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[ Door opens ]
[ Door closes]
Just leave it for the time being, Nelly.
[ Door closes]
[ Door opens ]
Where's Rose, Hudson?
I gave her permission to go off early, my lady.
She wanted to visit her aunt, who lives some distance away.
I see. well, she should really finish her duties
before she goes off.
Yes, my lady.
Rose has been rather upset recently, my lady.
We all have.
You were quite right to let her go.
Coffee, James?
JAMES: No, thank you, Mother. I had it at the club.
MARJORIE: All right, Hudson. Thank you.
My lady.
MARJORIE: Hudson? - Yes, my lady?
You don't think that Rose... knows where Miss Elizabeth is?
Oh, no, my lady.
If Rose knew such a thing,
I'm sure she wouldn't keep it to herself.
MARJORIE: Thank you, Hudson. - My lady.
[Door opens, closes]
Well, if she's not in a hotel and she's not with friends,
Where can she be?
I imagine she's with her new friends.
- New friends? - Do you mean those Socialists?
Well, they call themselves Fabians.
Oh, what's the difference?
As I see the matter, James,
Fabians are better bred and less realistic.
There's a little nest of them at Cambridge
Where they go on midnight picnics
and patronize Keir Hardie.
Surely Elizabeth would never be taken in by them.
'Tis awfully good of you, Henrietta,
to take me in off the street.
Just think what might have happened to me otherwise.
"One more unfortunate Weary of breath,
Rashly importunate, Gone to her death."
"Take her up tenderly, cherish her do.
You might pawn her watch for a shilling or two."
I never thought of pawning my watch. what a good idea.
Henrietta, would you like me to pawn my watch?
Then I'd be able to pay you something.
You're earning your keep doing that.
Which is more than I can say for Lawrence.
He isn't even earning his tea.
Oh, what nonsense. Of course I am.
Unlike william Morris, I believe in pure decoration.
This is the brave new pattern of life --
that women should work and men be just beautiful.
The overpowering ugliness of this room
would quite deafen your spirits if I were not here.
I do hope that popping these leaflets through letterboxes
will convince people more than if we post them.
Most of them don't want to be convinced.
Oh, dear Henrietta.
You're the only one with your feet on the ground.
Whatever would we do without you?
LAWRENCE: we should float up into the air like thistledown,
higher and higher and higher
with our voices coming back like rather tinny skylarks
until at last we reach the sun
and then we all flared up in one glorious conflagration.
It would almost be worth it.
Yes, but it wouldn't do the poor a scrap of good,
and that's what we're here for.
Yes, of course we are.
Henrietta, as you're the practical one, do you think
you could see if Mrs. March has forgotten about our tea?
As usual.
LAWRENCE: I have a yearning for hot buttered toast
that's almost immoral.
[ Door closes]
I wish I were Henrietta.
She's always so sure of everything.
Aren't you sure of everything?
I'm not sure of anything.
At least, I'm fairly sure of things but never of people.
And I'm sure of people and never of things.
You didn't mean that.
You only said it because it was a good answer.
You know, I sometimes think that I don't mean anything.
Come on.
Elizabeth, a visitor for you.
Rose!
Come in.
You know Mr. Lawrence Kirbridge.
Lawrence, you remember my dear friend Rose, of course.
Hot foot from affluent Eaton Place.
I'd have got here sooner, Miss Elizabeth --
Oh, don't call me that. It sounds so ridiculous here.
What shall I call you, then?
I don't know. "Elizabeth," I suppose.
Friends call each other by their names.
But I'm not your friend. I'm your parents' house parlourmaid.
- Yes, but not here. - well, I'm not ashamed of it.
That's what I do. I'm a house parlourmaid.
LAWRENCE: Rose believes in the truth.
Eh?
- You believe in the truth. - Yes, sir.
ELIZABETH: Rose, how ridiculous you are. As if it matters.
I'll take that upstairs and unpack it for you.
Let me have a look.
What's this? A present?
No, I had to stop and buy you a hairbrush on the way.
Couldn't bring the one you left on the dressing table.
Rose, you're so clever.
Mm! I'll take it up to my room and unpack it.
I've got a bedroom in the attic, Rose, just like yours.
- I'll take it for you. - I can manage. It's not heavy.
-...lay all the things out. - For Heaven's sake.
Will you sit down?!
LAWRENCE: [Clears throat]
- May I take your hat and coat? - No, thank you.
Well, uh, sit down, anyway.
Thank you, sir.
Tea will be here directly.
Excuse me, sir? - Yes?
This place -- Is it a lodging?
Yes, it is.
