"'A broken heart feels, to its young bearer, uniquely painful.'" "BELL CHIMES" "I'm sorry I'm late back, ma'am." "Is that more post?" "I'll take it." "There's no need, Laura." "It's all in hand." "'And the sight of another's happiness only makes it worse.'" "She's glad you was late." "So she could take the hotel post herself and lay her eyes on you know who!" "'But eventually comes the knowledge that our own experience is seldom unique." "'Everyone's happiness is fragile." "'All expectations can be dashed.'" "Oh." "Miss Lane." "You could not have expected to see me here." "What, Mr Dowland?" "Poaching my staff?" "It's all right, Thomas." "He had the manners to ask my permission before offering you the position." "Miss Lane, let me assure you..." "Thomas, what you do between rounds is your business." "Only, promise me you'll find time for proper lunches?" "I will, ma'am." "Splendid." "Thank you." "Miss Lane, I have taken on this extra employment to finance my forthcoming..." "My..." "Your nuptials." "Lovely word." "Indeed." "But I would rather Miss Ellison be kept unaware of the... ..deficit in my capital." "Oh, Thomas." "I'm sure Miss Ellison would not think less of you because of any monetary lack." "I understand." "My lips are sealed." "Truly." "The sun is out." "And so should we be." "Will you take a turn around the town?" "Oh, why not?" "Laura will keep shop." "The tree looks happy!" "Now, how does a tree look happy?" "It looks green." "You know what I mean." "Miss Lane." "Mr Dowland." "Ladies." "Miss Pearl, Miss Ruby." "You were right, Pearl." "Very much encoupled." "Very much so." "How are you keeping, Miss Ellison?" "Very well, thank you." "I thought I might catch Mr Brown, but... ..it seems it is not to be." "I passed Miss Lane and Mr Dowland just now." "What a well-favoured couple." "Aren't they!" "I'd bet on an engagement by the end of the month." "Ah!" "What a...fetching...outfit you have on, Laura." "Your time will come." "Again." "Mum, I've just seen a very la-di-dah carriage come to the hotel!" "Oh?" "I wonder who it contained!" "I've just guessed!" "The Queen!" "Yes." "On her way to Balmoral." "Yes!" "I do hope you can curtsey, Minnie." "Not just a bob." "A real drop." "Even lower." "With a bow of the head to show humility." "Crumbs!" "I'll just have to hide if she comes by." "Laura?" "Laura Timmins, what you need is a rest day." "A holiday." "It's your grandfather's birthday, after all." "You must go home to your family." "Use the bicycle." "Really?" "Now?" "Thank you, ma'am." "Poor Laura." "She thinks she will never be happy again." "Well, she's never going to get another lad wearing that dishwater face." "Oh, Alf." "I'm all at sea." "I miss him so." "Fisher." "I feel like there's a lead weight in my middle." "You've got to get over it, Laura." "I can't." "Maybe what you mean is... ..you don't want to." "That's not fair, Alf." "I hate feeling like this." "Laura!" "Laura!" "Laura, Grandpa's here!" "It's his birthday!" "Laura, come and give your old grandpa a hug." "Happy birthday, Grandpa." "Three score year and ten!" "How many's that, young lady?" "100?" "Almost. 70." "Laura!" "# Laura wore her blue angora" "# So the fellas would adore her!" "#" "I bet they do!" "Don't they, boy chap?" "Look at you!" "You've grown muscles since I saw you last." "Men's shoulders." "Bet you get a big sound out of that squeezebox, eh?" "Ha ha!" "Let's have a piggy back, little lady." "Up we go!" "Sir, a lady checked into the suite." "A Mrs Brice Coulson." "James." "Celestia." "What are you...?" "When did you arrive?" "Pleased to see me?" "Of course." "Of course." "Come this way." "Why didn't you send a telegram?" "I wanted to surprise you." "I was bored." "You've hidden yourself away down here, doing goodness knows what." "You'll be one of them soon." "A bumpkin!" "They'll want you for mayor!" "What?" "What?" "Oh, no, don't tell me..." "Only a councillor." "A councillor!" "WITH LOCAL ACCENT:" "Cohn-cillor Doh-land!" "What champagne do you serve?" "I'll do it." "Anyway, as you seem confident I should expand the company northwards, I've brought some land-sale brochures." "Celestia." "ALL:" "Happy birthday!" "70." "I can't believe it." "And we hope you'll be very happy living here." "Your grandpa's got to retire." "And his cottage at Hardington Hall will go to whoever takes over as