ANNE LISTER:
Rawson's men are stealing
significant amounts of coal.
I've told you before,
it's a nasty business.
She's bluffing about sinking
her own pits
because how could she
possibly afford it?
Miss Walker will let Miss Lister
dip into her purse,
and whatever else she's been
letting her dip into.
-LISTER: What's the matter?
-ANN WALKER: I've had a letter.
-LISTER: From?
-WALKER: Mr. Ainsworth.
I think he wants to marry me.
LISTER: You're going to
have to make a decision.
There's clearly more to it
than you're able
or willing to tell me.
WALKER:
He already thinks I'm his,
and I couldn't tell anybody
because he said it would reflect
just as badly on me
as it did on him!
LISTER:
He took advantage of you.
WALKER: What are you
going to do to him?
I haven't decided yet.
[TV static drones]
[bright tone]
[bright music]
♪ ♪
- Anne?
- Good morning.
- [sighs]
What time is it?
- 22 minutes past 10:00.
- Is it?
[sighs]
- How are you feeling?
- [moans]
I had the same
pain here...
- Here.
- All night.
[sighs]
I heard the clock strike 5:00,
and then...
I don't know.
Exhaustion must've
got the better of me.
How long have you been here?
- Not long.
I sat with Miss Parkhill
at breakfast,
during which we had
a very polite skirmish
about which one of us
would come up
and see if you
were awake.
- Hmm.
- I won.
[soft music]
♪ ♪
- I'm wondering if...
perhaps you shouldn't
say anything
to Mr. Ainsworth,
should he--
if he turns up
on the doorstep.
- Why?
- I think he'll be angry.
Well, he will be angry
if he thought that...
I'd told someone else about
what went on.
- Angry?
- Embarrassed, humiliated.
- You did absolutely
the right thing to tell me
about...what went on.
And if that makes him angry,
embarrassed, or humiliated...
bad luck.
Why don't you
get washed and dressed,
come downstairs?
It'll make you
feel brighter.
♪ ♪
[water splashing]
I was going to ask.
- What?
- Could I borrow some money?
It's just a temporary thing--
a temporary loan.
I'm going to sink a coal pit.
- [chuckles]
How much?
Of course you can.
[jaunty music]
♪ ♪
- I was hoping, while I'm here,
to see Miss Walker.
I hope you don't think
it appears
unfeeling or indecorous,
me coming here
so soon after, um...
The event.
But I have scrutinized
my conscience,
and I am persuaded
that Mrs. Ainsworth
would've been disappointed
if I'd postponed my meeting
with the church trustees here
on her account.
- Life goes on.
- You echo what I know
would have been her sentiments.
I've collected together
a few items
I imagined
Miss Walker might like.
Brought the drawing room
scrapbook
as a memento of one
particularly happy visit.
- She isn't well,
Miss Walker,
since the news
of your wife's death came.
It seems to have hit her
very hard.
- Oh, I am sorry.
- She was obviously
very fond of her.
- Well, yes,
that explains--
I wrote her
after the event
and received no reply.
All the more reason to call in
and offer what comfort I can.
- I'm sure she'd
be pleased to see you.
Her Aunt Walker at Cliffhill
invited Miss Harriet Parkhill
to stay with her
for a few weeks
to keep her company.
So there'd be
no impropriety
if you wanted to drop in.
[door clicks open]
- Oh, well done,
Miss Lister!
You've persuaded the invalid
downstairs.
Shall we order
some fresh tea?
- Yes.
Let's do that, Miss Parkhill.
- And a note arrived
for you, Ann.
The Priestleys' servant
brought it from New House.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Ah, Miss Walker acknowledges
receipt of my note.
[chuckles softly]
And she says she is too...
Ill to receive guests.
- As I say, it has hit her
really very hard.
- Are you all right?
- I thought it might
comfort us both,
a chance to reminisce.
Of all people,
I thought she might...
- Oh.
- See me.
I'm sorry.
I am so sorry.
I barely know you,
and you've been so kind,
and here I am,
just crying like a child.
- Are you sure you feel
up to this meeting
with the church trustees
tomorrow afternoon,
Mr. Ainsworth?
It can be postponed.
- No.
I'm determined.
It's, uh...
it's what Mrs. Ainsworth
would have wanted.
When Miss Walker
used to visit us, my wife,
more than once, she would say--
only in fun, you understand--
"Whenever anything
happens to me,
"Miss Walker,
you must look after Thomas."
We laughed.
And yet the three of us
were such kind friends,
I do wonder now
if she meant it and...
if it gave her some comfort
to think that
after she was gone...
- Perhaps, Mr. Ainsworth,
if you were to parcel up
the drawing room scrapbook
and whatever else
you brought with you
to give to Miss Walker
in remembrance
and sent it to her
with a kind note,
it would--
- Yes!
Perhaps she does feel
the impropriety
of a visit so soon, but--
- Small steps,
Mr. Ainsworth.
- Small steps.
I agree.
- Well, there isn't--
She isn't--
[sighs]
There isn't someone else.
