"She's coming!" "I've seen her." "Moderate your tone, dear." "She'll be here just as soon..." "Well, here she is." "Molly, this is Cynthia:" "Cynthia, Molly." " You're to be sisters, you know." " How do you do?" " I'm so pleased to meet you at last." " And I you." " And here's Mama." " Why, how you've grown, darling." "You look quite a woman." "That so I am." "Well, I was before I went away." "I've hardly grown since - except in wisdom, I hope." "Yes." "That we would hope." "There's hot breakfast in the dining room when you're ready for it." " You must be hungry after your night journey." " Thank you." "Molly will show you to your room." "It's next to hers" " I'm so afraid of the draughts." "Oh, I'm so sorry there isn't a fire for you." "I suppose it wasn't ordered, and I don't give the orders now." " Here's some hot water, though." " Oh, stop a minute." "I think I shall like you." "I'm so glad" " I was afraid I shouldn't." " We're all in an awkward position, aren't we?" " Yes." "I suppose so." "Yes, you may laugh, but I don't know I'm easy to get on with." "Mama and I didn't suit when we were last together." "Still... perhaps we are each of us wiser now." "I like your father's looks, though." " Is he going out already?" " Yes." "He is called out at all hours." "I expect he is going to Hamley Hall." "Mrs Hamley is dy... very ill." "I think you're probably a very good person, Molly." "I'm not very good myself." "In fact, I gave myself up years ago as a heartless baggage." "And this is Miss Rose's." "Her dresses are very fashionable." "And this is Grinstead's Bookshop." "Miss Browning." "Miss Phoebe." "Good morning." "Cynthia!" " Cynthia, my daughter." " We were just coming to call on you." "We wanted to invite you both to our card party on the twelfth." " Just a few young people." " Yes, of course we'll come." "How very kind of you, Miss Browning, Miss Phoebe, but, you see, I hardly like to let them go." "They're not out, you know, till after the Easter Ball." " Not out?" " Till then, you see, we are invisible." "In my days, girls went wherever it pleased folk to ask them." "I've seen many a girl of fourteen, or even twelve, at a card party, who knows how to behave as well as any lady there." "There should be no talk of coming out for anyone under the daughter of a squire." "After Easter, Molly and I shall be capable of proper behaviour, but not before." "I'm quite sure that Molly has been capable of proper behaviour since she was a little girl." "Always a little lady." "Molly wants the refinements that good society gives." "Only today I saw her coming upstairs two steps at a time." " Only two?" "Yesterday I managed four." " My dear, what are you saying?" "I'm merely confessing, Mama, that I, too, want the refinements that good society brings." "Therefore, please do let us go to the card party." "I think I might make an exception this one instance." "I should think so, indeed." " You shouldn't do that." "They don't understand." " Do what?" "I'm only teasing Mama." "You are quite right to correct me." "It won't do any good, though." "I am as I am, I'm afraid." "Thank you, Dr Gibson." "There's some supper for you in the dining room." " Where's your mother?" " She's upstairs with Cynthia." "I'll just take some bread and cheese and a glass of beer, then." "I shall have to go out again soon." "I've not seen my town patients yet." "Yes, she's gone, Molly." "I'm sorry." "Of course, I knew it was coming, but I was so fond of her, and she was so good to me." "And poor Squire Hamley, he loved her so much." "They all did." "They all sent their love to you, Molly." " Roger said he knew how you would feel it." " Did he?" " You loved her dearly, didn't you?" " Yes." " Had you known her all of your life?" " No." "Not a year, but I'd seen so much of her." "I was almost like a daughter to her, she said so." "Molly, I wish I could love people as you do." " Don't you?" " No!" "No..." "A number of people love me, but I don't seem to care very much for anybody." "I think I love you better than anyone, and I've only known you for ten days." " Not more than your mother?" " Oh, yes!" "Yes." "It's very shocking, I dare say, but, well, there it is." "Do you know, I don't think loving one's mother comes quite by nature." "I loved my father, but he died when I was quite a little thing, and nobody believes I remember him, but I do." "So you see, I can't forgive Mama for her neglect of me when I would have clung to her." "I know she had to go out and work as a governess, but if she wanted me to love her, she shouldn't have sent me away to school at four years old." " Did Mama say Mrs Hamley had two sons?" " Yes." "Osborne and Roger." "They have been so kind to me, Roger especially." " He has such a good heart." " Perhaps it belongs to you." "No, nothing like that." "Well?" "Ten past six." "Just waiting for Mr Osborne, sir." "Damn Mr Osborne, sir, bring it in now." " Surely it isn't six o'clock?" " More like quarter past." "I fancy your watch must be wrong, sir." "My watch is like myself, plain but steady-going." "Not like your whippersnapper of a French watch." "Beg your pardon." "I had no idea you were waiting, otherwise I could have dressed much quicker." "When I were young, I should be ashamed to spend so much time at me looking glass, as if I'd been a girl." "Mother always liked us all to dress for dinner." "I got into the habit of doing it to please her, and I keep it up now." "Don't you cast up your mother's wishes to me, sir!" "You, who came so near to breaking her heart." "Now you come and go as you please, without a word of explanation as to where you go and how you spend my money." "What is it you do?" " Is it gambling, or do you keep a mistress?" " Neither, sir." "I'm only a cause of irritation to you, and home is now a