coachman." "So I promised your grandma, God rest her, that when the time came," "Grandpa would live here with us." "Your ma didn't know you'd have quite such houseful, though!" "That makes no difference." "Well, Edmund... ..as Emma says, and we are agreed, you are welcome here." "We've made some room, and you are very welcome." "Thankee." "Thankee." "Look at that tiny hand." "Tiny hand like that... ..belongs in a lace glove." "Well, I'm off to the Wagon and Horses." "Yes." "You men get from under my feet and go for a sup." "Twister." "Oh..." "You, is it?" "Here for your yearly visit?" "When you going home?" "Come and have a drink." "Bury the hatchet." "If you wriggle like that in the night, miss..." "Laura." "You're more helpful to Cousin Dorcas." "Not moping like this." "Just cos Dorcas is family, don't make assumptions." "There are girls who'd give the hair on their head for the position you have." "Yes, Ma." "I know that." "I should go and see Dorcas." "Tell her how you've been." "And that you're trying your best to get over it." "Please, Ma..." "There's no need." "Really." "Well, whatever goes on in that heart of yours, just remember, you mustn't ever let it affect your work." "You should get on your way." "Don't daily." "Get back before dark." "Bye, Ma." "Bye." "I kept a little of the mixture back." "Fruitcake is my one weakness." "Oh, Mum!" "That's something!" "That's like... ..wedding cake." "Oh, I know why." "Practising!" "It's a practice run!" "Minnie, I don't know what on earth you're talking about." "What's the big secret?" "The big 'atchet?" "I told thee." "I'm not saying." "Twister's never got over that I kissed his Queenie." "Get away!" "When?" "When we were younger." "Ha ha!" "Twister got a love rival!" "Long time ago, Alf." "Let it lie." "It weren't no laughing matter." "She were my betrothed." "Why didn't you marry her, then?" "What?" "Twister's been married to Queenie for... ..forever." "Ah, but I know he hasn't." "We're good as wed." "We would have wed when the babbies come along." "Only, when they did, we needed the money it would have cost for a wedding breakfast..." "You mean you were too tight-fisted to spend it!" "There you are!" "He only went out for water!" "I thought he'd fallen down the well!" "HE BURPS" "Where did you get money for ale?" "Queenie, Queenie, Queen of the May!" "Oh, Edmund!" "I bought a jug." "Or three!" "He'll feel that in the morning." "Come on, let's get you home." "I'm sorry, Queenie." "I should have taken more note of my father-in-law's hospitality." "Not your fault." "Twister's old enough to know when he's had enough." "Come on, you old lump." "Do you think I should see Dorcas?" "About Laura?" "You should let her be." "She has to find her own way through." "Like we all do." "Oh, Lor'!" "Now I remember why Ma didn't let him drink." "You know..." "No-one would've been good enough for his little girl." "I'm just stepping over to the hotel." "Don't!" "Erm, I-I mean, I have already delivered the mail there, ma'am." "I need to do the postal-service accounts for the hotel." "Oh, I'll get my notebook." "Er, there's no need for you to come, Laura." "But...you said I should look over your shoulder with accounts." "To learn how to..." "Oh, excuse me, I need to send a postal order, special delivery to London." "Is there a service?" "Special delivery, madam?" "That is easily done." "If you'd like to come with me over to the post office?" "Miss Lane is the postmistress." "For my sins." "Dorcas Lane." "Pleased to meet you." "Will you excuse us, James?" "Yes, of course." "There's the hotel, of course." "And there's the draper's store we just passed." "And that more or less comprises Candleford." "Apart from my modest empire, the post office." "Yes, thank you, Minnie." "Laura, a special-delivery form." "Oh." "Tell me, how do you find the hotel?" "Shouldn't I ask you how you find it?" "I have never slept there." "No, of course." "I mean more... ..how it is placed in town." "How it is regarded." "Oh." "It's been a boon." "I think Mr Dowland has excelled." "You know, when he first came to Candleford, I was one of his harshest critics." "But..." "But?" "But now, he has proved me quite wrong." "Has he?" "How so?" "Oh." "Well... ..I can see that his motivations are mostly to the good." "He's... ..an honest man." "And it's rare to find such a man who is not