Original subtitles

Subtitling made possible by Acorn Media

Madame does not like to be kept waiting.

Well, why didn't she leave me where I was?

- I was so happy. - [ Groans ]

I won't go through with it, Lafone.

I won't!

- Sit down. - Aah!

No. No.

No, please. No!

Oh! No!

No! Put me down! Please!

No!

[ Gasps ]

No! Please! No! No! No!

[ Organ music playing ]

[ Music stops ]

[ Groans ]

I did my best.

He was drugged, of course. By Candle.

I will not be bested.

Even by the best man.

A smile, Acorn.

Even you must smile in the face of adversity.

It's difficult with 20 millions in the balance.

If she's not married by the 30th...

Tell me something new.

Use Candle as the bridegroom.

The terms of the will don't specify.

A counterfeiter?

Besides, he knows too much.

She'll never marry Gaston now.

She'll marry the devil if I choose.

She may be only your stepdaughter, madame,

but she has all your strength of will.

Perhaps a substitute bride.

Now, there's a thought.

The baron and some planned slut.

[ Giggles ]

Oh, for once, I do believe you've earned your keep.

And Candle?

[ Exhales sharply ] Out.

Jenny. Jenny!

Candle.

I have to leave, Jenny.

Do you understand? I have to go now.

Mm-hmm.

Will you come with me?

Will you?

Yes.

I'll go down and fetch the car.

Candle.

Aaaah!

Aaaah!

[ Vehicle approaching ]

[ Horn honks ]

Damned early in the morning for a wedding.

If you ask me, sir, I wouldn't want that woman in the front

as a bridesmaid anytime.

Probably the mother-in-law, Bell.

In that case, the bridegroom's got a cheerful future, sir,

if you don't mind my saying so.

[ Horn honks ]

Oh, you have a spill, sir? Not like you.

That's not your shoe, sir. That's a Lobb shoe.

A Lobb shoe from a drowned man, Bell.

You don't go fishing in a Lobb shoe.

Not a brogue.

Nor in a pinstripe suit from Savile Row.

You gonna report it to the police, sir?

French police?

We could be held up here for months.

Besides, I could have sworn

that that fellow in the river was an Englishman.

I want to see the British consul in Biarritz.

CHANDOS: Excuse me. Sir George Carthusian?

I'm afraid Sir George isn't here.

My name is Mansel. Jonathan Mansel.

- Richard Chandos. - Sit down.

- Would you like some tea? - Um, no thank you.

Thank you, Carson.

If it's not an administrative matter, perhaps I can help you.

Well, I can't be sure.

You see, I should have gone to the police.

But, quite frankly, my French isn't up to much.

When I was fishing the Gave de Pau this morning,

I think I saw murder done.

I think I'd better hear exactly what you saw.

Do you read Morse?

Then have a look at the toe cap of that shoe

and see what you make of it.

I'm a little rusty, but...

Good God.

I hadn't spotted these dashes.

C-A-N...

D... D-L-E?

Candle.

The name probably means nothing to you.

But in certain quarters, Elvin Candle's a name

to conjure with.

I was at school with him and Oxford,

and then our ways parted.

Candle's forte was painting.

And if he'd stuck to his last,

he'd probably have made the Royal Academy, but he didn't.

In short, he turned to forgery.

And then just one too many Rembrandts

turned up for sale at Christie's.

So Candle left England.

We knew he was in France. But where, we had no idea.

We? You say "we"?

Well, let's just say in certain quarters it was known.

Don't ask me what those certain quarters are,

except just this... that if I rang them up now

and advised the arrest of a leading member of the bar

who would leave the Carlton Club at a quarter to 10:00,

two men would be there at half past 9:00.

You see, I'm trusted. And so are others.

But if you go down, you're on your own.

But back to Candle.

We lost him until recently.

Last year, the Deutsche mark fell.

You could buy a whole street in Cologne for a tenner.

Then suddenly new pound notes appeared.

Candle's talents had turned to paper money.

Now, I have as little time for the Hun as the next man,

but I place some value on my country's currency,

and Candle didn't.