place where I am to be controlled and scolded as if I were a child." "I am as ready as any man to earn my living, but to prepare for a profession costs money, and I have none." "No more have I!" "What's to be done, then?" "You should learn to stop at home and not take expensive journeys." "If you can't earn money, you needn't spend it." "I've had to lay aside my drainage work and lay off good men I'd promised work to, all because of your extravagance." "You've done two things that have put me beside myself." "You've turned out a dunce at college, and worse than that, you've..." "I won't say what the other thing is." " Tell me, sir." " No, I know what I know." "Tell your money-lending friends they shan't see my money if I cut you out of my will." "Then there's Roger." "Roger." "We never made an ado about him, but he'll be worth ten of you." "He'll make us proud of him." "I don't know why I say "we"... and "us."" "Ought to be "I."" "Be no "us" any more." "Be "I" for evermore in this world." "Father!" "My father's not well." "And I have to go away rather urgently." "Will you tell him I was called away?" "Not now." "Tomorrow morning will do." ""Mr Osborne, called away again."" "(BUTLER) Yes, sir, I'll tell him." "Thank you, Will." " There he is, Squire." " Thank you, Sarah." "Ah, I vowed you'd come, Squire." "Your father came to see my father when he were a-dying." "Come on, Silas, we'll have no talk of dying." "We'll have you out of here, rest assured." "I doubt that." "I'm a deal nearer to heaven than I were yesterday." "But I'm glad you could come." "I wanted to tell you you should look to yon covers." "Them nawies of Lord Cumnor's, they're tearing up your gorse and your brush, they are." "Aye, just to light their fires." "Damned hooligans!" "I'll not have that." "Morning, sir." " Are you the manager here?" " I am." "Many other things besides, sir." "Name's Preston." "I've succeeded Mr Sheepshanks in the management of my Lord's land." " Mr Hamley of Hamley, I believe?" " Yes, I am, sir." "I suppose you're ignorant of your boundaries, so I'll tell you." "My property begins yonder, just by that rise in the ground." "I know that, sir." "Why call my attention to it?" "Because I've been told that your men don't respect these boundaries." " Been digging out my gorse for their fires." " It's possible they may." "I dare say they think no harm in it." "However, I'll enquire." " Do you doubt my word, sir?" " Don't lose your temper." "I said I would enquire." "You've not seen it yourself." "If it is the case, I'll see that you are compensated." "The damage might come to as much as half a crown." "I've known land agents who were gentlemen, and some that weren't." "You belong to the last sort." "I've a mind to horsewhip you for your insolence!" "Curb your temper, Mr Hamley, and reflect." "I'm sorry to see a man of your age in such a passion." "Roger, I asked him to get his men off my land, and he refused." "I never refused to do what was just and right." "Come, Father." "Old Silas was asking for you again." "He's very poorly." "Perhaps you should remember the deference you should show to a man of my father's position." "Good day to you." "Come on, Father." "There is nothing to be gained from arguing with such a man." "What's the position of a man who starts works without counting the cost, and then has to turn off his labourers?" "I'm as good a gentleman as you, sir, or your father." "Look to your work there!" "I know I turned them off, but I had no money to pay the men." "No one knows how much it cut me to turn them off so near wintertime." "I had three barren cows fattened, and gave all the meat to the men." "We'll find a way of going on with the work somehow, Father." "I wish to heaven I'd horsewhipped the fellow." "(DOORBELL)" "Sit still, dear." "Agnes will go." "Mr Preston, ma'am." "Mrs Gibson." "Miss Gibson." "I should have called sooner to pay my respects, but now I've taken over Lord Cumnor's land agency, I shall be moving to Hollingford." " I hope I shall see you much more often." " Please sit down, Mr Preston." "You're both looking very well, if I may say so." " Have you been to a ball yet, Miss Gibson?" " No." "Be a great pleasure to you when the time comes." "We hope to attend the Easter charity ball." "Of course." "And Miss Kirkpatrick..." " Will she have returned from France by then?" " Yes." "She will be here by Easter." "Then I shall hope to have the pleasure of dancing with two very pretty partners." "(FRONT DOOR OPENS)" "Miss Kirkpatrick." "Look, Molly." "Eight pence a yard, and fourteen pence." " What do you think?" " I like the green." "Have you heard the news?" "They say that Roger Hamley's passed out first in his examination, of all unlikely things." "He's even being given a fellowship." "Worth a good deal of money, I believe." " I'm so happy for him." "Squire will be so proud." " Indeed." "He's in need of a bit of comfort." "He's mismanaged his estate woefully." "The whole family is going down fast, in my opinion." "Last of the old Saxon stock - land-rich and cash-poor." "Their only hope is if Osborne Hamley marries a tradesman's daughter with a deal of money." "I happen to believe in good old families like the Hamleys." "I have heard that Osborne and Roger are two fine young men." "I don't believe this in the least." "They are fortunate in having Miss Kirkpatrick's good word." "Miss Gibson has a very high regard for them, and I value her opinion far above the common gossip of the county." "(CYNTHIA) Hatefrul man." "How dare he speak about your friends in that way?" "I really know nothing at all about the Hamleys, but I couldn't have him speaking of them so, and your poor eyes filling with tears." "You were very short with Mr Preston, darling." "But there is something disagreeable in his