Cranford (2007) s02e01 Episode Script

Now, is there anyone under the bed? I am very much afraid we may have burglars.
We must ascertain that we are safe! 12 noon! We must make haste and change our caps! Calling hours have commenced.
Now come along, Tilly, we must bid farewell to Dr.
Morgan.
Miss Matty, you don't have to take her with you! My dear, she will be fractious within the hour and you are occupied enough.
Say goodbye to your Mama.
Mama, mama, mama.
- Look! Mrs.
Forrester and Bessie.
- Miss Matty.
Good day to you.
- Good day! - Good day.
To you too.
Afternoon, Miss Matty.
Reverend.
I spy Mrs.
Jamieson! You can show her your new pinafore! Why must you play nursemaid to your servant's child? By the time that girl is grown, she will not know if her place is in the kitchen or in the parlour! At present, Tilly's place is with the person least employed.
Dear Martha and I are busy turn by turn.
You are scarcely occupied at all, now you have closed your tea shop.
You have done Cranford an abominable disfavour.
Johnson's prices are already on the rise! Align it further back! - Good afternoon, Miss Matty! - Mr.
Johnson.
Hey.
Miss Matty! Miss Matty! Miss Matty! Halt the baby-cart and proceed no further! But I am on my way to Dr.
Morgan's house! To bid farewell to him and his wife I find myself charged with vile and pressing news.
The navvies were at the George last night.
The navvies came into town? There was an altercation, regarding the price of ale.
I am very much afraid we must speak with Captain Brown.
This is Cranford! Are the culprits still at large? No! They have gone skulking back to the railway works, whilst leaving a great pool of effluvia.
Hard by the taproom door! You must not wheel the child near there.
We must forewarn Miss Tomkinson! She appears charged with the twins.
Butcher's offspring are all the same, Miss Tomkinson! They are fed on too much kidney, it makes their black bile rise.
I am not their parent! They are my sister's stepchildren and I must feed them as directed.
Does dear Caroline continue in good health? Her silhouette is advancing rapidly.
I felt obliged to write to Dr.
Harrison, at Bury.
He advised rest and a bandageon the abdomen.
Captain Brown! Apprentice is almost done fixing the sign.
And I don't doubt he's made a splendid job of it, Jem.
I can wait, sir.
Bill you all of a piece, when we've built the luggage shed.
Take it now, it's best that we are straight.
The company has cancelled plans for supernumerary buildings.
It's not likely that they'll be required, now that the line must end a full five miles from town.
You encouraged me to be hopeful! I've taken on another lad, bought a bigger wagon.
The railway company has done its utmost.
But Lady Ludlow insists that she will keep her land intact.
You said you could skirt around her boundaries! Forge another route to Cranford all together.
We had hopes of a bridge, crossing Missenden Moss.
But we have today had word from our surveying engineer.
Brunel himself could not bridge such a tranche of swamp.
Peter dear, I hope you will write to me, when you are safely arrived.
Miss Pole has heard unsavoury reports of Liverpool! Especially the docks, where you must go to greet the ship.
Fear not, little Matty.
No blackguard shall steal my purse, nor, sister, shall I be press-ganged.
I have a pistol in my carpet bag, wrapped in the nightcap you supplied in case of cold.
It relieves me that you are prepared.
And it will be novel to see your Indian goods brought home.
The tiger-skin rug will look quite splendid in the parlour.
I shall pose it as though poised to nip our toes.
I do agree it was wise to close my shop.
We now require the income less than we need the space.
It was a jolly enterprise, while it had its day.
And the fact you made a profit takes my fancy very much.
I have put away every penny.
I should not like to see it squandered.
And I thought you'd purchase a pink bonnet and run off to Droitwich Spa.
Do not linger long in Liverpool.
It sounds a dreadful place.
I feel the burden of his loss so very much on Sundays.
For after I weep here, I must rise and go into church, and worship the God who has arranged our fortunes so! Mother.
People are looking at us.
Let us lay down our tribute to your father.
The man has been buried 14 months! Why is she not wearing mauve? Mr.
Johnson's bombazines are very keenly priced.
Perhaps she does not care to be thought brisk.
There is nothing brisk in demonstrating fortitude.
- We are many of us widowed! It is - Peggy I feel so very sorry for.
She is of an age to be in company and yet we see her only at church.
I fear she has no friends.
And like an ever rolling stream Bears all its sons away They fly forgotten as a dream Dies at the opening day Oh, God, our help in ages past Our hope for years to come Be thou our guard while troubles last And our eternal home.
It was but two yards distant from the altar! And the altar cloth! Which was worked in crewel stitch by Miss Matty's mother! - Well - Ammoniac stains are utterly intractable.
An apothecary would have had to be consulted.
I am so sorry to interrupt you, ladies! And sir.
Master William Buxton! No I think we should not call him "Master" now, he is so much broader than when we saw him last! My dog escaped the house almost an hour ago, and I have been searching for him ever since.
I cannot vouch for his whereabouts now.
I can, however, reveal where he has been! Miss Matty, look who has come back to us! - William, my dear! - Miss Matty! We had so hoped to see you return to Cranford! We did hear tidings of your dear mother, and were sincerely grieved.
Father has been longing for our home, and I came ahead of him to open up the house.
Napoleon! - Stay! Napoleon! - How can it be expected to behave, with such a name! Napoleon! You are out of order! Bad dog! Stay! Bad dog! Bad dog! - I'm so sorry.