And then a month ago,

a courier was killed driving outside Chartres

with half a million in the dickey.

And before he died, he spoke of a woman they call Vanity Fair.

And we'd heard of her before, during the war.

The name Vanity Fair

kept cropping up in messages we were intercepting,

but we couldn't place her.

Vanity Fair's above the law. We do know that.

And men have died before firing squads

rather than give her away,

which suggests her influence is, well... strong.

I mean, they had nothing left to lose,

and yet they wouldn't speak.

And there you have the kind of woman she is.

Now, where exactly did you see the car?

That's the road to la Cirque de Mort.

The Circus of Death.

Yes. Aptly named, eh, Richard?

I wasn't in the war. Well, not till armistice.

Too young, eh?

Me and the captain went right through it together.

You have some close shaves?

Then. And later.

We'd better conceal the Rolls.

Vanity Fair lives somewhere in the neighborhood.

I've taken this place because the couple are known to me,

and we can berth the Rolls out of sight.

[ Door opens ]

[ Door closes ]

That fellow's wanted on two continents for murder.

He's known in the New York underworld as The Mark.

Just enough to lay a trail which no one else will notice.

He'll not seize up unless he goes 100 miles.

Fetch the Rolls, Carson.

There she is.

Chateau Jezreel.

I'll take my oath as a lookout

and a Rolls in the Pyrenees is an uncommon sight.

We'll scout around the other side of the castle.

And this fella I saw last in the dock in the Old Bailey in 1905.

His name was Acorn then.

He was a well-known solicitor in Lincoln's lnn.

He was sent down for 10 years for misappropriation of funds.

Bearing... 42 degrees.

CHANDOS: 42.

Once again, la Cirque de Mort.

Anything I ought to know?

Just this, sir...

We... We watched the road like you said.

And, um, the Hispano went by with the chauffeur.

Came back from Biarritz two hours later,

and this time with a lady.

A young lady, sir.

With a cabin trunk up back.

And Bell here swears he's seen her on the stage.

Oh, yes, sir. I couldn't take me eyes off her.

Well, I reckon it was her in the back of the Hispano just now.

MANSEL: Looks as if there's something of a house party

gathering in the Chateau Jezreel.

Now is the time for you to join it, Richard.

Vanity Fair values a gentleman, particularly when young.

It's her one weakness.

You'll marry Gaston, and you'll like it.

For �2,000 a year, you will be my stepdaughter.

And if you won't, there are men in Rio de Janeiro

who will find your blowsy charms attractive

at 5 milreis an hour.

And that's the easy choice.

It's worse, they say, in Shanghai.

Unless you've a taste for Chinamen.

All right. I'll do it.

I'll go ahead and marry him, if that's what you want.

Want?! It's what I'll have.

Now, get out.

[ Horn honking ]

[ Tires screech ]

[ Crash ]

It's all your fault.

Don't you know which side of the goddamn road to drive on?

I'm terribly sorry.

He's right, of course. It was my fault.

I shouldn't have parked on the left.

Of course it was your fault,

which is no reason why my chauffeur should swear at you.

Mark shouldn't have been driving so fast.

And what's the damage?

Well, the axle's out of true, sir.

She'll have to be taken down.

Which means, I suppose, that I shall have to take you... up.

No, i-it really was my fault.

If you could just drop me at an hotel.

You will stay with me.

It's a long time since I heard anyone say "an hotel."

The change will do me good.

Besides, you deserve a forfeit.

Can the car be driven?

I wouldn't trust it far, sir.

That's explanation enough.

And my philosophy in a nutshell.

Gaston, if you must pick your nose...

I was not picking my nose. There are no toothpicks.

Ahh.

Favoring us with a display of that dental expertise

you learned, no doubt, in foreign legion.

You must get the baron to tell you what he did during the war.

MAN: [ Laughs ]

And Father Below sought his reputation

less in the cannon's mouth than in his own.

Madame, you do me less than justice.

I do?

Which is more than can be said for Acorn.