manner." "And he certainly doesn't improve on acquaintance." "Although there was a time, Mama, when both you and I found him very agreeable indeed." "(MISS PHOEBE) You're the last to come." "The Goodenough girls and their brother are here." "And you will see we've got a gentleman for you after all." " Who is it, Miss Phoebe?" " A senior wrangler from Cambridge." "Wasn't it fortunate he came to call?" "I won't say we laid violent hands on him, because he's too good for that, but really, we should have been near it if he hadn't stayed of his own accord." "I was so happy to hear your news." "I hoped to have the pleasure of telling you myself." "I beg your pardon." "This is Miss Kirkpatrick." " How do you do?" " How do you do?" "Miss Gibson." "What games are we playing?" "We only know whist and old maid." "That is to say, if we are to play for money, we hope the stakes will be very high." " May I whisper to you for a moment?" " Yes, if you like." "We have heard that Cambridge men always play for very high stakes." " And they are sometimes ruined." " And then they're sent down in disgrace." " We only play for threepence at my uncle's." " I'm sure we won't play for any higher today." "Thank you, Miss Gibson." "Good night, Molly." "I'm sorry we didn't have a chance to talk more." "So am I. I'd so like to hear more about your honours at Cambridge." "Oh, it's a long story." "Besides, you probably wouldn't find it very interesting." " Cynthia looked very much interested." " Did you think so?" " Good night, Miss Kirkpatrick." " Good night." " Roger was there, was he?" " Yes." " What did you think of my favourite, Cynthia?" " He's not as handsome as some young men, and he did tell me a great deal more than I needed to know about Cambridge and fellowships and such, but there is something one likes about him." " And what sort of evening have you had, Molly?" " Very pleasant, thank you." "We should give a dinner party, and invite both the brothers." "One hears so little of Osborne Hamley." "With Molly, it's all Roger this and Roger that." "I didn't know I mentioned him so often." "These Hollingford people are rather commonplace." "Yes, I think it would be a very pretty attention." "It must be rather gloomy for them at Hamley Hall." "That Miss Cynthia is a rare young lady, with all her pretty coaxing ways." "She wants me to teach her to bud roses, come the season." "And I'll warrant you she'll learn sharp enough, for all she says she's so stupid." "You can finish now, you know which plants go where." "I wouldn't say as I do." "If you could just go over it once more." " I'm not as young as I once was." " Bring the spades and we'll do it together." "(ROGER) Molly!" "I've only just found out where you were." "Mrs Gibson said you'd gone out." "I saw you just now, but I couldn't leave Williams." "I've been here above an hour." "Come, let's see your garden plan." "That was Mother's favourite." " How is the Squire?" " He's pretty low." " Is he still angry with your brother?" " Yes." "Poor Osborne - he's not the villain he's made out to be." "I can tell you that his misfortunes have nothing to do with wickedness or vice." "I never thought they had." "He's very fond of you." "I wish you could come and stay with us again, but I don't suppose it would be thought proper." " Though I think of you quite as a sister." " Do you?" "Mmm." "I can't tell you how much I like Miss Kirkpatrick." "It must be such a pleasure to you, having her as a companion." "Yes, it is." "I'm very fond of her." "But how quickly you found out her virtues." "I didn't say virtues, did I?" "Mrs Gibson has asked me to dine here on Friday." " And are you coming?" " Yes, certainly I am." "And she's made me promise to bring Osborne." "He's always pleased to see you." "You always do us good, Molly." "Lord Hollingford was telling me of a paper of yours on comparative osteology, I think it was." " Yes, that's right." " He said it was quite excellent work." " Comparative osteology?" "What on earth is that?" " Don't ask him, Mrs Gibson, I beg you." "His answer might take several hours." "It's the study of the bone structure of the various species." "It shows we're more nearly related to the great apes than some of us might think." " You don't have to be a scientist to see that!" " Cynthia, dear." "Present company excepted, of course." "Please don't stare so severely at me, even if I am a dunce." "I didn't mean to look severely, I 'm sure." "And Cynthia is not a dunce." "I've often observed that some have a talent for one thing and some for another." "Cynthia inclines more towards poetry." "I've heard her recite "The Prisoner of Chillon" from beginning to end." " Indeed." " Mama!" " It would be rather a bore to hear her, I think." " Oh, Mr Gibson." "I have long known that you have no soul for poetry, and Molly here is a true daughter of yours." "She reads such deep books." "She'll be quite a bluestocking by and by." "I'm not a bluestocking, and it wasn't a deep book." "It was the one you lent me, with the cells of different bees in it." "It was very interesting." "Never mind, Molly." "I stand up for bluestockings." "And I object to the distinction implied in what you say." "It wasn't deep, ergo it was interesting." "Now, a book or a person may be both deep and interesting, don't you think?" "If you're going to chop logic and use Latin words, I think it's time for us to leave the room." "Well, Mama, we mustn't run away as if we are beaten." "I understand what Mr Roger Hamley said just now, even though it may be logic, and I read a little of Molly's book, and whether it is deep or not, I found it very interesting indeed." "Well, gentlemen, I must leave you now to make my evening rounds." "But if Cynthia is to recite "The Prisoner of Chillon,"" "then I should be in time to catch