My father back?
He's inside.
George, listen. You still don't understand this.
I don't want to.
I'd rather keep your friendship.
- Priam is my father's property. - No.
I don't understand that.
I have to leave in the morning, Orry.
All right. I'll take you to the train.
This will stop the train.
Is that it?
No. That's the Charleston freight.
It goes by here every other day about this time.
The passenger local will be here in about 20 minutes.
Priam!
Stop!
Orry, no!
This has nothing to do with you, George.
Please, Mr. Orry.
For God's sake!
If I take him back, he'll wish he was dead. You don't know what they'll do to him.
Then let him go.
I told you. He belongs to my father.
Please.
If not for Priam, then do it for me.
That's not fair. You're taking advantage of our friendship.
Yes, I am.
All right, Priam. All right. Run.
Run before I change my mind. Run!
A life for a life, George. You saved mine.
And I will still stand up with you, if you want me.
But you have to get it through your head.
Our lives down here are different. They have to be.
Don't ever interfere with us again...
or ask me to go against my own kind.
I, Constance, take thee, George, for my lawful husband.
To have and to hold from this day forward.
For better, for worse.
For richer, for poorer.
In sickness and in health.
For better, for worse.
For richer, for poorer.
In sickness and in health.
Until death do us part.
To think I'd ever be forced to attend a Catholic ceremony. It's a disgrace.
Be quiet, Isabel.
At least they had the good sense to keep it private.
As if anyone would have come, anyway.
Please be quiet, Isabel.
May I have the ring, please?
By the authority vested in me...
by the Holy Mother Church and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania...
I now pronounce you man and wife.
You may kiss the bride.
- Here you are. - Thank you.
Does it go on forever?
It's not everyday your big brother gets married, Billy.
I know.
I just wish I were somewhere else.
Where would you like to be?
You think they'd take me at West Point?
Want to be a soldier?
I really envied you and George when you were fighting down in Mexico.
There were some hard times down there.
You don't envy me this leg, do you?
No.
I'd just like to be a soldier, that's all.
Maybe some day you will.
Constance, my dear. If my William had lived...
I know that he would've been proud to welcome you to our family today.
Thank you.
Everyone has been so kind.
We're all so fond of you already.
George, there's something very important I want to say to you and your brother.
And I'd like you and Isabel to hear it as well.
You're being mysterious, Mother.
Not really.
This is something I've wanted to do for quite a while. So come along.
Miss Hazard.
Mr. Main.
I thought Constance made a very beautiful bride.
Yes, she did.
Do you admire beauty?
As a matter of fact, I do.
What about a woman's mind? Do you admire that also?
I just heard that Southern men...
aren't concerned about what women think.
I can't speak for all Southern men, but for myself...
I admire a woman for all that she is, and that includes her ideas.
Is that so?
Perhaps you'd like to hear a few more of mine.
It's a great joy to have my children near me now.
Since George is home for good, married and settled at last...
I feel that it is time for a change in the management of Hazard Iron.
A change, Mother?
Yes, dear.
I've decided George and Stanley...
should have equal responsibility of the foundry.
What?
I thought it was understood...
that I, as the oldest son, would run Hazard Iron.
As the oldest, you will retain financial control, of course.
But George will have an equal voice in all other matters.
I feel that George has earned this, Stanley.
And I believe that it is fair to both of you.
Of course, Mother.
George, I'm so happy for you.
And now, I think we should all return to our guests.
So what have you done with yourself the last few years?
I've been working very hard for the antislavery society.
I'm giving my first address a week from tonight in Philadelphia.
Really?
I was told that you will be in that city then.
Yes.
On your way back to Dixie?
That's right.
Since you're so enamored with women and their ideas...
perhaps you would enjoy listening to one who actually has some.
The meeting is public and you're certainly welcome.
Believe it or not, Miss Hazard...
since your brother and I became friends...
I have taken a serious interest in the Northern point of view.
I would consider it a pleasure to hear you speak.
Orry, here you are.
We have something we'd like to ask you.
It's an invitation, really, for you and all your family...
to join us here at Belvedere next summer for a nice long visit.
Our lake is really very lovely that time of year.
That sounds delightful, ma'am.
On behalf of all the Mains, I accept with pleasure.
Mother.
We need to notify the architects...
so we can set up slave quarters in the back.
