"From the raw Australia of the 1900s... comes a turbulent saga that spans the decades... in Colleen McCullough's best-selling novel:" "The Thorn Birds." "I'll never have what I want." "The story of a priest driven by ambition." "Never be what I want!" "Tormented by desire." "And I don't know how to stop... wanting." "And a beautiful young girl obsessed with a man she could never ha ve." "You can marry me." "You love me." "But I love God more." "It's Mrs. Carson, Father." "She's dead." "Probably did herself in." "Unless it was the devil doing us all a favor." ""..." "Father Ralph de Bricassart..." ""serve as the chief authority in charge of my estate."" "£13 million of it." "Go on to that God of yours." "You'll come back to me because I'm the one who loves you." "And tonight, the story continues." "Fire." "Fire on Drogheda." "You've come back." "What have you done to me?" "All right, lads!" "God, you are beautiful." "Help me get free of this." "Starring Richard Kiley, Jean Simmons, Ken Howard, Mare Winningham..." "Philip Anglim, Christopher Plummer, Bryan Brown..." "Rachel Ward, and Richard Chamberlain." "A love unattainable... forbidden forever:" "The Thorn Birds." "Vittorio Scarbanza di Contini-Verchese." "Excellent." "I'm very happy." "So few outside the Vatican can pronounce my name." "Will you take tea, Father?" "I confess I have adopted the custom." "I believe you've been in Sydney for some time, Archbishop?" "Yes, as a papal legate... it is my task to provide a link... between the Australian church hierarchy and the Vatican." "A rich country, Australia." "She supports the Church well despite the Depression." "One day... the Holy Father will have to reward her... by selecting an Australian cardinal." "No doubt that will be many years away." "Still, it is a very important part of my job to study likely men... of your age." "Oh, Sheba, must you be so selfish." "You make my legs numb." "De Bricassart...." "I'm descended from Ranulf de Bricassart... who came to England with William the Conqueror." "Since Henry VIII's time, the family has fallen into obscurity." "In fact, I'm the last of the de Bricassarts." "But you yourself appear to have found ways... of dealing with obscurity." " Your Grace?" " I refer to your penchant... for attracting the notice of the Holy Father." "The Carson bequest." "Rather an achievement." "Mrs. Carson was also faithful to the Church." "Quite." "Sheba, must you always dig in your claws when you're happy?" "How do you do that?" "A cat will never go to anyone, especially Sheba." "Yet she goes to you as if you gave her caviar!" "So, you will administer the Carson estate." "Given the current economic conditions..." "I suppose we must expect some losses." "No." "I've just been over everything with the auditors... and I think the investments will hold firm." "I'm sure the Clearys will continue to manage Drogheda... as if it were their own." " You're fond of these Clearys." " Yes, very." "Do you love them all equally... or do you love some more than others?" "I feel closest to the girl, Meggie." "I've watched her grow up... and I've always felt that she was my special responsibility." "She's the only daughter and the parents sometimes tend to forget she exists." "I see." "Meggie!" " What on earth are you doing?" " Managing the stock horses." "Are you now?" "And who decided that, may I ask?" "I did, since nobody else seemed to have plans for me." "I see." "I don't know if I can think of anything wrong with that." "If you're going to manage stock horses..." "I don't believe I'd use a thoroughbred to do it." "He needs the exercise, Daddy." "You wouldn't want Father Ralph... to come back and find his horse fat and out of shape." "Father Ralph?" "I don't think you'll be seeing him again." "No, Drogheda's part of his past now." "Meggie, you've kept your secret pretty well." "I doubt if anyone else knows how you feel about Father Ralph." "But it's no good for you to keep dreaming about him." "You know he's a priest." "He can stop being a priest, Stuie." "And he will someday, Stuie." "I just know he will." "He can never stop being a priest." "Why can't you understand that?" "The vows he took are sacred." "They can't be broken, ever." "And he never will break them, Meggie." "Not even for you." "You have been disobedient." "Your promise of celibacy was neither made, nor broken lightly... but it was broken." "And, most unfortunately, that fact has now become public knowledge." "We have no