"LAURA:" "The railway had been spreading across the country for many years." "Now it was coming our way." "WORKMEN: # Ri-fan, Ti-fan, mirth and fun Don't you wonder how it's done" "# Carriages without horses run On the Oxford and Hampton railway. #" "LAURA:" "It may not have been on our doorstep yet, but there was to be no avoiding it." "Only a few of the wisest foresaw how much we might need to adapt our lives to what was coming." "The choice would have to be made." "Miss Lane had tried to tell me that those matters which seemed so great to me were only a way of asking what kind of life I wanted to live." "What her words of advice would not teach me, the coming events would." "BIRDS SING" "DOG WHINES" "WHINING" "And no word from my sister." "Miss Pearl, you did have a letter yesterday." "But not today." "It seems she's lost interest in all things Candleford." "Minnie, may I say how well presented the kitchen looks this morning?" "I don't know how it happened, ma'am, but I was up before dawn and I just had it in me to clean and rub and scrub and polish." "Extraordinary." "Then perhaps you might like to take the afternoon off." "Off?" "Afternoon?" "Me?" "!" "I have informed Ruby of the return of the... (clock-maker)." "I am deeply concerned for Daniel." "He ate all of his breakfast this morning." "But surely it would be a matter of concern if he had lost his appetite?" "Oh, no, Miss Lane." "Eating all one's breakfast is excessive." "A clear sign of anxiety." "Miss Lane, Sydney's progress is most impressive." "Industry married with discernment." "I would venture that any career he chooses lies ahead for him." "I know what I want to do." "Thank you, Margaret." "I must confess, I harbour a secret wish that Sydney might one day be a famous lawyer, renowned for championing sympathetic causes." "Oh, no, Miss Lane." "Law is a dubious profession." "Sydney has such a pleasing manner." "I wonder if he might not be suited to medicine." "You can't come in here." "It's a post office in here." " Ugh!" " Forgive me, Miss Lane." "This tyke has followed me over brook and dale." "I can't seem to shake her off." "Oh, but look at her!" "She is the loveliest little creature!" "She seems to think you are her master, Thomas." "Who's a fine lady?" "Who's a splendid lady?" "Would you like a drinky of water?" "Would you?" "Drinky-drinky!" "Shouldn't you be in Inglestone by now?" "They have a delay - anaccident of some sort." "So long as the job's done on time, that's all that matters to them." "We will no doubt be seeing plenty of you in Candleford." "It would be easier if I didn't hold you in such regard." "When I came back, Daniel," "I didn't know." "And when I did learn about you and Laura, my intention was to move on, forget about Laura." "But then I caught myself thinking," ""Is it more important to be decent and noble..." ""or to be true to myself?"" "Then we are rivals." "I wouldn't do this - stay, hope, pursue Laura - if I thought it was for nothing." "Are you trying to tell me she loves you?" "I'm trying to tell myself that." "I deserve my chance, same as you." "I came here to tell you, man to man," "I aim to try and win her." "Don't expect me to treat you with courtesy." "You deserve none, despite your persuasive words." "Rivals, then." "Rivals." "SHOP DOORBELL RINGS" "Miss Lane." "Mr Bloom." "What you told me about the coming of the railway, it seems you were correct." "I have been summoned to Head Office." "If they start talking about improvements, you're in trouble, ma'am." "I have good friends in Head Office." "Our association goes back many years." "I am sure they will not abandon the old values." "And how is your work in Inglestone?" "It's grand enough." "The post office will be in the station." "The postmaster there has a swagger about him, likes to think he's the king of all he surveys." "That is because Mr Blakestone IS king of all he surveys." "Ma." "Laura." "I have a telegram for Pa." "He's at work." "Ought I to open it?" "I saw it come in." "He'll want to know right away." "It's from the Great Western Railway." "It seems the stonemason in charge of building the arch at the Inglestone station has broken a hand." "So Pa has been recommended for the job." "Well, ain't that a bit of fortune falling from the sky?" "!" "He will need to meet with them today to discuss the business." "I'll take him a clean shirt." "Well, seems like your pa is working with Fisher." "Why, is that