- It doesn't matter.
The vase is still intact.
But the flowers are spoiled! He is a dog.
It was not deliberate.
Peggy should have refused the Rector's offer of fresh blooms.
Lord knows we have little, but our garden is replete with roses.
It was a friendly act, Mother, not a charitable one.
I am glad we agreed to it.
I had no intention of dragging my carcass all the way home and then going back again just to fill that vase.
Besides, I must finish a book-keeping exercise, and I need a cup of tea.
I shall be in my room.
The water in the pail had a brackish taste this morning.
You might go to the spring, and draw some fresh.
My dear Miss Matty! I could not be more delighted by your presence.
Unless that is, you had called upon us sooner.
Do you not recollect our custom, Mr.
Buxton? In Cranford, we do not make calls until the third day! William! William! Miss Matty! I did not know we were expecting guests! Put that animal outside, where I ordered it to be restrained.
Now get upstairs and attend to your linen! Sir.
Miss Matty.
Come along.
You must forgive me.
Since my wife passed away, I find myself quite short of temper.
Mrs.
Buxton is much missed, I'm certain.
And William, too, is doubtless shaken by her loss.
You comprehend the cross I bear, I think.
How long is it since Miss Deborah left us? It is two yearsand several days.
You must come into the drawing room, I shall arrange for some tea.
Tea? I should adore a cup of tea.
Erminia, it is past noon.
I thought it was later.
I shall go into the morning room.
Then it will not matter that my hair's not dressed.
You recollect Erminia Whyte? My wife was her godmother.
She loved her very well.
She was always a very attractive child.
She became my ward after her parents passed away.
She has been at school in Brussels.
Being turned into a lady.
I do believe that is a waltz.
Have you heard of waltzing? It is not a form of dance we have experienced in Cranford.
We had hoped the seaside air might restore my wife to health.
But it could not do so.
Afterwards, William thumbed his nose at Plato, and abandoned Cambridge without matriculation.
Now says he will be an engineer or nothing.
An engineer? I will not allow it.
The railway has not proved to be of worth.
It has made no mark on our town, Mr.
Buxton.
Good.
Perhaps William might care to assist you at the salt mine.
He has never shown the slightest interest in the salt mine.
And I cannot berate him for it, for it's never attracted me! I have decided William shall go into politics.
- Politics! - He will have to forge new connections.
He and Erminia are excellent companions, but well, we are all inclined to mope, and they lack society in Cranford.
Each already speaks of leaving, seeking pastures new.
Would you permit me to suggest a remedy? But we do not know the Buxtons.
They were away when we arrived.
Are they respectable people? There are none more so in all Cranford! Mr.
Buxton grew up expecting to plough his own fields, and there is no disgrace in simple honest toil.
But a seam of salt was found upon his acreage, and by the age of 30 he had bought The Glebe and married a silversmith's daughter.
Dear Mrs.
Buxton was so very charming.
A most vivacious hostess and a fine mother to her son.
We are acquainted with the son.
We met him at the churchyard.
William Buxton was schooled at Eton.
They drill their dogs differently there! Mrs.
Bell, you must not fear a raucous entertainment.
Mr.
Buxton has lived very quietly since he lost his wife, and the luncheon will be a restrained affair.
I have never heard of anybody asking guests for luncheon.
What is luncheon? Peggy, we will have less interjection and more replenishing of cups.
Luncheon is cooked repast in the middle of the day.
Any way, mother, if Mr.
Buxton owns that saltworks, Lord knows how much he's worth, and if he wants to entertain us, I don't intend to throw his kindness in his face.
I wonder how we must attire ourselves? Ought I to retrieve my lace out of its tissue? I have a very neat piece of needlepoint.
It was made by hand.
But I do not care to expose it to the light.
I was relieved to be excused an invitation to the Buxtons.
The harvest has been abundant.
It is a relief to me.
There were frosts in April, and it was feared the buds might be spoiled.
- My lady, Sir Charles.
- Thank you.
The flavour is extremely fine.
I think we had this variety in my own orchards.
Before they were razed to make way for the railway.
I think, my lady, we should send for your carriage.
You have stood a sufficient length of time.
Please see that a crateful is delivered to the almshouse.
My lady.
On the 21st of the month, Signor Brunoni, Grand Magician of Arabia and Wizard to the King of Delhi! I have always wished to see a magic show.
There is no such thing as magic, just slipknots and a looking glass.
But they will gnash their teeth at this in Missenden! They who have had the acrobats, and the Prodigious Bull! Do you suppose he will be of dusky aspect? He is depicted in a turban.
Perhaps we should seek to attire ourselves likewise? It is a recital, not a costume party! We should still make an effort with our toilette.
It is a compliment, that one who has played before the Lama of Tibet cares to appear on a platform in the courtyard of the George.
The Lama of Tibet! What a creature that must be.
I took the liberty of ordering young sir's tails from London.
He must not start school with the aura of the provinces about him.
There is a new cut in vogue, with the lapel pared back to show the waistcoat to advantage.
We have a wide selection of the latter, including worsted, paisley and brocade.
It's Mr.
Carter's money.
I keep thinking "What would Mr.
Carter do?" Mr.
Carter was your benefactor.
He would say that you should have the best! Forgive me, Mr.
and Mrs.
Johnson, but I knew the gentleman of whom you speak, and I can assure you he would not sanction paisley or brocade.
We will fare quite well enough with two, plain-cut, and in the twill.
