"Governesses get $2 per person." "What a huge scandal this is." "How long are we going to be here?" " I don't know." " What about our jobs?" "We could possibly lose our jobs over this." "Morning, ma'am." " Good morning, Katy, Pauline, Lilian." " Ma'am." "Mrs. Schroeder." " Are the children up?" " Just breakfasting now." "That is today's press?" "Surely it either is or it isn't." "She's going to find out anyway." "I've been crying for hours." "What is the prediction?" "Ma'am?" "For the weather." "It's going to be nippy." "Emily must wear her union suit and Teddy will put on his heaviest socks." "They made it themselves." "I just checked the spelling." "Will there be dinner, ma'am?" "Why wouldn't there be?" "But tonight, ma'am, for the visiting gentleman." "On account of the events." "Katy, this rug must be taken out and beaten before Mr. McGarrigle and the other guests arrive." " Mr. Thompson's suite." " Mr. Kessler." "Oh, Mrs. Schroeder, it's not..." "I've already seen the paper." " The report is not accurate." " Was he not arrested?" "He is innocent." "This was not mentioned." "I'm going to the jail." "No, he's being bailed as we speak." "Missus, I must go." "It is mayhem." "Was Mr. Thompson able to..." "Did you want me to do it now?" "What sort of coat do you have?" "You understand you're in a precarious situation." "Uncertain, not secure." "I know what it mean." "It was for your own protection." "On the steps of my own house?" "Where do you think they came for me?" "Not a coincidence, was it?" "Klan come at me anytime." "Not as long as they thought I could help you." "So why they think you couldn't all of a sudden?" "What were you doing election night?" "Basement of the AME Church, handing out dollar bills to every able-bodied negro who come in." "And the other wards?" "I wasn't in the other wards, was I?" "Neary, Boyd," "Fleming, O'Neill." "Neary." "Why?" "O'Neill just go-along, get-along." "And Fleming, he couldn't lead a pig to mud with a bucket of apples." "But Neary, he a son of a bitch ever since I run numbers for old Oscar Boneau over in Georgia." "Used to come around for collection, and he did like to give a taste of that nightstick." "And Boyd?" "You asking the wrong question, and you know it." "Ain't a one of them pikers got it in him to make a squeal lessen he be put up to it." "Yes, and who could have done that?" " Isaac Ginsburg?" " He's my attorney." "He posted your bail." "What about me?" "Chalky, be patient." "That's all I ask." "Please." "I'll get my own Jew lawyer down from Camden." "Precarious motherfucker." "I won't pretend you're inclined to be warm to me." "I wouldn't insult you like that." "Because, before anything else," "I have great respect for you, your wisdom, your achievements." "You're better spoken than I expected." "We never really talked before." "You and Charlie are acquainted?" "We have someone in common." "You hear, Charlie?" "Discretion." "Charlie volunteered to absent himself from this meeting." "He felt his presence might be disruptive." "But I counseled, what?" "To not let the past get in the way of the future." "We are all learning, Mr. Rothstein." "And what can I learn from you, Mr. Darmody?" "That things are changing in Atlantic City." "If you're in the market for quality liquor coming in off the beaches at a reasonable price and in good supply," "I can get it for you." "You personally?" "Me, my associates." "I'm expanding my business, and you are precisely the type of discerning customer I am looking for." "And Nucky Thompson?" "Nucky's like a father to me." "I got a father, barely said hello in five years." "Sorry to hear it." "Who are you, Mr. Darmody?" "Pardon?" "You show up well-dressed with a silk cravat and a bold proposal." "A year ago, you were a brigand in the woods." "Who are you?" "I'm a businessman." "A veteran." " I just got married." " Congratulations." "I have a son, he's almost four." "Cart before the horse." "Do you have kids, Mr. Rothstein?" "No." "But I'm told they often say unexpected and amusing things." "I appreciate you coming to me." "I applaud your audacity." "And I give you my word that your offer remains in this room." "What does that mean?" "I'll show you out." "Mr. Darmody." "Don't you find it curious neither of us has mentioned that Nucky Thompson spent last night in jail?" "He did?" "Election fraud apparently." "Well, things seem to be changing faster than I realized." "Darmody." "Look, A.R. don't like saying no." "He doesn't like saying yes either." "Not unless he has to." "You play