01x01 - Part 1

[bunniefuu]

[gentle instrumental music]

[gentle instrumental

music swells]

- Will you pick

that up, Artemis?

- I don't know why

we have to do this.

- [Persephone]

Because we like to eat.

- But we're only paid pennies.

- Pennies that keep our

family from dire straits.

- [Persephone] I do not enjoy

washing the neighborhood's

laundry any more than you do.

But being upset about it

won't change our situation.

[Artemis sighs]

[dramatic instrumental music]

[gate squeals]

[birds chirping]

- Open the door, sweetheart.

- I have had an atrocious day,

and now I have to open the door.

- [Persephone] I'm sorry

you've suffered so much.

I fear you will simply

have to continue

in your wretched

state a bit longer.

- I will open the door,

but do not be surprised if

I lie on the floor and die.

- I will be many

things if that happens,

my sweet little Artemis,

but above all I will

not be surprised.

[Artemis sighs]

- She has "died" from far

less than this in the past.

[dramatic instrumental

music continues]

[door creaks]

[Persephone grunts]

[shoe clatters]

[dramatic instrumental

music continues]

- Was father wandering again?

[dramatic instrumental

music continues]

Daphne.

- Persephone. You're home.

[Persephone chuckles]

- Was father wandering again?

- Until a letter came.

Then he went

back up to his study.

- Did he say whom

the letter was from?

- You know father doesn't

usually talk to me.

- Well, once I've cleared

the clutter he spread,

sorted the laundry,

and started our meal,

then I very much

wish to talk with you

about whatever

you've learned today.

- It's ever so interesting

and terribly useful.

- I cannot wait.

- Thank you, Persephone.

- Of course, Daphne.

[cheeky music]

You did say this might happen.

- Yes, I did.

- And what has brought you

to such a horrible

end this time?

- My suffering is too great,

no words can

possibly describe it.

- Is this because I

could not buy you a sweet

from the confectionery shop?

- That was tragic.

- But not the reason you're

expiring on the floor?

- I didn't see my friend.

I watched for him,

and he didn't come.

He hasn't in ever so long,

and it's deeply devastating.

- This is the

friend I can't see?

- The friend you don't see.

- Ah.

Do you think your friend

would visit you again

if we had bread pudding tonight?

- Bread pudding?

- I have a bit of stale bread.

And Mrs. Sanford

gave me some cream.

I think we should have

bread pudding tonight.

- It is not even my birthday.

Bread pudding is quite

possibly my favorite thing

in all the world.

- [sighs] Of course, if

you are dead on the floor

you won't be able to have any.

- I am all better!

- It is a miracle!

- Thank you, thank

you, thank you.

- You're very welcome, my

darling little Artemis.

[lighthearted music]

How do you like

the latest fashions?

- These are not the latest.

Mrs. Upton gave me these

because she received

the most recent version.

But they are very

nearly the latest.

- [Persephone] That is gorgeous.

- Isn't it?

I've added it to

my list of dreams.

- Mm, that must be

quite a list by now.

- Isn't that what

dreaming is for?

Believing in those things

you fear you'll never have

but want to continue

hoping are possible?

Like having money enough and

happiness, falling in love.

- I want you to have all

of those things, Athena.

- You must have dreams too.

- Certainly I do.

Artemis' spirits not

being dampened

by the heaviness of life.

Daphne finding a friend

who helps her feel seen

and cared about.

Evander and Linus

returning home to us whole.

- That is far from guaranteed

for two midshipmen in

the navy during wartime.

- I should've done more to

keep them home and safe.

- There was nothing

more you could've done.

- I could've taken

in more laundry,

or reduced my portions at meals.

I could've gone

without fires in my room.

- And it likely still

would not have been enough.

- I suppose that is my version

of "hoping for

impossible things."

- None of the hopes

that you've mentioned

have been of

dreams for yourself.