choice but to act." "The Archbishop has left instructions for you to be sent to Darwin... in the Northern Territory." "There's a small frontier parish there." "You'll be leaving immediately." "Father John is waiting now to accompany you on your journey." "And, of course, the young woman... must never know where you've gone." "Yes, Father." "Goodbye." "Father..." "I think I know something of the pain you're feeling." "You know, many in your situation might have given up the Church." "But you have chosen to remain." "That takes a great deal of courage." "May God bless you for it." "Such incidents are regrettable, my dear Ralph... but I'm afraid even we priests... are weak, and all too human." "Still, one has to pity him." "And Gillanbone is a paradise in comparison to the place he's being sent." "But the best of us find strength... in such adversity... as you know." "Yes, Your Grace." "Now, what on earth can this be?" "Happy Christmas, Fee." "They're beautiful, simply beautiful." "They may not be "the" finest in all of Australia... but they're the real thing, all right." "There we go." "They are lovely." "I must say, it's a nice surprise to find you all so brave and cheerful... in spite of everything." " Isn't it, Angus?" " Indeed, it is." "Paddy, I want you to know I look on you as friends." "And if there's ever anything I can do for you..." " I hope you'll let me." " Thank you, Angus." "We're just pleased that you could be with us today." "We should've got around to pay some calls before this... but it's been a busy time, as you can imagine." "I suppose it's as dry out your way as it is here, Mr. MacQueen." "Terrible." "I've never seen such mobs of kangas in so close." "They were practically at the house, trying to get at the water." "And you said you saw several grassfires on the way up from Melbourne..." " didn't you, Aunt Sarah?" " Yes." "I hate to start in slaughtering... but the sheep are starving so bad already..." "I'm afraid the wool will be too weak to bring any kind of price." "Pete tells a good one on Aunty Mary." "She was in Sydney once in a drought, and Pete sends a wire:" ""Half the sheep are starved." "Please advise."" "And Aunty Mary sends a wire right back:" ""Shoot the rest."" "That's all you care about, isn't it, the profit?" "The price of the wool." "Never mind that the poor sheep are suffering unspeakably." "Well, ma'am... out here, it's got to be the wool a man cares about, isn't it?" "It's not as if the sheep were people, you know." "Quite right." "I've seen city people dote on animals... and yet, completely ignore a cry of help from a human being." "Perhaps it's natural to have contempt for whatever there's too many of." "How dare you?" "How dare you, when we come here in friendship?" " Sarah!" " No!" "You lecture me on the value of human life... when your own son sits in the Melbourne prison for murder?" "Damn, Sarah!" "Paddy, I'm so sorry." "I thought you knew." "It was months ago." "My son?" "Frank?" "He was in a fight... in a pub there, in Melbourne." "The other fellow died later." "They called it murder because Frank is a professional boxer." " They gave him a life sentence." " Oh, my God." "Oh, God." " Fee." " My Frank...." "Fee, dear, pack your things, we'll go to him." "No." "I can't." "It would kill him to see me." "I'm going to Frank." "Stuie is taking me." "But you mustn't." "Your mom doesn't want you to." "If we could only take back the things we say and do." "Daddy, I know about Frank." "I came to understand it a long time ago." "And you're not to blame for anything." "I tried so hard to treat him like one of my own." "But he was a thorn in my side from the first." "He always stood between us." "Always." "And he will now until the day I die." "I know she can't help the way she loves him... no more than I can help my love for her." "But we are to blame." "We've let it take our hearts away from our own children." "Meggie, I think...." "I think of how much we've both held back from you." "From you, most of all." "It's all right, Daddy." " Meggie...." " No, don't." "Hello, Frank." "You've grown up." "You're beautiful." "What have they done to you?" "It's all been my own doing." "All of it." "From the first." "Listen, Frank..." "I want to try and help you." "I've talked to Harry Gough." "He knows how to get an appeal started for you." "No." "Listen to me." "I want to get you out of here." "I want you to come home." "Frank, darling, if there's any way...." "No." "When I was