Miss Henrietta Winchmore, the young lady who let you in,
lodges here, and Miss Elizabeth is sharing with her.
- On. - And l...
am staying with friends in St. John's wood.
But when they get too dull to bear for another minute,
-then I come 'round here. - Oh, I see.
- You're quite wrong, you know. - wrong?
Yeah.
Miss Elizabeth really does think of you as her friend.
Yes, I know.
Rose, I put my washing in the case.
Could you get it done for me and bring it back next week?
ROSE: No. I'd have to get it past Mr. Hudson.
- I'd never manage that. Rose, you can manage anything.
I'd do it myself, but I've got so much work to do.
ROSE: What about my work?
ELIZABETH: Oh, but this is real work.
So is mine. Feels real enough, anyhow.
And Mr. Hudson notices when I don't get it done,
and so does her ladyship.
ELIZABETH: It may be real work, but it's not for real people.
Miss Elizabeth, whatever do you mean by that?
My parents aren't real people.
Parents never are.
They're all sorts of other things.
They're stupid and innocent
and inquisitive and frightfully faithful, but they're not real.
You should never think of parents as real people.
Only worries them and confuses them.
Exactly.
Well, I'll see what I can do.
But it won't be easy.
What are you doing there, anyhow?
We're changing the world.
Oh, I'm not sure I want it changed.
Oh, yes you do, Rose. Really, you do.
You want to change the law which says being poor is a crime.
The most important thing to do
will be to create a truly noble relationship
between the people and the state
so that the people work devotedly and honourably
for the state and the state in turn
loves and cares for the people,
just as we love and care for each other.
[ Chuckles ]
Oh, hot buttered toast and Dundee cake!
Marvelous.
Take off your hat, Rose, and sit down.
Well, I could fancy a cup of tea.
I don't understand how she can be so cruel.
Not even to send a word or a message.
Doesn't she know how we feel?
RICHARD: No, I don't think she does.
Nowadays, children seem to think
their parents don't feel anything.
You know, we should have been firmer with her.
Marjorie, Elizabeth is over 21.
MARJORIE: Oh, yes, if she wants to go away,
frighten us all to death, and cause so much unhappiness,
she has a perfect right.
My dear.
It's my fault, you know.
It must be my fault that she can treat us like this.
- It must be. - No, no.
Well, I better go and change for dinner.
I'm off, Mother. Have you heard anything from --
No, James, we haven't heard anything.
RICHARD: Aren't you dining in the mess, James?
No, not tonight. I'm going to the music hall
and having supper with a friend afterwards.
MARJORIE: well, I hope you and your friend enjoy the show.
RICHARD: Who are you going to see?
That new sensation in the vaudeville, Sarah Delice.
[Upbeat music plays]
♫ Oh, what are we gonna do with Uncle Arthur? ♫
♫ A blinking stallion, is Uncle Arthur ♫
♫ And when he goes a-strollin' "m the park ♫
♫ watch your step, girls ♫
♫ Especially after dark ♫
♫ Any old skirt's a flirt for Uncle Arthur ♫
♫ He's over 80 ♫
♫ But how he can run ♫
♫ “Gwe us a kiss, me dear" he'd say ♫
♫ And tickle you up the bum-dee-ay ♫
♫ And say it was just an harmless bit ♫
♫ A nice bruise on you where you sit ♫
♫ Ay "Let me go, Uncle Arthur" kind of fun ♫
[ whistling, laughter]
♫ what are we going to do with Uncle Arthur? ♫
♫ Have him doctored? ♫
-[ whistling, shouting] - ♫ Like a tomcat? ♫
No!
♫ You'd have thought by now he'd had his fill ♫
♫ But me aunt can't bloody well keep him still ♫
♫ Saturday night'll find him at the boozer ♫
[Hiccups] ♫ Havin' a quick one ♫
♫ Then off he will pop ♫
♫ Straighten his hat and up the street ♫
♫ An 80-year-old who's indiscreet ♫
♫ Dirty old man who can loit-a ♫
♫ Uncle Arthur is not the sort-a ♫
♫ But it's bloody well time for him to stop ♫
Hold onto your ha'penny, girls! He's behind ya!
[Cheers and applause]
Hello, Sarah.
Hello, stranger.
I, uh, came to ask you to have supper with me.
How about that for applause, eh?
[Cheers and applause continue]
They're going mad.
They always do Saturday nights.
Mind you,
I was to go out there and recite the Lord's Prayer in Dutch,
they'd still yell their bloody heads off.
Of course they would.
It's you they love, not the song.
[ Laughter, whistling]
Do you mind how I shut out the noise
of the bellowing proletariat?
Sick of slumming already, Mr. James?
James.