poker?" "It's happened." "Meyer's game." "Come downtown later." "Sit in." "I'll be there." "This your idea of a setup?" "Jesus." "Thought you was a businessman." "Doesn't make me a simp." "You know what?" "Go fry a fucking egg, Farmer John." "Hey, Charlie." "Just give me the straight dope, all right?" "Meyer thinks we should talk." "Hey!" " You can't block that hole." " That's what she said." "This is all coming straight from your old friend Governor Edwards." " How do you know?" " These state troopers, they're all Edwards' men." "What does he want with his shiny new police force?" "A big splash." " And Solomon Bishop." " The state's attorney." "The man who's going to try very hard to put you in prison." " Here." " I'm fine." "Tell me he's poor but honest." "He's married to a lesser Whitney and he set his salary at $1 per annum, so, not poor." "As for honest, you want to ask about the indictment." "I do not have a copy of the indictment yet." "However, I gleaned from the courthouse clerk that your ship is leaking." "Who is it?" "Confidential witness number one and his boon companion, confidential witness number two." "They will testify to direct knowledge of widespread election abuses in county precincts on November 2nd last, including, but not limited to, voter intimidation, fraud, theft of ballot boxes, and bribery." "There's reporters out there." "You want a lawyer at your side?" "That's what guilty men do." "I'll get to work." "Mrs. Schroeder has read the paper." "What about the children?" "She did not say." "The state police have banished me from the suite." "There were men touching your possessions in ways I consider offensive." "I could not stop them." "Don't I have a treasurer's office somewhere?" "Sir." "There's a lady here." "Mr. Thompson?" "No, ma'am." "Solomon Bishop, Deputy Attorney with the State of New Jersey." "When will Mr. Thompson return?" "You read the papers, ma'am?" "On Sundays, after the neighbors are done with it." "Well, perhaps you can borrow it from them today." "Mr. Thompson's been arrested." "Good Lord." "For what?" "The neighbors will tell you." "Yes, of course." "It's just..." "I was told, you see, that I could come here and Mr. Thompson would aid me." "I have the two wee ones and..." "I'm very sorry, ma'am." "I walked here from Bungalow Park." "Get her a glass of water." "Thank you." "But, actually, may I use the facilities?" "I think she may be with child, sir." " Okay." " It's this way, ma'am." "Wait, there he is." "Nucky!" "Nucky!" "So it's Christmas." "A man is standing before the judge." ""Your Honor," the man says," ""All I did was take care of my Christmas shopping."" "Judge says, "That's not against the law."" "Man says, "It is if you do it before the store opens."" "That one goes back to Cantor, pronto." "So a young woman..." "We didn't come down to hear you tell jokes, Nuck." "No?" "Well, I haven't told you the biggest one yet." "Which is that some people in Trenton think it's funny to waste your tax dollars on a frivolous political vendetta." "Some people in Trenton can't bear the idea that there's a place where the working man, the family man, by God, even a colored man can take his wife and children..." "Sure, but what's all that got to do with election rigging?" "This isn't about rigging anything, Harold." "It's about sore losers..." "How dirty is this town, Nuck?" "Is there an honest man in Atlantic City?" "Is there a sober reporter at The Philadelphia Inquirer?" "Be news to me." "Come on, Nucky." "How'd you fix the election?" " Thank you." " You didn't give us anything." "How high does this go?" "How involved are you in this?" "I will not be tried by the press." "I'm going to use the same legal system that's being turned against me, and I'm gonna put this business where it belongs, in the trash." "There you go, boys." "Write it up." "Yeah, but it's Nucky's town, Eli." "And who ran it before him?" "Nucky was weaned on the Commodore's teat." "There's a picture to keep at your bedside." "But that's the point." "It's a young man's game." "I'm not saying that the Commodore..." " How old are you, Damien?" " Commodore, I..." "How old are you?" "Thirty-eight, sir." "He fall into the shoe polish?" "Pick up that tusk." " Commodore, I..." " Pick it up." "Over your head." "Give me that." "And you're half my age, son." "Well, I trust I made my point." "So you all showed up." "That tells me that we all feel the same about a certain individual, the arrogance, selfishness, neglect." "Let me take the fall on St. Paddy's." "Such is his