Virgilia.
I'm so sorry.
Mother, we all know that the best thing to do...
when Virgilia gets like this is to ignore her.
I think this is an excellent opportunity...
for the best man to propose a toast to the bride and groom.
It would be my very great pleasure.
Roll it along! Roll it along!
Roll it along! thro' the nation Freedom's car, Emancipation!
Roll it along! Roll it along!
Roll it along! thro' the nation Freedom's car, Emancipation!
Men of various predilections Frightened, run in all directions
Merchants, editors, physicians Lawyers, priests and politicians
Get out of the way! Get out of the way!
Good evening. Representative Sam Greene, Pennsylvania.
One of the leading lights of our movement, Mr. Gerrit Smith.
George Hazard. This is my wife, Constance. And our friend, Orry Main.
- Hazard of Hazard Iron? - That's right.
Then you must be related to Miss Virgilia.
My sister. You gentlemen are acquainted with her?
Why, she's the reason that we're here. You must be very proud of her.
Proud?
Why, yes.
She's done wonders for our cause.
A hard worker, with enormous energy to match her remarkable beauty.
If she can manage to put into words in a public forum...
what she feels so deeply in her heart...
then the days of slavery are numbered as from this night.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome and good evening.
I have the honor to introduce to you...
a man whose personal sufferings and trials...
symbolize and personify...
the wicked and diabolical institution of slavery...
which nature and all decent men abhor.
A man free at last by the grace of God...
who has literally suffered the cruelties and tortures of the damned...
at the hands of human monsters who held him in bondage.
Mr. Frederick Douglass.
Thank you, my friends.
I am very glad to be here.
I am very glad...
to mingle my voice with those with whom I have labored...
for the purpose of undoing the burdens of my brethren...
and hastening the day of their emancipation.
My friends, slavery must be abolished.
And the only way that can be done...
is by enforcing the great principles of justice.
Vainly you talk about voting it down.
When you have cast your millions of ballots...
you will not have reached the evil.
It has fastened its root deep into the heart of the nation...
and nothing but God's truth and love can cleanse the land.
I ask you...
No, I beg you...
to look at the practical operation of the slave trade...
the American slave trade...
sustained by American politics and American religion.
There you will see men and women reared like swine for the market.
Driven so that they crowd the highways of the nation.
Driven by men armed with pistol, whip, and bowie knife.
See you the young girl of 13 weeping. Yes, weeping...
as she thinks of the mother from whom she has just been torn.
Attend the slave auction and see men examined like horses.
And women rudely and shockingly exposed...
to the gaze of American slave buyers.
And never forget the sobs that arise from this group...
as they are sold...
and separated forever.
Tell me, dear citizens. Where under God's sun...
can you find a spectacle more fiendish and shocking than this?
Bravo!
It is now my singular pleasure to introduce...
a new and tireless member of our organization...
who has fearlessly chosen the path of God's work.
May I present Miss Virgilia Hazard.
My friends...
there is one aspect of slavery so foul...
so utterly depraved, that even we on this platform...
have been loath to raise its specter.
I must admit to you my shame...
to stand before you with rising indignation.
A decent Christian woman addressing an audience of her own kind.
Forced to address publicly a sin...
so vile, so vicious and degenerate.
The South's hateful system...
depends on the perpetuation of its free labor force.
So where, ladies and gentlemen, do these new slaves come from...
when the aged and infirm are worked to death?
Beaten to death.
Why, they come from slavery itself.
For the true crop of a Southern plantation...
is a human crop.
Yes, my friends.
The plantations of the South are nothing more...
than black breeding farms.
She's an offense to all the women in the abolitionist movement.
Giant bordellos, owned and operated...
by a degenerate aristocracy.
Men, who in their lust...
force their animal passions...
on the defenseless bodies of the women and children they hold prisoner.
God in his heaven cries out against these crazed satyrs...
and every upright human heart cries out in moral outrage.
No!
Orry, you know she doesn't speak for all of us.
Not for you, but for everyone else here she does.
You mustn't leave while Miss Hazard is speaking.
I'm afraid, sir, I have a train to catch.
To South Carolina. I have some blacks to breed.
Pardon me.
Dear lady.
You were magnificent. You were beyond description.
Thank you, Mr. Greene. I only spoke what was in my heart.