the end of it, on my return." "I think those young men have spent quite long enough at Mr Gibson's good wine." "Molly?" "But Cynthia's eyes are perfection." "I have often tried to find something in nature to compare them to." "Not quite like amber, they're a deeper tint, changing with the light." "You can't go trying to match her eyes like a draper." "(OSBORNE) Call them lodestars and be done with it." "Roger, I fear you are well and truly a smitten man." "Smitten, no!" "What I feel for her is deeper." "It's something I've never felt before." "Cynthia is perfection!" "Believe me, Cynthia's kind of perfection never lasts." "As you already have your own pretty French wife, your opinion is neither here nor there." "Miss Gibson." "(MRS GIBSON) There you are." "(OSBORNE) Come, help me choose some music." "This one, what do you think?" "What you just overheard, I beg you to forget it if you can:" "at least never to speak of it, not to anyone." "Will you promise?" "Of course." "I should have done so even without a promise." "Thank you." "Ah, there it is." "I was sure you'd have it." "Molly's told me so much about the Squire and your mother." "She's so fond of you all." "It's a pity you won't be able to go to the ball." "Molly and I are looking forward to it very much." "You're great friends, then, you and Molly." "I'm so glad." "Yes, we are." "I never thought I should like anyone so much." "Any girl, I mean." "Cynthia, come and sing that little French ballad to Mr Osborne Hamley." " Which one, Mama?" " You know, darling." ""Tu t'en repenteras, Colin."" " Very well, if you wish." " Such a pretty, playful warning to young men." "If you take a wife too young, you will repent of it." "Of course, it is a French song and refers to a French wife." "Quite a different matter if it was an Englishman thinking of an English wife." "# Tu t'en repenteras, Colin, Tu t'en repenteras" "# Car si tu penses aux femmes, Coli n, Tu t'en repenteras... #" " The warning's a little late, isn't it?" " I'm so sorry." "Don't upset yourself." "It was my fault, not yours." "He won't feel it long." "And a man must take the consequences when he puts himself in a false position." "# Tu t'en repenteras, Colin Tu t'en repenteras" "# Car si tu penses aux femmes, Coli n, Tu t'en repenteras #" "You have an excellent accent, Miss Kirkpatrick." "Have you spent much time in France?" "I was at school in Boulogne for about a hundred years." " And you?" " Various places." "Paris, Marseilles," "Avignon and Metz." " Really?" "Where were you happiest?" " In Metz." "And are we allowed to know why?" "They're talking about France." "It sounds interesting." "Shall we go nearer?" "Now, Molly, you must play a little." "Play us that little piece of Kalkbrenner's, my dear." " Must I?" " Don't be silly, dear." "You may not play it quite rightly, but you're amongst friends now." "Is she not?" " She gets so nervous playing in company." " Come, Molly, let me turn the pages for you." "I beg you would go away and talk." "I can do it for myself." " Please." " No, I insist." "I've heard you play before, and your mama is right, you're amongst friends now." "Thank you." " Here is your shawl." " Thank you." "Can't think what you're doing indoors, the pair of you." "I ran into Lord Hollingford as I was beating the bounds." "He was gracious enough to spare me a few words, as if the Hamleys hadn't been in the county four centuries before his lot were ever heard of." "Lord Hollingford's a good man, Father, and he's got a first-class scientific brain." "Man's a Whig." "They're all Whigs." "Give 'em their head, they'll reform us all to kingdom come." "And do you know who he had with him as his house guest?" "Some damned Frenchman." "Tried to introduce me." "I wouldn't speak to the man." " Father..." " In my day we were content to hate the French." "And beat them at sea and on the land." "I'd sooner have me hand cut off than have a Frenchman in this house or anywhere near it." "I remember one time, Madam had a liking for a French maid." "I gave her her wish in everything, but there I drew the line." "French maid!" "I'd sooner keep snakes in the house." "You see, it's hopeless." "How can I tell him I'm married to a Frenchwoman who was a nursery maid?" "I certainly wouldn't like to be there when you do." "But I think you should." "Look, I've been collecting my poems, and I want to know, do you think Deighton would publish them?" "You're a name in Cambridge now, he'd look at them if you offered them." "Well, I can but try." "But you wouldn't get much by them." "I must find a means of supporting her myself." "I've already borrowed so much, for the cottage and the furniture, and..." "If I could get a hundred, that would keep Aimee and myself while I studied - at the bar, say." "Or, if the worst came to the worst, a hundred would take us to Australia." "Australia?" "!" "I think that would break Father's heart." "Well, it might have done once, but it wouldn't now." "Look here... this fellowship will give me a bit more cash than I need to live on." "You're welcome to half of it." "Just while you're waiting for your poems to burst forth upon an astonished world." "Roger, what a good fellow you are." "I'm not sure I deserve such a brother." "But I'm extremely glad I have one." "That's nonsense." "Well, I think perhaps I should go and smoke a pipe with Father." "(SQUIRE HAMLEY) What an handsome boy Osborne was then." "He's an handsome fellow now, but the sunshine's gone out of his face." "He's a good deal troubled about the anxiety he's giving you." "Not him." "He's none troubled." "No trouble for an eldest son to borrow money against his expectations." ""How old is your father?" "' they say." ""Has he had a stroke or a fit'" "Let's not talk about him, Roger." "It's no good." "He and I are