a problem?" "I ain't saying it is, Laura." "Just merely observing." "But I do notice how quick you are to defend Fisher." "Am I defending him?" "Oh, Ma... ..I can't sleep," "I can't think," "I can't put together a sentence." "Every thought is followed immediately by another thought that contradicts it." "What does Daniel say?" "Fisher is sweet and patient and accepting of my confusion." "Daniel is angry." "I tried to be honest with him, Ma." "Was I wrong to be honest with him?" "He would see it in you anyway." "You didn't say those things to hurt him." "Poor Daniel." "I never thought I'd hear myself say those words." "Daniel said that if I truly loved him, there would be no room for confusion or doubt." "Is he right, Ma?" "Is that how love is?" "It is how Daniel sees love, Laura... at least at the moment." "And Daniel is afraid." "I am, too." "I'm so afraid of the hurt I might cause, that my confusion might mislead or encourage..." "Well, I'm glad to hear it." "If you weren't afraid of such things, you would be no daughter of mine." "Yet I am constantly tormented by selfish thoughts and emotions." "What we fall in love with as a girl ain't always what we want as a woman." "What do you mean, Ma?" "I could tell you a thousand times, but you ain't going to know it until you see it in yourself." "But surely Laura will be eager to see you, keenly anticipating your entreaties." "There'll be no entreaties, Miss Pearl." "Daniel, dear boy, youmust fight to win her." "Laura knows what I offer to her." "I'm here." "If I'm what she wants, then she will require no persuading." "But love is not so simple." "Any girl would want you to pursue her at this vulnerable moment, in order to prove to her..." "Miss Pearl, if I am to win Laura, then she's not the girl for me." "If I am required to compete, then I'm not the man for her." "If she has forgotten how it is when we're together, then our relationship does not mean what I thought it did." "I ask you to consider this." "How will it feel to lose her?" "What will it do to you?" "I don't know how it will feel." "I imagine I'll be heartbroken." "In truth, I'm already heartbroken." "Bruised, perhaps." "Donot say "broken"." ""Broken" is too final a word." "What will I do if I lose her?" "I will live my life." "In Candleford?" "Your newspaper is sosuccessful, you cannot contemplate..." "If I am to be finished with Laura, then I am finished with Candleford." "Excuse me, Miss Pearl." "# My father he gave me an acre of land" "# An acre of land" "# An acre of land" "# My father he gave me an acre of land" "# And a bunch of bonny green ivy" "# I ploughed it with a team of rats" "# A team of rats" "# A team of rats" "# I ploughed it with a team of rats" "# And a bunch of bonny green ivy. #" "What's there to be so soulful about on a day when the wind bites your bones?" "Can't a man a lift his voice without a reason?" "I can't sing some of them notes." "Of course you can, my petal!" "You put your mind at what is possible, and them notes will come flying out of your mouth." "Things that seemed impossible are right here in front of us." "How many folk thought you Arlesses couldn't manage while your ma is... not here?" "That's all very well, my dear, but ain't there things beyond possible?" "I ain't going to "possible" away my rheumatism while I have a day clearing ditches in the cold, am I?" "But, Twister, today things do feel possible that were impossible yesterday." "And tomorrow they're as likely back where they belong - impossible!" "Listen to him!" "See what the winter does to his thinking?" "Alfie, Miss Lane has give me the whole afternoon off." "That's kind of her." "My work is so splendid." "She said so herself." "That's kind of her, an' all." "So I have come to see you." "So I see." "I ain't been given the afternoon off." "Me and Twister's clearing ditches." "Winter work while we can get it." "Ain't no colder work for a man tormented with rheumatism than ditch work." "I thought all your working days were done, Twister." "I am an old man in a young man's world." "Minnie, I'm sorry for what I did the other night." "I didn't mean to." "I mean, I did mean to." "I just..." "I wasn't thinking what it would mean." "Didn't I kiss right?" "See how you make me laugh?" "I can kiss better." "You kiss fine." "More than fine." "I ain't talking about how you look or the way you are or any of that." "I have two sisters to look after, a babe to care