You said things that have not been said...
that cried out for the saying. The passion of your address...
your physical presentation, stirred me deeply.
You do me an honor to say so.
You've done us the honor.
I wonder, might we share a late supper...
to further discuss my reaction?
I've taken the liberty of requesting a small repast.
I'm most grateful for your approval, sir.
But I seem to remember that you are a married man.
My marital status should present no obstacle...
to the cause of freedom.
Nor does it, Mr. Greene.
But freedom must ever be coupled with responsibility...
as our Founding Fathers so aptly put it.
Perhaps another time...
when you yourself are free.
Madeline!
Don't you answer when I call you?
I'm sorry, Justin. I was taking a nap. I didn't hear.
You hear well enough when your slave women holler, don't you?
I heard about your latest errand of mercy.
I just do what I can to help.
You have quite a reputation around here.
Madeline, the merciful.
Madeline, the pregnant niggers' angel.
Justin, please.
Damn it!
I don't want my wife spending all her time playing midwife to my slaves.
Perhaps you'd rather risk losing the children.
You're worried about the children, are you, my dear?
I'm worried about children, too. My own.
The ones you're not giving me.
I want a son.
I want a boy of my own, that's all.
Damn it, woman. Look at me when I'm talking to you.
Until you give me the son I want...
you stay away from those black sluts, you understand me?
You better.
I'll be watching you.
Remember that.
I've ridden by 100 times hoping you would be here.
I tried to stay away, too, but I couldn't.
There hasn't been a day I haven't thought about you.
Madeline, leave Justin. We could run away.
- I can't bear to be- - We can't.
I will not let him stop us.
You don't know him. He'd hunt us like slaves.
We'd be fugitives, with no legal or moral right on our side...
I don't care about right, I care about you.
Divorce him, Madeline.
I can't. If I even suggest it, I think...
In my heart...
I'm married to you.
And I always will be.
Get away from the building!
Get those men over there! Set up a stretcher for the wounded.
- Come on. - Mr. Hazard, there's men in there dying.
I'll go in and get them. Take care of that man.
Mr. Hazard, you can't go in there. It's an inferno.
Help me! Help! I'm over here!
Are you all right?
Run to town and get the doctor.
Get all three of them, and get back here fast.
Yes, sir. I already sent Hawkins, but I'll go myself.
You sure you're not hurt?
Wiley, why did it blow?
Pressure, sir.
The wrought iron bands, the reinforcement bands.
I ordered them installed!
Yes, sir, but Mr. Stanley canceled the order.
Why did you cancel my order, Stanley?
The shipments were off. We couldn't afford it.
Couldn't afford it? You think we can afford those dead workmen?
They have families that have depended on us, Stanley.
Families who are now without husbands or fathers.
The bands will go on immediately. I'll reissue the order.
- You can't. You don't have the authority. - The hell I haven't.
The only place your name takes precedence over mine...
is on the bank drafts.
We'll reinforce those bands immediately, and we'll pay $5,000 compensation...
miserable comfort though it is...
to the families of the men who died at Hazard Iron.
That's insane. I won't do it.
It's not insane. It's the only decent thing to do...
and you will do it, Stanley.
You will sign those bank drafts...
or I'll come down here with 100 mill workers...
and let them convince you.
I've just come from the foundry.
- I was shocked by what I saw there. - I know.
This new system simply is not going to work.
We can't have this division of authority.
I know that, Stanley, and I'm going to do something about it.
I've learned a great deal about Hazard Iron since your father died.
Not particularly because I wanted to...
but because I was compelled to learn by my responsibility for the foundry.
That's an embarrassment to me, Mother.
As if you didn't have confidence in my ability.
I'm sorry if it seems so, dear.
Mother...
By giving you financial control of Hazard Iron...
I've let you prevent George...
time and again, from making improvements.
You refused to burn coal instead of charcoal...
even after George proved coal was more efficient.
You refused to buy new equipment, or repair the old...
and now this horrible explosion.
Dear God.
That was not my fault.
I'm going to have to try a change, Stanley.
I'm going to give George control of the money...
and see how things progress.
Mother, you can't take that away from me, too.
You and George will still have equal say in everything else.
My decision is made, Stanley. I don't want to hear another word about it.
I just don't understand you. Why weren't you stronger with her?