I wouldn't be intruding
on someone else's--
- No.
No, no.
No one else.
You wouldn't be intruding
at all, Mr. Ainsworth.
Quite the opposite.
- The first thing
to understand, Miss Parkhill,
about Monsieur Cuvier
is that he sets aside
the biblical interpretation
about how life on Earth began
and pursues a more scientific
understanding.
- But does he not worry
that that makes him a heretic?
- No.
It's curious.
Some of the most talented
scientific men I've ever met
are also some of the most
profoundly religious.
[chuckles]
The more we understand about
what complex and sophisticated
beings we are,
the more in awe of our creator
we become,
surely.
- What made you
pursue this man in Paris?
Did he not think
you were extraordinary?
[bell ringing]
♪ ♪
- Morning, sir.
- Could I leave this
for Miss Walker?
Now, I know she's feeling
under the weather
and isn't receiving guests,
per se,
but could you tell her
that Mr. Ainsworth is here?
Reverend Thomas Ainsworth.
- Is that him?
♪ ♪
[knock at door]
[door clicks open]
- Ma'am,
the Reverend Thomas Ainsworth
is at the door.
♪ ♪
He brought this parcel
for you.
And he's asking if he might
see you for just a few moments.
- No. I'm ill.
I'm not receiving visitors,
other than these two,
and perhaps
you could remind him
he was sent
a note to that effect
only this morning.
- Yes, ma'am.
Sorry, ma'am.
Sorry, sir.
As you say, she's confirmed
she's not receiving
guests today.
- You did say Ainsworth?
Thomas Ainsworth?
- I did, sir.
- Please assure her
of my warmest regards.
- Sir.
♪ ♪
- He's sent
the drawing room scrapbook
and a biographical account
of himself.
- Aw!
- What's the significance
of the scrapbook?
- It's just something
we always did together
in the evenings
when I visited--
the three of us.
- I wonder why he sent you
a biographical account
of himself.
[gasps]
You don't think
he intends to propose to you.
Would that not be a good thing,
surely?
I suppose it is rather soon,
but...
all the same.
A clergyman.
- I think I might be
better upstairs.
♪ ♪
I'm glad you didn't
say anything to him
when he called
this afternoon.
- I still intend to,
if it becomes necessary.
- Do you think it will?
- Well,
if they offer him this position
at Lightcliffe Church
and he hasn't got
the message by then
and he lacks the wit
to turn it down,
yes,
it may do.
- Will you stay tonight?
- I'll have to send James
over to Shibden
with a note for Eugénie
to put my night things
into a bag for me.
- I'm glad I've told you
what I told you,
but I feel so...
humble and depressed
in my estimation of myself.
- Yes, well, don't.
You are blameless.
I wouldn't be putting
Miss Parkhill's nose
out of joint
if I stayed, would I?
- I doubt it.
I think you fascinate her.
[chuckles]
- [chuckles]
- There are some things
I'd like you to get rid of
for me,
if you would.
♪ ♪
He gave them to me.
♪ ♪
- "To my dearest Ann,
"the only one I may rest upon.
From your own
Thomas Ainsworth."
"Rest upon"?
[sighs]
What a wretch.
♪ ♪
You know, I've been thinking
for a while now...
That this...
Without a more formal tie
between us,
is just as wrong as any other
casual connection.
- Ah, but we said that...
when we settle at Shibden,
when we come back
from our travels,
that would be as good
as a marriage, didn't we?
- Yes.
Yes, and it will be.
But...
Would you have any objection
to taking
the sacrament together
here or at Shibden
and swearing oaths
on the Bible?
And then I thought
we could give one another
a ring each.
And then we could wear them
always.
- Swearing vows on the Bible?
Like a wedding?
- Yes.
- In front of people?
- No.
No.
It would have to be
a private matter--
a private understanding.
But yes,
in all other respects,
very much like a wedding.
- [chuckles]
You'll get fed up of me.
- I wonder why you have
such a poor opinion
of yourself.
- I don't when I'm with you.
When I'm with you,
I could take on the world.
[chuckles]
[soft music]
- Well, then.
- [chuckles]
♪ ♪
[plucky music]
♪ ♪
- Dear sir,
I return your package
containing the drawing room
scrapbook
and your biographical account
of yourself
unopened.
- I have given my friend
Miss Lister
surveillance...
Surveillance.
S-U-R-V-E-I-double-L.
Surveillance of all
my recent correspondence.
- Any subsequent communication
you choose to make with me
should be sent via her
at Shibden Hall, Halifax.
Yours sincerely, A. Walker.
- Anything new,
Mr. Ainsworth?
- Miss Walker feels
it's too soon
to be offered these things.
[knock at door]
Well, perhaps she's right.
How foolish of me.
Appears I've
overstepped the mark.
- Put it to one side
for the moment, Mr. Ainsworth.
Concentrate on your meeting
this afternoon
with the church trustees.
- I know.
why don't I pop
into Crow Nest
and have a few words
with Miss Walker myself
this afternoon?