out of tune." "Let me fill you another pipe, Father." "You're wrong about Osborne." "He cares about you a great deal." "Does he?" "Why is he in such a hurry to get away from me?" "Because he can't bear to upset you, Father, and because he's trying to make a career for himself." "Country life doesn't suit him as well as it suits you or me." "And neither did it suit his mother, but she never complained." "I used to miss her so much when she took her London trips." "I'd write to her, you know, give her all the home news." "No letter would reach her now." "Nothing reaches her." "You've only just come home, lad." "You don't know the way I am nowadays." "Ask Thomas or Robinson." "I used to be reckoned a good master." "Osborne was once a little boy." "She was once alive." "And I was once a good master." "All that's past now." " I 'd like to be pretty." " But you are." " I don't think so." " Well, there you have it." "The French girls would tell you, to believe that you were pretty would make you so." "(DOORBELL)" "They've sent us something." "Molly, it's the Hamley carriage!" "Molly, look!" " Bouquets." " Aren't they beautiful!" "For us?" "Well, who else?" "I'm sure it's Osborne who thought of them." "He's lived in France, and it's the custom there to send bouquets." "I don't see why you should think it was Osborne." "Roger used to gather nosegays for his mother almost every day, and sometimes for me." "I'm going to make you a little coronet out of these red ones." " You'll spoil it." " It doesn't matter, I can take the spoiled one." "I can make it up again afterwards." "Anyway, red flowers won't go with a pink dress, and any colour will go with your white muslin." "You just wait and see." "What do you say to that?" "(KNOCKING)" "Here, Miss." "No, it's not for you, Miss." "It's for Miss Kirkpatrick." "There's a note for her besides." "Thank you, Maria." "Read that, if you will." ""I send you some flowers, and you must allow me to claim the first dance after 9 o'clock," ""before which time I fear I cannot arrive." "R.P '" " But, who is it?" " It's Mr Preston." "I shan't dance with him." " And there go his flowers!" " Oh, Cynthia!" " We might have put them in water." " It's best to destroy them." "I can't bear to be reminded of that man." "There." "Now, let's not talk any more about him." "But I shan't dance with him, and nor must you." "Well." "Are we ready?" "Good evening." "A very pleasant evening." " My sister is following close behind." " Good evening." "(MISS BROWNING) Good evening, Miss Lilliput." "Good evening, Mr Sheepshanks." "Well, here we are." "I like to keep up the custom." "Miss Hornblower!" "A sedan chair to my mind is much better, for it'll come straight into a person's parlour, nip you up and carry you cosy and tight into another warm room, without having to show your legs by going up stairs or down steps." "Good evening, Miss Hornblower." "How do you like the arrangements?" "Upon my word," "I really do think this is a better room than our Ashcombe courthouse." "Oh, how prettily it's decorated." "But you all have such taste at Hollingford." "Look, there's your Mr Roscoe, our new doctor." "Mr Roscoe!" "Mr Roscoe!" " We think very highly of our young doctor." " Very happy to make your acquaintance." "If ever we're in Ashcombe and not feeling quite the thing." "But Mr Gibson is our doctor." "Not that he finds time to go dancing." "Do you know that lovely girl in pink?" "Why, that's Cynthia Kirkpatrick." "How she's grown since she left Ashcombe." "She was pretty then." "They did say Mr Preston admired her very much, but she was so young then." "Could you introduce me?" "I should like to ask her to dance." "Of course I will." "Her mother is a very old friend." "Come, we'll lose no time." "I should say young Mr Roscoe loses no time in seeking out a pretty face." "Well, it may be all very well, but I shouldn't like him to be my doctor." "Should you, Phoebe?" "No." "It might seem strange, such a very young man to be a doctor." "I suppose Mr Gibson was a very young doctor once upon a time." "To be sure, how very condescending we are." "I remember the time when the new Mrs Gibson wore old black silks and was thankful and civil, as became her place as a schoolmistress." "And would have been grateful to join us, for all she's dressed in pearl-grey satin now." "And she'd have been glad to marry Preston the land agent in those days." "That's a fact." "I thought you said he admired the daughter." "Well, perhaps I did, and perhaps it was so." "Some folks say he admired the mother and she admired him, but then he met the daughter." "Folk thought the daughter too young for him, and the mother too old." "Really?" "But one may be mistaken, you know." "And I only said people talked about it." "There's been enough talk about Preston to fill a book, and most of it not fit to be heard." "So, that's Miss Kirkpatrick, is it?" " What a pretty girl she is." " So's Miss Gibson." "Indeed she is." "I never meant she wasn't." "I 'm sure neither of them will want for partners." "Mr Preston, you're not dancing?" "No." "The partner I had engaged has made some mistake." "I'm waiting to have an explanation with her." "Molly." "Did you know you've just been dancing with the man who keeps Grinstead's Bookshop?" "That accounts for him knowing all the latest books." "And he dances beautifully." "Just so long as you remember you'll have to shake hands over the counter tomorrow with some of your partners of tonight." "But really, I don't know how to refuse when I'm longing to dance." "If Miss Gibson finds any difficulty in refusing a partner, she has only to apply to Miss Kirkpatrick for instruction." "You forget, Mr Preston," "Miss Gibson implied that she wished to dance with the person who asked her." "I think that makes all the