method, Jim." "And then a wave of the hand, and all is forgiven." "Makes me sick." "And I say this as a blood relation." "A whelp of 14 when you first sat at my knee, right, George?" "Never forget it, Commodore." "Driving that buckboard from the train station to my hotel." "All came up together, didn't we?" "And back together we'll be." "Nucky Thompson's about to hit seven years of lean, and woe unto them that follow him." "But he's just indicted." "And Nucky, well, he's pretty smart." "I mean, if what we're talking about here is..." "Plugging him in the ass?" "I like this little shitter." "Well, how can we be sure?" "I mean, all of us, we got families." "How's yours, Damien?" "They like that new house?" "That was an accident." "Wasn't it?" "Nucky Thompson's going to jail thanks to Jim Neary and..." " Patrick Ryan, sir." " ...eyewitness testimony that nails him dead to rights on the election." "Which also leaves us the booze." "How are you gonna handle that, sir?" "Who's the chairman of the yacht club?" " You are, Commodore." " With a solid tie to the coast guard." "What we ship comes in, what Nucky ships doesn't." " You all know my son." " Jimmy's gonna run it?" " You're damn right." " Kid's a war hero." " What about Chalky?" " That pickaninny's neutered." "It's ours for the taking, boys." "Hell, it's not gonna be easy." "Nothing worthwhile ever is." "But ask the man inside you this." "When you come face-to-face with destiny, do you want to be the bear or do you want to be holding the shotgun?" "Thank you." "Maybelle has a request." " Her beau." " Samuel?" "He wishes to call at the house." "When he want to do that?" "When would it suit you?" "Maybe a few days." "I'm awaiting the advice of counsel." "Is he competent?" "He a Hebrew gentleman." "Lester was quite insistent about visiting you." "This ain't a proper place for him at all." "So I said." "He thought you might enjoy something to read." "Oh, yes." "It's a good one." "Tell him thank you from his daddy." "And I'll see him soon." "Mrs. White, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to..." "Yes, of course." "Albert, you have a family waiting that loves you." "My valentine." "My, my!" "Who that little lamb tail?" "Like the look of her?" "Surely do." "Well, buck, I'll tell my wife next time I see her." "Now I meant no offense." "Got the pair of eyeballs, can't help but use them." "Suppose not." "Name's Dunn Purnsley, up from Baltimore on Friday." "Don't say." "$40 one pocket, corn knife the other." "And, friend, come Saturday night I use them both." "Hope it was worth the ruckus." "Was to me." "So be it." "What you got there?" "Tom Sawyer." "Well, we ain't going no place." "Why don't you read some aloud?" "Y'all up for the tale, right?" "Read the first part." "What you say?" " Leave the man be." " You hoe darky, ain't talking to you." "This palaver between friends." " What's your name?" " He Chalky White." "He is?" "He is?" "I had no idea." "You telling me, walking around this earth be a moke dressed up like Old Zip Coon, fine high yaller bitch by his side, and he called Chalky White?" "'Cause that be the most buckra-nigger horseshit I ever hear." "What you say to that, Brudder Tambo?" "I say you heard my name." "I know you heard mine." "Mr. White." "Gonna have to move you across." "Can't be mixing the races." "Guard." "Mr. Thompson." "This is unexpected." " Enid." " Eunice." " My office is?" " Right over there." "I need you to call the sheriff and the alderman of each ward." "And the mayor." "Tell them I want them over here as quickly as possible." "Eddie will give you their numbers." "Keep up the good work." "I also need a florist." "A cocktail fork, on the left." "Further left." "A setting for Mr. Thompson, ma'am?" "Curiosity is not necessarily a virtue." " No, ma'am." " He will sit at the head as usual." "Mom!" "Mom!" "What do you think you're doing?" "I'm sorry." "We were putting together a birdhouse." "This is not a plaything." "You will go to your room." "You will sit in your chair and reflect on your conduct." "Is that clear?" "Go to the kitchen, dear." "Pauline will get you something sweet." "Yes?" "I'm not a burglar." "Though I do confess to crawling out a window or two." "What can I do for you?" "You can tell Mrs. Thompson that John McGarrigle's man is here." "Off you go." "There's a good colleen." "There is no Mrs. Thompson." "Then I'll speak with the lady of the household." "You are speaking with her." "Mea maxima culpa, missus." "I'm Owen Sleater." "I assist Mr. John McGarrigle." "Then