I promised you the money for that fine.
Here.
Forget it.
Thanks all the same,
but it was only a week's salary from this place.
I insist.
It was my fault for not being bright enough
to see through that two-faced Swede
and his light-fingered valet.
He had a way with him.
Rot him.
Damn nearly put you in Holloway.
Oh, well. We live and learn.
How's things in dear, old Eaton Place?
If your mother could see us together now, she'd drop dead.
JAMES: Oh, I don't see why.
You're not a maid anymore.
You're the toast of Camden Town.
I was a skivvy in your mother's house.
Was.
Shut your eyes, love. I'm gonna strip.
Strip away, Sarah.
SARAH: You peeped last time, remember?
Up in Lady Marjorie's boudoir
that night I got drunk and tried on a dress.
I'm a little older now, Sarah.
And wiser. I'm a captain.
SARAH: If you were really wise,
you wouldn't be taking me out to supper.
Then I don't believe in wisdom.
SARAH: Don't you?
Not when -- when...
When what?
When you're standing here...
...with so little on underneath.
Nothing on underneath. ..Captain.
[Clock ticking]
[Rustling in distance]
- who is it?! - Aah!
Rose! - Mr. Hudson!
I never thought you'd be -- I thought you'd be --
I decided that I didn't want to waste a good fire.
No.
Well, good night, then, Mr. Hudson.
Rose?
Yes, Mr. Hudson?
You're a wee thing late.
ROSE: Yes. Yes, I am.
I missed the last tram back, and I had to walk all the way home.
I see.
Isn't that a valise you've got there?
Uh, yes. Y-Yes, it is.
It is Miss Elizabeth's, I think?
Yes, it is.
I got it mended.
Don't lie to me, girl!
You know where she is.
Come down here.
In there.
[Door hinges creak]
Oh, Rose, Rose.
I would never have thought it of you.
You know how upset her ladyship has been.
I don't approve of gossip,
but I can tell you I have found her ladyship in tears
almost every day since Miss Elizabeth went away.
And now you knew where she was and you kept it from her.
Well, they made Miss Elizabeth unhappy, too.
That is no concern of yours.
It is my concern. She's my friend.
Your friend? [Scoffs lightly]
If Miss Elizabeth has taught you to forget your place,
then she is no friend of yours.
Now, you will tell me where she is, my girl.
- I won't. - Rose, you will do as I bid,
or tomorrow I'll tell the master,
and he'll soon get it out of you.
I won't tell him, not if he tears me to pieces!
Sit down, Rose.
Oh...
Sit down.
What is this house, Rose?
165 Eaton Place.
And what part of the house are we sitting in?
Servants' hall.
That is right. The servants' hall.
You and I, Rose, We're employed here.
What the family does is their business.
We're here to do our work and mind our business, not theirs.
Miss Elizabeth asked me to help her.
She shouldn't have done that. It wasn't fair to you.
Oh, I didn't mind.
Well, you should, because it is your good name that you'll lose,
and no one's got the right to ask that of you.
Don't see that.
HUDSON: Don't you?
Well I'll have to tell the master tomorrow
that you have known all along where Miss Elizabeth is,
and, although you realized how upset her ladyship was,
you didn't say a thing.
And he will tell her ladyship.
And then they will both know
that after all these years you've been with them,
they can't trust you.
They'll be very sorry to know that, Rose.
I know I am.
[Voice breaking] Oh, Mr. Hudson...
what am I gonna do?
[ Cries ]
[ Laughter]
Oh, ho, I'm exhausted.
Why must every house have three steps up to its front door?
Why can't people live in little sensible houses
just big enough for their needs?
None of these great pillars and porticoes.
Oh, I don't know. I'm rather fond of pillars and porticoes.
Through pillars and porticoes long may we roam.
To you, it's a palace. To me, it's just home.
All right, but every palace
must have at least three families living in it
and they can share the cooking and the cleaning
and then they can read poetry to each other all day long.
Henrietta will be back soon
if she hasn't fallen off her bicycle again.
You'll stay to supper, won't you?
Oh, no. No, I can't. I-I'm going to the opera.
Oh.
You shouldn't sit in the firelight.
Shouldn't I?
I don't know. There's something about a woman and firelight.
Makes one think of one's childhood --
nanny and mother and all those -- those familiar things.
Makes one feel so safe
when really it's the most dangerous thing in the world.
Oh, I must go.
Here, look at that when I've gone.
What is it?
-[ Door opens] - It's your poem!
In the morning post.
Have you been carrying this around all day?
I'm sorry I sent it now.
ELIZABETH: But it's wonderful.
Do you really think so?