for." "I know." "I'm talking about what's possible." "Ain't kissing possible?" "Kissing is never just kissing." "What is it, then?" "I'm fond of you, Minnie." "Too fond of you." "Twister's right - you're young." "You find yourself a boy who ain't got so many burdens." "Alfie!" "Old Monday's coming up the lane." "I'd best go." "Me and you, Minnie... it just ain't possible." "Minnie, we are going to bake scones and ginger biscuits and lay on herrings and sausages and pastries for tea tomorrow." "I am inviting a guest, and we must excel ourselves." "We surely will, ma'am." "Oh, Fisher..." "I mean..." "I didn't mean to say Fisher." "I know you ain't Fisher." "That's all right, Minnie." "I hear you've been to Head Office in Oxford today, Miss Lane." "It seems, if I may say so, to have affected you." "Travel does not suit me." "Oxford has its own beauty, but..." "I only ever long to come back to our little wilderness." "I wonder, was your visit something to do with the coming of the railway?" "I expect that the mail will be more quickly transported by train." "You are ever the journalist, Daniel." "That will be all, Minnie." "I'm not here in search of a story, ma'am." "I'm here because of what I saw on your face as you returned." "I hope that what you see before you is a friend." "I must confess, I...am in need of someone to confide in." "I would be grateful if you saw me as someone you could trust with your troubles." "The situation is this." "Rather than coming by carriage from Oxford to Candleford, the mail will now go by train to Inglestone." "The post office there will become the sorting post office." "From there, letters and parcels will come out to the rest of us." "It makes sense." "It is entirely rational." "That is not so bad." "But that is not all of it." "On my way home today," "I called in at several of the other local post offices." "They have all been visited by Mr Blakestone, to reassure them of how the new system will work." "Yet I have had no word from him." "Perhaps he is simply leaving the best till last." "Perhaps." "But there is a history between us." "He has for many years been covetous of the Candleford Post Office." "Only a few days after my father died, he was on my doorstep making generous financial proposals." "But that is out of the question." "He must know that this post office is your life." "Yes." "I'm sure we have nothing to fear." "I will send him a telegram to invite him to tea tomorrow, so that we can discuss the arrangements." "All will soon be clear." "What have we here?" "Butcher Bob's best bones." "Yes, we do." "And who are they for, eh?" "I thought she might like a blanket, for comfort's sake." "She will need a pillow." "Why do you suppose she followed me?" "She might have taken after any passer-by, but she persisted at my tail the whole day long." "She does seem so naturally at home here." "Margaret... we must not say it." "We must not allow ourselves to think such thoughts." "This dog will be returned to her rightful master tomorrow." "If possible." "Yes, if possible." "But it does seem like a miracle." "A small miracle." "A small, four-legged miracle." "I will not think that this is a God-given dog." "I will not." "Do you suppose she might be lonely down here all night long?" "My dear, you are correct." "We will lay her basket at the foot of our bed." "It's only for one night." "Shall we?" "Good girl!" "Good girl!" "This is my father." "He wasn't nearly as stern as this picture makes him appear." "I started out as a post girl, just like Laura." "I would trek around our patch." "Oh, I loved it." "I have kept so many papers and documents." "I wrote out a copy of the declaration I had to sign." "Ooh, look at my handwriting." "Sydney, you mustn't laugh." ""I do solemnly promise and declare that I will not open or delay" ""or cause or suffer to be opened or delayed" ""any letter or anything sent by post."" "You see that signature, just beneath mine?" "He is now a most important man - the Southern District Postmaster General." "Am I allowed to boast a little?" "It is my one weakness." "He predicted I would be the first postmistress in five counties." "I am embarrassed to admit that I agreed with him, which did make him laugh." "And this, Sydney... this is my mother." "Oh, Thomas, she looks so tired sitting there." "Are you sure she can endure the long trek of your delivery with you today?" "And there is such a chill outside." "She does