- Oh, no, that's--
I-I wouldn't--
I don't think you should
go to any such trouble,
not--not on--
not on my account.
- It wouldn't be any trouble.
No trouble at all.
The...problem
with my husband's cousin,
Mr. Ainsworth,
is that she often
doesn't know herself
what's in her own
best interests.
It's not her fault.
She's had rather a tragic life
full of losses--
I'm sure you know--
and then she's been
taken advantage of
by one unscrupulous person
or another as a result.
- It's--as I say,
I think it might be best...
[knock at door]
to leave well alone
for the moment.
- Ma'am, Miss Lister's here.
Should I ask her
into the drawing room
till you've
finished breakfast?
- Is that Miss Lister
of Shibden Hall?
- You've heard of her?
- How?
- Miss Walker
must've mentioned her
at some point in the past.
- No, Harry, don't show her
into the drawing room.
Show her in here.
- Ma'am.
- Miss Lister is rather
eccentric, Mr. Ainsworth.
But her family is one
of the oldest in Halifax, so...
- Of course.
Once I've said hello,
I might pop up to my room
and sort through a few of my--
- Good morning.
- Miss Lister.
- You have company.
I hope you'll forgive
my intrusion.
- This is the Reverend
Thomas Ainsworth
from Northwich.
- How do you do,
Mr. Ainsworth?
- Mr. Ainsworth
whose wife d*ed
in the carriage accident
last week,
who was married
to Miss Walker's friend.
- You must be heartbroken,
Mr. Ainsworth.
- Would you like me
to ask Harry
to bring you in a teacup,
Miss Lister?
- No, thank you.
I can't stop.
I came to ask you about--
Sorry, Mr. Ainsworth,
this must seem very banal
to a man
that's just lost his wife.
But I came to ask you a favor.
- Me?
- Mm.
We had a carriage
accident here
during the summer,
Mr. Ainsworth.
Not quite as tragic as the one
your wife was involved in,
but a seven-year-old boy
lost a leg.
His father's
one of my tenants,
and he'll never
work on the farm,
sadly.
But Mr. Washington,
my land steward,
one of his girls
goes over to read to Henry.
And apparently,
he's a very bright little boy.
So I wondered if you'd have him
in your day school,
Mrs. Priestley,
so he can learn
to read and write and account
and thereby try to make
something of himself.
- Oh.
- I'd cover his fees.
We must do what we can,
since the perpetrator
of the accident,
despite being one of
the wealthiest men in Halifax,
has failed to acknowledge
his part in it.
- Who?
- I haven't mentioned
this school business
to the Hardcastles.
I didn't know
whether you'd have room.
I'd hate to disappoint them.
They're good people.
- Well,
I imagine we can
sort something out.
- Who are you talking about?
- Ask him to come along
to the schoolroom
at 8:00 on Monday morning.
I'll tell Mr. Wilkinson
to expect him.
- Anne,
who caused the accident?
- I can't prove it.
None of the witnesses
will testify.
They're too frightened
of who they'd be accusing...
On the bench.
[dramatic music]
- Mr. Rawson?
- I'll see myself out.
♪ ♪
Mr. Ainsworth,
sorry to have
disturbed you.
♪ ♪
- Miss Lister!
Miss Lister!
- Oh, hello.
- I, um--
so, uh, first of all,
you must allow me
to apologize
for--for--for
being rather
too insistent with--
with--with your friend
Miss Walker.
- Mm.
- However...
- When are you leaving?
- In my defense--
Sorry?
- When's your meeting
with the church trustees?
- This afternoon, 2:00.
- Good.
So you're leaving...when?
- Tomorrow morning.
But--so the thing is--
the thing
I need to explain,
the thing
you should understand--
- What you need to understand,
Mr. Ainsworth,
is, even if you were
offered the position,
it would be very unwise of you
to accept it.
- Sorry?
- I don't wish
to embarrass you any more
than you've embarrassed
yourself already, but...
- When I wrote that
first letter to Miss Walker--
I imagine
that's what this is about--
the wording was,
I accept,
somewhat overfamiliar.
And I may have been
rather too quick off the mark
as well.
But the thing is,
I was under the influence of...
[whispering] Opium,
which is not--not something
I would normally do,
but I had had a toothache
and my wife had just d*ed.
- Yes, but we're not
just talking about
a crudely worded letter,
are we,
Mr. Ainsworth?
Miss Walker has been very...
explicit
about what went
before the letter.
And knowing all
the circumstances as I do,
I hope you would appreciate
the propriety
and necessity of abstaining
from any further communication
with her.
- No, no, no.
The thing--the thing--
- Otherwise, you will
be exposed, Mr. Ainsworth...
As an adulterer
and a fornicator.
- All right.
All right.
All right, then.
Now, the thing you must
appreciate, Miss Lister,
is that there is always
more than one side
to such--such a thing.
- No, Mr. Ainsworth,
not in this case.
You took advantage
of a vulnerable young woman.
You inflicted yourself
on her.
- No.
- And those--
Yes.
And those advances
were unlooked for and unwanted.