you're quite early." "Your daughters?" "Only the little one." "Well, rather dark, all of a sudden, in this hole I've dug for myself." "What do you want, Mr. Sleater?" "With your kind permission, ma'am," "I'm to ensure your home is safe for Mr. McGarrigle's visit this evening." "We're not much given to threatening our guests." "You do have the hammer." "My son seems to think it's a toy." "And where is he?" "In his room." "He's seven." "Well, we won't be too vexed about him then." "May I?" "Sorry for the bother." "Why don't you leave off that?" "He wants you to shut that flytrap you got hanging down." "Got a cold or something." "So don't be passing it to me." "Where I supposed to go?" "He got you there, friend." "We's in it together." "Now what Dunn Purnsley do?" "Find that little place up here, can't nobody get to." "Hell, I done three years in ankle chains like it was taking a nap." "Chalky White know what I'm talking about, don't he?" "I bet he up there right now." "All soft and pillow-y, honeybee wife fetching plates of greens, roast beef, reading Tom Sawyer." "Ain't that so, Chalky White?" "Might could be." "Oh, yeah." "Maybe I climb up there with you, jazz that woman up while you be licking the plate." "Well, buck, you do what you want." "Just be you and your right hand anyway." "Now that's how you play it, gentlemen." "Oh, yeah." "We gonna get on fine." "Shut the fuck up." "Am I late?" "Where the hell have you been?" "I came soon as I got the message." "Ninety minutes?" "There's reporters everywhere." "And these investigators snooping around." "I'm not proud of myself." "I've been hiding in my garage." "Where is everybody?" "I need you to tell me if you were approached about turning against me." "I'm with you, you know that." "We're in business together." "We're building things." "Nobody came to you?" "Not Neary?" " No." " Any of the bosses?" "The Commodore?" "How bad is this?" "I don't know yet." "Are they gonna come after me?" "You got elected mayor, didn't you?" " You brought that to me." " And you said yes." "So it doesn't matter what you say now." "I'm gonna beat this, Ed." "And when I do, I'll remember who showed up here today and who didn't." "Depend on that." "Mr. Thompson." "Mr. Kessler called from your other office." "It's safe to go back now." "I don't see why things got to change." "Everybody's getting by." "That all you want from life, Damien?" " What else is there?" " A pair of balls." "What's in it for you, Jim?" "Same as everybody." "Less headaches and more green." "But Nucky keeps the jack flowing." "Where were you last year?" "Armed robberies, shooting on the boardwalk." "That's not a man in control." "And the election?" " We took it, didn't we?" " Too goddamn close." "If we'd lost, where would we be then?" "That doesn't mean he's got to go to jail." "The roads, we're all in on that." "Still will be, with the Commodore." "But it's Nucky's deal." "Get this into that potato sack of yours." "We're not in charge." "The Commodore wants Nucky next to that fucking grizzly." "That's what's gonna happen." "But what's keeping us from winding up with him?" "The Commodore." "He puts the fix in." "What do you think?" "He's dyeing his damn hair." "He could serve you up for Christmas dinner." "And Eli?" "He's got Eli, and Eli's the law." " What about the kid?" " Look who his father is." "They get on top of that booze, fellas, it's all flags and hallelujah." "And anybody who didn't sign on, he'll be lucky to work the boards with a broom and a dustpan." "Damien?" "Just say, "Please, sir," and, "Thank you."" "So how does this work?" "I run the house." "Goes round the clock." "The old neighborhood people know me." "Under A.R.'s protection, so half to him." "We've got other enterprises, too." "Rothstein get a piece of those?" "Benny, go around the corner and purchase me one pound of halvah." " Stuff will rot your teeth." " I have a craving." "What the hell was that?" "He does funny things sometimes." "Please." "You met with A.R." "He can be difficult to read." "That thing of yours this morning, I'd have said yes to that." "Yeah, but I wouldn't ask you." "I need Rothstein, not the fella that carries his water." "The fuck's with you?" "I make a friendly gesture..." " Charlie." " ...and this bust-out asshole..." "What, are we friends now?" "You fucking come near my mother..." "Pally, she begged for it." " Gentlemen!" " What the fuck are you gonna do?" "Gentlemen, I'm running a business here!" "Yes?" "Yes?" "May I call you Jimmy?" "Jimmy, Charlie and I have