Who was it said we get our just deserts?

No, Jenny, there are other desserts than pudding.

Don't blush, child.

Sylphs may be all the rage in London,

but broads do well enough at Jezreel.

I thought you had a weakness for Rubens, Mother Dear.

Touch�.

I have a small collection, Mr. Chandos.

I must get my stepdaughter to show it to you sometime.

That would be a very great pleasure.

You're a connoisseur of art?

Uh, hardly, madame. Um, I appreciate craftsmanship.

So your Rolls tells me.

For a young man, you have expensive tastes.

Now tell me something else.

What do you do?

Do?

When you aren't parking your Rolls

on the wrong side of the road.

Well, actually, I manage my uncle's estate.

And drive a Rolls?

My, how things have changed. When I was a girl...

Rolls were not invented.

Nor was the Baronetcy of Rochelle, come to that.

The baron's a sportsman. Or so he'd have us believe.

Shooting singing birds is hardly my idea of sport.

I understand you fish.

Yes. I thought I might try the river.

You might try the fish, but I fancy you'd find them wanting.

Gaston will use dynamite.

When I was up at Oxford...

Oh, Oxford.

That was before you took the cloth.

[ Cracks ]

My father was a Balliol man.

Balliol man.

I seem to remember a Chandos.

I've always liked that "up at Oxford."

It suggests that everything afterwards is down.

True, madame. The truth in my case certainly.

If memory serves me rightly, there was no case.

Not so with you, eh, Acorn?

Let the dead past bury...

The dead. How apt.

And now Mr. Chandos must sing.

Sing, madame?

For your supper.

You've told us so little about yourself.

There's little enough to tell.

Then you must invent it.

I fancy you would see through any invention, madame.

Ahh. A pretty tone of speech at last.

Did you know that one of your ancestors

was king of the Cotswolds

and that another was a patron of the poet Pope?

I see you keep yourself remarkably well-informed.

I find it pays in the long run.

And which Chandos are you?

The one that Pope complimented,

"Thus gracious Chandos is beloved at sight"?

Or was Swift right with

"a great complier with every court"?

There's no need to twitch, Acorn.

There are other courts than those of law.

Besides, Mr. Chandos hasn't answered.

I would prefer an earlier age than Pope's, madame.

Sir John Chandos fought at Cr�cy and Poitiers,

where he saved the Black Prince's life.

And so he did.

And do you see yourself as a gallant knight?

I see myself as a simple man, and that's the truth.

Why... [ Laughs ]

So I think you do.

And how do you see me?

As one born out of time, madame.

You never spoke a truer word.

[ Laughs ]

Have I said something vulgar?

I was just thinking.

I wondered what that grinding noise was.

I thought you were masticating a fork.

We'll have to see that the wedding gifts

include an adequate supply.

And now you must excuse us, Mr. Chandos.

The ladies don't withdraw at Jezreel.

We all keep early hours.

Tomorrow, when you've breakfasted,

you may take my car to Gobbo and wire for a mechanic.

And one thing more.

If you should hear strange noises in the night...

don't be alarmed.

I've put you next to Gaston, and he snores.

[ Knock on door ]

We have a watcher.

- If you want my opinion... - I'll ask for it.

Well?

I think Chandos has been sent.

Oh, you've been on edge

ever since that fool crashed with the money outside Chartres.

Chandos wreaks of the shires.

Which may be why he's come... to throw you off the scent.

We'll wait and see if he passes the test.

She sent me to wire for a mechanic from Gobbo.

- Why Gobbo? - Exactly.

You see, I happen to know that the road from Gobbo's up

and the telegraph is down, which told me this...

that our lady is sending me on a fool's errand.

She's checking my credentials.

A mechanic will arrive this afternoon.

Carson.

And if she makes inquiries,

the consul at Biarritz will bail you out.

[ Knock on door ]

A mechanic from Rolls-Royce has arrived, madame.

Well.

Show him in.

Name of Wright, ma'am.

I'm Sir George Carthusian's personal chauffeur.