- Seeing this family happy

is dream enough for me.

[door creaks]

[footsteps approaching]

Fetch Daphne and Artemis and

take them to the kitchen.

I do not know how frustrating

he might be this time.

Have you received a letter?

- We have a very

significant problem.

- What has happened, papa?

Evander? Linus?

- Oh, no, I haven't heard

anything about your brothers.

- Oh.

- I have, however,

received the most

befuddling letter.

You, my dear, have received

an offer of marriage.

- A what?

- An offer from an

incredibly wealthy gentleman

with an old and,

um, prestigious title.

[disquieting music]

- Good heavens!

- Yeah.

What I cannot fathom is why

the duke has settled on you.

He cannot even be remotely

acquainted with our family.

- The duke?

- Of course, dear,

the Duke of Kielder.

- The Duke of Kielder has

asked for my hand in marriage?

- Quite specifically.

[Persephone chuckles]

- I do not believe a word of it.

After all, I do not

know His Grace,

or any Grace, for that matter.

[Richard clears throat]

- "Mr. Lancaster,

I am requesting

the hand of your eldest

daughter in marriage.

I am prepared to settle upon

your three remaining daughters

20,000 each for their dowries

and 50,000 upon yourself

for the sake of your sons.

The ceremony will take

place October the first

at the Falstone chapel.

Please reply as

to your intentions.

Yours, et cetera, Kielder.

- That is certainly

not the most romantic

nor flattering of

proposals, to be sure.

"The ceremony will take place."

There's not the

slightest acknowledgment

that the unforeseen

offer might be declined.

- This offer amounts to

more than 100,000 pounds.

[Persephone exhales softly]

[disquieting music continues]

- What is the Duke

of Kielder like?

- Like?

Well, couldn't say.

I've not met the current duke.

- What was his father like?

- Uh, dull as dishwater.

But his mother

is an active sort.

[disquieting music continues]

[sheep bleating]

[disquieting music continues]

[footsteps approaching]

- 100,000 pounds?

- I can hardly

comprehend such a sum.

[Athena laughs]

It is more than 500 years'

worth our current income.

It is more than five times the

income of the Duke of Sussex,

and he is the son of the king.

- Good heavens.

- We would have

food enough to eat.

We would not need to

wash laundry for pennies.

The boys could soon leave

the navy and return home.

All of your impossible dreams

would suddenly

be entirely possible.

This would not

merely save our family;

it would save

generations of our family.

- But the Duke of Kielder

might be prone to

anger or unkindness.

What, [inhales sharply]

what if he mistreats you?

What if being married to

him makes you miserable

for the rest of your life?

- It is also possible he

will be kind and considerate.

- You don't know

anything about him?

- Only that he clearly has

a tremendous amount of money

and wishes to marry me.

He gave no indication why.

- You needn't simply

accept this offer.

One may yet come from someone

that you at least know

won't treat you abominably.

- There will be no other offers.

If I do not accept this one,

our family will sink further.

Even the simple

hopes we currently have

will be out of reach.

- But then all of your hopes

would be snatched away.

- This family's happiness

is worth every sacrifice.

- Isn't your happiness

worth something as well?

- Artemis has always told

the tale of Hades and

Persephone quite accurately.

Persephone doesn't

get to be happy.

- Then you mean to

accept the duke's offer?

[poignant music]

- Who invited all these people?

- I did.

It is not every day my

poor boy takes a bride.

- This was supposed to

be a quiet ceremony.

I do not believe Miss

Lancaster has invited anyone

beyond her own immediate family.

- I did not intend to

cause awkwardness, Adam.

I only wish to celebrate.

[guests chattering indistinctly]

- [Guest] I wonder if the

chit'll actually turn up.

[sword clinks]

- Try to resist the urge

to run through any

of the wedding guests.

[Harry chuckles]

[sword clangs]

- Where the devil is she?

Another five minutes and

I'll go retrieve her myself.