My guests may be shown in.
My lady.
Well, Master Gregson.
The time has come for you to commence at school.
I hope there are tucks in those fine new clothes, so they may be adjusted as you grow! Miss Galindo saw to that.
And how have you fared, in your study of the Classics? Has the Rector prepared you well? Quod si deficiant vires, audacia certe, laus erit.
Even if strength fails, boldness at least will merit praise.
- Do sit, my dear.
- Your clock's wrong.
It is a trifle sent by my son, Lord Septimus, from Naples.
Every once in a while, the ticking skips a beat, but it was a gift, and so it pleases me.
Is it her heart that's ailing? Her heart could go on for another hundred years.
The malignancy is in her bones.
You must write to her son.
You must tell him to come home.
I have tried, but he has not responded.
I shall try again.
What a good little gardener! The flowers become so very thirsty standing in the dry soil all day.
There, my dear.
That was very well done! Wait and see how bright they'll grow! I shouldn't have put money in the business.
I should have used it to get us our home.
If you had, would we be happier than this? You shouldn't want so much.
You're flying in the face of God.
Come in.
Miss Matty.
I've brought you the quarter's payment, for our lodging.
Of course, dear.
You must put it on Deborah's desk, as usual.
I'm sorry, Miss Matty.
But the money's not complete.
I'm owed a guinea for a funeral and 14 shillings by a weaver.
I mended his hand loom, but he cannot pay me.
There is so little weaving done in Cranford now! The town's begun to wither at the root.
It's not what we pictured.
Let us not tell Martha.
She has a deal to occupy her mind.
We will all make shift together, until your fortunes turn.
She isn't here! She said they'd come! I should have slept the night at home.
I've got to give them the money! You mustn't delay the coach.
Mam! Where are the others? The stove went out! I left them at home, with the bellows and the tinder box Here's your rent for this quarter.
We got you a present.
It's a pen wiper.
For your pens.
I couldn't work your initials so I put an X X.
That means kisses, when you put it in a letter.
- Goodbye! - Goodbye, son.
Good luck.
You should feel very proud of him.
I've never had one fly the nest before.
But that's a mother's lot.
Push them along the branch a little bit, and then they're gone.
Peggy, you must sit as upright as you can.
I will cough, thus: ahem! If I see your posture lapsing.
In fact, I will cough each time you do anything amiss.
I hope there's wine.
There should be a decent Madeira, at least.
Those four cottages belong to Mr.
Buxton.
They must bring in a pretty penny each quarter.
Peggy, do you pay me any attention at all? I was looking at the wall.
- There are so many shades of grey.
- Shades of grey? Lady Ludlow.
You will excuse me if I do not rise.
I suffered an unsatisfactory night's repose.
There are tidings in this letter that will refresh you better than a week of sleep.
Septimus has been in London, conferring with his tailor, and is already on the road to Cheshire.
He wrote to you? I imagine he thought to surprise me.
I am glad he did not.
I will have my powder brought.
And the irons to curl my hair.
Mother wanted me to take on Holy Orders, like my father.
But surely the training is very long and tedious? And all for a curacy worth £70 a year! I should much rather be an attorney.
There are hundreds if not thousands to be made, and all done in office hours, for very little trouble.
The law of England is a splendid course of study.
That, or the Classics, are the only things worthwhile.
I believe there is a bridge into the future, and it's not made of dead men's words, but of iron, coal and steel.
I have thought I might write to Mr.
Brunel and see if he will let me assist him in his work.
Has this man not got a fine contempt for money? He is not impressed by it, if that is what you mean.
I never find the slightest joy in figures.
For all I know, the saltworks made me, what, sevenpence last year! Ahem! You should engage an agent, sir.
I have studied for just such a role.
- Where did you go to school? - He was tutored at home by his father.
And then took lessons through a correspondence college.
I am sure that that is just the thing to do, now that the post is so efficient.
Won't you have some fruit? I'm very fond of oranges.
But perhaps I'll have some grapes.
Shuttlecock, shuttlecock, tell me true, how many years do I have to live through? One, two, three, four.
Oh, dear.
I shall be dead before I am three and twenty.
Still, better than 50 years in Cranford! Erminia, we agreed we would play battledore! Come along.
If we do not, they will think themselves the victors.
Signor Brunoni has performed before a Rajah, which is quite the same as a bishop overseas! I do not consider magic a wholesome entertainment.
I shan't give Peggy permission to attend.
My dear Mrs.
Bell, permit the young to be diverted.
If they step beyond their bounds, I shall supply Miss Matty with a stick and send her to suppress them.
Life at Eton rendered William very savage.
You two are not playing like the fair sex should.
Peggy in particular is striving far too hard! She is naturally quick! As, might I add, am I.
Must we feign incompetence, just to spare your pride? Look, Peggy! It's landed in a bush.
How shall we manage without a man to fetch it for us? Go on, Edward, get it.
You had best fetch it, I think, lest you inflame her further.
We will see who gets the greater sport from this! Mine! Send that one back to me! Oh, my dear Peggy! Miss Bell! Miss Bell.
I fear she is injured.
She is only winded, I believe.
Let me hand you up, Miss Bell.
I am well.
I have not broken any bones.
Oh, your poor silk! Never mind.
At least it is not a new one.
It is her best! It must be stitched forthwith, before the seams fray further! I do not think that I have any thread in brown.
I have thread of every shade at home.
You can walk with me to my house.
Lady Ludlow.