seem to feel the cold." "I couldn't live with myself if the poor little darling caught a fever." "Oh, that would be unforgivable." "We have been entrusted with a duty of care for this delicate tot." "We must be rigorous in our consideration." "Perhaps tomorrow might be a little warmer." "I could take her out then." "But we do have a moral responsibility to seek out her owner." "Of course we do and so we will, my dear." "I propose that we put up a notice." ""Dog found." That will certainly attract the attention of anyone who might know of her master." "Do you suppose she might care for another bowl of warm milk?" "Would you like warm milky-milky?" "You would, wouldn't you?" "Yes." "Good girl." "If my eyes seem heavy today, ma'am, it's because Margaret and I hardly slept last night." "Every sniffle had my wifefixing the little lady's pillows or her covers." "Thomas, how's a notice to be noticed if it is so small?" "Nonsense, Minnie." "You noticed it because it is small." "You could ask Daniel to put it in his newspaper that you've found a dog, and then her master might read it." "That is a splendid idea, Minnie." "And as you go about your rounds, you could put up notices all over the town and half the county." "Yes, thank you." "I will consider that." "Thomas, you and Mrs Brown, when you met, when she was Miss Margaret, and you started to walk out with her... why were you possible?" "Possible?" "Because...what if a boy meets a girl, and a girl meets a boy, and then...they like each other, and then...after that..." "But what if one of them says it ain't possible?" "Patience." "Yes." "And Lizzie and Sally." "No." "Patience." "Acceptance." "If what you feel truly matters, then you will endure." "Life never stands still." "Wait...and see what unfolds." "I understand, ma'am." "Patience." "Persisterance." "I'm truly willing, ma'am, because I know that you always know what is right." "But what if it don't unfold soon?" "Why, I'm yawning today, ma'am, it's because Margaret and I hardly slept last night." "I am sorry, Miss Pratt." "We have nothing for you today." "My sister's silence is ominous." "It is only two days without a letter." "It will simply be that Ruby is engrossed in her life in Pontefract." "Exactly!" "RINGING" "Mr Blakestone has agreed to join us for tea." "I never thought I'd see the day when you entertained that manin your parlour, Miss Lane." "Something must be amiss." "I might as well tell you." "I did something which must have sorely hurt Mr Blakestone." "I once agreed to sell the post office to him and I did not honour that agreement." "So I need to see him to apologise and to explain why." "That is why we must lay on a sumptuous tea." "Mr Blakestone is renowned for his appetite, andwe will endeavour to restore some cordial relations, hm?" "Your brother ain't singing tonight, is he, girls?" "Where's his singing humour gone?" "Down them ditches." "Alf Arless." "Youth is the greatest of all blessings." "Do not deny yourself your young life, or else your own feelings will turn on you, and all your humour will go down them ditches." "You have no idea what is troubling me." "Don't I?" "I can't marry Minnie, so what is the point in me...?" "Marry her?" "!" "You ain't even kissed her!" "Alfie...you're their brother." "You ain't their pa." "So be their brother." "Don't be a hero when there ain't no call for one." "You have plenty of time to be old, believe me." "Be young now." "I hear tell that the railway is coming to Inglestone." "Who knows what that might bring?" "Who knows where our lives might be in five or ten years' time?" "We can't stop ourselves from living because we suppose we know what lies around the corner." "A life can be taken away... any life." "Will it be today?" "Tomorrow?" "We don't know, that's what." "Ma'am, he is here." "Mr Blakestone?" "No, it's Daniel." "I mean, I didn't mean to say you were Daniel." "I know you ain't Daniel." "Daniel is Daniel." "That will be all, Minnie." "Mr Blakestone's no intention of coming, ma'am." "He seems to bear a mighty grievance against you." "He seemed to enjoy the idea of you waiting on him." "I felt it my duty tocome and tell you." "Thank you, Fisher." "That is most considerate of you." "I'm afraid that ain't all of it, ma'am." "Won't you have some tea?" "It seems a pity for it to go to waste." "Thank you, ma'am." "Now that the railway will take the mail to Inglestone, as he's been given the status of Area