The British consul's chauffeur?

I'm also a Rolls-Royce-trained mechanic, ma'am.

I've come at Mr. Chandos' request.

Really?

At Mr. Chandos' request?

Yes, ma'am.

Turn around.

Now face me.

[ Speaks French ]

I said, "Show me your hands."

The hands of a mechanic?

They're far too well-kept for a mechanic.

Hands of a Rolls-Royce-trained chauffeur, ma'am.

As well-kept as our reputation.

- And my orders... - Are to do as I say.

You may be under Mr. Chandos' orders,

but you're under my roof, and what I saw here goes.

Oh, yes, ma'am.

You may go, Wright.

Mr. Chandos' servant will show you your quarters.

Thank you, ma'am.

But Chandos can't have wired from Gobbo.

And he can't have sent a wire from Lally, either.

You see, I happen to know

that the postmaster at Lally died last week.

They buried him this morning, and the post was shut.

Anyone around?

No one.

Then here's the gist of what I've learned from London.

There's a most extraordinary will.

It stipulates that if the stepdaughter marries

before she comes of age, she loses the lot to Vanity Fair...

the lot being �20 million...

which makes her marriage most desirable for Vanity Fair.

And there's more to come.

The father died a curious death quite suddenly.

And there was some talk of poison, but no proof.

Vanity Fair quit the scene with the stepdaughter.

Why didn't she kill the girl?

Well, if she had, she would have forfeited a fortune.

Her husband was not totally foolish.

In the event of the stepdaughter's death,

the money goes to charity.

[ Footsteps ]

I can't be sure about the steering, sir.

Do your best, Wright.

Madame announces tea is being served, sir.

Thank you. I'll be in in a jiffy.

Very good, sir.

And now a marriage has been arranged,

which gives one pause for thought.

I mean, the stepdaughter is doing herself down.

Well, she doesn't want to marry the swine.

I'll swear to that.

Here are your orders.

Tonight, make your excuses for a day or two

and say you're going to Spain, but you will not.

Whatever Vanity Fair most values

lies somewhere about la Cirque de Mort.

That's where you'll start. And watch your step.

WOMAN: No, monsieur! No!

No, monsieur, no!

[ Shouting in French ]

No, monsieur, no!

No!

[ Speaks French ]

I thought you were a gentleman.

Bursting into a private room like this.

[ Growls ]

Let me just tell you this.

The next time you get up to that kind of filthy trick,

don't do it in my hearing, or I'll thrash the hide off you.

Jenny.

Look here, if that's the man you're going to marry...

I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry.

Oh, I don't care about that.

Richard, I must speak to you.

[ Crying ]

Um, I'm not very good at women.

Oh...

Oh, you don't understand, do you?

Why Gaston?

I - I know it's none of my business.

But why him?

Oh...

Oh, I can't explain.

Look, he's not fit to clean your shoes.

Oh, Richard, you don't know what you're saying.

We're none of us what we seem.

You are, my dear.

Oh, Richard, am I going to have to spell it out to you?

I... I'm what they call a...

Look...

I don't care what you've done.

You're solid gold.

And Gaston... He's dirt underneath your feet.

[ Crying ] We're all dirt, Richard.

You see, that's what she's turned us into.

CHANDOS: But you're her stepdaughter.

[ Laughs ] Her stepdaughter?

Hasn't got a stepdaughter.

I mean, that's just the point.

I'm an actress.

I'm playing a part.

I'm a two-bit actress who couldn't make it on the stage,

and Vanity Fair's the puppet master.

Now do you understand?

She's got me in her power, and...

Ohh!

Oh, for God's sake, go.

Liar.

I heard you.

I was there.

I know what you said.

"Oh, Richard, I'm not her stepdaughter."

I told him to go. I admit that.

Then admit this...

that you made sheep's eyes at the fool,

just like the tramp you are.

"Oh, Richard, must I spell it out to you?"

Spell, you little slut, spell.

Well, let me spell it out to you.