Lady Ludlow, it would be a small matter for a chair to be brought down.
I think not.
I will stand.
Until my son arrives.
Mama! This dress was my mother's before it was mine.
The cut is out of date.
I do not think it necessary at all to chase the fashion.
I do not like to be noticed.
I'm more likely to stand out in a shabby gown than I am in a neat one.
Do not stir yourself, Martha, I am assured of my way! Miss Matty Peggy Bell, you are displaying your stays! She has torn her dress.
And it required fine stitching.
Well, you will rend every garment you possess when I give you this intelligence.
Lady Ludlow is at the last.
That is lamentable news! Reverend Hutton is alerted and has harnessed up his trap.
It is already poised by the rectory gate and the pony eating oats out of a nose-bag.
You will be glad you did not buy a turban now! Already they are saying the magician will be cancelled! Cranford must prepare for a most melancholy chapter.
Miss Matty? Miss Matty! Can you come to the kitchen, please? I've just started the kneading! The baking'll be a right performance now.
I ought to have foreseen it! Peggy, make yourself decent, hasten to my house and tell Bertha to come.
She will require her Holland apron and a pair of kitchen sleeves.
Now I advise the preparation of a warming pan.
How fortunate it is that you came by! And before the day is out, Jem will need his undertaker's coat.
- It's here.
- For he will be summoned to Hanbury Hall.
I'll take it to his workshop.
And tell him I don't want him home until I'm done.
Don't fret, it's a day's work, that's all.
My dear, I think if you offer me your hand I should like to hold it.
And next we shall make a leopard, which is a big, bold beast with spots upon him, like your Sunday muslin.
Miss Matty.
You are not to come any further.
- Do you hear me? - Oh, my dear I think, Miss Matty, if you can fetch a doctor that would be the proper thing to do.
Yes, my dear.
I'll go directly.
She is ready.
We did all that we could.
But there is not a doctor now within ten miles of Cranford.
We sent for the barber-surgeon, from the railway works.
But his talent was all for the letting of blood.
She was so very white and quiet.
She did not complain of pain.
I held her hands in mine, to warm them.
But they were already as cold as glass.
Miss Matty.
I think we should take care that Tilly eats some breakfast.
That cannot be the time.
I say that several times a day, when the twins are in my care.
But children thrive where a regular pattern is maintained.
Martha was wary of feeding her the crust.
She used to butter her the soft part of the crumb.
Giacomo.
I'm getting dreadfully bored of all this vomiting.
It is the springs of that carriage! I had no choice of conveyance.
Had my mother arranged for my collection, all would have been ease and comfort.
Get back in.
You have detained us long enough.
Not even a dog to greet us.
I have never, in my whole life, known this house to sleep No.
Oh, no.
The coiffure is very finely wrought.
Is that your doing, Laurentia? No, it is the work of her maid, Whitlow.
My mother has been served well.
Better perhaps by her retainers than she has been by her son.
We used to play in here, with a hoop and stick.
I could bowl it from one end of the hall to the other.
My mother saw me once and clapped.
And then it slammed into the pillar, and broke.
Do you remember that? Yes, I do.
It was my hoop and stick.
I confess it touches me, to see my home unaltered.
It is as though no hopes were dashed, no errors ever made.
And from the carriage window, Cheshire looked so very green.
Good day to you, Miss Bell! I come charged with an errand.
We are in want of company this teatime.
I brought along a second horse, to speed the journey back.
Oh, what a thoughtful gesture! Peggy, run upstairs and fetch your brother his top boots.
Have you brought another crop? I am afraid you will not be comfortable, unless you wear a skirt.
Miss Bell.
Erminia longs to see you and asked that her pony be saddled to suit.
Mr.
Bell.
Father thought you might enjoy The Chronicle.
My father liked your brother very much.
I am glad of that.
And you have quite captured Erminia's fancy.
I think she plans to talk to you of frocks and waltzing.
I have heard of waltzing.
My mother says it is a most indecent thing.
Forgive me.
I fear you are distracted.
Please do not think me rude if I do not chatter! I don't expect you to chatter.
But I am concerned that you do not like the horse.
It is not the horse.
It is how I am seated.
When I was growing up, we never had a side-saddle.
We had no neighbours either, and no fear that I might be seen.
You are bolder than I took you for.
We must change the saddle back before we get to town, so I can make a decent entry into Cranford.
Dare you to try and catch us! Septimus, you will not be thought precipitate if you agree to proceed.
Time is of the essence if you wish to name your price.
I used to marvel at her in the Blenheim sapphires.
They brought out the glow of her gaze.
I sold my land to the railway company.
I don't apologise for it.
I am richer than I was before, and England better served.
I will serve my country by cherishing its customs.
I will go to church and hunt the fox, and tend my orchards and my roses.
And every August, I will give a garden party.
Septimus, have you read your mother's will? You're her executor, can't you tell it me from memory? I cannot be poring over documents, I have promised Giacomo a stroll along the ha-ha.
You are aware, I am sure, that Lady Ludlow's devotion to her duty was extreme.
I intend to erect a statue in her memory.
I shall not spare a penny of expense.
Two years ago, she was driven to take out a mortgage on the Hanbury estate.
A mortgage? Why in the name of God should she take out a mortgage? You needed money for your house at Lake Lugano.
The farms were doing badly, and she lacked the means to make payments.
Her then land agent, Mr.
Carter, advised against it.
But she proceeded, nonetheless.
Mr.