What could I do? Her mind was made up.
You could have made a stand.
Instead you let your brother George walk all over you.
Mother says we're equal.
Except that George now has the money, which means he really has the power.
- What can we do? - Nothing.
Except wait.
And watch for a time when we can get our own back.
That could take years.
Yes, Stanley. All because you weren't man enough now.
We'll have our chance.
We'll get back everything your brother George has stolen from us.
Him and that Irish slut of his.
We're going to make them sorry.
Very sorry indeed.
My dear friends...
as we commit Tillet Main to God's care today...
we must remember these words:
"In my father's house are many mansions:
"If it were not so, I would have told you.
"I go to prepare a place for you. "
And I know that the Lord has prepared a special place for Tillet Main.
His family must not grieve.
His loving daughters, Brett and Ashton...
must all remember him in their hearts...
and rejoice that this fine man...
this loving father and husband...
is now with our Lord and savior for all eternity.
Amen.
Mother, you ought to sleep.
I will, Orry.
Father would've wanted you to take care of yourself.
I can't believe he's gone.
He loved you very much.
I know.
I'm afraid he didn't always know how to show it.
Lord, I'm going to miss him so.
They do care about you.
They don't care about me. They treat me like I'm a stranger.
Hell, if it wasn't for my last name, they wouldn't have me here at all.
I am a stranger. I know that.
But blood is blood.
You think they'd honor that.
A cousin's a cousin...
even if his parents were poor.
They done made a home for you here.
Some home.
Old Clarissa, she treats me like I'm a child.
Orry, the big master, he's as distant as a king.
I guess that's what he thinks he is.
He pays me no mind at all.
I'm no more family to them than you are.
Just like another one of their slaves, or might as well be.
Maybe you don't like the way that feels.
No, I don't.
You're the only one who understands, Semiramis.
Sure, I understand.
I've been a slave my whole life.
That don't mean that I liked it.
I'm sorry it has to be that way.
You best be getting back.
It's getting late.
Mr. Orry, sir. You're out doing early enough this morning.
Best to take care of hard business early, and that's what I'm here to do.
Is that so?
I'm releasing you from your employ at Mont Royal.
You have a month's pay and your choice of a horse from the working stable.
Why?
I never liked you, nor the way you did your job.
Is that right?
And how is that, sir? I always did my best. Your father never complained of me.
My father and I are different men.
Now that he's gone, I gotta do what seems best to me.
Take a man's place that's worked like a nigger...
Anger will not serve you, Mr. Jones.
No.
What hard work won't do, talk will never help.
But you hear me.
The day may come when you'll regret having thrown me out like this.
I promise you that.
I think not.
Good day to you.
Semiramis, get back here!
Barkeep, make us another round here.
What have we here? What a sorry nest of drunkards.
Three more to swell the company, by the looks of you.
Never mind. You'll take our money.
Three Barbados, the full measure.
Can't find a way to get away from that tribe.
What's that you say, Salem?
None of your business, boy. Keep your ugly Main nose in your own ale.
You insult my family.
Your family? Is that what you call them?
That ain't what they call you.
So happens I'm not in love with the Mont Royal branch of the family...
but I've talked to some of the slaves about you, Mr. Jones.
Fact is, I defend you.
They said you weren't fit to sleep with pigs.
But I said you were.
Look out, he's got a gun!
Hold it.
You three.
Out of here.
Move smartly, now. Come on, Salem, you heard me.
The constable will be paying you a visit to account for all this.
Good lord, Charles. Brawling in a tavern like a common cotton chopper!
What does it matter?
Don't you have any pride in yourself, if not in us?
In fairness to the boy, sir, it was Jones that went for him first.
That's all well and good, sir, but a gentleman...
does not lower himself to a fistfight with a lout like Jones.
You're a disgrace, Charles.
You're not my father!
You don't care about me, none of you do. And I don't care what you say!
Breathe in.
That has to be tight enough, Ashton.
What would you know about it, anyway? You're still a baby.
No amount of lacing would make you look one bit better than a pine board.
Now pull!
Do you always have to say things like that?
It's true.
Besides, babies are sweet...
and you have sweet baby skin...
and sweet baby bloomers...
and you'll probably still be just baby-sweet...
when you're a sweet old maid.
Cousin Charles. He's just getting in.