difference." " Miss Kirkpatrick?" " Oh, Mr Roscoe." "Miss Kirkpatrick has not done me the honour of wearing the bouquet I sent her." " She received it, I suppose, and my note?" " Yes, but we had already accepted these." "Yes." "We're so sorry." "But two such lovely nosegays had already arrived from Hamley Hall." "Since Miss Kirkpatrick was so well provided for," "I would have felt honoured had you accepted mine." "I remember how fond you were of gardenias." "Excuse me." "(WHOOPS OF EXCITEMENT)" "Well, Mrs Gibson." "Nearly midnight, and no sign of the Cumnor party." "It's long past my bedtime." "I only came to see the Duchess they've got staying, and her diamonds." " I hope they haven't changed their mind." " I'm sure they haven't, Mrs Goodenough." "(MAN) Give way!" "(WOMAN) Is that the Duchess?" "(MAN) Good evening." "Over here, I think." "(MRS GOODENOUGH) Is that the Duchess, that palsy thing?" "Well, where are her diamonds?" "Here have I been sitting up, and coal and candlelight wasting at home, and in comes the Duchess wearing a...pssh!" "Why, Farmer Hodson's daughter's got a dress smarter than that." "Do carry on, everybody, please." "Do carry on!" "Here we are at last." "Aren't we shamefully late?" "How are you, Clare?" "It was the Duchess." "That ill-mannered woman kept us all waiting, and then appeared à l'enfant, as you see her." "Mama is so angry with her." "I think we've lost all our popularity." "And that means we've lost votes." "What do you think, Molly?" "I think people were sorry you didn't come sooner." "Isn't that a proof of popularity?" "That's a very neat and diplomatic answer." "Good evening, ma'am." "I hope you're well." "Well enough." "But what a letdown." "Such a shabby thing for a Duchess I never saw." "Not a bit of a diamond near her." "This is Lady Harriet from the Towers, Mrs Goodenough." "Oh, dear, your Ladyship, I hope I've given no offence." "But I've only stayed out of me bed to see the Duchess." "I thought at least she'd've come in her diamonds and a coronet." " You're quite right." "We must try to do better." " Thank you." "Here is my brother." "Excuse me one moment." "Molly, I cannot have you speaking so to Lady Harriet, and do stop putting yourself into her conversation!" "I can't help it if she asks me questions." "But there is no need to set yourself up with an opinion at your age." "I don't know how to help it." "We must make amends, and dance with some townspeople." "I shan't take no for an answer." "Clare, may I introduce my brother to Miss Gibson?" "He hopes to engage her for this dance." "Lord Hollingford" " Miss Gibson." "Hello, my dear." "Did you see that?" "Lord Hollingford himself asked Molly to dance." "How well they look together." "(DR GIBSON) I never knew his Lordship was a dancing man." "(MRS GIBSON) You see, with the right partner..." "He's still a young man." "Quite a young man." "And a widower, too." "Oh, no." "Oh, no!" "Is Cynthia going to dance with Mr Preston?" "What a charming girl that daughter of yours is, Gibson." "So quick and intelligent." "She could talk about sensible things." ""Read Lamarck?" she says." " She's a good girl." "I'm very fond of her." " Very pretty, too." "I really must make Cynthia pursue a course of serious reading." "She's quite as intelligent as Molly, but she's no steadfastness of purpose." "Oh, look at her now." "She said she'd have nothing to do with Mr Preston." "Ah, Mr Osborne, you should have been there." "We thought of you all very often during the evening." " Didn't we, Roger?" " Yes...?" "Yes." "Cynthia, darling, do you hear what Mr Osborne is saying?" "He says he thought of us all evening." "We must thank you for the flowers." "They were very beautiful." "I fancy that that was your idea, Mr Osborne." "It was my idea, but it was Roger that took all the trouble of it." "Did he?" "Well, I consider the thought as everything." "Thought is spiritual, while action is merely material." "I'm afraid our flowers were too late." "I was sorry to hear that Preston's had arrived first." "He had no right to say that." "His came just as we were leaving, I threw them into the fire." "Cynthia, darling." "What an idea you'll give of yourself to Mr Osborne." "But, to be sure," "I think you inherit my prejudice against bought flowers." "(KNOCKING)" "Come in." "I was wondering if you are quite well?" " You didn't seem yourself earlier." " Yes." "I've been thinking." "I've been long enough here." "I'd better go out and be a governess." "Cynthia, what do you mean?" "You're over-tired." "Molly!" "No one ever loved me like you and your father, I think." "It's so hard to be driven out." "Still, I..." "I suppose there's no escaping one's doom." "What do you mean, "your doom"?" "Well, now, that would be telling, little one." "I may be a coward at heart, but I can show fight." "What dirty hands you have, Molly!" "I shan't stay another minute." "It gives me no pleasure to ride home now, Roger." "I know, Father." "Roger." "Lord Hollingford was here for you, but he couldn't wait." "He wants you to go and stay at the Towers." "So they're taking some notice of the Hamleys at last?" "This'll be a trap set for you, Osborne." "It's nothing to do with me, sir." "It's Roger he wants to see." "What would he want Roger for?" "I've never dined at the Towers, not once." " He used to invite you, but you chose not to go." " Want to curry favour of Whigs?" "They're quick enough to invite the Hamley heir when there's an election coming up." "It's not me, it's Roger." "He is making a name for himself, and Hollingford wants him to meet a French anatomist who admires a paper he wrote." "Another Frenchman?" "I don't want you meeting foreigners in a Whig house." " Nor you, Osborne." " Very well, sir." "I'll refuse his invitation." "I should think so." "Ten to one he