Sorting Post Office, he proposes to deliver the mail from there." "But only onto my patch." "Other local post offices will not be so affected." "He says it's...rational." "If we have no mail to take out, it will choke the lifeblood out of us." "He knows that." "He seems to have the power to do it." "And he intends to use his position to destroy me." "Mr Blakestone's given me a message, a proposal of sorts." "He wishes to buy the Candleford Post Office from me." "He says that if you sell it to him, he'll keep the staff on." "Their positions will be secure." "But I will be cast out of my own home." "I'll tell him the answer's no." "It cannot be pleasant for you to bring such a message to me." "I volunteered myself for the task, ma'am." "Did he hope that your charms might help persuade me?" "He might." "My own thought was... perhaps I might use a bit of apple sauce to soften him up a little." "Oh, I see." "So he did not conjure up this humane proposition himself?" "You must have dented his pride sorely, ma'am." "He's bent on finishing you." "Fisher... you stand outside all of this." "Tell me what you see." "The railway's changing everything." "And it should be to your advantage, to everyone's advantage." "But he's turned it against you." "The railway will come to Candleford." "It will take two years to get here." "We don't have two years." "Blakestone will not move on this." "I can see it in his eyes." "He wants to set his son up in this post office." "He thinks you'll submit, because you'll not see your staff turned out when you have the means to save them." "He's trying to bully you into selling to him." "If I won't sell... ..and they are cast out..." "..it will be my doing." "I'd say your position's impossible, ma'am." "Can you wait in Candleford until the morning... ..so that I can give you my... answer to take back to him?" "Minnie said she saw you talking to Miss Lane." "Something about the Inglestone postmaster." "I only had a message to bring." "He wants to buy the post office, doesn't he?" "Miss Lane will never sell to him." "Why would he ask you to talk to her?" "Blakestone knows I've friends here." "Laura, it's just... if some good can come from me playing the go-between..." "Why won't you tell me what was said between you?" "It's not for me to say." "You should ask Miss Lane." "Fisher, please." "That is not why I'm here." "How long will you be in Inglestone for?" "The job will take me a week or so." "I love my life here." "Family on my doorstep." "I treasure that." "I know you do." "I could never leave Candleford." "I can't even imagine leaving the post office." "I know that, Laura." "The seasons are all the change that I need." "Laura..." "I'll never be what you might call a success." "I'll never be rich." "But I can look out across a field and see the beauty in it and how that makes me feel alive, like..." "I can't describe." "And I know it's the same for you." "I lived the gypsy life because I didn't care to see the same faces day after day." "But your face, Laura..." "Fisher... please..." "I don't want to hear your declarations." "It ain't wooing that I'm here for." "But I don't know how to stop." "I want you to hear what I'm trying to tell you, what I mean by staying here." "Laura... if I asked you..." "..to marry me..." "I'm not saying marry me now, but in time..." "I'm looking for a way to show you..." "Fisher, you can't ask me that." "Not at all or... just not yet?" "Not yet." "I don't know..." "Don't say any more." "Not yet... leaves me with hope." "Is she sleeping?" "It would seem so." "Despite my earnest best efforts to unearth... (her master), there's been no sign of anyone to claim her." "If they cared at all, they would be out searching for her." "It does make one wonder." "I think perhaps she is ready to venture out tomorrow." "Though I am still quite concerned about the chilly weather." "Do you suppose...?" "Margaret, it occurs to me it might be cruel to go on calling her "her"" "or "it" or "she"." "Do you know, I was thinking just the same thing." "Of course, any name we might choose to give her would only be temporary, as at any moment we might discover her previous master." "It occurred to me as I gazed upon her this morning that my mother's name suited her." "Amelia." "Ah!" "Well, as I went about my delivery yesterday, I became increasingly fond of the idea of calling her after my grandmother, Cordelia." "Oh.Ah." "I have been in touch