already..." "I am saying far more than is appropriate." "No, not at all." "Guaranteed to arrive by nine in the morning." "Thank you." "A box." "Best way to catch a rabbit, if you hide it well." "Rabbit goes in." "Bam!" "She's out of sight." "No other lad can come by and take her, like from a snare." "Will you help me make one?" "Pa says he'll help me, but he never does." "I've told you, Edmund." "When I've got the time." "But you never have time." "Your pa works long hours." "A mason's wages don't go far." "A mason's wages are enough." "How much is enough?" "Always the question, in't it?" "Enough to keep your family's head just above water, or...?" "Miss Margaret." "Golden..." "Lion." "Brice..." "Coulson... ..Holdings." "What a charming, receptive woman Mrs Brice Coulson is." "I do hope she stays a while." "I'd relish a confidante." "Thomas, doesn't "Holdings" mean ownership?" "I believe so." "I thought Mr Dowland owns the hotel." "That's really none of our business." "Celestia." "Ma'am." "Oh, thank you." "At a loose end, Edmund?" "Thought I'd be happy as a sand boy." "At my leisure." "But you're not." "I understand." "A man's got to work." "Unless he's Twister!" "Oh!" "Oh, come by, little bee." "Go into your home." "That the old Arless house?" "Yes." "Standin' empty?" "Aye, it is a shame." "Very like the house I left behind." "I could dream of living in that house." "With you, Queenie." "Oh, get away, you ol' rascal!" "Put the bucket down." "The bucket." "Put it down." "He's helpin' me cart the water home." "That ain't his job." "Put it down." "Oh, very gallant(!" ")" "No, no." "Oh!" "The postman?" "Ladies?" "We wish to leave a calling card for the lady who is residing." "Mrs Brice Coulson?" "It's double-barrelled." "Mrs Brice Coulson may wish to view our latest range of dupions." "I've written to the auction house to expect us for the viewing on Wednesday." "You don't waste time." "Well, you know I don't." "You look tired." "Listen, why don't you take these up to your room?" "I have some very dull hotel matters to deal with." "Well, I could meet you for lunch." "No." "Well, here in the lobby." "I really don't time." "Take something in your room and I'll send someone up to take your order." "This will be the finest trap, Grandpa." "Ah!" "I knew he shouldn't have..." "Here." "I was making traps when I was ten." "He'll live." "You mollycoddle him, Emma." "Seen you do it." "It ain't right." "I don't mollycoddle him." "I just don't needlessly put him in danger." "Come on, Emmy." "Edmund's plenty old enough to use the tools." "Course he is." "You tie him to your apron strings, Em." "You'll turn him into a milksop." "You can't protect him from every scrape." "Emma." "You just pull the rug from under me." "And in front of the boy." "Wasn't deliberate." "For once, I agree with him." "Oh, come on, Emma." "I don't mollycoddle Edmund!" "And more important, this ain't how we sort things, Robert." "You and I, if we disagree, we keep it between the two of us." "Something amiss?" "No, Pa." "Nothing at all." "Nothing she can't take out on me." "That's very clever." "Well, for heaven's sake, Emma, I mustn't agree with him," "I mustn't disagree with him." "Damned every which way, aren't I?" "What I most worry about is that she'll let herself down in her work." "She's only been late back from her rounds once or twice." "Twice is too many." "Laura lets her feelings sway her too much." "She's been disappointed in love, Emma." "She's bound to be a little distracted." "I will keep a careful eye to make sure it doesn't get out of hand." "Thank you." "I don't know." "They're more trouble when they're older than when they're little." "But don't we all fall in love?" "And very few of us escape a broken heart." "Yes." "I did manage that." "Even then, life isn't always plain sailing." "Emma?" "Oh..." "I'm just so caught between...being a wife and being a daughter." "And...guilty." "Because he's my father." "I do love him." "And I'm pleased to do my duty by him." "But it's not easy on my marriage, Dorcas." "Well, he's my uncle." "If I clear away some boxes, I'm sure I can make room for another bed in the dormitory." "He could come and stay here, say, every other weekend?" "Well, that would be..." "You and Robert must have some time to yourselves." "It's essential." " Let's see how it goes." " If it's not working, you've