The editor insisted on cutting a couple of verses.
He said they were an attack on religion and man.
- were they? - well, yes, of course.
I just didn't think he was clever enough to realize it.
Lawrence.
I think I'm falling in love with you.
Would that be a terrible mistake?
Terrible mistake for you.
But wonderful for me.
[ Door closes]
[Sighs]
[Knock on door]
And Miss Elizabeth is actually sleeping there, is she?
In them lodgings?
Well, yes, Mr. Pearce.
At least, she's staying there with Miss Winchmore.
That's her young woman friend, and...
And what?
And other people visit them.
At nighttime, eh?
Is one of them Miss Elizabeth's gentleman friend?
You mind your own business, Nelly.
This is a private conversation between Mr. Pearce and myself.
See, this Mr. Lawrence Kirbridge,
he's a poet.
He's a poet, and he don't know it, eh?
[ Laughter]
Here, I heard about poets.
He speaks beautifully,
and he's one of the finest gentlemen I've ever met.
And I'm sure Miss Lizzie couldn't do better.
I'm sure she couldn't.
Then why don't she come home?
I must be free to live my own life.
I can't be bound by rules and shibboleths I don't believe in.
RICHARD: And this freedom, does it include freedom from money?
Oh, now, that, if you'll forgive me --
I'll forgive you anything, Elizabeth,
except making your mother unhappy.
I beg your pardon. I interrupted you.
Yes.
I don't want to quarrel. That's why I came away.
RICHARD: You've made your protest. I understand.
- Now you can come home. - Look, it wouldn't work.
I can't live the way you and mother do,
Worrying about what you eat and what you wear and what you say.
It would be like taking part in a perpetual charade.
Well, charades are all right at Christmas
when you all say and do things you don't mean anyway.
If you like, I'll come home at Christmas,
and I'll play the charade beautifully
for three or four days -- a whole week.
But don't ask me to spend my whole life playing a Charade.
RICHARD: ls religion part of the charade?
Yes, it is. I think so, and so does Lawrence.
Lawrence?
ELIZABETH: Lawrence Kirbridge, the poet.
He's another friend of mine.
Oh, yes. He's that rather precious young man
who writes poems against religion and marriage.
He writes poems for a lot of things, too,
but you wouldn't notice that.
He writes about truth and beauty
and about honesty and about being young
and knowing that the world belongs to you.
Elizabeth, you won't always be young.
All the more reason not to betray youth while I have it.
This beastly bicycle. Look what it done to my skirt.
I shall have to give it to the cat-meat man.
Never mind. I got rid of them all.
Henrietta, my father.
How do you do, Mr. Bellamy? Did you finish your deliveries?
Why, you haven't done half of them.
Yes, we have. We've done thousands.
HENRIETTA: Trouble with you and Lawrence is you talk too much
-instead of working. - No, we don't.
Well, I'd better go and get supper. Mrs. March is drunk.
Oh, not again.
Who is Mrs. March?
HENRIETTA: My landlady. She does hit the bottle a bit.
Never mind. I found some sausages in the meat safe.
I think I'll cook them.
Oh, are you staying to supper, Mr. Bellamy?
Uh...
No, thank you. I have to get to the House.
There's an important division tonight.
Oh, yes.
- You're a Tory, aren't you? - Mm.
What action are you going to take on that bill?
Which bill?
Winston Churchill's Labor Exchange Bill.
I'm not sure.
You're not? I thought you'd vote against it.
It's a good bill. I shall probably abstain.
And if there's a whip on?
Well, then I shall consult --
Oh, your leader, I suppose.
I was about to say my conscience.
Oh.
Maybe you're not quite as bad as you seem.
Funny. I was thinking exactly the same thing about you.
[Cheers and applause]
[Upbeat music plays]
MAN: Bravo!
Hello.
Wheel
I thought you wasn't coming tonight.
I'm here.
SARAH: You said you was on duty at the barracks.
I was, but I managed to get out of it to be with you, my love.
I thought we'd go somewhere different tonight.
I've heard of an awfully jolly little tavern down in Chiswick.
Where no one will recognize you as the son of
Mr. Richard Pemberton Bellamy, M.P.
Oh, that's not the point, Sarah.
Oh, isn't it? All right. Then let's go to the Ritz.
You can take me to supper at the Ritz
and show me off to all your mother and father's friends.
"Ooh, dear, dear.
Isn't that Marjorie Bellamy's boy over there
with his new lady friend, what's on the stage?
Tsk, tsk! Dear, dear, what a little trollop she looks --
all them feathers and jewels.
I do hear as how she was the under-house parlourmaid."
Oh, shut up!