[footsteps approaching]

- When is this going to start?

I'm hungry.

- Shh.

- Artemis.

[Athena whispers indistinctly]

[guest coughs]

[guest clears throat]

[gentle music]

- She's decided

to come, after all.

[gentle music continues]

- Dearly beloved, we are

gathered here together

in the sight of God and the

face of this congregation

to join together this man and

this woman in holy matrimony,

an honorable estate,

instituted of God

in the time of man's innocence,

signifying unto us

the mystical union

betwixt Christ and His church.

Therefore, if any man

can show any just cause

why they should not

lawfully be joined together,

let him speak, or else hereafter

forever hold his peace.

- Deuced, blasted muck heap.

[guests whispering indistinctly]

Go on.

- Who giveth this woman

to be married to this man?

- Apparently, I giveth myself.

- Take her right hand in yours.

- I, Adam Richard Boyce,

Duke of Kielder,

Marquess of Falstone,

Earl of Falstone,

Viscount Byrness,

Baron Falstone, Baron Whitelee,

take thee to be my wedded wife,

to have and to hold,

from this day forward,

for better for worse,

for richer for poorer,

in sickness and in health,

to love and to cherish,

'till death do us part,

according to God's

holy ordinance;

and thereto I

plight thee my troth.

[disquieting music]

- I, Persephone-

- [Adam] Ridiculous.

- Lancaster, do

Do take thee to be

my wedded husband,

to have and to hold,

from this day forward,

for better for worse,

for richer for poorer,

in sickness and in health,

to love and to cherish,

'till death us do part,

according to God's

holy ordinance;

and thereto I

give thee my troth.

- Is that everything?

- Not usually.

- Can it be?

- I suppose all the

truly essential bits

have been seen to.

Those whom God

hath joined together,

let no man put asunder.

- To the castle, then.

[footsteps retreating]

[Persephone speaks indistinctly]

- I

[poignant music]

[bell tolling]

- Thank you.

[bell continues tolling]

[Harry laughs]

[poignant music continues]

- Is your name

really Persephone?

- It is.

Did you not think to ask?

- [Adam] What were

your parents thinking,

choosing a name like that?

- [Persephone] My

father is a scholar.

He's particularly fond

of Greek mythology.

- Entirely too fond,

it would seem.

Are the rest of your

siblings similarly afflicted?

- In what way afflicted?

- What absurd names

did your parents assign

the other members

of your family?

- Athena is just younger than I.

Evander is 14. Linus, 13.

Daphne will be 12 toward

the end of the year.

The youngest is Artemis.

- Fates save us from

short-sighted scholars.

Do you have a middle name?

- I do.

- I suppose it is

entirely too much to hope

that it is something common.

- Iphigenia.

- Persephone Iphigenia?

Did no one ever call

you anything else?

- Only Miss Lancaster.

- Well, I cannot call you that.

I suppose I will have to

consign myself to Persephone.

- [Persephone] It would seem so.

- You, of course,

will call me Kielder.

- I will not call you Kielder.

- Everyone calls me Kielder.

- Kielder?

It sounds as though I am

accusing you of a crime.

- You would, no doubt,

prefer Agamemnon or Apollo

or something along that vein.

- My papa certainly would.

- What do you propose

to call me, then?

- Adam?

- No one calls me Adam.

- No one?

Certainly your family and

closest friends would.

- Harry does.

- Who is Harry?

- A friend,

one who allows himself

far too much freedom.

[dramatic music]

[dramatic music swells]

Calling me Adam will be fine.

Persephone.

This is Barton, the butler.

Mrs. Smithson, the housekeeper.

Duchess of Kielder.

[Adam clears throat]

[poignant music]

Mrs. Smithson will see

to whatever you need.

[poignant music continues]

- I'm likely meant to be

shown all of the castle,

but I would very

much like to rest.