- No, that's--
no, that--
- With your wife
in the next room,
you repeatedly,
calculatedly preyed
on her vulnerabilities
and insecurities until--
Don't.
Do not tell me
she was complicit in it.
You preyed on her insecurities
to the point
where she believed
she deserved no better.
- She wanted it
more than I did.
♪ ♪
- If you weren't
so insignificant,
Mr. Ainsworth,
I would horse-whip you
until you were black and blue.
As it is,
I'm mortally sorry you are
not worth knocking down.
- Yes, well, if you expose me,
you expose her.
- Mm.
And that is
the only reason
I am giving you
the opportunity
to leave here
and return to Northwich
with something you barely
deserve, Mr. Ainsworth:
your reputation intact.
And once more,
I urge you
to appreciate
the propriety and necessity
of neither Miss Walker
nor myself
ever hearing anything about you
in this world ever again.
And I trust we have no reason
to fear bumping into you
in the next.
♪ ♪
- All right, then.
♪ ♪
- I've dwelt on Holt's figures
for sinking this pit,
and I think we can do it.
- Really?
Really?
- I've heard nothing
back from the Rawsons
since I said
I wanted £160 and 10 shillings
for the upper bed.
And I asked them to get back
to me within a week,
which they haven't done, so...
let's get down there ourselves,
find out what's going on.
- Who will you get
to sink the pit?
- Holt wants
to put it out to tender
and invite people
to bid for it.
- Well, do you want me
to organize that,
put the word about?
- Let's do it.
- How about a fortnight
on Friday
for the bidding?
That'd give 'em chance
to get their bids costed.
Fortnight on Friday
down at the Stags Head?
- Mm.
Oh, and I've got a message
for the Hardcastles,
if you're going
anywhere near Roydelands.
[jaunty music]
- Argus.
[water splashes]
Morning.
- Morning, ma'am.
- Morning.
- Good morning, Madame.
- Good morning.
- Ma'am.
- Oh, I need to talk to you.
- Hmm?
- Not now.
- How's Miss Walker?
- On the mend.
- Tomorrow Mr. Abbott
is coming to tea.
- What time?
- 4:00.
Will you be here?
- No.
♪ ♪
[soft music]
♪ ♪
- Dear sir,
last time I was in York,
you had a French onyx cabochon
and rose-cut
diamond engagement ring
in your display cabinet
which I would like
to purchase
and for which I enclose
a banker's draft of £30.
- Miss Lister.
♪ ♪
- I'd like a banker's draft
for £30
made payable to Messrs.
Barber & Cattle in York.
- Yes, ma'am.
♪ ♪
[pigs snorting]
♪ ♪
- She's very engaging,
Miss Lister.
- Do you like her?
- You're lucky
to know someone so clever
and interesting
and who cares about you.
You hardly need me here
when she's so close by.
I do wonder if you should
consider this
marriage proposal, though,
if that's what it is.
- I'm not...
- What?
- In love
with Mr. Ainsworth.
- Does that matter?
Could you not be
happy enough with him?
A clergyman.
- What if...
I was in love
with someone else?
- Who?
- [sighs]
[knock at door]
- Ma'am.
Mrs. Priestley's at the door.
- I didn't hear the bell ring.
- She came to the back door,
ma'am.
- [groans]
She sneaks in.
- She says her call's
on Miss Parkhill
as well as yourself, ma'am.
- You make it known
that you're ill
and not receiving visitors,
and they turn up anyway.
Show her in.
[whispering]
I might make my excuses
and go back upstairs.
- Mrs. Priestley, ma'am.
- Miss Parkhill!
How are you?
- Well. Thank you.
- Good.
And how's the invalid?
Mr. Ainsworth has gone
for his meeting
with the church trustees,
so I thought I'd come
and have a look at you.
I don't know how close
you and Miss Walker are
and I don't know
if you're at all aware,
but the family are
increasingly concerned about...
a relationship
that she appears
to have become inveigled in.
- Oh.
Yes.
She mentioned...
- Mentioned what?
- Being in love.
- Did she?
Mm-hmm.
Well...
she's certainly
been beguiled
by someone.
And if this--one hesitates
to call it a liaison--
but if it were to become any
more widely known than it is,
she would become
a laughingstock--
Well, it would
be worse than that.
It would be--
I don't know what it would be.
She'd be ostracized
from polite--
from any society.
I don't think she has any idea.
She'd be jeered at
in the streets.
Worse!
She'd be pilloried.
Two men were hanged in York...
- For what?
- Mr. Ainsworth
may have been a bit
quick off the mark,
and he may lack
a certain gravitas.
But there are reasons why,
Miss Parkhill.
You would be doing Miss Walker
an act of great friendship
if you were to encourage her
to take up his offer
of marriage.
- I did.
I did,
but she said she couldn't
because she was in love
with this other man.
Mrs. Priestley, who is he?
What do you mean
about two men being hanged?
- You've been here
for several days.
You've met Miss Lister.
You no doubt find her
fascinating and charming.
- Miss Lister?