If anything goes wrong between now and your wedding day,

you'll have no face to lure the customers to the Place Pigalle,

and Mr. Richard Chandos won't know you from a bar of soap.

The cathedral at Burgos is worth a visit, too.

It took its inspiration from Cologne, you know,

and it's entirely gothic.

Then there's Santiago de Compostela.

Now, there's a shrine.

Mr. Chandos is hardly making a pilgrimage.

Besides, he's seen the church at Gobbo.

I know it's not a cathedral, but it's certainly a jewel in stone.

You would agree?

I went to Lally, madame.

Lally?

You do surprise me.

May one ask why?

The post at Gobbo was closed. An avalanche on the road.

And Lally was open.

Yes. Besides, it's nearer.

Of course.

And what do you intend doing in Spain?

I thought I'd tour, do a bit of fishing.

I - if it's not too much trouble,

I - I bought a pair of boots in Spain some years ago.

They had elastic sides and were most comfortable.

I - I wonder...

Of course.

Thank you.

And since I won't be up when you leave,

I'll say goodbye now, Richard.

You brought a little life with you to Jezreel.

I trust you won't take it with you when you leave.

[ Crickets chirping ]

She told him to go?

And go he will.

Tonight.

Richard.

Richard.

[ Door opens ]

MANSEL: "The baron is dead in your place.

On no account return."

The hand is Wright's.

I checked in the servant's register.

Get out.

I'll send for you when I've decided

what's to be done with you.

"The baron is dead in your place.

On no account return."

Signed "J."

Explicit and to the point.

This tells us who gives orders and who obeys.

So...

Wright... or Mr. "J"... is in command?

And what besides?

That Chandos has no notion that Gaston is dead, and will return.

But where has he really gone to?

The devil of it is, I have to go to Burgos.

I promised old Father Below I'd get him his elastic-sided boots.

And I can't be in two places at the same time.

Should we get the boots, sir? No trouble there.

Yes, you must...

and needs must when the devil drives, and she's driving now.

All right, you two cross the frontier

and meet me on the Gobbo road at 1800 hours.

Find me Wright.

Have you seen Wright?

Wright? The chauffeur?

No, I can't say I have.

You mustn't be here. If they find you...

They won't. They've gone in.

And besides, I want to thank you.

It's just that I can't stand and watch a hunted creature.

You see, I'm one myself. On the run.

- It wasn't always so. - I know.

You wrote for Balliol and won the Newdigate.

Did I?

It seems so long ago.

How would you know?

Let's just say I'm known by another name at the house.

My God.

And I was at Balliol with Chandos's father.

Tell Lafone not to hesitate. She'll know what to do.

Right. Move.

[ Straining ]

[ Insect buzzing ]

[ Grunting ]

Aah!

Aaah!

Aaah!

[ Water burbling ]

[ Dog growling ]

Goliath.

I didn't see you there.

Goliath did.

Well, he's never done that to anyone before.

He's usually very fierce.

How did you get here?

Over the mountains and one or two other obstacles.

Well, you shouldn't be here at all.

And you haven't told me your name yet.

Richard William Chandos.

At your service.

Pray be seated.

Um, may this knight-errant inquire your name?

[ Exhales sharply ] I've got so many names.

You wouldn't want to hear them all.

I would.

Well...

when stepmother's being nice, she calls me Jenny.

Your stepmother.

Then let me guess.

First...

She lives in a chateau called... called Jezreel.

How did you know that?

Second...

I see a great fortune.

You're getting married. Only, it isn't you.

It's someone who looks like you, only much more common.

She's going to marry a man called...

Baron Gaston de Rochelle.

No. You mustn't go on.

Why not? Because it's the truth?

Mmh.

To tell the truth...

That's the duty of a knight-errant.

Or an errant knight. I'm not quite sure which.

Just say a gentleman-at-arms.

And with them.

Name your request, and I shall see it done.

[ Growls, barks ]

Goliath?

Come on.

[ Barks ]

- [ Man grunts ] - Get a move on.

We've no time to waste. And dig it deeper.

MAN: It's deep enough already.