growing up... there was only one thing that I really wanted in the whole world:" "To see Mom happy." "Then I realized... that no matter how hard I tried... that I couldn't make her happy." "And that it was me... all along." "I ruined her life... just by being born." " I've never found a way to pay for that." " No, Frank." "If Mom's life is ruined, it's because she let it." "Meggie, listen to me." "You want to help me?" "Then you must forget about me." "Promise me that you'll never come here again." "Promise me that you'll never let her come either." "Don't worry." "She wouldn't come, Frank." "I don't understand you... either of you." "I don't understand that kind of love." "Poor little Meggie." "You still think love can save us?" "It's more killing than hate." "Hate is so clean, so simple." "Like being in the ring." "With hate, you just keep hitting." "You hit until they stop hitting back." "With love... they never stop." "And you planned all this?" " Excellent." " Thank you, Your Grace." "We can now feed almost 300 people a day." "But it seems little enough, given the times." "Every day, more and more people thrown out of work." "Still, you have done very well in bringing this about." "In fact..." "I have been very pleased with you... in the year you have been here, Ralph." "And I gather the Vatican shares my assessment." "They have appointed you to be my secretary." "Which means they are considering you very seriously... for further advancement... in time, if you do well." "And, I think you will." "I'm very grateful, Your Grace." "It's an honor I never thought to attain." "You are too humble, Father de Bricassart." "But humility can be most useful to you, because as you advance... you will increasingly find yourself in the position... of having to use the enormous power of the Church." "And while you will be tested in many ways... the greatest test will be... in how you use that power." "No, it is humility... that will help you to use it... well." "Fire, Stuie!" "Look, Stuie, fire!" "Quick, let's get back to the house!" "Oh, God." "All right, you silly animal, I'll get you out." "There you go." "Come on." "Whoa, boy." "Come on." "Fire." "Fire on Drogheda." "Yes." "What?" "All you can spare." "Don't stand there." "Get to the cookhouse to get some stew going, can't you?" "Make it enough for 100." "They're coming, ma'am, from all the stations, Gilly as well." "I'll fetch the other women." " Mom?" " Meggie, go get changed." "Help with the horses." "Stuie, come with me." "There you go." "Come on!" "Keep them together." "Watch!" "Hurry." "Come on, get up." " It's terrible." " Here you go." "Yeah, go on!" "Come on, get in." "God, Mom, it's getting away from us." " Mom?" " Keep working, Meggie." "Will you look at that?" "Charlie, loose those dogs!" "Get the hose and bring it down here!" "And you, you come with me!" " Meggie, you all right?" " I'm okay." " Did Paddy come in with you?" " No, I haven't seen him." " Daddy?" "Where's Daddy?" " He's out on the range, Meggie." "We should telephone around, see if he came in anywhere." "No, the lines are down." "Maybe the boys know where he is." "Over here!" "No, God, please!" "The east water tower's run dry." "Mrs. Cleary, take some rest." "We're losing it!" "Judas Priest, we're losing it!" "Off you go, lad." "How is it out there?" " Nothing will stop it." " Watch out!" " It's going to go!" " Watch out!" "Oh, Meggie, our old place." "Mom, look." " It's up to the house!" " Oh, Meggie." " Boys, wet down the veranda!" " There's no water!" "Rain." "Stuie!" "It's raining!" "We're saved!" "Let him sleep." "Poor old dear." "I know he'd want to help you look for Mr. Cleary." "Good luck." "Here's where we fan out." "And, remember, whoever finds Daddy, fire three shots." "Daddy!" "I had no idea the fire was out this far." "Daddy?" "Stu, where are you?" "Must have been Stuie that signaled." "He rode in this direction." "Don't go in, Mom." "Paddy?" "And Stu." "Stu?" "What do you mean?" " No, not both of them!" " You don't want to see it." "Not Stu!" "You've come back." "Darling Meggie, don't cry." "The world hasn't come to an end because of a fire... no matter how terrible it was." "You're safe." "That's all that matters." "I was so worried." "Harry Gough called me and I flew right out." "Imagine...." "Then you don't know." "Father, Daddy and Stuie... they're dead." "No." "Daddy died in the fire, and Stuie found him." "And then, there was a wild boar... and it killed my