every right to change arrangements." "Oh, Lord, pardon me my duplicity." "And my unpunctuality." "Ah, tea." "Miss Ellison." "What can I do for you?" "A shilling postal order, nothing more." "Are you unwell, Miss Ellison?" "You look a little..." "Oh..." "It's Mr Brown." "Thomas?" "I believe Mr Brown... ..is avoiding me." "Avoiding you?" "Surely not." "Oh." "There is an awful lot of post at the moment." "This time of year is always busy." "His rounds are possibly taking longer." "Thomas is at the hotel." "No, he isn't." " Laura is quite mistaken." " He is!" "It all makes sense." "This lady at the hotel is turning heads." "The whole of Candleford is talking about her beauty." "Mr Brown is seduced!" "He is not!" "There can be no other explanation." "All is well, Miss Ellison." "I promise you." "Oh, dear." "Mrs Brice Coulson would be mortified if she knew the distress she was causing." "Oh!" "My father's birth certificate." "70 from 95 is 25." "Mr Dowland may already be attached." "Mr Dowland isn't attached yet, Miss Pearl." "Mr Dowland, attached?" "To whom?" "To Miss Lane." "Almost." "Minnie is presumptuous." "You are presumptuous, Minnie." "But you have hopes of marriage?" "Oh...it's not for me to..." "Well, then, I must tell you a little about James Dowland." "When he and I first met..." "Met?" "You've met?" "Previously?" "Oh, yes." "I was already a widow, so the scandal was not great." "James was young and ambitious, but his entrepreneurship was not bolstered by anything in the way of fortune." "I had money." "We came to an agreeable arrangement." "Both financial... ..and personal." "Mrs Brice Coulson, I have other customers waiting." "Otherwise, I could happily reminisce about our mutual friend all day long." "Thank you for your custom, madam." "Good day to you." "Good day." "Miss Lane, did I hear...?" "Ladies, the post office is now closed." "There's no such notice..." "Auditing." "By order of her officer, Miss Lane, Her Majesty's post office is closed." "Go into the kitchen, Minnie." "I'm so very sorry, Miss Lane." "I'm so very sorry, too, Miss Lane." "Well, obviously..." " I've been a laughing stock." " No!" " I knew that Mrs Brice Coulson..." " Be quiet!" "SMASH!" "Go." "Just leave!" "I've been sent away." "Some people are born liars, Mum." "Or just..." "After all if she thinks she's the Queen..." "Dorcas..." "Oh!" "I was on my way to you." "What has happened?" "I have had the most peculiarly distressing exchange with Mrs Brice Coulson." "She..." "What, Dorcas?" "What did she say?" "I believe she meant to imply that you and she are...intimate." "No." "No!" "She meant that we have, at times, been business associates." "I didn't get the chance to tell you." "Business associates?" "Yes." "Only that?" "Yes." "Then I misunderstood?" "Yes, Dorcas." "And I shall prove it to you here and now." "Marry me." "Marry me, Dorcas." "Don't say a word now." "I don't have the necessary ring." "But I will, within the hour." "Celestia." "It is ended between us." "Dorcas and I..." "Are you saying that it's mutual?" "With this postmistress?" "Yes." "It is recent and it has come from nowhere, but yes." "You and I must be business partners only." "From today." "I gave years to you." "A man who had nothing!" "I supported, loved, bolstered your confidence." "And I never insisted on marriage." "You..." "Yes, I know." "We can still have all that - the business, the ventures." "We can still do all of that." "Why not?" "Why not, indeed." "Celestia..." "You know I will always... ..have respect for you." "Respect?" "Ah, well then." "That is something." "I suppose I shall return to London." "Yes." "Thank you." "So glad the post office is once more open for business." "May I?" "Unfortunately, my earlier attempt to make matters clear was interrupted." "But I am now clear." "I have spoken to James." "And the honest man has told you what?" "That indeed you had a business association." "Anything more was imagined." "Well, well..." "Perhaps you had better sit down." "I am not tired." "Whatever game you are playing, madam, you will not disconcert me, nor will I believe that James is a party to it." "What will you believe, I wonder?" "Let me see... if you are to marry the "honest" James." "Has he warned you that he often suffers from insomnia?" "How interesting." "So do many people." "They take warm milk and