learned a great deal from Mr. Rothstein, as I am sure you have learned from Mr. Thompson." "But nobody wants to be in school forever." "As I see it, we have a lot in common." "And if we put aside our differences, things could happen." " Such as?" " Trading partners." "We buy liquor from you, you buy something from us." "And what would that be?" "We're thinking of getting into heroin." "When you run the numbers, it starts looking very attractive." "Mr. Sleater, is the kitchen sufficiently safe?" "It looks to be fairly buttoned up." "Katy seems incapable of laying this down properly." "Well, not much meat on her." "Works a treat now." "Thank you." "You've been traveling around the country?" "With Mr. McGarrigle, aye." "Filling the coffers." "New York, Boston, Chicago." "It's support for the cause amongst those that keep ties with home." ""Ourselves Alone."" "Your Gaelic's a bit off." "Sinn Féin. "We Ourselves." That's closer." "In either case, it's what we're about, 'cause who else would fight for us?" "What do you do for Mr. McGarrigle?" "As you see, clear the path." "I was a livestock inspector before the rebellion in Coleraine." "Well to the north." "I make you from the lonesome west." "Kerry." "Family there still?" "No." "Here." "Apparently." "Then you won't have to choose sides." "I thought first to do the bedroom." "But then I say, "He must have his office."" "They are vandals, nothing more." "See here?" "A water ring." "Damien Fleming." "He says he must speak to you." "Nuck, I tried talking to them." "I said they were making a mistake." "I told them that you were too smart to get sandbagged by something like this." "They wouldn't listen." "All they see is the dollar signs." "It's like the Commodore, he cast some kind of voodoo spell." "Everything you did for him, for us, it's like it never even happened." "Yes?" "All alone, big brother?" "Eli." "How's it feel sitting at your fancy desk by yourself?" "Eli, please, listen closely." "If now, right now, you tell me you want to get out of this," "I will help you." "I will find some way, and we will come to terms." "I'm prepared to hear your side of it." "But I will help you if you tell me now." "Because, in a minute, it's going to be too late." "Are you there?" "You know the funny thing?" "Nobody takes power." "Somebody else has to give it to them." "Look around, big brother." "What do you got?" "I have a dinner engagement." "Feels good to twist the knife." "Now come meet the men that made this city." "Gentlemen, Sheriff Elias Thompson." "Hear, hear." "The distinguished senator from New Jersey." "Is it bad if all the cards are the same color?" "Jesus, just play poker." "I'll see it." "And I will raise you three." "I'm out." "Six hundred in the pot." "What are you holding, mon frère?" "Straight to the nine." "That'll pay for the holiday." "Cash me out." "Thank you for your visit." "You gentlemen want to sit in?" "New victims are always welcome." "Why's every kike got to be a wiseass?" "Why's every dago got to be dumb as fuck?" "I'll bury you in your diaper." "Benny." "Gentlemen, I appreciate the full and frank discussion." "Fuck that." "You respect the terms." "And you tell your frocio partner." "I most certainly will." "This place smells." "Let's go." "Come on, my uncle needs to hear this." "What was that?" " Representatives of Mr. Masseria." " Who's he?" "Mustache Pete Fat-Ass." "Thinks he owns the Lower East Side." "A simple misunderstanding." "What's that scamp Tom up to now?" "He meet this little one here." "They had a sweet time chatting." "Then she play this piano." "And what that say, there?" "That say, get your finger out of my face." "I don't like about you?" "That buck-and-wing suit, bright skin bitch you strut around with, uppity way you tell the world you better than Dunn Purnsley, when all you be is another jigaboo in a jail cell." "Harold C. Madison." "How your daddy keeping?" "Tolerable, sir." "He thank you for the doctor bill." " Noah Hookway." " Mr. White." "Things good down at the Gold Room?" "Supposed to work today." "I'll talk to them." "Timothy." "Cornelius." "Mama grateful for the turkey, sir." "All righty then." "Catch." "Hold him there!" "Turn him around!" "You son of a bitch!" "That's right!" "What?" "Purnsley be done." "Sir." "Which one of you boys know his letters?" "I do." ""David Copperfield by Charles Dickens." ""Chapter One:" "I am born." ""Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life," ""or whether that station will be held by anyone else..."" "Is the lamb not to your