Been out all night again.
You kind of fancy him, don't you?
I just let on like I do, you know...
to make the poor orphan boy feel accepted.
I was real nice to him once, and do you know what he said...
- what he had the nerve to say to me? - What?
He said, "Keep your distance, cousin dear...
"I'm wise to you. "
What do I care? He'll be dead soon enough.
Dead? What are you saying?
Where do you suppose he's been all night?
Off sparking Sue Marie Smith.
But she's engaged to her cousin, Whitney.
Of course she is, dummy!
And her cousin Whitney will just kill Charles for it.
Though he ought to kill Sue Marie.
The men say her britches are like a basket of coals.
Of course, you wouldn't know what that means, but I do.
Now, what is it exactly you want, Mr. Huntoon?
Sir, I seek the approval of your bountiful heart.
In short, sir, I beg your kind permission to pay formal court to your daughter.
My daughter?
No, sir. Damn, I misspoke myself.
Your sister, Miss Ashton, sir.
Are you sure you know what you're doing, Huntoon?
My love leads me on, sir.
I worship the very ground she walks on.
Did I say something that I should not have said, sir?
I guess that's all in the point of view, sir.
There, I'm already tight as a drum inside.
When are you and James Huntoon announcing your engagement?
Whatever makes you think we will?
If not, then why is he downstairs asking Orry's permission...
to come courting, if you have no intention...
He's got all the intentions, child.
What do I know what an old man thinks?
He's more than 20.
Here's how I feel about him.
Don't laugh. It's true.
I can't stand his puffy old face...
his squinty little eyes...
and his slippery old kisses!
Kisses?
You let him kiss you already?
Just a little old taste of honey, you baby, to sweeten him up.
But if you don't even like him...
how could you?
What's like got to do with anything?
Everybody says James is going to be real important some day.
A gal can't have too many important men courting her, now can she?
Ashton, can't you ever be serious?
But I am serious.
Lord, I might even marry slobbery old James.
That is, if I can find some advantage in it.
In short, sir, I make bold to consider myself qualified...
perhaps even highly qualified, to offer myself as a candidate...
for your sister's fair hand.
"Offer yourself" is a good choice of words.
Perhaps you already discount me, for some reason?
- No, James, I don't discount you at all. - I would hope not, sir.
As you know, sir, I am South Carolina's youngest attorney-at-law.
I am a champion of states' rights...
and a follower of the noble John C. Calhoun.
Since his passing, I have begun to aspire to high political office...
so that I may continue his great work.
And there are those who feel that my goal is not an impossible one.
Excuse me.
Orry, I need to speak with you right away.
If you'll excuse us.
I may, then, consider my suit...
as not entirely unwelcome to Mont Royal?
You may, and God speed and guide you. You're going to need it.
Thank you, sir. I'll find my own way.
This time he's really done it. Your cousin Charles is in serious trouble.
You must come.
Please state your business, sir.
My name is Mr. Smith Dawkins...
and I am representative and relative of Mr. Whitney Smith...
who last evening came upon Mr. Charles Main, of this plantation...
in dalliance with his fiancée...
Miss Sue Marie Smith.
The gentlemen exchanged words, whereupon Mr. Main struck Mr. Smith...
a severe blow.
Whereupon Mr. Smith...
demanded satisfaction.
In consequence of which, I'm here to make arrangements.
- Will you be acting as Mr. Main's second? - I will not.
Mr. Main is too young to be fighting duels. Besides, they're against the law.
He is old enough to have given offense in a totally adult way.
And as you very well know, sir, the Code Duello...
is in common practice despite South Carolina law.
Now if you will kindly direct me to Mr. Main's second...
or better still, to Mr. Main himself.
I'd be delighted to, but I don't know where he is.
You are determined to go through with this farce, aren't you?
Mr. Whitney Smith does not consider it a farce, sir.
- And neither will your kinsman. - To hell with it, then!
- I'll stand as second. - We promise absolute discretion, sir.
No witnesses other than family.
In the case of the Smith family, that could run into the hundreds.
We will keep our number to no more than 12...
and you must give similar assurance.
The site will be the clearing at Six Oaks.
The time, Tuesday morning, sunrise.
The weapons...
conventional dueling pistols.
Assuming, of course, these arrangements are agreeable to you, sir.