Perhaps you could

simply point out

the rooms I need to know today,

and save the rest for tomorrow?

- Of course, Your Grace.

[poignant music continues]

The Drawing Room, a

favorite of Queen Elizabeth

when she stayed at

Falstone Castle in 1580.

- Do, do members of the royal

family still visit Falstone?

- Heavens, no.

They wouldn't dare.

This is the Grand Banquet Hall,

which has hosted feasts

for some of the most significant

and influential

people in the kingdom

over the past 500 years.

I believe your family will be

dining in here this evening.

- Is that a gibbet?

- And stocks.

- Was there no room in the

dark, foreboding dungeon?

- There's ample

room, Your Grace.

But the duke says

displaying weapons

makes them more effective.

All of the family bedchambers

are on this floor.

This is your

bedchamber, Your Grace.

Is there anything else you

wish me to do, Your Grace?

- Not at the moment.

- The bell pull is

beside the fireplace

should you require anything.

[door creaks]

[soft music]

[Persephone exhales heavily]

[duck quacks]

[Persephone sighs heavily]

- This is never going to work.

- This is never going to work.

[door creaks]

- I just saw your man of

business leaving the castle.

What did you do to him?

- I fired him.

- Again?

How many times have

you fired the poor man?

- Six, seven.

Every time he sulks away

like a lily-livered coward.

- You didn't pull your p*stol

on him this time, did you?

- I have never pulled a

p*stol on Josiah Jones.

I may have held an epee to

his throat once or twice,

but he was never

in any real danger.

- Perhaps his fear

has something to do

with your less-than-pristine

reputation, Adam.

Rumor has it you've run

through a few men in your time.

- Rumor has it I've

done quite a few things.

- And you wonder why

Jones thinks the worst

whenever you're angry with him.

- I always reinstate

his employment.

And he never makes

the same mistake twice.

- So what was his

transgression this time, mm?

No, no, don't tell me.

Smiled too much while discussing

the estate investments?

No.

Did not include enough threats

in the business correspondence

he sent on your behalf?

- He recommended a means of

preventing my distant cousin

from one day

inheriting Falstone.

- Ah, Jones was the one

who suggested you marry.

- He knew of a penniless

family in Shropshire,

with an eldest daughter

of the appropriate age

who had no other prospects.

His enthusiastic recommendation

has proven intolerably stupid.

- As stupid as sitting

up in one's book room

with one's friend on

one's wedding night?

Because that, Adam,

is a level of idiocy

far and above

ordinary stupidity.

- I stood through the wedding

and just spent an

interminable dinner

with my flock of

new sisters-in-law.

- Did they stare at you?

It would've been

understandable, you know.

Having not been warned.

- I ought to have

written, then? Mm?

Perhaps I could've included a

postscript with the proposal.

"By the way, I have

a mutilated face

you'll be forced to look

at day in and day out

for the rest of your life.

Hope that's not a problem."

- Mm, perhaps not

those precise words.

- She wasn't exactly

forthcoming, either,

I will have you know.

- Forgot to mention

something important?

Another husband, perhaps?

An extraneous limb?

- Her name is Persephone.

A man ought to

know a thing like that

about his future wife.

Persephone Iphigenia.

What an inexcusably ridiculous

thing to call a child.

- I had the chance

to speak briefly

with your new bride, Adam.

She was

delightful.

Perhaps a little quiet,

but that is to be expected

considering the

upheaval in her life.

I'll confess I had expected

someone rather

long in the tooth;

rather long in the

face, in all honesty.

- So had I.

- But she's a fetching thing.

Young and quite pretty.

Oh.

You expected someone desperate,

and ugly, and undesirable.

Instead, your bride

turned out to be

a vast deal more than passable.

[tongue clicks]

Not quite what you'd

bargained for, I'd guess.

A lady who was too intolerable

to have any other options

would be content with a

curmudgeon in a drafty castle

in the wilds of Northumberland.