LAFONE: Then make it deep enough to take another.

Another? Huh!

I always say a man should dig his own grave.

[ Laughs ]

What's so funny?

This!

Ohh!

[ Barking ]

[ Whimpers ]

Cover your ears, Jenny.

Lost them.

Lost them.

In the caves. We couldn't see to shoot.

You killed the dog. I said you were a fool.

And I say this... if she's gone, you'll both join the dog.

- Who was the man? - I didn't see.

- Chandos, of course. - But Chandos went to Spain.

I telephoned the customs.

The Rolls went by with two men up.

And where...

is the watcher?

So...

Two men went to Spain

and one remained to take the girl.

Tomorrow she comes of age.

Get out, you scum! Get out before I...

Must I be served by dolts and fools?

Now, Acorn,

think as you've never thought before.

Wait here a minute.

Why must you go back to Jezreel?

Well, Jonathan ought be at the chateau.

But stepmother's bound to suspect.

Suspicion's one thing.

If I don't get back, she'll know for certain.

Well done.

Now drive as you've never driven before, Bell.

BELL: Yes, sir.

The will demands a marriage by tonight before witnesses.

Only then will Forsythe send you the power of attorney.

He has to see the marriage certificate

before he's empowered to act.

Once you have the document...

Jenny will sign. You may depend on that.

Quite so.

When you can lay hands on her again.

Can? I will.

And when I do, she'll sign, and stay alive until she has.

And then...

In the meantime, we still have Virginia for proxy.

But who can stand in for the baron?

Mark?

Eh.

Or would you?

Oh, no.

Oh, yes, Acorn.

Oh, yes.

Um, don't worry, Jenny.

Everything will work well.

Carson will look after you.

I'll be back tonight with Jonathan.

Bell, did Mr. Chandos give you any...

[ Fair laughs ]

Go to the rendezvous, Bell.

I'll get in somehow and send a message in the usual way.

Yes, sir.

[ Footsteps approaching ]

A foolish place to hide, my dear Richard.

It was used by the Doge of Venice,

I've been told,

to carry prisoners to the room of execution.

But that will come a little later.

Now the chloroform.

[ Groans ]

Now take him up and fetch the girl.

And so you went through Gobbo without your passport stamped?

What if I did?

For all I know, you can go to hell through Gobbo.

You'd be going out of your way.

You've no need to go through Gobbo

to get to hell from Jezreel.

- I'm sure you'd know. - I do.

Bring the slut here.

Now take a good look at that and think once more,

because you'll never see it look like that again.

L-I went to Lally.

Why?

To leave your stepdaughter.

- Where? - The Hotel de la Poste.

Under what name?

Candle.

Miss Candle.

Miss Candle?

She chose the name herself.

I don't know why.

Oh, Richard.

I do believe you're right.

You're too much of a fool to invent that.

[ Door locks ]

Lally my foot. He lied.

To buy time, you fool.

- I should have thought... - But you didn't.

And I know a lie when I hear one.

So...

You've got the specimen of his handwriting?

Excellent.

Then here's the message.

"Take Miss Jenny to Biarritz immediately

and put her on the Paris train.

"Room's to be reserved at the Hotel Bristol."

And sign it "R.C."

That should be bait enough.

That's it. Now, the handle's just behind you.

That's it.

I still think we should dispose of Chandos now.

And have his body on our hands?

Besides, I like the irony of death by accident.

And if he doesn't die?

There's nothing he can do or prove.

And Jenny will be Mrs. Acorn.

Gently does it.

Right.

Lower it down.

Gently.

[ Gasps ]

And now we take the road to Biarritz.

We'll cut him off.

Well done.

I'll do the other.

Oh, Richard, no. You'll never make it.

I've got to, my lady.

I've got to.

My lady.

Richard!

Catch!

Thank you, Carson.

Been an honor, miss.

Oh! Oh!

[ Tires screech ]

Oh!

[ Tires screech ]

[ Tires screech ]

MANSEL: Carson, is Miss Jenny here?

- How long ago did they leave? - About 10 minutes, sir.