Yes. She is.
Very.
- Miss Lister is unnatural,
Miss Parkhill.
- I know she studied science
under Monsieur Cuvier
in Paris.
- No.
No.
No, not that.
[soft dramatic music]
♪ ♪
[metallic clink]
- You're home early.
- Mr. Pickels didn't need me,
so I thought
I'd get on wi' t'fencing
at t'bottom o' t'field.
♪ ♪
- I found this in wi' t'pigs.
♪ ♪
It's your father's.
It were my father's before.
So I recognize it.
♪ ♪
He always--
[sighs]
Your father used to say
you could get rid
of a whole human body
by feeding it to t'pigs.
He usually said it
when he were drunk,
shouting.
I often used to wonder
if that's how I'd end up.
"The only thing they can't eat,
of course," he'd say--
trying to prove
he could get away wi' it--
"Is metal."
♪ ♪
[knock at door]
- Hello?
How do? Only me.
- [clears throat]
- Saw you coming past
on t'upper road,
wondered if you'd done
for t'day.
Only I've a couple of jobs
need doing
if you fancy earning
a shilling or two.
- I can do, aye.
- How's little Henry?
- He's gonna go to school.
We've just heard.
Mr. Washington
just called in.
Miss Lister's
found him a place
at a little school
in Lightcliffe.
She's paying his fees.
And we never--
we never asked her!
- Oh, well,
that's something, isn't it?
- Aye. Oh, he's thrilled!
- Yeah.
- It's fair taken him
out of himself.
A schoolboy!
- Very good.
- Any news...
about Sam?
- We, uh, think he must have
walked to Liverpool,
sneaked on board a packet,
and gone to America.
Don't we, love?
- America?
- Yeah, yeah.
- It's what he allus
talked about doing
if he hadn't had all of us
hanging round his neck.
- Blimey, it's a long way.
I don't fancy that voyage.
[somber music]
♪ ♪
- How did you get on?
How did you get on,
Mr. Ainsworth?
- I think, uh,
perhaps it was--
you were right.
Perhaps it was too soon.
- Oh, dear.
- Given that Miss Walker
seems to have developed
such coolness
and antipathy towards me
since my wife's death,
I do wonder if--
even if I was offered
the position,
which I'm afraid to say
may be unlikely now--
it would be
foolish and unwise
of me to accept it.
- But surely
that isn't the only reason
you wanted the position?
- No, of course not.
But to live in such close
proximity to someone who...
one has held
in such high esteem
and then to be regarded
with such obvious disdain
by that person,
it would be painful to us both,
surely.
♪ ♪
- I couldn't sleep.
The pain was just as bad,
however I tried to lie.
Has she gone?
- Some time since.
- You all right?
♪ ♪
Harriet?
- Ann...
I think you're in
the worst kind of danger...
Both in this world
and the next.
♪ ♪
[knock at door]
- Mm.
Hello.
- There's a note for you,
ma'am.
The servant brought it
from Crow Nest.
You said earlier--
you said you wanted
a word with me.
- Hmm?
Oh, yes.
Keep an eye on Eugénie.
And next time,
any irregularities,
I'm your first thought.
- Well, yes, ma'am, of course.
You're always my first thought,
but...
- That's all.
- [sighs]
- My love,
I must beg you not to send
for the ring you spoke of
just yet.
I must not and cannot take it
until I have fewer
torments of conscience.
I cannot say that I feel
any stronger this evening,
and so, weak as I am,
have concluded that it
would be madness in me
to leave the kingdom
and go traveling with you
at any point
in the near future.
Yours faithfully
and affectionately,
Ann Walker.
[lighthearted music]
♪ ♪
- My love,
you must remember
that conscience
is not always strictly just.
She may be too lenient
or two severe.
She may be lulled to sleep
or tossed
in feverish restlessness.
We cannot judge ourselves,
and I cannot believe
you deserve
your "torments of conscience."
Tomorrow we will talk over
any plan
most likely to reestablish
your health.
I will be with you
first thing in the morning.
Affectionately
and very faithfully yours.
[bell rings]
♪ ♪
- Miss Lister.
- You all right,
Miss Parkhill?
- I, um...
Find I haven't much appetite
this morning.
- Oh, dear.
Yes, you do look a bit peaky.
Perhaps a walk?
Do wrap up, though.
It's blowy out there.
- I'll be in the other room
if you want my company.
[clock chiming faintly]
- [sighs]
What's happened?
- I think...
I should take
Mr. Ainsworth.
- Has he been here?
- No.
No, I haven't seen him.
I don't--
I don't think
we should do this anymore.
[solemn music]
You haven't sent off
for that ring, have you?
♪ ♪
- What's been said?
- Two men--three months ago--
were hanged
outside a prison in York
in front of a crowd
of thousands
who jeered at them for--
for doing
what we do with each other.
- Who's told you that?
- Miss Parkhill.
- How does Miss Parkhill know
what we do with each other?
- She doesn't,
but people
are starting
to make assumptions.
- Unless you've told her.