They are not! None of it is.
But I accept.
Good day, sir.
Did you put a stop to this insanity?
Where is that lunatic?
One, two, three, four...
five, six, seven...
eight, nine, ten.
You're now dead.
All I need is practice.
That and some sense of what you're practicing.
Smith Dawkins just left. You got until Tuesday morning to save your life.
- What's that to you? - I don't want to be further disgraced...
- so I have just become your second. - Why you?
This is my affair, and I'm not afraid of that lily-white...
You should be.
He will undoubtedly kill you, as unprepared as you are.
He's killed men before.
- I can handle him. - But you can't.
This is not just another one of your country brawls, Charles.
This is a duel, theoretically between gentlemen.
It will be fought with rules, strict rules.
You are a Main, Charles. You hear me?
You are a Main.
And I can't have you dying on me and sullying the family name.
If there's one reason on earth...
I wouldn't want to get my brains blown out, that's it.
I'm going to teach you how to shoot and how to win.
72 hours is all we got.
We'll get you some proper pistols first. Come on, get on your horse.
Four, five, six...
seven, eight, nine, ten.
No.
You're rushing your aim, and you're still jerking the trigger.
Fear will push you into haste, and haste will push you into the grave.
Deliberate. Be deliberate. Again.
Perfect! Now, again...
exactly the same as before, until it's second nature.
We may save your life yet.
Thanks for saying "we. "
Don't get sentimental on me. It's a bit early for that.
I know that you're scared, but that's to your advantage.
That peacock over there...
he's too stupid to be scared yet.
Look at him. He's keeping his coat on.
Appearances mean more to the fool than his life.
And since he isn't worried, he might not take sufficient care.
You will.
Now remember, take your time...
be calm, deliberate, and you will drop him.
You are a Main.
You must...
You must stand, Whitney.
Stand!
Acknowledge their tribute. It's you they're applauding.
- Me? But that's his family. - The man proved himself a coward.
They're showing their admiration for your courage...
and for your generosity in spirit in not killing him.
You have shown every attribute...
of a Carolina gentleman today. I'm proud of you, Charles.
Here's to life.
Thanks to you.
I owe you mine.
All the time, all the care you took with me.
- Without you, he'd have killed me certain. - Probably.
But what you did, you did.
Always before, when I'd fight, everyone disapproved.
What made it so different?
The rules, Charles.
There's a strict and definite code of honor among gentlemen...
that must be observed...
even in a fight. Especially in a fight.
Orry, I want that.
To be a man of honor.
Like you.
Do you think... Is there a chance...
that I could go to West Point?
You'd never pass the entrance exams, not now.
You have the intelligence, but you don't have the education.
But if you're serious...
we could have you tutored.
I've never been more serious about anything in my life.
They're simply exquisite.
And these are my Pride of Pennsylvanias. It took me years to get them started.
They're Mother's special favorites.
I believe this is the most beautiful garden I've ever seen.
It should be. Mother worked on it like a slave.
Over here are my climbing roses.
I've been trying to train them to patterns.
Virgilia, why don't you run and see if Cook has tea ready?
- The minister's cat is an active cat. - The minister's cat is an angry cat.
- The minister's cat is an awful cat. - The minister's cat is an artful cat.
- The minister's cat is a beautiful cat. - The minister's cat is a bashful cat.
- The minister's cat is a bumbling cat. - The minister's cat is a babbling cat.
You're not still upset about South Carolina...
trying to secede earlier this year, are you?
You're damn right I am. Aren't you?
I don't think they'll try it again.
And even if they do, it won't be like we're two separate countries.
That's exactly what it will be like.
I've got some neighbors up here who just don't argue...
about slavery and states' rights anymore.
They're beginning to hate Southerners.
Yeah, I hear talk in South Carolina, too.
Some of my neighbors are none too fond of Yankees.
George, it's not the majority, it's the fanatics.
I hope you're right.
Because if South Carolina does secede, a lot of other states will follow.
And we'll all have to choose sides.
Quite a young man, your Charles.
Already the picture of a Southern gentleman.
Next fall, he and Billy go off to the Point.
- Plebes together, just like we were. - What about when they get out, though?
At least you and I could fight on the same side.
Hardly seems possible.
Turn this boat over, you're going in, too.
There may be hope for the North and South, after all.