brandy." "No, not James." "The only remedy is a cool hand to his forehead and a hard book placed beneath his neck." "It slows circulation to the brain." "An obscure Japanese treatment." "Suppose you ask him?" "How would I know?" "Oh, I'm sure you have an imagination." "Good day, Miss Lane." "Thomas, arrange for the carriage to take Mrs Brice Coulson to the station." "She's in her room packing." "She is not, sir." "I beg your pardon?" "Mrs Brice Coulson has gone out, sir." "Into the street." "What did you say to Dorcas?" "A dozen tuppenny stamps - something like that." "Celestia..." "Be calm." "I've realised what this is." "It's a crisis, a fugue." "It won't last, James." "And I will wait." "What I proposed earlier is not possible." "I was a fool." "If I am bound to the business, then of course I am still bound to you." "And I can't be." "I have to break off entirely." "The business, everything." "But you won't." "You can't afford to." "Your standing would drop like a stone." "I don't care about my standing." "Oh, of course you do." "Stop this now." "I'll be waiting for you when you come back your senses." "Don't speak to me as if I were a child!" "You don't own me, Celestia." "I'm not obliged to you any more." "Obliged?" "Well, wasn't there always a degree of that?" "What are you doing?" "My stock." "My percentage in every one of the London hotels." "I sign over my stock to you." "But that's absurd." "Ten years of work, thousands of pounds, gone, just like that?" "Yes!" "Yes, damn it!" "Take the hotels and leave me just one." "This one small hotel." "Countersign it." "Go on." "Take the lot." "She means that much?" "You got it all, young Laura?" "What's that?" "Whatever it is that's goin' around disrupting'." "Him in my case." "I could 'ave him, in spite of his muscles!" "I could knock his block off!" "Only I would never want to offend your ma." "Yeah, he's..." "FOOTSTEPS COMING DOWN THE STAIRS" "Laura?" "What are you doing here?" "Miss Lane has sent me away." "Away?" "She's sacked me, ma." "Cousin Dorcas?" "She wouldn't." "It makes no sense." "What on earth have you done?" "I don't know how to explain." " What's going on?" " She says Dorcas has let her go." " Sacked her?" " But I don't believe that of Dorcas, especially not after what she said." "Oh, pa, my job!" "Shh..." "My job!" "Calm down." "Shh..." "Look, I know, as well as your ma, that Dorcas wouldn't do that." "Not without warning." "Not without talking to your ma first." "Shh..." "Quite a day." "Dorcas..." "Stop." "Before you do..." "I have something to ask." "Yes?" "What is it?" "Do you have any ailments or conditions I should know about?" "No, I'm in perfect health." "So you sleep well?" "Ah, not especially." "But with a Japanese neck pillow... a book?" "Yes, that usually sorts it." " I think you should put that away, don't you?" " Dorcas..." "You lied to me." "What I should have told you, what I failed to tell you, is that I have a past." "Quite a past." "Quite a present too." "A self-made man?" "Proud owner of a chain of hotels." "And all the time, bank-rolled by a rich widow." "But more than that, James... ..you shared a life with a woman." "You denied her and you have made an utter fool of me." "I lied to you, I admit it, but only to keep you." "Listen to me." "We were more than business partners once, but it ended." "And now, I have given it all up." "All of it!" "I had considerable interest in four London hotels." "There is no partnership any more." "I am a free man." "A very much poorer man... ..but free." "You've made a grand gesture." "And I am supposed to fall into your arms?" "Then not only do I not know you... you obviously have no idea who I am." "I'm sorry... ..but I can't believe in you any more." "There is no future between us." "Twister... where are you?" "What are you doin'?" "Leaving, so you can be with him." "It's what you want." "You silly ol'..." "Why would I want Edmund Lane?" "Oh, Twister..." "I wouldn't want that big show-off." "Never!" "I can't live without thee, Queenie." "I know, I know." "I can't live without thee neither." "Queenie, if I was to ask something of thee..." "Yes?" "KNOCK ON DOOR" "Mrs Brice Coulson." "It has come as a shock to find myself so used." "But I came to say my relationship with Mr Dowland is over." "He is yours for the taking." "Congratulations." "You have a greater claim on