- I would rather die
than people know
what we do!
♪ ♪
People are making assumptions.
- Based on what?
- Mrs. Priestley was here.
- [scoffs] When?
- Yesterday afternoon.
I went to lie down.
That was a mistake.
- Well, I'm sorry
Mrs. Priestley
has brought Miss Parkhill
into it, for her sake.
- Well, it won't
just be Miss Parkhill.
You can guarantee
Mrs. Priestley
will have done the rounds.
Cliffhill, Stoneyroyd,
Gledholt,
Lord knows where else.
We'll be the talk
of the entire neighborhood.
The whole of Halifax
and Huddersfield
will be making lewd comments
about us.
- We are friends.
We are respectable women
who are friends,
and that is the beginning
and the end.
And if we continue
to present ourself
unashamedly in that manner,
then the whole thing--
finally--
will reflect badly
only on Mrs. Priestley.
[sighs]
I've said this before
and I'll say it again,
and it's true.
♪ ♪
Have some courage, Ann.
♪ ♪
[sighs] What men do
is completely different
to what we do.
- No, it isn't.
- Yes, it is.
First of all,
between men,
it's illegal;
it's a criminal act.
Between women, it isn't.
So...
- It isn't?
- [sighs]
We haven't committed
a criminal offense.
We can't be hanged for it.
- Are you sure?
- Yes. However,
if it were a criminal offense,
if it were to become one,
well, then...
I would have to put
my neck in the noose.
Because I love
and only love the fairer sex.
My heart revolts from
any other love than theirs.
These feelings haven't wavered
or deviated since childhood.
I was born like this.
And I act as
my God-given nature dictates.
If I was to lie with a man,
surely that would be unnatural.
Surely that
would be against God,
who made us,
every one of us,
in all of our richness
and variety.
You are the same.
You told me so.
You feel a repugnance
towards forming
any sort of connection
with the opposite sex.
- Shh!
- Don't let them poison you
against me.
[sniffles]
Against us.
♪ ♪
We can be happy.
You know we can.
We can have
a rich life together.
- What if...
I were to marry him,
if only for appearance's sake?
We could still see each other,
couldn't we?
- That would never do for me.
[sighs]
Why should I compromise myself
to lie with another man's wife?
What does that make me?
A liar, a cheat,
and a fornicator.
And that is not what I want.
And that is why
our present connection
without a more solemn tie,
for me,
is wrong.
I want you to be my wi--
I want you to be my wife...
And everything that that means.
I know we can never
have children.
That is a great sadness.
But everything else:
to love
and to cherish
and to have and to hold,
according to God's
holy ordinance.
- Anne.
Anne, I adore you.
When I'm with you,
nothing else matters.
The whole world makes sense,
but--
but as soon as I'm alone
with nothing but these--
oh, God, these thoughts,
I just--I can't face the world
like you can,
let alone my own family.
- But you never need be alone.
You can be with me always
at Shibden.
We can navigate this life
and everything that it
throws at us together.
And with God's blessing...
he will give us strength
and courage.
Come on.
We must agreeable-ize
with Miss Parkhill.
- No.
- [sighs]
We can't have her
sitting in there on her own,
thinking things.
She must see us
for what we are:
polite,
kind,
good people.
- You don't know
how sorry I am to see you go,
Mr. Ainsworth.
- Thank you
for your kind hospitality.
- Let's hope we meet again,
Mr. Ainsworth.
Let's hope it isn't too long
before we do.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
[bell rings]
[indistinct chatter]
- [whispering forcefully]
Mr. Whitley, sir!
- Good morning, Miss Lister.
- Hmm!
James' "Life of Charlemagne."
Yes, that's very good.
I've read that...
twice.
It's excellent.
- What can I do for you
this morning, Miss Lister?
- I'm looking for
a Book of Common Prayer.
Gilt-edged, bound--
if you have it--
in red Moroccan leather
with an attractively marbled
flyleaf.
- I do have one
exactly like that
but at 8 shillings.
- Good.
[chuckles]
[dog barking]
[indistinct chatter]
- So what have you heard?
- One of the men at Swan Bank
told me this morning
that her land steward
has invited bids
for the sinking
of a new pit above Conery Wood.
- Mr. Rawson, please.
[coins jingle]
- I've got it!
- I think I got one.
- So that's right on top
of where the trespass is.
They're auctioning the job off
at the Stags Head at Mytholm
a week on Friday.
We have to agree to her price
for the upper bed.
You have to let me go and
offer her what she's asking.
- I'm not paying
her f*cking silly prices.
Does she think we're stupid?
- No, she thinks
we're stealing her coal.
She knows
we're stealing her coal,
and she wants paying for it.
I think it's got to the stage
where we--
where you have to accept
we have no choice,
not if we want to stay
in production
and not get found out
and, God knows,
not have legal action
taken against us.
- What would it cost,
something like that?
Rough estimate, if she was to
sink a pit like that herself.
- 2,000.
And it is true,
what Mother said.
Apparently,
she's over at Crow Nest
morning, noon, and night.