Stuie." "What is it?" "The plane bogged in the mud when we landed." "I must have bruised my side." "Let me see it." " You rode all the way from Gilly like this?" " I hardly noticed it." "I was worried about the horse making it through all that mud." "I borrowed him in Gilly." "Oh, God." "Don't." "Meggie, don't." "No!" "What have you done to me?" "What might you do to me if I let you?" "It was good of you to be here, Father." "It would have meant the world to Paddy... and to Stuie." "It's curious, you know." "When it looked as though the fire might take everything..." "I kept thinking of the most peculiar things." "I didn't think of dying or the children... or this beautiful house in ruins." "All I could think about were my accounts... the socks I was knitting for Paddy... the heart-shaped cake tins..." "Frank made me years ago." "How could I survive without them?" "All the little things." "Things which can't be replaced." "It's too late, like all my life." "Too late for him, too late for me." "I can never take my Paddy in my arms now." "I can never say to him... the only thing he ever wanted me to say, that I loved him." "I do love him, Father." "You'll never see me weep again." "I'm finished with tears forever." "You do have two sons left you, Fee... and you have Meggie." "It's not too late for Meggie." " Meggie?" " Will you promise me something?" "If you like." "Look after Meggie." "Don't forget her." "Make her go to the local dances, meet the young men." "Help her look around her world and find some good, kind man to marry... who'll give her children and a home of her own." "It's time." " Whatever you say, Father." " Fee, she's your daughter." "It's as if you never remember that." "Does any woman?" "What's a daughter?" "Just a reminder of the pain... a younger version of oneself... who will do all the same things, cry the same tears." "No, Father." "I try to forget I have a daughter." "It survived." "Meggie, I need no reminder of you." "Not now, not ever." "I carry you within me." "You know that." "I must go." "Yes." "Everything's all right now." "All in order." "The dead are buried and blessed... and you and Mom have my life planned out." "Meggie, we must make an end to this." "My life belongs to God." "You've always known that." "That dear and gentle God... who has taken from me everyone that I've loved most in the world." "One by one." "Frank, and Hal... and Stuie... and my father." "And you, of course." "Always you." "God is merciful." "There'll be no one else to grieve." "He is merciful." "I know you can't see that now, but he is." "He spared the rose." "He sent the rain." "Who sent the fire?" "Good, they've come." "Nice to see them after two years of not even enough sheep to need them." "All new lads, I think." "Not a bad-looking lot, for shearing men." " That one's quite a dandy." " Which?" "The one in the white, you mean." "I suppose he's all right." "Bet he spends all his time washing and ironing, just to keep up appearances." "I'll bet a man with his looks doesn't have to do his own washing." "Mrs. Smith." "Get this wool!" "All right, lads!" "There's your day!" "You know, you owe me one." "You're a regular dreadnought, aren't you?" "What about you?" "Never saw a boss cocky who could shear like that." "I like to keep a hand in." "You're O'Neill, aren't you?" "Yes, sir, Luke O'Neill." "Look at this, Bob." "O'Neill shore 200." "Just a couple ahead of you." "The lads have been talking about getting up a contest between you two." " Are they, now?" " Well, you know... they always are eager to win a few quid wagering." "Why not?" "What do you think, O'Neill?" "The fact is, I'm not much on contests... but thank you all the same, Mr. Cleary." " Good day, miss." " Good day." "Fresh as a daisy, are we?" "Nothing like shearing a ton or two of sheep to set a man up." "I'm Luke O'Neill." " I take it you're the famous Meggie Cleary." " Do you?" "How did you come by that information?" "I saw you cooling yourself on your nice, big veranda." " And they said you were a beauty." " Really?" "What else did they tell you?" "You'd be surprised what a bloke can learn if he's interested." "Judy..." "Mrs. Smith was looking for you." "Something about the washing up." "Yes, Mr. Cleary." "Judy?" "That wasn't nice." "Still interested?" "Listen, man, you ought to give that contest a bit more thought." "You're a good match for Bob." "I could out-shear Bob Cleary any day... if I was cruel enough to show him up in front of these