And now, because she is

young and fine-looking,

seems to be good-natured and

potentially enjoyable company,

the poor girl is

upstairs, alone,

probably wondering

what she's done wrong,

while you are

down here brooding.

Adam, you are

completely bacon-brained.

- I should call

you out for that.

- Do. [yawns]

But not tonight. I'm tired.

Call me out tomorrow, would you?

- I ought to lock

you in the dungeon.

- You should.

No point having a dungeon

if no one's ever

consigned to suffer in it.

Good night, Adam.

- Good night. Presumptuous lout.

[door creaks]

- And Adam?

- What?

- Give the poor girl a chance.

It's not her fault

you've ended up

with every man's

idea of a perfect wife.

[Harry laughs] [book clatters]

[Adam sighs heavily]

[Persephone breathing nervously]

[footsteps approaching]

[Adam blows candle]

[Persephone sighs]

[disquieting music]

[duck quacking]

- Are you going to be lonely

without us, Persephone?

- I will miss you terribly.

But you will have each other.

So you are

unlikely to be lonely.

- I do not know that anyone

will remember to talk to me

when you're not here.

I'm certain

everything will be fine.

- [Persephone] Mm.

- You don't need

to worry about us.

- Write and tell me about all

the things you're reading.

[poignant music]

I love you.

- Love you, too.

- Make haste.

- I do not want to go!

- Let me speak with her.

[poignant music continues]

Oh, my dear girl. You're crying.

- He cannot make you stay here!

- No one is making

me stay here, dearest.

Falstone Castle is my home now.

I will send you letters,

perhaps with a

guinea under the seal.

You could come here,

we could explore

the castle together.

- He won't let me.

- Of course he will.

We will have grand adventures.

Perhaps there is a tower room

where we can imagine all

sorts of wonderful stories,

the way we always did at home.

- Do you promise?

- I promise.

- Who will take care

of me when you're gone?

- Papa will engage a governess

for both you and Daphne,

a companion for Athena

when you're all in town.

- Will you visit us there?

- [Persephone] Of course.

- Persephone?

- Yes, my dear?

- Who will take care of you?

Will you be happy

even though we're gone?

[poignant music continues]

- Oh.

When have you known

me to be unhappy?

- [Artemis] Then I

will be happy, too.

But if I don't leave

now, I will cry again,

and I do not want

to cry anymore.

- Then let us promise

each other not to cry.

Yes, good.

I will see you soon.

Be good for papa.

- I will.

- [Persephone] I

love you, dearest.

- I love you, too, Persephone.

You're the best mama I ever had.

[poignant music continues]

[Persephone cries silently]

- I thought you weren't

supposed to cry.

- Artemis is crying as

well, I'm certain of it.

- Then why make the promise?

- To lessen her pain.

If my sister knew I was crying,

it would break her heart.

- But you know she is crying.

- I know her better

than she knows me.

- The best mama she ever had.

[poignant music continues]

[Persephone gasping]

[dramatic orchestral music]

[Persephone sobbing]

- 24 hours into this

ill-conceived marriage

and my wife is already in

the back of a garden sobbing.

[sullen music]

How long into your marriage

did mother start crying?

And when did that stop making

you feel like a monster?

[sullen music continues]

[sheep bleating]

[thunder rumbling]

[poignant music]

- Your Grace.

- Mm.

- Good eve

Are you feeling well, child?

- I am excessively tired.

- Do not fret yourself

over dinner, dear.

I'll have a tray

sent to your room.

You rest.

- [Persephone] Thank you.

[Persephone gasps]

[poignant music]

[Harry whistling]

[door clicks]

[door creaks]

[Harry whistles]

[Harry whistles]

- [tongue clicks] You told

me you'd call me out today.

Never did.

- I've decided to sh**t you

first thing in the morning.

Go to sleep so I can

load my pistols in peace.