- You go on and on about that. -[ Door closes]
I'll take you to the Ritz if that's where you want to go.
I don't care what the parents say.
- I don't care what anybody says. - well, I do!
I care.
Now, listen.
I don't want you to take me to the Ritz
or any other posh place.
Not yet, anyway.
Not till you're sure how you feel about me.
I mean, we've got to give it time.
We've only been together again a little while.
I love you, Sarah.
Shh.
But I want you to promise me something.
Anything within reason.
- A necklace, perhaps? - Oh, shut up.
I don't want no expensive presents from you.
All I want you to promise me
is that you'll go easy on that stuff.
I mean, you're a good-looking boy.
Too many bottles of this,
and you're gonna go all bloated and depraved.
And I wouldn't want my brave captain to go all depraved.
Argh!
Now, then, Captain, if you'll kindly undo me,
I'll get changed, we'll whistle up a hansom,
and drive back to my place...
for a cup of cocoa, eh?
[ Both laugh ]
"And when you talk of tenderness,
I tell you I have none to spare.
I did not even know I loved you
Till I saw bluebells in your hair."
"I did not even know I loved you
Till I saw bluebells in your hair."
- well, it doesn't scan, does it? - No, it doesn't.
It'd be better to say,
"I did not know I loved you
Till I saw bluebells in your hair."
Why say it at all?
Doesn't make sense unless she's got blue hair.
Well, at least he gets them published.
I suppose that's something.
H-He's making quite a name for himself.
- A name? - Yes.
A lot of people think he's very gifted.
Mr. Asquith was talking about him only yesterday.
His uncle is J.G. Kirbridge, the Tory member for Bristol North.
Oh, I suppose we could... ask him to lunch.
Funny to think of Miss Elizabeth coming to lunch as a guest, innit?
- Shh!
MARJORIE: Your father is dead, I believe, Mr. Kirbridge?
LAWRENCE: Yes, three years ago.
MARJORIE: Does your mother live in London?
LAWRENCE: No, no. She lives in Tunbridge wells, actually.
MARJORIE: Very pretty there, isn't it?
LAWRENCE Yes.
MARJORIE: I hear your uncle is J.G. Kirbridge.
Oh, Mother, what does it matter who his uncle was?
Oh, I don't know. I'm rather interested in my relatives.
Another of my uncles used to say
we were descended from Alfred the Great.
Of course, he was commonly known as Mad George.
Was he really mad?
Well, he was eccentric, rather.
- Mad nor'-nor'-west. - Yes, exactly.
He was a missionary, actually, in the South Seas.
He even had an island named after him.
And then he died, and the natives ate him.
Really? - well, I imagine so.
I mean, they always eat you in the South Seas, don't they?
Don't they?
Not invariably.
LAWRENCE: Oh! Oh, I thought they did.
Oh.
Actually, I, um... [Clears throat]
- I approve of cannibalism. - Mr. Kirbridge.
Oh, call me Lawrence. Everyone does.
No, when you think about it, it's rather a delightful idea.
-"Delightful"? - Yes.
Just imagine, Lady Marjorie,
there's someone that you admire tremendously.
Now, in the normal course of events,
they die and you've lost them.
But according to the South Sea Islanders
and the Maories of New Zealand, I believe,
if you eat them, all their collagens become yours.
It's rather a novel sort of life after death.
It's quite religious, actually.
Well, I do understand the idea,
but I'm not sure I altogether take to it.
- More coffee, Mr. Kirbridge? LAWRENCE: Oh, thank you.
Have you ever thought of emulating your uncle
and going into politics, Mr. Kirbridge?
- No, he hasn't.
- Oh, I wouldn't say that.
Thank you, Rose.
No, it's just that I don't really see myself
as a politician.
See, a politician has to hold the same opinion
for years and years and years on end.
MARJORIE: Thank you, Hudson. - I change my opinion every week.
Every intelligent man does.
They like him, Mr. Hudson. You can tell they do.
He has a very easy, pleasant way with him.
Don't you like him, Mr. Hudson?
It is not my place to like him or dislike him.
- No, but -- - Nor yours, either, Rose.
No, Mr. Hudson.
He's not quite what we're used to, but, uh, he could be worse.
But not when it's a matter of principle, surely?
Yes, but what exactly is a matter of principle,
and how does it differ from any other opinion?
Well there are certain basic rules of life.
Yes, but my basic rule of life is to enjoy it
and that everyone else should do the same thing.
Only it must be everyone.
I don't just mean one's friends and relatives.
I mean the coal man, the factory worker, the miner,
little chap who works in a shop selling ties.
They've all got one life.
They have the right to enjoy it, just as I enjoy mine.