men." "Bob's not like that." "And what do you care, anyway?" "You'll be going down the track in a couple of weeks." "Pete, who's that girl?" "That's just Meggie." "Now, listen... there's good money in this contest, I'm telling you." "Shouldn't swim alone, you know." "Too dangerous." "And what are you doing here?" "Seeing you don't drown." "I don't know why you'd swim in that thing, anyway." "It smells like hell." "It's the sulfur." "I'm Luke O'Neill." "Meggie Cleary." "Meggie?" "That doesn't suit you a bit." "Not enough dignity." "I'm going to call you Meghann." "I detest the name Meghann." "Good night, Meghann." "I often wonder what can account for such sadness... in a face with so much spiritual beauty." "I should be sorry to think that I look sad when I pray, Your Grace." "No, but it's true." "And at other times... when you think no one is watching." "And the passage of time seems only to deepen it, my Ralph." "Perhaps it's the Irish strain in me." "We're a tragic lot, you know." "You received a wire from the Vatican this morning." "The Athens Conference is all arranged." "I'll soon have our travel plans in order." "Splendid." "The Church is long overdue for some discussions... with our Greek Orthodox brethren." "I'm delighted you want me to accompany you." "It will be excellent training for you." "A good opportunity to nourish your career as a church diplomat." "And besides, you know very well... that you have become indispensable to me, my dear Ralph." "If you're not with me, how could I possibly continue... my interesting little game of working out... precisely what makes you tick?" "It's too early to tell, but we could have one of the biggest clips ever." "It's nice to see the place get back on something like a paying basis." "I don't believe it was only two years ago, Christmas, that we were almost burnt out." "Couldn't have done it without Father Ralph... advancing us the money for new stock." "Good day, Meghann." "Missus." "Good day, O'Neill." "What can we do for you?" " I've come about the shearing contest." " I thought you weren't interested." "The lads have been on at me about it, so I thought I might give it a go." "Fine, just name your terms." "If I was to win, what would you say to hire me as a stockman?" " A stockman?" " Just for a month, say, to try me out." "I know my way around livestock, all right." "I thought we weren't hiring any new stockmen this year." "If Luke here is as good in the saddle as he is at the board...." "Stone the crows, you'd think I'd already lost this contest." "What if you lost, O'Neill?" "Same terms, except I work the month for free." "You'll actually work for no wages just to be a stockman?" "But that's daft." "You could make more at shearing, anyway." "Yeah, but a shearer's a rover." "I don't intend to be a rover all my life." "And I do like it here on Drogheda." "All right, lads, this is the last call." "Gentlemen, let's hear them." "This £5 on Cleary." "I'll match any of that." "Now, we all know the rules." "The men will shear for two hours only... and since my own brother's in there, I'm stepping out." "So I want one of you shearing men to keep score... and you, Drogheda lads, choose a man to watch the time." " Are we ready, men?" " Yeah!" "Mr. Cleary, show him what a boss cocky can do." "We'll show him!" "Hold him steady, O'Neill." "Come on!" "Here we go." "Come on." "All right, Mr. Cleary, come clear." "Just squeeze him through the breezer." "Hurry up!" "Down the chute!" "Good show, O'Neill!" "You're making twice the number of blows because you're not filling your shears." "Fill your shears, boy!" "Don't let us down." "Come on, O'Neill." "That's it, O'Neill, you've got him on the run now!" " Come on!" " Jack, who's winning?" "It's only half-over, still an hour to go." "But looks like old Bob's losing so far." "Losing?" "Come on, Meggie." "Judy, you go back to the house." "You can do it." "Long blows, Mr. Cleary." "Fill your shears, boy!" "Luke, pay attention!" "Come on, Bob, let's show them what Drogheda men are made of!" " I could out-shear that learner." " That's his job, missus." "Stay in there, Bob!" "You can do it!" "Don't stop!" "Keep going!" "Come on, Bob!" "Two minutes to go!" "Go!" "Go!" "What did I tell you?" "I taught him myself!" "What about a cheer for a bonzer opponent?" "Luke O'Neill!" "Hip, hip, hooray!" "There's not a pub around for 40 miles, but if a barrel of rum and another of ale... will take away the sting, they're outside!" "Well