUGHING)

He's tuppence short of a bob.

Well, no one makes a cup of tea
like you do, Mrs Thack.

But Sir Hallam needs
picking up from Whitehall.

- I have to run.
- Oh, yes, of course, dear.

Oh! Mr Pritchard asked me
to give you this.

There's no message.
Only to say it came from him.

(LIGHT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)

Why aren't the children
coming in for free?

Why aren't the public
prepared to foot the bill?

For the majority of people,
£50 is an enormous sum.

And forgive me, Mr Landry,

but, well, you could save 100 children
at a stroke.

Are you going to remind me
that my parents fled a pogrom?

I'm not going to insult you
by saying anything unnecessary.

I've simply come to tell you
about a poisonous thing

in the hope that
you'll provide an antidote.

I thought I might tease you.
That I could beg a rumba

and you would grant me
the pleasure of a dance.

- But you're good.
- (CHUCKLES)

As well as beautiful.

Have you had a lie-in, dear?
I saw your bike still in the hall.

I'm giving it a miss today.

Oh, you can help me carry
these violet macaroons.

It's two buses to Brook Street.

I've got paperwork to do.
Calculations and whatnot.

- Oh, yes?
- I'm packing in insurance.

Reckon if I bought a taxi,
I could be quids in.

It's not a profession, though, is it?

Well, you've got to get a licence.

Thing is, I need investors.
Or an investor.

Once there's a deposit down,
I can pay the rest on HP

and be straight out earning.
I'd split the profits with you.

You're just dreaming, Tommy.

Doesn't everyone?

OPERATOR: Please wait
while we try to connect you.

(TELEPHONE RINGS)

Yes?

AMANJIT: The first group of children
are scheduled to arrive.

Liverpool Street station.
December the 2nd.

It's likely to be in the small hours
of the morning.

From our embassy in Berlin, sir.

HALLAM (ON PHONE): I'm getting Persie
out on a diplomatic flight.

She doesn't deserve it.

Well, I'll make sure
she's suitably grateful.

Spargo is outside
checking the oil gauge on the hire car.

Eunice is downstairs filling
the hot water bottles for the children.

If there are any problems whatsoever,
you are to use my card.

Are you sure I can't persuade you
to wear one of my furs?

Agnes, dear, I'd sooner
swathe myself in giblets.

Besides, Mr Amanjit and I
have work to do.

I can't have dead pelts
flapping round my wrists.

Take it for Persie.
It will be freezing at the aerodrome.

Agnes has changed her perfume
since I saw her last.

Has she?

You can smell it on her fur. Here.

- Will you take me home now?
- Yes.

- Good evening, Lady Persephone.
- Hello, Spargo.

It's just like old times.

(ALL CHATTERING, INDISTINCT)

Barbara Teifenblum.

Dafna Einbinder.

Eva Glasskopf.

Come with us now. You're quite safe.

Hello, sleepyheads. Welcome to England.

Oven's warming up.

We might venture a few rock cakes.