Now, this is the principle upon which I live.
And if we all lived on the same principle, well --
well, there'd be no further use for politicians.
Nevertheless, with that flow of oratory,
I think you'd make a very good one.
But we don't believe in politics as they exist today,
any more than we believe in religion or marriage.
[ Door opens ]
Ah, James.
I was expecting you to lunch.
Oh, sorry I'm late, Mother. I got held up.
This is Mr. Lawrence Kirbridge.
- My son James. - How do you do?
Yes, I, uh, believe you were at school with a friend of mine --
- Bunny Hamilton. - Bunny! Oh, yes.
Yes, we were great rivals for athletic glory.
We used to run 'round and 'round and 'round a little muddy track
trying to see which one of us would go faster.
What a pointless proceeding.
I think it's always good to excel.
LAWRENCE: How is old Bunny?
Well, he's taken up polo now.
So the ponies have to run instead.
You must come and watch us play sometime.
Yes, yes, I'd like to do that very much, thank you.
Well, uh, we must go.
Oh, darling, you don't have to go yet, surely?
Yes, we really must.
I promised Henrietta I'd do some statistics
-about aged destitution. - well, goodbye, Lady Marjorie.
Thank you. Thank you very much for a most delightful lunch.
Been a great pleasure. You must come again.
Thank you. I'd like that.
- Goodbye. - Goodbye.
Give my regards to old Bunny when you see him, won't you?
We're giving a lunch at the Carlton Club next week,
at which a number of literary people will be present.
I wonder if you'd care to come as my guest?
Oh, well, thank you, sir. Yes, I'd like that very much.
Oh, you'll know Where to find him.
Henrietta's gone down into wales,
so Lawrence is coming to share the lodgings with me.
Bye.
Come along.
LAWRENCE: Why not?!
If it makes your parents happy and my mother happy, why not?
Because it's against our principles.
Oh, well, if we're doing it
because we're afraid of the conventions, then I agree.
But what harm will it do us to say a few meaningless words
in a rather ugly pseudo-Gothic barn then just forget about it?
ELIZABETH: A great deal of harm.
To us and to the things we believe in.
But how can it change us if we don't believe in it?!
Look, it isn't just getting married.
It's joining their fat, comfortable world.
It'll make us fat and comfortable, too.
Oh.
Oh, don't ask me to do it.
Please don't ask me.
I don't see how else you can see it, Rose,
if they're both living under the same roof.
No, I suppose we must draw the worst conclusions.
HUDSON: I would never have believed it of him.
A presentable young gentleman like that --
nicely spoken, well-connected.
I think it's Miss Elizabeth.
She told me she don't believe in marriage.
Then she's a disgrace to her family.
You're ruining your father's career, you know that!
Oh, what rubbish. How could it possibly?
MARJORIE: A politician must be absolutely reliable.
Even a breath of scandal can be disastrous.
When people consider your father for committee work
or to sit on some special commission,
they think, "That's the man whose daughter's living...
who's living
Living in sin!
Oh, can't you see there's no such thing as sin?
There's only cruelty and stupidity!
Lawrence and I love each other.
So we're doing what is perfectly natural
when you love each other.
We're spending all the time we can in each other's company.
We haven't been to bed together.
Yet.
But when we want to
and when we feel it's the right and natural thing to do,
then we shall do it.
- Can't you understand?! - Yes, I understand!
I understand that you're making us all miserable
for a stupid, childish, arrogant whim!
Oh, God!
[ Door opens ]
[ Door slams ]
[Sighs]
[Knock on door]
Rose!
Come in.
Have you come to supper?
No, I can't stop, Miss Elizabeth.
Her ladyship and the master have gone out to supper,
and Mr. Hudson said I could come out for an hour
-but only an hour. - Oh, I'm glad.
Come and sit down.
Mr. Lawrence not here?
No. He's, uh, staying with his mother for a week.
Oh. Trying to explain, I suppose.
Trying to explain what?
Why you and him aren't getting married.
Oh, Rose, how could you?
I thought you'd understand at least.
Well, I don't understand, Miss Elizabeth,
and neither do the other servants.
Oh, what do they matter?
They matter to me. And you matter to them.
Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that.
But it's because of them.
I mean, all that We're trying to do, Rose.
Do you mean your not getting married
will be better for the poor?
Well, y-yes.
Look, it's all part of the same thing --
being free from the old stupid ways of thinking,
being free to care about everyone
instead of being tied up in marriage and religion
-and society. - I see.
Now, let's make sure I've got this right.
- You want to help people? - Yeah.
You want to do good for people, all sorts of people everywhere.
Yes, I do. Very much.