Carter died, most unexpectedly.
He willed his private fortune to a boy, Harry Gregson, on condition that Master Gregson lend the money to your mother for the duration of her lifetime, for the express purpose of paying the mortgage in full.
Well.
I shall put up a statue to Mr.
Carter, too.
What do you mean I have pay it back?! Mr.
Carter's wishes are legally binding.
I know every detail of that will, I was witness to it! You can quite dispense with your milliner's shop, you will be setting up in Doctors' Commons! Septimus, much of Lady Ludlow's income was consumed by your need at home in Italy.
It was not some geographic fancy! My health was frail, and dependant on the heat! I seek only to suggest that you might rent out your villa, in order to meet payments.
The villa is not finished.
I need funds to have the roof remade.
Pay att Pay attention, Miss Bell! Erminia will put you through your paces next! But I cannot play! I have never had a lesson.
Oh, go on! This piano expects rough treatment.
These two have been tormenting it for years.
Take a leaf from William's book! Learn a single tune, and provided you vary your tempo, you may trot it out at every social gathering, wringing tears or smiles from your audience in turn.
Bravo! When I was a young man I only knew one song, Barbara Allen.
In Scarlet town where I was born There lived a fair maid dwelling I sang it so fearfully badly nobody ever requested an encore.
Come along, Peggy.
Now Perfection! You have a rival, Billy-boy! She will be playing before all Cranford by this Christmas.
Perhaps you could teach her Barbara Allen.
Then we might perform a duet.
My dear sister! I present to you, most humbly, the trophies of a lifetime! I did not think they would be so numerous.
Oh, this is but a fraction of the goods I had shipped home.
The dancing damsels I left beside the quay.
Make haste, I smell rain! I am not seeking to obstruct, only to ascertain there will be no risk to Tilly! Surrender the carpet beater.
I am no stranger to the snake.
I have twice seen vipers in the wild, and I did not wince or flinch.
Miss Pole, you are a template to us all.
Pray do not bring it down so hard! They are such poor dumb creatures, and I have heard it said that they are blind and deaf! I am certain any serpent is dislodged by now.
It is the notion of spiders that perturbs me.
They are inclined to hide, and curl up small! Spiders? Spiders are not, I think, a creature from the Indies! In Delhi, I saw specimens bigger than my fist.
My wrist is weary.
You do yourself no credit, sir, leaving all investigation to the fair sex.
Peter, dear.
I am very much afraid that I must speak with you.
Do not trip upon the tiger! Peter! The bird has dropped lime on Deborah's armchair! Well, I have cushions aplenty, they can be deployed to conceal the staining.
It has been our custom to leave that seat quite empty! You chide me, Matty.
I would never chide you.
This is your home.
But there is no room here for a savage, winged creature when we have an infant in our care! Its deposits are unsavoury.
It may corrode her health.
I determined some while since that, once my goods were restored to me, it would be my particular pleasure to bestow a gift upon each of my favourite neighbours.
You are quite without thought for yourself, Mr.
Jenkyns! This is the perfect environment for Poll.
I will visit often.
Mrs.
Forrester, reach for The Chronicle and spread it on the floor.
There's a piece about the Princess Royal on the topmost sheet.
We should not want to see that soiled.
Then turn it about! Mr.
Peel is on the reverse, we care not what falls on him! You have not been overlooked, Mrs.
Forrester.
I hope that you will accept this, with my compliments.
He was a jaunty beast in life.
Tell me you will love him.
I am very fond of all dumb creatures.
Hold fast to the broom, you foolish girl! And And keep it confined to the kitchen.
I swear that parrot is the equal of a man.
Then you should treat him as such not permit him to wander without bounds! It is an unkindness, he will not know his place! You cannot trounce me as an aviarist.
I kept a linnet as a child and it lived a twelvemonth.
Good afternoon, Erminia.
What are you about? I have new shoes, in glace kid, and they are not broken in at all.
I must trudge about until they cease to pain me.
Then you must trudge to Johnson's with us.
We are to order a cage! La cage! But you cannot get any cage worth purchasing in Johnson's! You must write to Paris.
They have all the most superior models there.
"Pourriez-vous "assez gentil "pour envoyer "une cage" I want it delivered to my door.
And kindly instruct them that I do not care for wicker.
It is apt to split when it is nipped or teased.
"Les cages" in France are always made from brass or steel.
They are designed to be robust! I am relieved to hear it.
Mr.
Jenkyns desires great care taken of his treasure.
Mary! My dear! Miss Matty! I have so longed to see you.
Did you travel on the mail coach? My stepmother could not spare her carriage.
I could not wait another hour.
I was so distressed to hear of Martha.
You must need help with Tilly.
The poor child is asleep upstairs.
There have been some alterations since you were with us last.
My own situation has not remained unchanged.
I have news that I fancy will please you.
Mary dear! You are engaged to be married? I am, Miss Matty.
That is such very joyful news to hear! And after your disappointment in the spring.
That is no matter.
We can both be glad that I have found such happiness with Mr.
Turnbull.
Mr.
Turnbull! Is that the gentleman of whom you wrote last month? Yes.
It is.
His family owns a soap manufactory, in Manchester.
He sounds the best and steadiest of gentlemen! I will have the boy brought here.
We will send a carriage from the stable, we'll have some cold beef and a cake put on the seat.
The school will have starved his belly, as surely as it stuffs his head.
I don't recall my mother ever thought of that.
Good afternoon, Bertha.