At least, for those two.
...and he just stepped right over my feet when we were dancing.
Ashton, I just have to say it.
I think he is so handsome.
Billy?
He'll do.
Of course, alongside Charles, most anybody would look good.
She's about the most exciting thing I ever laid my eyes on.
And 100-proof trouble.
Take my word and give her a wide berth.
Brett's the one you want. Take another look at her.
Billy, you come here this minute. I need you.
Coming.
- What are you doing? - Billy, I'm right here...
and I'm waiting for you.
That's how the wind sets, eh?
Never mind, pretty girl.
He'll get enough of her games sooner than you think.
Let's take a walk, you and I.
The Fugitive Slave Law should be repealed altogether.
Changing it is just another scheme to appease the South.
Dear me, I feel so lost when the talk turns to such things.
Then you should inform yourself.
Lord knows we won't get the truth from our menfolk.
It was such a pleasant afternoon, Virgilia.
The law as changed, Mrs. Main, would take fugitive slave cases...
away from individual states...
and it would put it into the hands of the Federal government.
- Doesn't that benefit the runaways? - It would seem to, and that's the evil of it.
In reality, the law gives slave catchers the right to enter free states...
to capture escaped slaves...
even when those states guarantee slaves their freedom.
It's far worse than before.
Our representatives are only trying to preserve the Union.
Our representatives are only catering to Southern gentlemen.
That will be enough, Virgilia.
We are here to enjoy ourselves.
If you don't like Southerners, why in the world did you invite us here?
- Ashton, sit down and be a lady. - No, I'll answer the child.
I didn't want you here, but I wasn't consulted.
But since you are here, you might take the time...
to listen and to learn the truth.
The truth, Miss Virgilia?
What is that? The same truth you told in Philadelphia? What was it...
- degenerate Southern satyrs? - Deny it, if you dare.
I'll shout it from the housetop.
Slave owners are nothing more than whoremasters.
I'm sorry, George, but I believe it's time we were leaving.
No, please.
You'll apologize to our friends now.
Your friends, George.
I find their way of life repellent and wrong.
You can tell your friends they needn't leave.
I'll be happy to stay in my room for the rest of their visit...
so I don't have to look at their faces or hear their damn Southern voices.
Orry, all of you...
please do not let what Virgilia says or does...
ruin our first summer together.
Please stay with us.
Mother?
All right, George, we'll stay.
Thank you, George.
I've been thinking about something.
Remember the first time I was here...
and we visited Hazard Iron and we talked about a cotton mill?
Yes, and you made me show you every part we ever made...
for a textile mill.
George, I still think it's a good idea, maybe better than ever.
How do you figure that?
Right now every ounce of cotton...
has to be shipped North or to England.
Imagine having a mill right in South Carolina.
Imagine. Can you imagine...
being able to manufacture the cotton right where it's grown?
I can imagine that...
if you and I were equal partners in it.
Wait, George. I was only asking for advice, not money.
I know that, but remember the last time we talked about this?
I told you then that Hazard Iron should manufacture the parts for it.
But I can do better than that now.
I've got some money tucked away. It sounds like an excellent investment.
I don't know what to say. It's so much better than I hoped.
I've got one condition, though.
No slave labor.
Agreed.
Main and Hazard.
It's got a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
Almost as nice as Hazard and Main.
Are you absolutely certain that's what George said?
A cotton mill in South Carolina?
I told him it was a foolish idea, but it is his money.
And it is our salvation.
Imagine George being stupid enough to invest in the South.
I don't understand. How does that help us?
Think about it, Stanley.
George is investing in a region that's beginning to think of itself...
as a rival country.
Why, he is going to lose everything in this silly mill venture.
What better way to prove to your mother that she made a terrible mistake...
and that you should be running Hazard Iron?
They're so ripe, Billy. Just look at them.
They look delicious.
- I saved them just for you. - You did?
Let me give you one.
Was it good, Billy? Do you want more?
- I'll give you more if you want me to. - Yes.
Why don't you take it all? Take everything.
Ashton, no.
We can't.
- I mean, your brother. - Forget about them.
- No one will know. - Ashton, no.
I want to, but no.
I can't, all right?
Forget it, then. I'm going home.
Don't be angry, please.
I care about you.
You care about me?