And if she really does
have her hand
in Ann Walker's purse, then...
she could have a pit sunk
within six months.
- So why is anyone
letting her have her hands
in Ann Walker's...
anything, for God's sake?
- I don't know.
But if they're friends,
why shouldn't she?
Who's going to stop her?
Until she marries,
it's her money.
She can do with it
as she likes.
Christopher.
Christopher.
Why don't I arrange
to see her and--
- No.
No, love, no.
If she wants to start
running with the big dogs,
then she's gonna have
to find out what it's like
when they really
start biting each other.
♪ ♪
- I inscribed it for you.
- "There bends no rood
so low
"but it may rise again.
"Who that has that hope
which human power
"nor gives nor takes
"can ever feel forsaken
or forlorn?
"God bless you,
my dearest Ann.
Ever affectionately
and ever faithfully yours."
[sighs]
What did you do
with that Bible
and that ring
that I gave to you
that he gave to me?
- They're safe.
Why?
- [chuckles]
- Do you like it?
- It's beautiful.
It's exquisite.
Thank you.
- You know, when you told me
about Mr. Ainsworth...
Well, what he did--
and I suspect it's something
you've never told
anyone else...
- Of course not.
Who else could I have told?
- When you told me,
it gave me a responsibility.
It gave me a power over you,
which I intend to use wisely
and very much
in your best interests.
I'll never let you down.
[soft music]
Time is a great thing.
I don't believe these
misgivings about Ainsworth
will last
longer than a season.
Now, come on,
let's go downstairs.
We can't keep avoiding
Miss Parkhill.
- She was no happier
after you left this morning,
despite all the trouble
you took with her.
- Well, then I shall
redouble my efforts.
I'll have to.
I can't go home.
Marian's got
Mr. Abbott round for tea.
- Mm, yes, no,
the best thing you can do
with an old building like this
is knock it down
and start again,
because the land's
perfectly good,
and it's in
a desirable enough position.
I'm not saying you should,
obviously.
It's over 400 years old.
It's a relic.
- Have more fruitcake,
Mr. Abbott.
- And I know some people
find that sort of thing
interesting,
but, Miss Lister,
you're elderly.
I hope you won't mind me
making that observation.
It must be very cold for you
now winter's almost upon us.
- Yes, but--
- And you must be
a martyr to rheumatism.
Tell me if I'm wrong.
Or gout or arthritis or--
- I have lived here
all my life, Mr. Abbott,
and funnily enough,
I have never once--
- You've got ulcers.
She's got ulcers
on her leg.
- [stammers]
You're hardy, of course.
I understand.
All I'm saying is,
you'd marvel at some
of the new technology.
Some of these new houses,
they have under-floor heating.
- Oh, like the Romans?
- [chuckles]
- Knocking down Shibden has
never been on anyone's agenda,
nor will it ever be.
- Tell us about New Zealand.
- New Zealand?
- And Australia.
- What about New Zealand?
- What fascinating countries
they must be.
- I told my aunt and my father
and my sister
that you had property
out there.
- Oh!
[laughs] Yes.
But I've never actually been.
- Oh, I thought--
- Lord, no.
A voyage like that
would never do for me.
And anyway, I haven't time.
[chuckles]
- My father was in Boston
during the Tea Party.
- [laughs]
Rather you than me.
- It's such a shame
Anne's missed you.
- Mm! Yes.
I was looking forward
to meeting
your elder daughter,
Captain Lister.
You hear so many stories
about her down in Halifax.
Course, I always take them
with a pinch of salt.
I'm sure I'd get on with her
perfectly well.
I'll talk to anybody.
- [laughs]
- How about a walk?
- Dr. Day said
not to exert myself
any more than necessary.
- A short walk.
- He said my spine's too weak
even for that at present.
I did ask him.
- How can any medical man
in their right mind
advise against fresh air?
What do you think,
Miss Parkhill?
- I imagine Dr. Day knows
what he's talking about,
even if he didn't have
the benefit of studying
under Monsieur Cuvier
in Paris.
- [sighs]
I think we should visit
Dr. Belcombe again in York.
I think York would be
an all-round good thing.
I could introduce you to some
of my better-connected friends,
and you could have the benefit
of the very best medical advice
at the same time.
Come on, let's have a hit
of backgammon
before we vegetate.
Come and thrash me like
you usually do, Miss Walker.
- You don't have to be here,
Miss Lister,
if you're bored,
if you're itching for a walk.
I came--
I was asked here
by Miss Walker's aunt
to keep her company whilst
she was under the weather.
And to be candid,
there barely seems any point
in me being here
when you're here
so often.
- [sighs]
The more, the merrier,
surely, Miss Parkhill.
Come on.
Let's not fall out,
for Miss Walker's sake.
It's entirely unnecessary,
and we were all getting along
so nicely before.
Let's have another go
at your past perfect.
- Two's company.
- Well, Miss Parkhill,
if that's how you feel,
perhaps--
I don't know--
you should go home.
- I'll be in the other room.