will be in another mind tomorrow." "No." "I won't run the risk of vexing him." "Though I'd give a lot to talk to St Hilaire." "He's the leading man in Europe, and there's so much..." "Oh, well, there'll be another time, I dare say." "I had a letter from Aimee this morning." "She's going to have a child, Roger." "You must tell Father now!" "Now, Roger, when you go up to the Towers, you must take a groom with you." "I've been making Jem try on his livery coat, but he's got too stout." "But you must look up and hold your own." "You're a Hamley, you are." "That lot's just muck." "They've only been in the county since Queen Anne's time." "Thank you so much for coming." "It's been a most enlightening weekend." "Thank you, sir." "Ce fut un plaisir de vous rencontrer, Monsieur." "La prochaine fois à Paris, j'espère." "Je vous ecrirai bient?" "t." "My very best wishes to your father." "I hope he'll dine with me soon." "Perhaps to celebrate your appointment when it's confirmed and to wish you good fortune in your travels." " I am most grateful to you, sir." " Not at all." "Talent brings its own rewards." "You ride on." "I'll see you later." " Africa?" " Yes!" "It's a great honour - if I can persuade myself I've been chosen for my scientific abilities alone." " What other reason might there be?" " My constitution." "I'm as strong as an ox." " Coarse country stock, you see." " But Africa?" " Will you be away for long?" " Two years." "That's the only thing I shall regret, being away from my father and brother." "And you, of course." " And your sister." "How is she?" " Still not quite herself." " I brought her these." " So I see." " I wish there was something more I could do." " I wish so myself." "She's always glad to see you, I know that." "(MRS GIBSON) Oh, so tiresome." "Really, Mr Hamley, we must learn to shut our doors on you if you are to come so often and at such early hours." "Perhaps it was thoughtless of me, but I was passing close by, and I had a piece of news." "You see, it's my wish to keep Cynthia and Molly to a course of improving reading, and with such early visitors it is quite impossible to observe any regularity of habits." "You're quite right." "I beg your pardon." "I shall take up no more of your time." "Don't go!" "Are those for me?" "Yes." "They're lovely." "Thank you." "Darling, now that our own roses are out, we needn't trouble Mr Hamley." "What is your news?" "Lord Hollingford has invited me to lead a scientific expedition to Africa." "But Molly will tell you." "I feel I shouldn't stay here any longer." "Come again soon." "Yes." "Perhaps we may see you again before you set sail, Mr Hamley." "And pray tell your brother that we're longing to have a visit from him soon." "He's away just at present, but I will see he knows." "Goodbye, Molly." "Mrs Gibson." "Cynthia." "I can't think why he comes at such untimely hours." "It's no wonder he feels he can call." " Osborne is welcome at any time." " It's different with Osborne." "We're so much more intimate with him, he may call at any time he pleases." "So, one man may steal a horse, the other mustn't look over the hedge." "Oh, do be quiet, child!" "All proverbs are vulgar, and I do believe that's the vulgarest of all." "I really think that you're catching Roger Hamley's coarseness, Cynthia." "Well, Mama." "I don't mind your abusing me, but Mr Roger Hamley has been very kind to me when I've not been well, and I won't hear him disparaged." "If he is coarse, then I hope I may be coarse as well." "It seems to me that it must mean kindness and pleasantness and the bringing of pretty flowers and presents!" "Là, tu sens?" "Goodbye, my love." "I'll come again soon." " I will find the right moment to tell my father." " Yes, of course." " But are you happy?" " Yes, yes!" "More than words could say." "My love!" "You must go." "Here he is, sir." "Gibson, capital!" "Come in!" "Just the man I wanted to see." "Come in!" "You've heard about Roger?" " It is definite, then?" " Aye, definite!" "Chosen from all the young men in Europe to lead this expedition." "You must read this letter here." "They used to say Roger was slow, but slow and sure wins the race." "You must have a glass of this." "It's old ale, as old as Osborne." "We brewed it the autumn he were born and called it "Young Squire's Ale."" "I planned to have tapped it on his marriage, but I don't know when that's likely to come to pass, so I've tapped it now, in Roger's honour." "(DR GIBSON) It is an honour to have such a son." "This is high praise from Lord Hollingford, and the remuneration offered is excellent." "Yes, my luck's turning at last." "And Roger has raised money on it, so I can put the drainage works back into commission." "And he's insured his life to cover it." "I've sent for the foreman, and tomorrow, please God, they'll be at work again." "Roger's twice the son to me than Osborne ever was." "Let's not disparage Osborne." "We may praise one without hitting at the other." "I wish I could praise Osborne, but all the lad ever does is go on journeys, or loaf into Hollingford to visit your girls." "I hope he's not after one of them." "No offence, but he is the eldest boy, you know." "I don't believe there's anything of that kind going on." "I'm not much at home, but if there were anything, I think I would know." " Now, Gibson, don't be offended." " I'm not." "Let us understand each other." "If you don't want them at my house, you must tell them yourself." "I like the lads, and I'm always glad to see them." "But if they do come, you must take the consequences." "But as I say, I don't think there's any cause for concern at present." "If there were, I'd let you know." "(DR GIBSON) Why, Osborne." "Is that you?" "I thought it was an old man of fifty." "What ails you, man?" " You're not well, are you?" " I