But you don't want to help the two people nearest to you.
- well, if you mean my parents -- - Yes, I do!
Rose, they're dead, or at least they're dying.
They're part of a dying world.
If I tied myself to them and did what they wanted,
then I should die, too.
Oh, I see.
So, when someones dying, you're supposed to leave them alone.
I didn't know that.
ELIZABETH: Oh, Rose.
When my mother was dying, they sent for me up at the big house.
I sat by her bed and held her hand all night until she died.
I didn't know I wasn't supposed to do that,
but then I'm just a stupid ignorant girl
what doesn't know any better.
Only if I am, her ladyship must be, also,
'cause she sat beside me and held my hand.
And in the morning, when my mother died and I was crying...
...she cried, too.
[Voice breaking] Oh, it's not fair.
Not fair!
Oh, Mother, look. Isn't that frightful?
Perfectly ghastly. It's from Maude, of course.
[ Both laugh ]
Oh.
Aunt Kate.
- Did you know? - No, but it looks like her.
Ah.
Why is everyone so kind when one's getting married?
Oh, I think they remember their own love.
Happiness suddenly becomes very vulnerable.
They want to cherish it.
Set them all out on the table.
That's right. That's right.
Oh, Rose, where's the cover for the big meat dish?
It's not in the pantry cupboard, Mr. Hudson,
but we haven't used it, oh, not since Mr. James' coming of age.
Maybe it's been put away in the silver chest. I'll have a look.
Get a good shine on those salvers, Edward.
- I'll do my best, Mr. Hudson. - Now, Nelly,
get out all the glassware you can find.
There are going to be over 200 guests at the reception.
But we ain't got 200 best plates, nor nothing.
The caterers will supplement what we cannot provide, Rose.
Look sharp now, Nelly.
Mr. Hudson, will I be going to the church?
Provided you dress respectably, put on a proper hat,
and see that your hands and face are clean.
All the servants will be going to the church.
There'll be a private omnibus
Waiting for us directly after the ceremony.
And I don't want any of you loitering about
to see the bride leaving, or the guests will be arriving back
for the reception before we do.
Nelly...
...you mind Where you go in church.
You fetch up too near the altar, you might get married to me!
[ Laughs ] Oh, Edward, you're a card!
HUDSON: Edward! Get on with your work!
Marriage is a very serious business.
Pbht!
Wonder if this is my book or Henrietta's.
I think I'll keep it.
If she wants it, she can ask me for it.
And if she doesn't want it, I may as well keep it.
Oh, I wish I could stay here till the wedding.
How absurd that we should have to conform
to their tribal customs.
How ridiculous that we should have to wait to make love
until society gives us its approval.
Lawrence? - Hmm?
I'm sorry about Evelyn Larkin.
Oh, she's all right. She always is.
No, I mean making love.
I'm sorry it's not going to be the first time for both of us.
Well, you don't have to worry about me and Evelyn.
Wasn't a great success.
Perhaps it's just as well, really.
If it had been, she might not have let me go quite so easily.
She rather cares for that sort of thing.
Don't you?
Oh, of course.
I'm sure I shall.
Well, we shall see, won't we?
Yes, we shall see.
Did you clean your shoes this morning, Edward?
Yes, Mr. Hudson.
Well, give them another rub while I go upstairs.
Rose, assemble the staff.
Yes, Mr. Hudson.
And blow your nose, Nelly.
I don't need to.
Blow it just the same.
[ Blows ]
With our very best wishes, Miss Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH: Thank you. Thank you very much.
Can I open it now?
Allow me, miss.
-[ Snickers ] - Nelly!
Oh, it's beautiful.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
Oh. Dear Rose.
[ Chuckles ]
Oh, dear.
[ Laughs ]
Thank you.
[ Laughter]
[Clock chiming]
[Laughter continues]
[Organ plays]
[ Indistinct conversations]
Elizabeth's nearly ready.
RICHARD: Shouldn't you be leaving?
Yes, I'm going now.
- Is she all right? - Hmm?
Well, why shouldn't she be?
You look beautiful.
No, I don't, but I've done my best.
- Can't do more, can one? - No.
Now, the servants are just leaving.
If Elizabeth isn't down in 10 minutes, shout up the stairs.
Yes, yes. I'll do that.
Oh, James. Are we ready?
Everything is in order, Mother.
- Hey. - Hmm?
Ah, splendid.
Ready, Mother?
Oh, take the covers off in an hour's time,
and, uh, you can offer the caterers a cup of tea
but no strong liquor, mind.
Where's Nelly?
How do I look, Mr. Hudson?
Remarkable, Nelly. Come along, then, quickly.