- [sighs]
[door clicks shut]
- You shouldn't have
said that.
She's my friend.
She's my guest.
- Mrs. Priestley should never
have used her like that.
- I can't do this.
- I appreciate
it's not her fault.
She's been put
in a difficult position, but--
- I shouldn't have told you
about Mr. Ainsworth.
I shouldn't have said
anything.
I should've just
kept it all to myself.
- No, you did absolutely
the right thing to tell me--
- If only you'd allowed me
the time we that had agreed.
If only we'd stuck to your
birthday for the yes or the no
instead of forcing me
into that ridiculous business
with the purse!
- You came up with the ridic--
with the business
with the purse.
- Only because
I didn't know what to do
because you were pushing me
because I could
barely think straight!
Then none of this
would've happened.
- Let me go
and apologize to her.
Come on, we can sort this out.
I'll apologize to her, and--
- I can't do this, Anne.
- Yes, you can.
- No, I can't.
It's become impossible.
I shall have to take
Mr. Ainsworth.
- No.
- I shall.
It's clear to me.
It's utterly clear to me now.
It's the only way forward.
- No, Ann.
- Yes!
Or I will have no peace,
either from them or in here.
I think--
I think you should go.
I can't--
I can't do this anymore.
It's wrong!
- No. It's perfectly natural.
- Yes, it is.
It's wrong!
It's repugnant!
It's against God!
It's q*eer!
[somber music]
♪ ♪
- You do understand--
you do--
It does occur to you--
presumably,
hopefully, occasionally--
that I have feelings too
when you say
something like that?
Hmm?
♪ ♪
You agreed
to swear oaths
on the Bible.
You agreed to take
the sacrament with me.
How on Earth can you talk
about taking Mr. Ainsworth?
- I'll still lend you the money
to sink your pit.
I said I would, and I will,
whatever happens.
- Sorry?
- I'll still--
- How dare you?
- What?
- What do you think I am?
- No, I--
- I wouldn't take it.
You'll marry Mr. Ainsworth
and lend me some money?
I don't think so.
Do you seriously imagine
that I'd take it?
- No, Anne, listen--
- If you were my wife,
that's one thing.
If you were someone else's,
no, never.
I'd rather starve.
And anyway...
I wouldn't exploit you like
your idiotic tribe
of relations do.
I'm going home.
- Anne.
- You understand
nothing about me.
I thought you did,
but you don't.
Absolutely nothing!
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
She neither deserves
nor understands
what I've done for her
in getting rid of this...
fellow.
I ought not to care.
I ought to let her take him
and have done with it.
She's too insipid
and nervous and poorly for me,
surely.
And what would I do with her
abroad?
Even if I could get her there,
I'd only have trouble with her.
And for what?
If she had any
real feelings for me,
she wouldn't
carry on like this,
surely.
- Y'goin' home?
- What the hell are you do--
[blow lands]
[Anne grunts]
♪ ♪
- I asked you
if you're goin' home.
- [gasping]
- Some people think it's time
you went home
and stayed there.
Keep still.
- [gasping]
- Keep still,
you dirty f*cking Jack!
- God damn you!
[both grunt]
[gasping]
[both grunting]
♪ ♪
- [spits]
Leave Miss Walker alone.
[ominous music]
♪ ♪
- [spits]
- ♪ Behind her back,
she's Gentleman Jack ♪
♪ A Yorkshire lady
of renown ♪
♪ Ever so fine,
won't toe the line ♪
♪ Speak her name
and gentlemen frown ♪
♪ At Shibden Hall,
she had them all ♪
♪ The fairer sex
fell under her spell ♪
♪ Dapper and bright,
she held them tight ♪
♪ Handsome Anne
seduced them well ♪
♪ Gentleman Jack,
oh, Gentleman Jack ♪
♪ Watch your back,
you're under att*ck ♪
♪ Their husbands are coming,
you'd better start running ♪
♪ For nobody likes
a Jack-the-lass ♪
♪ Jack-the-lass,
Jack-the-lass ♪
♪ No one likes
a Jack-the-lass ♪
♪ The code is cracked,
your bags are packed ♪
♪ The knives are out
for Gentleman Jack ♪
[bright tone]
-Fell off a wall?
-It was dark.
Those aren't
the sort of injuries
anyone gets
from falling off a wall.
JEREMY LISTER:
Mr. Rawson found out
that Hinscliff was his rival
for your coal.
He no longer seems to fear
that you'll sink your own pits.
ANNE LISTER: I've become
rather more fond of Ms. Walker.
I could make her so happy.
Moving here,
it's a big step for her.
There seems to be anxiety
about Anne's... health.
She isn't in her right mind.
(WHISPERING) Very strange things
have been happening.
And no one believes me.
(STARTLED) No. No! No--
01x05 - Let's Have Another Look at Your Past Perfect
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Historical drama set in the year 1832 in Yorkshire follows landowner Anne Lister who is determined to save her faded ancestral home.
Historical drama set in the year 1832 in Yorkshire follows landowner Anne Lister who is determined to save her faded ancestral home.