don't know what it is." "A walk like this should be nothing to me." "It's the estrangement from your father that's telling on your health." "Talk to him." " He may be angry at first, but he'll come round." " I wish I had your confidence." "But, I dare say, life at home has affected my health." "I've had these episodes before." "I think little of them." "They pass soon enough." "Whatever it is, we'll bring it about." "If you can manage to ride over and have lunch with us tomorrow, Dr Nicholls will be with us and you shall have the benefit of two doctors." "How's that?" "Of course you'll be in delicate health if you eat nothing, Mrs Gibson." " Try some of this brawn, ma'am." "It's capital!" " No, I couldn't possibly." "Take a pickled onion or two." "What a first-class luncheon this is!" "What a very pretty table decoration." "Yours, I imagine, Miss Kirkpatrick." "Correct." "Molly is the useful one." "I confine myself to the ornamental." "While I, alas, am neither use nor ornament." "That's not true." "What about your poems?" "I wish I could find a publisher that shared your high opinion of them, but I'm touched by your loyalty, truly." "Do you have a good strong cheese that we could finish up with?" "I'll see what cook can find, Dr Nicholls." "Then we'll see what's to be done with this young man." "Hmm?" "(LAUGHS)" " Where's Cynthia going?" " For a walk, I suppose." "It's quite strange that she should have taken to country walks all of a sudden." "She never cared about them before." "Mr Hamley!" "Ooh, you look quite done up." "So would many a man if they'd had two good doctors pushing and pulling them about." "But you're quite well, I trust." "I'm not sure they came to any conclusion." "They sent me off to discuss me at great length." "Or perhaps they're talking about something else." "I've just remembered." "I hope you don't think me rude, Mr Hamley, but I have to pop into town on an errand." "Not at all, ma'am." "May I come up?" "Of course." "(INDISTINCT VOICES)" "(DR NICHOLLS) But that doesn't necessarily mean he's in danger." "Looks anaemic to me." "(DR GIBSON) But the pulse?" "(DR NICHOLLS) But how often are we mistaken?" "I was hoping to be able to speak to you alone." "Do you remember that conversation you overheard?" " I've never spoken of it to anyone." "Truly." " I'm sure you haven't." "Roger's going away for some time." "And..." "I'd like somebody else to know about my wife." "About Aimee." "Aimee." "Can you not tell the Squire?" "From his point of view, I have made the worst of all possible choices." "I'm supposed to marry a girl from a good old English family with money." "Aimee is French, she's Roman Catholic, and she's penniless." "When I met her, she was a nursemaid in an English family." "I helped her find a toy rabbit one of the children had lost in the park." "When her employer discovered we were in love, she sent Aimee back to France." "She couldn't understand how it was between us." "I couldn't bear to be parted from her, so I followed her to France, to Metz, where we were married." "If you could meet her, you'd understand." "You'd love her, I know." "She's the dearest, gentlest creature." "The best thing in my life." "Will you keep my secret while it has to be kept secret?" "Yes, of course." "(DR NICHOLLS) If he has got aneurysm of the aorta, his days are numbered." "(MRS GIBSON) "To Mr Roger Hamley." "Most urgent." ""My dear sir, how is it that you have not been to see us lately?" ""I know you're about to leave for Africa." "I would not forgive myself if you left without calling," ""for it would be punishing others, as well as my naughty self." ""Come tomorrow, as early as you like."" " Good day, Miss Gibson." " Good day, Mr Preston." "I've been watching for you, dear." "Don't go in the drawing room, love." "Roger Hamley is in there with Cynthia, and I have every reason to think..." " Oh, isn't it charming?" "Young love, so sweet." " Do you mean that Roger has proposed?" "Not exactly, but I heard him say that he'd meant to leave England without speaking of his love, but the temptation of being alone with her had been too great." "All I wanted was to let it come to a crisis without interruption." "So you see, that's why I've been watching out for you, so you wouldn't go in and disturb them." " But I may go to my own room?" " Yes, of course." "But I had expected more sympathy from you at such an interesting moment." "(KNOCKING)" "(CYNTHIA) Molly, Roger Hamley is here, and he wants to say goodbye before he goes." "(ROGER) Cynthia, you've made me happy beyond description." "(MRS GIBSON) My dear boy, what a delightful outcome." "It's what I've always dreamed of." "Oh, Molly!" "I think you have long guessed my secret." "Well, now it's out." "I have told Cynthia how fondly I love her." "And she..." "My dear sweet girl values your love, I am sure." "And I do believe that I could tell tales as to the cause of her low spirits in the spring." "Mother, you know no such thing." "Pray don't invent stories about me." "I have engaged myself to Roger Hamley, and that is enough." "(ROGER) Enough?" "More than enough." "I am bound, you are free." "Two years is a long time." "(MRS GIBSON) That's so generous of you." "(CYNTHIA) But I insist that it be kept secret until Roger returns." "Molly." "Mama, I must especially beg it of you." "Why so especially of poor me?" "You know I'm the most trustworthy person alive." "(CLOCK CHIMES)" "I must go." "I had no idea it was so late." "The coach will be at the George, and it only waits five minutes." "Dearest Cynthia." "Only remember - you are free." "If I had considered myself free, do you think I would have permitted that?" "Oh, Molly." "You won't forget me, I know, and I shall never forget you, nor your goodness to my mother." "Goodbye." "(ROGER) Goodbye."