Uh, shall I call Rose if we're going, Mr. Hudson?
No, no. Rose is attending to the bride.
She'll come on later and join us at the church.
Follow me.
Nelly.
May I have the pleasure?
Oh, Edward.
If I get hungry in church,
I'm gonna have a nibble at your cherry. [Laughs]
- Edward! - No. It's a nice hat, really.
No, I do like it, really. Come on, quick. Let's go.
[Birds chirping, hoofbeats]
[ Indistinct conversations]
My dear Marjorie.
[indistinct talking]
And Agatha.
Hello.
All right, then, Mother?
- I suppose so. - Come on, then.
James, you don't think Eli-- - Don't worry.
Father will see her to the post.
I feel like a gladiator
about to be turned thumbs-down by the Roman matrons.
Don't worry. They'll let you live.
- You've got the ring. - You sure?
Hang on, Miss Lizzie, hang on.
It's all caught up.
Now, don't let me go without the bouquet.
And don't forget what her ladyship said about holding it.
Not over my stomach as though I'm concealing a baby
and not in my arms as though I'm nursing one.
[ Laughing ] Oh, Miss Elizabeth!
Oh, well, that's how I remember what not to do.
Yeah, that's all right. Now I'll put your veil over your head.
Oh, no, no. No, wait until I finish with the stairs.
Just imagine -- honeymoon in Vienna.
Yes.
Rose?
Yes, Miss Elizabeth?
In case you have any doubts about it,
I'm still quite pure, you know.
Yes, Miss Elizabeth.
You had doubts, didn't you?
Well, I had quite thought,
what with all that talk about not believing in marriage,
but I'm very pleased to hear it.
Are you?
- I'm not. - Miss Elizabeth.
Oh, Rose, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be standing here now.
I done it all for the best, Miss Elizabeth.
Yes, I know.
Everyone's done everything for the best,
only...now I'm so frightened.
But you do love him, don't you?
Yes.
But I wish I knew.
What?
Yes.
Yes, I do love him.
I do. I do.
Maybe it's all for the best.
Oh, I'm sure it is, Miss Elizabeth.
I'm sure it is.
[ Door opens ]
Elizabeth.
[Engine running]
[Organ playing]
- Edward. - Yes, Mr. Hudson?
Don't sing too loudly in the hymns.
SARAH: [Talking indistinctly] - MAN: Shh!
SARAH: I'm one of the family.
Who on earth is that?
God Almighty!
Who is it?
It's Sarah, who used to be in service.
- She never. - Yeah, had your place once.
Blimey.
It looks like -- But it can't be --
Mother, I'll see to it.
It's no use sticking me at the back. I won't see a thing.
Now, listen, you may not think it to look at me,
but I'm very short-sighted.
Oh, there's some of me old friends up there.
The bride will be here any minute.
Don't worry. I'll never spoil an entrance.
[Engine shuts off]
- All right? - Yes, I'm all right.
You know, marriage is a declaration
of faith in the future.
I'm glad you're making it.
So am I.
[Organ continues]
Oh!!
♫ what are we gonna do with Uncle Arthur? ♫
♫ Have him doctored? ♫
♫ Like a tomcat? ♫
♫ You'd have thought by now he'd had his fill ♫
♫ But me aunt can't bloody well keep him still ♫
♫ Saturday night'll find him at the boozer ♫
♫ Havin' a quick one ♫
-♫ Then off he will pop ♫ - Sarah!
Oh, I-l beg your pardon, Miss Delice.
SARAH: Yes, Hudson?
Edward, Nelly, Pearce, upstairs to the front hall.
Miss Elizabeth is leaving shortly.
Come on. Quickly now.
The other wedding guests are assembling in the hall, miss.
Well, I'm assembling down here!
I think since you were invited as a guest, miss...
Oh, I was invited, all right.
JAMES: Sarah!
Down here, Jimmy.
HUDSON: Sir.
Oh, what on earth are you doing down here?
Reliving old memories.
You know very well you hated every minute of your time here.
I know.
Poor old Hudson was a bit confused.
I mean, I don't really belong anywhere, do I?
Neither upstairs, nor downstairs.
BOTH: Nor in my lady's chamber.
You belong to me.
Do I?
Elizabeth is about to go.
I wish we could go away.
Where to? Vienna?
I'd rather go to Paris.
All right. Let's go.
What? NOW?!
- why not? - whee!
What about the regiment?
What about the theatre?
To hell with the theatre.
To hell with the regiment.
Vive la république!
Come on. Let's go and throw some confetti at my sister.
SARAH: Here, watch it! You'll rupture yourself!
[ Indistinct conversations]
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