Miss Pole's lending me to Miss Matty, twelve till half three, six days a week.
And an hour on Sundays.
Miss Matty says Miss Pole is being very generous.
Miss Smith, do you truly not want these? I have never cared much for clothes.
And now I am engaged, I am to have a whole new trousseau.
They are too fine for me.
They are not fine, only pretty.
And you are a very pretty girl! My dear, you look quite delightful! This trim is in a shade that would suit you.
It will bring out the colour of your eyes.
Every young girl has her own most pleasing feature.
Mrs.
Forrester's hair was the palest shade of gold, something like the petals of a jonquil.
And Miss Pole had a figure that provoked no little comment.
What was yours? I was told it was my complexion.
Who is that? His name was Mr.
Holbrook.
I met him at a dance in the Assembly Rooms.
They are closed down now.
And you did not marry? Love without marriage is still a sacred thing.
And unlike wedlock, it is not dissolved by death.
Come now.
Let us try you in the green.
I have learned Mr.
Carter's will by heart, sir.
I know the education he wanted me to have, and the school he intended me to found.
And when I come of age, I'll do it to the letter.
If I reimburse you at once, the money will rot in the bank for seven years.
Meanwhile, you are ensconced at a peerless seat of learning, whilst the youth of Cranford remain illiterate.
I will change that one day.
I put it to you that you can change it now.
Provided you abandon this claim to the £20,000.
I have claimed nothing, sir.
Mr.
Carter chose to name me in his will.
The law in England is not a prescription but a process.
It can be challenged and changed to suit the shifting of a course.
This is a banker's draft.
£5,000? Yours.
With immediate effect.
Enough, first, to build a schoolhouse.
And then pay the wages of the teachers in perpetuity.
I see.
I hope so.
Harry, if you insist I pay you all that is asked, I will be obliged to sell the whole estate.
Every servant, every groundsman will have to be dismissed.
Every tenant farmer, every ploughman, every cowherd.
All will lose their homes and livelihood.
The knowledge would torture my mother.
And I believe it would torture Mr.
Carter, too.
Because it can all be stopped, if you accept this in full and final settlement.
Our bond would be a gentleman's bond.
We need only shake each other's hand.
Am I a gentleman now? You are a gentleman if you do what is correct.
You're all right.
I'll walk.
Which hand is it in? Mam! It's Harry! Hey, Harry! Mam! I never thought we'd be seeing you! Are you on your holidays? Sort of.
And I'm not going back to school until I have to.
Captain Brown? I called at the yard found it all shut up.
I am glad to see you tending to such tasks.
When a man's made a widower, a child can be the rope that saves him drowning in his grief.
Your daughter's gone to India.
You must miss her.
She is her husband's companion now.
And in the evenings, Charles Dickens is my friend.
Jem, I have a job that would suit you well, if you can execute it straight away.
Cranford's fortunes are on the rise.
There has been news of great import and Mr.
Johnson and I are planning a presentation.
Your boy is very busy with the whitewash! Is there to be an alteration of display? Indeed there is, Miss Pole.
We will close for two days whilst we attend to it.
Two days? Very well.
I require a piece of cuttlefish.
- Powdered, ground, or dried whole bone? - A whole bone, please.
It is for my Polly, to sharpen his beak.
We are entirely out of cuttlefish.
I recommend you order some from Paris.
Which quite reminds me.
This was misdelivered.
It's from Galerie Ortalon, Rue de la Paix.
And there was a postal charge.
I see Mrs.
Forrester's calling on Miss Pole.
Indeed.
Are you sure we have affixed the bands correctly? If we have, it is not to the credit of the pamphlet a most insequential set of diagrams, doubtless put together by a man.
But it has no bottom to it! Where is he to rest his claws? Once he's accustomed to the novelty, he will hop up and down this succession of hoops and make a very fetching sight! Your carpet will not be a fetching sight, embellished all over with feathers and worse.
Bertha! I require a yard of calico.
Johnson's is shut.
Then go to Miss Galindo, and throw yourself upon her mercy! It is an impertinence, dispatching an article that is not complete.
It's all of a piece with French women and French wine.
Not to be trusted out to stretch the nerves! I am not dismayed by continental goods.
I once had a French roll in Chester.
It was not pleasant but I swallowed every crumb.
Please, Miss Pole.
I think you might be making a mistake.
My cousin's a ladies' maid in Leeds.
- And she says that her mistress - Leeds? I care not what happens in the provinces.
This cage was imported from Paris.
I'm only out to tell you what's been said to me! Mindless tattle is a very arrant fault.
Pins, Mrs.
Forrester! News of your engagement has brought such pleasure.
You have been sent compliments and flowers by the whole of our acquaintance.
I suppose you are writing to dear Mr.
Turnbull? I did that this morning.
He had me pledge that I would do so every day.
I am working on something else entirely.
You do not object that I must light a second candle? No, not in the least.
I am sure there is not sufficient light in one for you to pen your letter and for Peter to look at his engravings.
Jem went to the yard today and brought work home with him.
I know not what it is.
It is good that the man is freshly occupied.
I dare say he has lit a candle too.
What's this then? Do you know whose house this is? Yes, you do.
It's your home.
It's where Tilly lives.
In Cranford.
Impress it well into the wood, so that it is secure.
And now, Mrs.
Forrester, the cage! Hang it upon the hook.
Hurry up, you foolish girl.
I still think you'll regret this.