- Your mother said

the new duchess

was indisposed this evening.

Any idea what she meant by that?

- As mother said,

she was indisposed.

- She wouldn't be the first

person to hide from you.

- She? You mean Persephone?

- Well, I certainly

don't mean your mother.

You could sh**t a man

dead in the drawing room,

and she'd just smile

indulgently and say, "My-"

- "Poor boy," yes.

And the woman will still be

calling me that when I'm 80.

- When you're

80, she'll be dead.

- Oh, shut up, Harry.

- Is there any chance Persephone

is locked in the dungeon?

- I am not a monster.

And she chose to accept me.

- Ah, yes.

But without the benefit of the

rather ingenious postscript

you composed last night.

I'm don't think she realized-

- You think I've made

her miserable already?

- She took this morning's

farewells particularly hard.

You ought to have insisted

her family stay longer.

- So I'm the villain, am I?

- I wouldn't be surprised

if you never saw the

poor woman again

as long as you lived.

In a place as enormous

as this pile of rock,

she could avoid you for years.

Where are you going?

- My wife is indisposed.

I'm going to see for

myself that she is well.

- Adam.

- I am not going to

hurt the blasted woman.

You know me better than that.

[Harry chuffs]

[footsteps approaching]

[door clicks]

[Adam exhales heavily]

[soft music]

[door creaks]

[door clicks]

[Persephone sighs]

[footsteps thudding]

[Mable exclaims]

- Oh, forgive me, Your Grace.

- I'm attempting to

find the breakfast room.

Please tell me you know

how to reach it from here.

- I got lost a few times when

I first started working here.

Falstone Castle

is quite a big place.

- Enormous.

New arrivals really ought

to be provided with a map.

[Mable laughs softly]

- This way, Your Grace.

And I'll not tell

anyone you were lost.

- Thank you.

- Mother, explain to Harry

that you're not

leaving Falstone Castle

because I forced you to do so.

He seems to think

that I drive every person

who ever comes here

away with a scythe in one hand

and a flaming

torch in the other.

- A regular one-person

bloodthirsty mob,

that's what you are.

You really ought to think

about employing

pitchforks when you-

[door creaks]

- Persephone, come

break your fast, dear.

Kidneys? Eggs?

- Yes, please.

- Harry, will you please-

- [Adam] I will prepare

a plate for her, mother.

- Oh, you needn't

inconvenience yourself.

- Please.

[chinaware clinking]

- Thank you.

Should I sit somewhere else?

- No, you can

stay where you are.

- Will you be coming to

town at Christmastime?

- I never go to town until

absolutely necessary.

- You must convince my poor

boy of the delights of London.

- I have never been to London.

- Well, then you absolutely

must come as soon as possible.

I should positively love

taking you around town

and introducing

you to just everyone.

I'm certain you can

pack quickly, Adam.

And I could delay my

departure by a day or so,

and we could all-

- I shall be forced to take

her in the spring as it is.

- Forced?

The season is such fun.

How can you say forced?

- I despise London.

But the queen will be vexed

if Persephone is not presented,

and that is one bother

I could do without.

Thus, I shall be forced to town.

- Do not let him burden you

with even the tiniest

amount of guilt, Your Grace.

By spring, he will

have gone months

without insulting the

members of the Cabinet

or any of the royal family

and will be itching

for the opportunity.

- That is good to know.

- I suppose, as a good

friend of the family,

I ought to remain

here indefinitely

and offer my insights

into your grumbly husband.

That is simply the sort

of selfless person I am.

- Even selfless people

can be thrown from

the south parapet.

- Mm, I am beginning

to suspect, Adam,

that you do not

like me very much.

I will simply have to ponder

the sorrow of this realization.

Your Grace.

Your Grace.

Your Grace.

This could get confusing.

We really ought to think of

names for the three of you.

[soft music]

[gentle music]

[gentle music swells]

[gentle music fades]