liking, Mr. McGarrigle?" "I've no doubt it is properly prepared, but I eschew any flesh that walks on cloven hoof." "I was unaware of your preference." "It is no preference, ma'am." "It is an ironclad principle." "I'd say John is a man with a bit of the devil in him himself." "You're wrong there." "I hold no truck with him at all." "Here's the challenge in this town." "How do you mean?" "Mr. Moran refers to Atlantic City's reputation for pleasure." "The whole of this country seem beset by licentiousness and turpitude." "Well, something else not to your liking." "It's none of my concern." "My cause is to drive the English invader from a land he has occupied for 800 years." "And I assure you, we will succeed, even if we're martyred all along the way." "That is an extreme position." "Only to those who have forgotten from whence they come." "I know where I'm from, sir, and where I am now." "You're plainspoken for a woman." "Now, John, you ought to get back here in the summer." "Why, I'll wager you've never seen the like." "We get half a million people." " Nucky." " Yes." "I..." " Shaving it close." " My apologies." "Busy day." "Mr. McGarrigle, Enoch Thompson." "Rather a protestant name." "A beloved uncle on my mother's side." "May we discuss the matters at hand, sir?" "Of course." "We just need to eat something first." "There's certainly plenty of lamb." "Just give us the jack." "I won it square." "I got no beef with Masseria." "It's Rothstein's game." " I won't ask you again." " All right." "I put it in my boot." "No, it's the other one." "It's the other..." "Another round of port?" "I've allowed myself the one." "I'll not have another." "I guess I'm done, too." "No, thank you, sir." "I'm snug as could be." "Mr. Thompson, the Irish people are at war against a barbaric foe." "The English murder us in our homes." "They fire into crowds." "Last month they put the torch to Cork city and shot the firemen come to fight the blaze." "We need guns and the money to buy them." "Mr. Moran tells me you're a loyal son of Erin." "I call upon that loyalty now." "What would you consider sufficient?" "What do you have?" "Make it out to the Ancient Order of Celts." "What did I tell you, John?" "Remind the boys at your next dinner who their best friend in town is." "Cash suits us better." "I say the same thing myself." "But today is not the day." "Where are you off to next?" "New York again." "Then the boat across the water." "It's a pity you can't stay in town longer." "I've seen enough." " There is one other thing." " My man there." "Owen Sleater, Mr. Thompson." " He'll be staying on in the States." " Why?" "I have no stomach left for it, sir." "I mentioned that you might be able to help him out." "Bring him around tomorrow." " To the Ritz?" " Yes." "No, I just..." "You're back in there?" "Good." " If you gentlemen will excuse me..." " I'll have just another after all." "You needn't, ma'am." "I can manage myself." "Faster with two, I always found." "Were you in service?" "You don't have to look completely amazed." "Do I seem that grand?" "I just didn't think you were like me." "Thank you for your hospitality and contribution." "It is very much appreciated." "He recited the funniest poem in the kitchen." "A cow that walked into a saloon or something." "Yes?" "And how did it go?" "Oh, I don't remember." "Anyway, it was a little naughty." "I know we need to talk." "Do they have a case?" "Yes." "Who is against you?" "All of them." "You must be specific." "The ward bosses, except Fleming." "The Commodore is pulling the strings." "I'm certain Jimmy is with him." "Will you not say your brother's name?" "Eli." "Eli is betraying me." " I had no word from you since last night." " I didn't want you to hear about it." "How could I not?" "I keep people satisfied." "That's all I do." "They will not be satisfied." "You know that already." "The investigators turned the suite upside down." "What might they have found?" "The ledger book." "It's missing." "And some cash." "How much?" "20,000, give or take." "Not a lot, is it, in the scheme of things?" "It stings anyway." "You are smarter than your enemies, and you will persevere." "But you're not thinking clearly now." "You must concentrate and not give over to emotion." "Where did you get those?" "From your closet, today." "This must be burned and future dealings committed to memory." "Do you agree?" "Poor Enoch." "You're exhausted." "I sent you flowers for Valentine's." "I never signed the card." "I knew who they were from." "Come to sleep, in our bed."