with..." "Head Office in Oxford this morning." "It seems that what Mr Blakestone says is true enough." "He has every right to deliver directly from the Area Main Sorting Post Office." "My hand is forced." "I am left with no option but to consider his offer." "Will you wait for me?" "I wish to come to Inglestone with you to speak with Mr Blakestone in person, to receive from him in person... particular assurances." "Of course." "He may wish to hide from me, but I have no wish to hide from him." "For a man who has a clock to make in Inglestone, you spend a lot of time in Candleford." "You're the city journalist" " I'd have thought you might figure that one out yourself." "If you want Laura to take you... seriously, you must want to convince her you'll stay." "If you don't mind, right now, I'd rather just keep my own company." "I've a job to do and I ain't feeling too good about it." "What's going on?" "What have you done?" "Daniel, some days, even the good things you do are bad." "Sydney?" "I will be home for tea." "Ma, will I one day be postmaster of the Candleford Post Office?" "Sydney...you are so bright." "You can go to university to study for law or medicine or..." "But I know what I want." "I know it like you did." "I find myself in an impossible predicament." "If I do not sell, Mr Blakestone will cut off the source of our income." "If I do sell," "I can secure your positions here, but I will be betraying Sydney's hopes." "Ma'am, you cannot even consider it." "I must be clear to you - it is your positions I would be putting at risk as well as my own if I turn him down." "I can only take Mr Blakestone on with your full support." "I could not live with my own conscience if I were to carry out one parcel in that man's name, ma'am." "Ma'am, I'm not sure we could even trust him to keep his word to employ us." "Ma'am, if you ain't to be here, then there ain't no here...here." "And I ain't cooking and cleaning for no-one but you." "And Sydney." "And Thomas." "Thank you, Minnie." "And Laura." "And Mrs Brown sometimes." "Then we are united?" "Good." "Mr Bloom, I will not be accompanying you to Inglestone." "I wish you to carry back a simple message to Mr Blakestone." "I will not sell to him." "I will not be bullied into submission by his bribery." "I will fight him." "I do not know how, but everything I hold dear is right here, and I shall defend it with every ounce of cunning I can muster." "You have my best wishes, ma'am." "Mr Blakestone's man." "I'm my own man." "We must expect Blakestone to launch a full-scale attack." "I've been investigating the man." "He's a truly political animal." "He has forged favour and built up his position of strength patiently, making friends at Head Office in Oxford." "They are convinced by him, because he talks only of efficiency and providing a good, rational service." "He appears unassailable and will do all he can to undermine us." "We cannot outmanoeuvre him." "He holds all of the cards." "So, we must outwit him." "SHOP DOORBELL RINGS" "Miss Lane!" "Surely there is a missive from my sister today?" "I'm sorry, Miss Pratt, still nothing for you." "Then I am correct in thinking that my sister has forgotten me." "But of course I can expect no sympathy here, however grave my predicament." "Daniel, I wanted to thank you for the consideration you've shown towards the post office." "This Mr Blakestone... the power he has and how he intends to use it, I can't bear the injustice of it." "I feel compelled to do something." "When we spoke, Laura... ..I was driven by... hurt and anger." "I was too, Daniel." "But what if it's true?" "What if this wasn't meant to be?" "Is that what you feel?" "If Fisher had not come here, we might not be asking any of this." "But he did." "And you reacted to that." "I don't know if it was... jealousy and fury at losing my trust in you..." "..or... a painful way of reaching the truth." "Isn't love constant?" "I have been shaken." "So have you." "What does that tell us?" "Perhaps you are right, Daniel." "I do not know." "Why are you so determined to prove to Alfie that he can't go courting?" "I ain't!" "I ain't!" "Twister Turrill, I know you better than you know yourself." "I see it when the wintertime gets into your thinking, and you can't abide being old." "You're jealous of Alfie." "Jealous?" "Not I." "Never." "What's there to be jealous of the young for?" "Don't we have everything they have?" "Perhaps a little