this." "What I would ask for only is discretion." "Candleford is a small town." " I am already the subject of speculation and..." " James has made his choice." "He's made it clear what he wants and it is no longer me." "You have James Dowland's heart." "That is most sure." " If he even has a heart..." " You know full well he has a heart!" "But he also has a body." "He's a man, with a man's needs." "Why shouldn't he have done what he did?" "What do you want, a plaster saint?" "Trust is what I want, is what I expect." "To know that I can trust a person." "Trust?" " Yes." "There is no such thing." "Nothing." "No-one is trustworthy." "I very much disagree." "Oh, I have lived, and let me tell you it is not possible to know another human being fully." "Especially a man." "There is no such thing as certainty." "To throw one's lot in with a man is...necessarily to risk." "Ah, well..." "Even when the whole game's up... ..we survive." "Where's Laura?" "Isn't she down yet?" "Down?" "She isn't coming down, Mum." "Why not?" "Is she ill?" "No, Mum, remember?" "You sacked her." "Sacked?" "!" "Oh..." "Oh, she thought..." "Oh, Poor Laura." "Oh, shame on me, thinking only of myself!" "Ain't that my Lark Rise boy?" "Queenie..." "Dear Queenie." "See, you belong here." "Aah, you must've sensed something was afoot." "Come along..." "Ladies and gentlemen," ""The intention to marry of Mr Thomas Turrill" ""and Miss Victoria May Warrener."" "The banns be up!" "There's to be a wedding and a wedding breakfast." "Sausages, a mountain of sausages!" "PEOPLE CHEER" "Congratulations Queenie, Twister." "Laura..." "Dorcas." "Laura, there has been a terrible misunderstanding." "When I told you to leave, I didn't mean..." "I have been distracted and snappish, but you are essential." "Am I not making myself clear?" "Oh, dear." "Laura, please come back to work." "Oh!" "Yes!" " Yes, Miss Lane." " There, you see!" "Miss Lane, I thought what I lost was the biggest, most important thing, but there's other love." " I'm sure there will be other loves for you, Laura." " No, I mean other kinds." "I mean..." "I love my life." "At the post office." "With you." "Emma, look at this, my father's birth certificate." "He was two years older than his brother Edmund." "I don't understand..." "My father, God rest him, would have been 70 this year, making Edmund only 68..." "Pa!" "Pa..." " Did you change your age for some reason?" " Change my age?" "Yes, Uncle Edmund, did you?" "Perhaps a long time ago?" "Oh, I did an'all!" "I was too young to be a stable hand, but I was a big, strong lad, so I upped my age to 17 to get the job." "And have a tilt at the girls!" "And forgot all about it since." "Hang on...does that mean I can go back to work?" "It may well do." "Only if you want to." "Of course, you're more than welcome to stay here." "That's kind, child, but I'm not one for retiring." " Got too much get up and go in me." " Aye, we noticed." "Two years time, Pa, Edmund will have left, there'll be a bit more room." "Come live with us then?" "Don't worry, son, I'll help you with your trap." "Miss Margaret... ..I am guilty of impropriety and deceit." "I spent many hours at the hotel." "Oh..." "I am unhappily well aware of the reason." "Mrs Brice Coulson." "Deliberately kept from you that I was employed there." "I am ashamed." "Employed?" "The three pounds I earned is as blood money." "Employed?" "!" "It burns a metaphorical hole in my pocket." "Every penny shall go to the church." "Perhaps the church might see fit to use it for the hire of an organ and organist at a forthcoming...nuptial?" "'And although it was autumn, it was as if spring fever was in the air." "'Some behaved as if they were newly married." "'And some who, only a day ago, had determined they never would marry... '..they, once more, could sense the pull of nature.'" "I spoke in haste." "It's my one weakness." "I closed the door on you and... ..I am less certain of that decision." "But...to be sure... ..I need some time." "Walk on." "'Why don't you go to him and just say,'" ""You look so handsome"?" "You are too concerned with my business!" "You're next, Alfie." "Me?" "Wed?" "That'll be the day." "SHE SINGS" "Only give away your heart where it's truly yearned for." "Ahem..." "Poor Miss Ellison." "I have to find a degree of courage here." "Oh, no, no!" "SMASH!" "The bees are gone!"