I don't care if I'm whipped.
- My dear Miss Pole.
- Mr.
Jenkyns.
It is a commodious article, is it not? It would seem Polly-Cockatoo - has taken to it splendidly.
- Good afternoon, Miss Pole.
Is that your purchase from Galerie Ortalon? Indeed it is, Mrs.
Johnson.
I sent to Paris for it.
You could have ordered it through us, we've just got the pattern book.
Unless I am mistaken, that's the "Montpellier marron sous-jupe".
Brass finish, in petite.
Sous-jupe? Excuse me, Mr.
Jenkyns.
It's Francaise.
For underskirt.
Bertha! Miss Bell! Erminia sent me with the trap, to spare you the walk to the meeting at Johnson's.
Edward said I'd find you by the spring.
It is my private place.
It is not secret, but neither he nor mother ever come here.
This brook must run all the way to Missenden Moss.
I suspect it feeds the swamp there.
Is it true that it's the Moss that stops the railway's way? That, and the barricade of old money.
I suppose you mean the Hanbury estate.
I sometimes wonder what will become of England.
When it's not confounded by geography, it's imprisoned by its old ways.
But why should that be? There are people enough who wish to see things changed.
I count myself among them.
But if I follow the path that my father has laid down, it'll be years before I'll have the power to act.
I may be more than 30! And by then I might be as hidebound as he.
No, you won't.
I wish I were so certain.
You have energy and education.
They are not gifts that spoil, just because you are obliged to bide your time.
Come.
Put on your bonnet and let us go.
It is new to me and the ribbons keep slipping my fingers! I think you should strive for a double knot first.
And then, draw the bow a little to one side.
That is just how Erminia does it.
30 miles an hour! I think we are all assembled.
Gather round.
Please, gather round.
- Oh, Miss Pole! - What do you think can be intended? Ladies and gentlemen.
You are all, I think, aware that the railway work at Hanbury Halt has been completed.
There was no fanfare at its opening, for it is not the railway that we wished for.
It stops a full five miles away because it was not possible to bring it into town.
- Good! - And we are extremely glad of it.
But there have been pleasing developments of late and Captain Brown is here to apprise you of the details.
We have not been insensible to public concern about the railway.
Innovation can provoke unease.
Nevertheless, when Lord Ludlow assumed his seat, he saw the merit of the railway scheme.
He has now agreed to sell Hanbury Park, the house and all its land, boldly delineated on this map, to the Grand Junction Railway Company.
Work will commence before the month is out.
The course that the railway line will take is clearly marked in red.
Leaving Hanbury Halt, it will cut directly across the pasture lands at Home Farm and Tinden Edge, skirting Tinden Woods, across the river.
And here directly into Cranford itself.
Now you can see the route progress to a new and splendid station, at the head of King Street, just 100 yards from the entrance to this shop! Er, the tannery will have to be pulled down and these four cottages at Tinden Edge.
Otherwise, little demolition will be required.
For example, here we have Princess Street, quite untouched.
And you will recognise Miss Matty Jenkyns' house, beautifully rendered by Mr.
Jem Hearne.
Sir! Excuse me.
Sir, you are guilty of an oversight.
Your plans do not account for those nine acres at Tinden Edge.
They do indeed fall in the bounds of Hanbury Park, but their history is complex.
They are mine, as are the cottages that stand on them.
I will not see them tumbled.
I will not betray my tenants or the good people of this town.
Well said, sir.
Without my cooperation, the railway's plans are void.
Cranford exists in perfect balance.
There is no need for alteration.
There is every need for alteration.
Consider your own business.
You cannot match modern standards of speed or efficiency.
You're still transporting salt by barge when you could have it winging all over the north of England, playing its part in chemical manufacture.
The railway is just a mania! We've secured our fortune.
It regulates itself.
There is no need for interference.
Progress is not interference, Father.
You are fossiled in your ways, you are like salt itself, locked in a seam, so it would take a pick to move you! Had you proceeded with this, Harry, you would have been robbed of £15,000! Lord Septimus said I only had to shake hands and that would make a gentleman's agreement.
And I did.
You shook hands? I thought people would be helped.
But he sold the estate.
He lied, Miss Galindo, and I never thought a gentleman would do that.
When did you decide to sell? We are returning to Italy.
Giacomo's health has entirely broken down.
You wear a very truculent expression.
I know it from childhood.
You seek to unsettle me.
I only seek to ensure that a dead man is respected.
And that the boy he cared for is respected too.
When did you decide to sell? As soon as I saw the ledgers for the farms.
Before you asked Harry to give you his share? That is correct.
Though I signed nothing until after Harry's visit.
Captain Brown brought the documents later on that day.
I am surprised you gave your signature at all.
Would not a gentleman's agreement have sufficed? Oh, for pity's sake! I fancied I'd pay him a compliment.
Acknowledge the station to which he has been raised.
Harry is 14! I will see he is furnished with a lawyer.
If you drive this into court, it will cost you every penny you have.
Your handshake had no meaning and never will have worth.
Your handshake is a bastard thing for you are not a gentleman! Do I have to go back? Can I not stay here awhile? Your schooling is Mr.
Carter's gift to you.
It means as much, and more, than any quantity of money.
- And you should relish every day of it.
- I know that.
And I do try to.
Now come.
You must go back to your studies.
You can write to me and tell me all your news.
Miss Matty.
I was wondering if I might beg a word.
Of course, my dear.
You must come in and warm yourself beside the fire.