less enthusiasm, mind." "Don't you see how I look at you sometimes?" "Ain't it cosy... here... together?" "While we've still got enough breath in us!" "GIGGLING" "Alfie!" "You listen now, to a man who knows." "Never mind your difficulties - a young man should set himself to courting." "What's made the tune on your lips change?" "Ma...you must gather Lark Rise folks together." "We must speak to everyone." "Morning, ma'am." "Miss Lane." "If I appear tired today, it is because my wife and I have been kept awake half the night." "Thomas, Margaret... ..I have received a message." "Your notice was...noticed." "It seems the owner of Amelia..." "Cordelia... her master has identified himself and wishes his dog to be returned." "Thank you, ma'am." "Stratton Audley." "And I will be going out that way today." "Then of course you must..." "Good girl." "Good girl." "DOG WHIMPERS" "RINGING" "Oh!" "Minnie!" "Minnie!" "Oh, we must cook." "We must prepare the finest tea our table has ever seen." "It ain't Mr Blackrod, is it, ma'am?" "It is someone far more important than Mr Blakestone." "He is on his way already." "He is coming all the way from London, by train!" "I ain't never cooked for London before." "Miss Lane and the Candleford Post Office have served you for many years." "Now she needs your support, to stand beside her." "To protest against this attack on her.And to save the post office, which we all hold so dear." "We shall!" "Of course we shall!" "But how shall we?" "We wish to create a show of opposition." "Make it known that people do not want Mr Blakestone to push Miss Lane out." "If you cause a stir, I will print an article about it." "News will travel." "It could get as far as London." "We have a song for the purpose." "A rousing song with justice in it and a bit of ire and a bit of fire and..." "Ain't that so, Alfie?" "# When the roll is called up yonder" "# When the roll Is called up yonder... #" "Splendid!" "Splendid!" "Who will come with me now to Candleford?" "CHEERING" "You're a fine speaker, Laura." "I have a fine teacher." "Thank you." "I meant my pa." "My ma used to always tease my pa when he was at his most passionate, said he looked so handsome on his expounding plank." "Are you telling me that I'm handsome or that I'm prone to expounding?" "I'm saying, I'm glad to know a man with such a passion for life, for people, someone who will stand up and fight for all that matters to the folks around here." "I'm glad you're glad." "He...did not want her coat." "I hope she settled." "I do pray he is a kindly master." "I'm not so sure." "He showed no affection." "Please." "I would rather not know." "I took him to be a rather callous man." "Thomas, please." "Our conversation took an unexpected direction." "The man could see how fond I'd become of Cordelia-Amelia." "He called her Trixie." "Vulgar name for such a beauty." "Please, I find it unbearable." "He suggested that, if we were to pay him £4, he might be willing to let her go." "£4?" "But how could he land upon the exact amount we have put by?" "Well..." "It is an exorbitant amount." "It would be unreasonable to pay." "To spend all of our savings on a dog." "It would take some considerable thought and prayer to justify." "To even contemplate." "We couldn't possibly act rashly and submit to the man's demands." "Well, we are agreed." "We will be sensible about this and not be overcome by sentimentality." "Heavens!" "Quite a gathering." "And it isn't even market day." "We're here to see you, Miss Lane... if we may." "It ain't our business, perhaps, but..." "That's our post office as much as it is our...streets and our...clouds and our...winter." "What we mean to say is, Dorcas... ..we wish to show our support." "We intend to march!" "On Inglestone." "We have a song for it." "# When the roll is called up yonder" "# When the roll is called up yonder... #" "Every man and woman and child and goose and trumpet that can walk." "Candleford folk, as well as Lark Rise, to make it known how we feel about our Post Office." "You are part of us, Miss Lane." "And whatever harm comes to you comes to us, as well." "How many times have you shown us such loyalty and devotion?" "Then, I am grateful, indeed." "We will be ready to set off for Inglestone in an hour or so, Miss Lane." "We propose to provide many Candleford folk to join us, ma'am." "Oh..." "An hour?" "I see." "Very good." "Let's hope the train arrives at Bicester in time." "We