done, Bob." "That's my Bob." "Feel like a champion, then, Bob?" " Congratulations, Mr. Cleary." " Bob." "It was only by half a sheep." "Could have gone the other way." "You've got yourself a stockman, free of charge for the next month." "Then if you like what you see...." "There's not much to see here now we got the wool away." "I wonder you didn't go with it." "You don't appear to have made much of a bargain here." "I'm happy with it." "There's a dance next Saturday night." "Will you come with me?" "Thank you, but I can't dance so there wouldn't be much point." "There's nothing to dancing." "I could teach you in two flicks of a lamb's tail." "Wonder if your brother would lend us the car." "We ought to go in style, don't you think?" " I said I wouldn't go." " No." "You said you couldn't dance... and I said I'd teach you." "Not scared, are you?" "No." "Not here." "It's only a wool shed, you know." "And it's a wool-shed ball we're going to." "Now...." "One, two, three...." "One, two, three...." " Having fun?" " Don't let go of me." "I don't intend to." "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in that dress." "Thank you." "I don't really like it, but it's the only party dress I have." "Go on, a posh girl like you?" "You could've bought as many dresses as you liked." "Is that what you think?" "That I'm some snobby squatter's daughter?" "Because I'm not." "The Clearys don't even own Drogheda, and we never will." "Touched a nerve, didn't I?" "I'm sorry, Meghann." "I know the blessed papists did you out of your place." " What do you mean?" " My, but we're sensitive." "I suppose now you'll never have me because I'm Protestant." " You are?" " Orange through and through." "I think the Catholic Church is run by a bunch of poofters... in black nightgowns." "You do waltz divinely, Mr. O'Neill." "I do hope Meggie is not intending to be selfish." "It would be an honor to dance with you, Miss Carmichael... but, you see, Miss Cleary here has hired me for the whole night." " This isn't so bad, is it?" " What?" " Dancing." " I think I'm learning to like it." "Good, 'cause there's another dance next week... and the week after that, and the week after that." "So I went to the wool shed when I was 12, as a tar-boy." "Me and my mate, Arne Swenson." "He's the best, Arne is." "Always looked out for me." " Is he still shearing?" " No, not Arne." "He runs a gang of cane-cutters up in northern Queensland." "You reckon shearing's hard, but I tell you there's not too many blokes... big enough or strong enough to cut the sugarcane." "You make it sound like your life's ambition." "I wouldn't mind trying it for the money it can make." "My life's ambition is to have my own place... my own sheep station, up in western Queensland, where I come from." "And I will someday, too, have my own place." "And someone to share it with." "Someone who'll love me and work alongside me." "God, you are beautiful." "How many times have you been in love?" "Only once." "Whoever he was, he was a fool to let you go." "Good night, Meghann." "You did not understand this play, Phaedra?" "You've noticed how quiet I've been through the conference here in Athens." "My Greek isn't up to yours, I'm afraid, Your Grace." "You must study your languages if you're to be a church diplomat." "The dying youth in the play is Hippolytus." "He is cold to Aphrodite, the goddess of love." "To punish him for his neglect... she causes his mother to fall hopelessly in love with him." "But, Hippolytus spurns her." "And that's why she kills herself?" "Hippolytus' father blames him and has him killed... by the god of the sea." "A cruel story, and so unjust." "Hippolytus dies even though he's innocent." "In fact, he behaves laudably." "A good Catholic interpretation, yes, perhaps." "But to the ancient Greeks... he is quite guilty of the sin of pride." "You see, it is that Hippolytus holds himself... above human love." "He's cold." "He will not even admit that human passion exists." "And what if he would admit it?" "Would he then escape his fate?" "That is the cruelty... because this is his fate." "He cannot choose to love... anymore than his poor mother can choose to be cold." "The gods have willed it for their sport." "Cruel, but rather an appealing system, is it not?" "No decisions to make, no conscience, no agony of free will... nothing." "All fated from the first." "Rather shockingly at odds with the teachings of the Church of Rome." "My dear Ralph, do you not find