I am almost cast off.
I've been knitting a new cover for Tilly's India rubber ball.
We wore the last one to a thread, we played with it so much.
Miss Matty, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to pack up.
Pack up what, dear? All I have.
That is to say, all I have left.
Please tell me that I mistake your meaning.
If the railway's not coming, then I can't stay.
I'm a joiner, a maker of things.
I need a place that's going to flourish, so that I can flourish too.
You will always be employed.
Cranford will always need your skills.
It'll need its coffins making.
Jem, you are undone by your distress! You must consider Tilly.
Miss Matty, I've got family in Bolton.
My sister can take care of her while I set up, find us both a home.
I beg you, Jem, do not act in haste when your bereavement is so fresh.
I can see my future, clear as if it were laid out on a table.
And if I stay here, there's nothing there.
I have given your papa the strictest of instructions.
The seeds are to be dried and wrapped in paper for the winter.
And you shall have a fine sunny row of them, by the time the year comes round.
Miss Matty, Jem is ready now.
Come here.
Keep her warm.
I have brought you a little hot milk.
There is some honey in the spoon.
I suppose we must go back to the setting of trays and getting out the silver tongs, now that we do not have a child to stretch us.
You did wonderfully well to keep your composure before her.
Oh, Mary! I thought it should be a good thing if the railway did not come.
Deborah's views on the subject were quite implacable.
I am sure she would lament Jem Hearne's departure.
She took pride in the town and would be vexed to see a splendid craftsman lost.
You sound so very certain.
It pains me to own it, but I do not hear her voice as clearly as I did.
Do you consider me foolish, Captain Brown, to be so changed in my opinion of the railway? No.
Only wise to perceive that there is a different way.
That is, I think, a response that dear Deborah would appreciate.
I made an oversight, Miss Matty, and now much hangs in the balance.
Let us try to set it straight.
If we do not, Cranford will know darker days than this.
I think I have a notion as to how I should commence.
My sister was fond of a maxim from the Bible "Examine all things, "hold fast to what is good.
" "Deborah was a woman of quite vigorous opinion, "and set the pattern for our small society.
"Her abhorrence of the railway was very widely known, "and we all supposed that it was nothing but a menace.
"However change, or its refusal, is not within our gift.
"The young grow apace about us all the time.
"They desire progress, "they are turned to face the sun.
"And if we stunt them, "they will seek a richer soil.
"For whom, then, will we be preserving our traditions? "Captain Brown and I have arranged a short private excursion.
"You are all invited, and I urge you to accept.
"In facing our fears, "we may concede we are mistaken.
"Equally, we may stand fast.
"I only beg that we should ascertain the facts, "that we should examine all things.
" Oh, Mary.
Do I do the proper thing? I fear my plea has failed.
There is no sign of my friends.
Nor, indeed, of Mr.
Buxton.
But are we all to go in first class? It cannot be exclusive if it is so very full.
Well, the third-class carriage is really quite commodious.
I care not where I ride, but when I am in a carriage I must not sit with my back against the horse.
There is no sign of Mr.
Buxton.
At what time must we depart? Captain Brown, is it correct that the scenery moves at speed? At 30 miles an hour, there is indeed the impression of some shifting.
We have heard we must not look, lest we fray the optic nerve.
I should not venture to ply your lorgnette, Mrs.
Jamieson.
If anyone feels unwell, Mrs.
Jamieson has brought the smelling bottle.
It is only for emergencies! Room for two more in first class.
- There will be a multitude of smuts.
- Erminia, come and sit by me.
There have been boots on this floor.
- One more! - I suppose, sir, that that should be me.
- Ladies.
- Mr.
Buxton.
Miss Bell.
Mrs.
Jamieson, have you the smelling salts? How faint does she feel? They are in my reticule, and cannot be deployed unless the phial is crushed! Do not go to any trouble, I beg you.
I am quite myself now that the motion is concluding.
Is there no opportunity to reprise the ride? Peggy Bell.
Yes? I love you.
Will you please be my wife? How have the travellers fared? - Acceptable.
- Splendid! It appears that none of us has died of fright, or is maimed by the violence of the motion.
Pray do not think you must make a swift response.
My dear Miss Matty, it seems to me that your instigation of this venture took considerable courage, and that I should strive to match your vigour with my own.
I will agree to the purchase of my land.
I cannot permit my prejudice to stand in the way of the railway.
Thank you! Come, sir, let's attend to business.
Mr.
Buxton.
Captain Brown.
And so it appears our fate is sealed.
Yes.
And now they slink off to the seclusion of some office, assuming all the while that every vestige of power is invested in their own sex.
Why do you believe it is not? Men might have built the railway.
Men might have schemed and manipulated maps.
But it was we who were brave enough to test its mettle.
Mmm, the advent of the railway is a triumph of female fortitude.
Though we needed Miss Matty to urge us to be bold.
No, no, please.
Let us take credit for this all together.
- Yes.
- Yes.
Yes.
Oh, she's good for a cup of tea in Cranford, but you need a cultivated wife.
From Friday of this week, I shall be hostess to Lady Glenmire! What does happen to all the gentlemen in Cranford? A wedding? Oh, whom can it be? Look in your reticule.
Are we to be evicted? - Yes.
- Mam?! Harry has run away from school.
Miss Matty? Whatever are you about? Sign your name here, please, then we can proceed.
What have I brought about? But Mr.
Buxton, if they love each other Love? What do you know of love?