are expecting a visitor, who might give you a glorious headline." "Minnie." "Minnie, while I was in Candleford, I just wanted to say..." "I know, Alfie." "I have my sisters to look after." "I know." "I live in Lark Rise, you live in Candleford." "I know." "I know." "I know we can't." "Minnie, I ain't saying we can't." "I'm saying we can." "If you..." "What?" "Kissing?" "Yes." "Kissing." "And Sunday walks." "And tea at our cottage, if you like pease pudding." "Nine days old is my favourite." "CHEERING AND APPLAUSE" "GENERAL CHATTER" "Fisher... ..I can't go back to the way I felt last time you were here." "I can only tell you what I feel now." "You are such a romantic man." "You say such dreamy things, I get swept away by them." "But what I feel for you now is not love." "It is romance." "What's the difference?" "Ain't romance what we're supposed to feel?" "It is." "To begin with." "I feel exhilarated when I'm with you, Fisher." "Giddy, so that I am lost in it." "But I come down again." "I don't know what willhappen with Daniel." "But I know what I want." "I know what this is." "You think I'm Blakestone's man." "I was only trying to help, Laura, do the right thing, for you." "And I know Daniel's been asking questions around Inglestone about me." "And it's true, Blakestone did offer me a position, to settle." "But I turned him down." "Whatever Daniel's been saying..." "Daniel said nothing." "Quite a man." "See why you love him." "We're all done." "Ain't we, Laura?" "I am glad I've known you, Fisher." "I'll never forget you." "I won't forget Candleford." "I won't forget the pond, where the yellow brandyball waterlilies grow." "Give it more volume." "Now I know what it was you were trying to tell me, Ma." "What you fall in love with as a girl ain't always what you want as a woman." "You can still have sweetness and giddy joys, just so long as that's not all there is." "BAND PLAYS" "Please, excuse me, could we wait just a little while longer?" "What is it, Miss Lane?" "When I realised I could not rely on any support from head office in Oxford," "I decided I must appeal to a higher power." "And then it struck me." "The declaration." "I signed it when I was a girl." ""I do solemnly promise and declare I will not open or delay or cause" ""or suffer to be opened or delayedany letter or anything sent by post."" "Even the most humble member of Her Majesty's Postal Service must sign it." "So, Mr Blakestone will have signed it and he is causing the mail to be delayed." "Because it will take longer to come out from Inglestone than it will from Candleford." "Then he is in breach of Post Office Regulations." "I'm sure he could argue a case against me, but anyway," "I put this in the telegram to the Southern District Postmaster General." "Lordy." "That's as high as high powers get... ..in the Post Office." "I had already invited the Southern District Postmaster General." "He has rather a soft spot for me, but when you told me of your protest, I thought, "Wouldn't it be splendid" ""if he were met here by your outpouring of song and feeling?"" "We shall outpour, Miss Lane." "But where is he?" "BAND PLAYS" "ALL:" "Not yet!" "Yes!" "Now!" "Look!" "# When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound" "# And time shall be no more" "# And the morning breaks eternal, bright and fair" "# When the saved of Earth shall gather over on the other shore" "# And the roll is called up yonder I'll be there" "# When the roll is called up yonder" "# When the roll is called up yonder" "# When the roll is called up yonder" "# When the roll is called up yonder I'll be there... #" "GENERAL HUBBUB" "LAURA: 'Miss Lane was always a stickler for Post Office Regulations, 'especially, 'when it suited her." "'Life in Candleford was once more safely restored 'to the rhythms of ordinary life..." "'..our own particular brand 'of ordinary life.'" "I love you, Minnie." "So do I." "I mean..." "I know what you mean." "'Sometimes life offers us paths to take." "'The choices we must make...'" "Wonderful news!" "My sister is unhappy." "Oh, I'm sorry to hear." "Not at all, no." "She misses Candleford terribly." "Terribly, Miss Lane!" "Terribly is wonderful!" "I suspect, the slightest nudge, she will come home." "'I often look back at the time 'when two very different paths were open to me." "'But have any of us a free choice 'or are we driven by destiny 'along a path already marked out?" "'Who can tell?" "'"