it humbling to realize... that when this play was first performed..." "Rome was still infested with fur-clad barbarians?" "They simply find you beautiful." "Blessed by the gods, perhaps?" "They've been out together again." "I don't see the harm." "He never lets it get in the way of work." "But I'm beginning to see why he likes it so much here." "I'm just as glad." "He's the only man Meggie's ever shown the least bit of interest in." "And somebody's got to keep the Cleary line going." "I hope that Meggie is all he wants." "I saw Angus MacQueen in Gilly the other day." "He seemed to think that Luke might be something of a fortune hunter." "A fortune hunter, Luke?" "Of course, Meggie does have the money Father Ralph sets by for her... but it's not what I'd call a fortune." "Some might, though." "But I think he's just what he appears to be." "A hardworking bloke with plenty of ambition." "I suppose you're right." "Anyway, Meggie's a grown woman." "How she chooses to spend her life or her money is her own affair, isn't it?" "You know..." "I was just thinking... of that old woman in the market." "She reminded me of how very certain I once was... that I had found your Achilles' heel." "Those looks of yours...." "They had to have made you the target, or perhaps even the victim... of so many desires." "But, I have tested you... had you watched... thrown you together with beautiful women, and with men." "No result." "Not a flicker." "No." "Whatever you burn for, Ralph... is not for the flesh." "I am... surprised, Your Grace." "Shocked, you mean, by my methods." "But you shouldn't be." "They are simply tactics of which you must be aware... if your weakness lies where I think it does:" "in ambition." "If that is a flaw, I shall try to mend it..." "Archbishop." "I might find that rather tedious as it is a weakness which I share." "And like all self-perpetuating institutions... the Church has always a place for ambitious men." "In fact... you are everything the Church admires... in her high officials." "You are conservative, quick, subtle." "You know enough never to give away... what is going on behind those eyes." "And you have the most exquisite gift... of knowing how to please." "Even when it comes to pleasing those you loathe." "You make me out to be a Machiavelli, except that he was an Italian." "My dear Ralph, you are a delight." "I can scarcely wait to see your effect on our short, fat prelates in Rome." "Rome?" "The beautiful, sleek cat among the plump, startled pigeons." "In time, my ambitious friend." "In time." "These conferences will soon be over... and then we shall see... what fate has in store at the Vatican... for both of us." "This is great." "We do have better in Queensland, of course." "You can't imagine how absurd you were that night, claiming I might drown." "You could've pretended you were drowning." " And make myself as ridiculous as you?" " Then I could've swooped you up..." "Put me down." "...and do what I've been wanting to ever since that moment." "No." "That's enough." " I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." " You didn't offend me." "Really." "I suppose..." "I'm just not very used to it, that's all." "That's all right." "You said you'd been in love once, so I thought he must've...." " But I guess it wasn't like that." " No, it wasn't." "He wasn't." "We'd best go in." "Marry me, Meghann." "Up so late, Mom?" "I wanted to get this summary report in order for Father Ralph." "We've really come back very strongly since the fire." "Maybe even stronger than ever." "I think Ralph will be quite surprised." " Is he back from Greece?" " No." "In fact, I had a letter just today." "Quite an announcement." "He's off to the Vatican with that...." "The one with the name a yard long." "Ralph's to be made a bishop." "So who knows if he'll ever be back to Australia." "The Vatican." " That's nice." " Nice?" " I thought you'd be pleased for him." " Of course, I'm pleased." "It's what he always wanted, isn't it?" "It's just that I've got my own announcement to make." "I'm going to marry Luke O'Neill." "What I wouldn't give if she were yours instead of Luke's." "God knows how much I've hurt you." "But I do love you." " Meghann's my wife, not yours!" " Then be a husband to her, man!" "I tried to forget you with someone else!" "Two lives on a collision course with destiny." "I've tried so hard to get her out of my heart." "The Thorn Birds continues." "Subtitles conformed by SOFTITLER" "English"