If you cared about me, Billy, you wouldn't be such a damn gentleman.
But I can manage myself, thank you very much.
I hope you're not mad at me.
- No, you don't. I'm angry with you. - Didn't mean to offend you.
It's been a wonderful summer. I can't thank you enough.
On the contrary.
We should be thanking you for having come.
Orry and I want to have you all come down to Carolina...
just as soon as you find the time. We insist upon it.
She's very determined when she makes up her mind.
So you must say yes.
Very well. On behalf of all of us...
I accept your kind invitation.
Mont Royal will await you. Again, our deepest thanks.
- Main and Hazard? - Hazard and Main.
Take care, old friend.
And you, until we meet again.
- Bye, Orry. - Bye.
Spying slut.
How dare you follow me here?
Maybe you're jealous because she can give me what you can't.
Maybe I should drag you in there and show you how I can get a man child...
on any slut on this plantation but you.
You are disgusting!
You can just lie there and rot, for all I care.
Thisbee?
Madeline.
You're gonna be all right.
Easy.
I'll kill him.
Dear God help me, I will kill him now.
Don't say that. Don't even think that.
I can't let you go back to him then.
Please let me send you away. I'll join you as soon as I can.
You can see how dangerous he is.
He'd find me.
He'd kill me.
He'd kill us both.
- But if you stay- - Things must stay the way they are.
He still knows nothing about us.
And he must never know.
Please.
Then this is the safest place for us. He'll never come back here.
This will change nothing that's between us.
Nothing.
You know that room that I mentioned to you before?
The one that used to be the saddle-maker's workshop?
As I said, it's yours if you want it.
George, you need to know what it's to be used for.
You mustn't be angry with me.
And you must deny me if you don't approve.
- You're opening a brothel. - Be serious, George.
Listen...
I want Belvedere to be a link on the Underground Railway.
If free Negroes can help, George, so can we.
- You want to shelter escaped slaves? - Yes.
It's dangerous, Con.
You'd be breaking the Fugitive Slave Law.
If you're caught, it means federal prison at least.
I know that. Believe me, I've thought about the risks.
But, George...
Come with me. I want to show you something.
The abuse was constant, George. There was no provocation.
Then it became more than he could bear, so Abner ran away.
And made his way here through houses and friends in the network.
All the way from Raleigh.
You're safe here with us. I want you to know that.
Thank you.
I admire what you're doing, Joel.
No one can know but Mother. Virgilia cannot be trusted, and Billy...
Is too young. I know.
We can't let anyone find out, ever, or we're finished.
- I'll stand by you, though. - Thank you. I knew you would...
- once you saw. - You've always known me too well.
It's Orry, isn't it?
That's what you're thinking about?
Here we are, partners in a business.
And I'm helping people that he considers criminals.
But they're not criminals, George. And someone has to help them.
Orry's ideas are part of his heritage.
It'll take generations to change them.
When we all go down to Mont Royal in a couple of weeks...
we're gonna see how he was brought up, the things he believes in.
It's going to come as quite a shock to some of the people in our family.
Thank God Virgilia is not going to be there.
George, she told me she wanted to go.
In fact, she begged me to speak to you about it.
You can tell her the answer was no.
You can't forbid her.
After what she did the time the Mains were here...
I most certainly can.
But she seems so honestly sorry about that.
Besides, the whole family was invited, and Virgilia says that includes her, too.
It was assumed she wouldn't go.
Virgilia knows that. Orry's too polite to make conditions.
Think of it this way, George.
Maybe Stanley and Isabel won't go to Mont Royal if Virgilia does.
Now wouldn't that be a dreadful loss?
George, do I get to go?
What I don't understand is why you want to go, Virgilia.
You hate the South and all Southerners, or so you've endlessly claimed...
But you're always preaching that all hate is based on ignorance.
I'm willing to admit that I may have been wrong.
But I'll never find out unless I see it firsthand.
Taking you into South Carolina is like taking a torch into a powder magazine.
I'll be good as gold, I promise.
That man is my best friend on this earth.
No talk about abolition, or free soil, or anything else that might offend him.
Word of honor.
I'll swear to it on a Bible if you want me to.
You've given me your word of honor, I have to accept that.
You can go.
- Wonderful. I'll finish packing. - Wait just a minute.
Come here.
The Bible's in there.