To catch the train from Biarritz

just like Mr. Chandos ordered.

Stay here, Virginia. Get in, Carson.

We have no time to lose. We can reach the chateau.

Well, don't look so gloomy, Acorn.

Your married state may not be sweet,

but at least it will have the advantage of being short.

Most men I know would envy you.

Most men you've known, madame, are past envy.

True, Acorn.

But few have had your assets.

I have no assets.

Except your patronage.

Which is why you're indispensable, Acorn.

You see, you've learned to do exactly what I say.

And I reward obedience.

Get in the back.

Come, my dear.

I'm here to take you home.

- [ Muffled speaking ] - Bell.

Hold still, lad.

How did it happen, Bell?

- I'm going up. - You'll never make it, Richard.

The portcullis is down, and the doors are barred.

She's medieval in her ways.

And so am I, as far as Jenny is concerned.

Besides, they've left the rope.

Don't hesitate.

I'll see it won't be held against you if she dies.

I'm going for the police.

[ Crying ]

Oh, be quick, Lafone. I'm sick of tears.

Acorn's a swab.

Name me a man who's not.

Richard Chandos, for one.

An oaf in oaf's clothing.

An oaf who bested you.

Why...

so he did.

And you'd marry him?

I'll marry no one else.

Then pray to God he isn't dead.

Don't move.

I do agree it's hardly Hanover Square,

but in the circumstances, well...

I think the term's a "shotgun wedding."

You needn't think I'll give the right responses.

You will.

For once, the maxim "do or die" applies.

He'll have to sign the register, and...

His hands are cuffed, and so they will remain.

After that, the bonds of matrimony will suffice.

Richard.

FAIR: Don't sound so surprised, my dear.

For once, your wish was my command.

And Mr. Chandos achieved a remarkable feat.

He gate-crashed his own wedding.

Now proceed.

In no mine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti.

Amen.

Per sacrosancta humanae reparationis mysteria,

remittat tibi omnipotens Deus

omnes praesentis et futurae vitae poenas...

[ Whispering ]

Now.

Aaah!

Your friends have evidently arrived.

I fear their numbers have been depleted, by the sound of it.

I hope that wasn't Wright.

The name is Mansel, madame.

And do you usually enter unannounced?

It is the way of the executioner, I understand.

They won't tell you when they're coming to take you

to the guillotine.

My God.

Bluff. Pure bluff.

MANSEL: The simple truth.

You see, the police have found the bodies

of the baron and of Jean.

I dare say there are others in the cemetery.

Lafone will doubtless testify.

You're lying. Lafone.

I just carried out your orders!

Be quiet.

There hardly seems much point

in keeping Mr. Chandos locked up any longer.

And as my son-in-law...

I'm afraid you're wrong there, too.

I didn't marry them.

You should've listened more carefully to the words.

I read the service for the dying.

You see, I was at Oxford with his father.

And between Balliol and Belial

a gulf is fixed I couldn't cross.

By God, I have to hand it to you.

You did... the day you murdered Elvin Candle.

Richard was there, you see.

I owe all this to a fool.

If it pleases you to say so.

Why, then...

we'll drink to foolishness.

Give Mr. Mansel a glass.

I think you'll join us.

Chateau d'Yquem is the finest of wines.

And this is old.

To fools.

Don't drink. For God's sake, don't drink.

It's...

Laced, I think, is the word.

With aconite.

Aconite.

Oh, my God.

They say intelligence remains unaffected to the last.

[ Voice breaking ] lntelligence?

You're mad.

Raving mad.

Now, Acorn, there's no need to be undignified.

You'll let Lafone drink.

That's not for me to say.

- Lafone? - Never!

1882.

The year of the mildew.

I should have known. A rotten year.

Still, Chateau d'Yquem is a fine wine,

and aconite distills from monkshood.

I can't complain.

- Monkshood. - Or wolfsbane.

Take your pick. It's better than the guillotine.

I can hardly drink your health in the circumstances, madame.

But may God have mercy on your soul.

To death.