Original subtitles

I like a good detective story.

But, you know, they begin in the wrong place.

They begin with the murder.

No, no.

The murder is the end.

The story begins long before--

years before--

when the murder is...

seeded.

The Point Zero, if you will.

Reporter #1: Mr. Strange!

Reporter #2: Mr. Strange!

Reporter #3: Mr. Strange!

Reporter #4: Mr. Strange, are you...

The murder is the end

of a long chain of cause and effect.

Insult, injury, grievance.

It may be as simple as the unfortunate collision

of individuals, people converging

fatefully, unknowingly, in time or space.

Maybe chance that knits together this tangled web of people.

But we must also consider

that intention may be at work...

...someone...

somewhere...

unbeknownst to us...

laying a trap...

compelling us...

to some place or time...

drawing us, unwitting,

towards Zero itself.

The solemn and regrettable purpose of this case--

to examine the claim made by Mrs. Audrey Strange

as to the alleged infidelity of her husband, Nevile Strange,

allegations Mr. Strange denies.

Mr. Strange, you and Mrs. Strange,

you were married...

Nine years ago.

And not for the first time, I believe.

No, no, the, um, first time, we eloped.

We ran away to Gretna Green.

We were 16.

Then, uh, naturally, we did it properly--

church and family and roses and lace.

Yes, you are a romantic, Mr. Strange.

Tell me-- when were you first unfaithful to your wife?

I have never been unfaithful to Audrey.

These are baseless accusations.

She has my heart, and I have hers.

Oh, Audrey.

The humiliation.

The public humiliation of it all.

She asked for it.

I said, "They will strip you bare."

But Audrey will never be told.

That girl-- heart and stomach of a king.

Nevile has never been a cad.

He was always devoted to Audrey.

It's impossible.

Absurd that he should throw his reputation away

for this Venus fly trap.

Well, they call her a wildcat.

They say she shot a man.

Stop reading those rags, Mary.

Your Honour, we call the Co-Respondent,

Miss Kay Elliot.

Miss Elliot, you first met Mr. Strange at a tennis match?

Yes, the Championships at Wimbledon.

Mr. Strange!

Mr. Strange, will you sign here, please?

Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

Loved watching you play.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

I don't have a piece of paper, so...

I know you.

I always seem to win when you're watching.

"For... my... lucky...

charm."

You met again in the south of France.

Tell us about the pool, Miss Elliot,

the mermaid pool.

I was told there was a party there.

You'd been flirting all week.

You couldn't believe your good fortune

to find him there alone.

He said he'd been stood up.

By his wife, yes.

What did you do then, Miss Elliot?

You had a private party, just the two of you.

You drank the champagne intended for his wife.

You swam in the moonlight.

What else did you do in his wife's place, Miss Elliot?

Your Honour, we call Mr. Taylor, gentleman's valet.

You worked for Mr. Strange, Mr. Taylor?

For three years, sir.

Tell us, Mr. Taylor, what you found in Mr. Strange's car.

A compact.

I assumed, naturally, that it belonged to Mrs. Strange.

But it did not.

It belonged...

For the benefit of the court--

the monogram...

"KE."

It belonged to Miss Kay Elliot.

Order.

Order!

Miss Elliot, you are a freebooter, a parasite.

You work the casinos, the parties,

wherever the rich can be found.

You live off their scraps.

What exactly are you suggesting?

I think it's clear, Miss Elliot.

I would like to hear you say it.

Very well. You are, are you not,

Miss Elliot, what was once called an "adventuress"

and we now call a gold digger.

-Order. - Excuse me.

Order.

This is your compact, Miss Elliot?

- It is. -I put it to you,

Miss Elliot, that you left your compact

in Mr. Strange's car by design

because you had your sights set

on the unfortunately married Mr. Nevile Strange

of Grosvenor Square

and you were going to ensnare him

by any means necessary.

Order.

Order in the court.

We'll adjourn there for the day, Mr. Treves.

Sir.

Excuse me, sir.

There's a side entrance. If you'll come with me?

Reporter #1: Mr. Strange!

Reporter #2: Do you know Miss Elliot?!

Reporter #3: Are you an adulterer, Mr. Strange?

Reporter #4: Is this entrapment, sir?

Reporter #3: Are you an adulterer, Mr. Strange?

You'll be needing someone you can trust, sir.

Arthur Macdonald.

Someone who can handle things for you.

Mr. Strange! Mr. Strange!

Oh, Where do you think you're going, pal?

- Oh, hold on. - Just one question--

Cockroach.

Macdonald. Don't sound like a Jock.

No, sir.

Well, I need a good kit man.

Tennis, golf, shooting,

- fishing, riding. - Mm.

Mm.

But you say you've been out of service for a year.

I had other concerns, sir.

Mm.

Reputation in tatters.

Press having a bloody field day.

If you should see my wife troubled

or harassed by these apes...

Oh, I will make your feelings known, sir, yes.

Very good.

Well, you're a useful fellow, Macdonald.

When can you start?

I'm at your service, sir.

I'll go to the club after my bath.

Very good, sir.

Miss Kay Elliot, sir.

Kay, for God's sake, you can't be here.

- You'll be seen! - I gave them the slip, Nevile.

Give me some credit.

How can you let him talk to me like that?

Mr. Treves.

Saying it was deliberate, calling me a gold digger.

He was calling me a whore, Nevile.

Mm, it's wretched.

The whole miserable business.

But the compact-- he had to discredit it.

What else could we do?

You could tell the truth, Nevile.

It's easily fixed.

Declare our love. Divorce her. Marry me.

Divorce...

The public are already turning against me.

Adultery-- my God, it'll ruin me.

I'll be a pariah.

I mean, no tournament will have me.

Tennis, it's-- it's my life.

I live to play. What will I do?

You saw how they were today.

They can smell blood.

I mean, do you want to live like that?

Do you want-- Do you want to be an outcast?

Well, then, what are we to do?

Mrs. Strange,

you and Mr. Strange, you met at what age?

- I was 11. -Mm.

And how would you describe your relationship?

Fire meets oxygen.

Oxygen. Mm.

You were each other's everything,

and yet you would drag your soulmate

through the muck of the divorce courts?

To what end?

- Money? - Money? No.

I've got my own.

You make it sound petty.

Petty, Mrs. Strange?

These sordid accusations, this undignified spectacle?

I've asked for this divorce for one reason alone.

The lonely shame, behind doors,

of the humiliated wife I will not accept.

Mr. Strange--

Order.

Order! Order!

Mr. Strange, your wife--

how did she come to be in your life?

Uh, she-- Uh, she had been orphaned.

She came to live at Saltcreek, with my cousins, the Roydes.

Her godparents.

She had, uh, no one, no one in the world.

She trusted you, Mr. Strange.

She loved you. Since childhood.

She has not once left your side.

And yet you betrayed that trust and--

No, uh... I'm, uh, uh-- I'm sorry.

I-I-I really can't allow, uh, any-- any more of this.

Audrey, questioned and exposed.

Hounded by reporters when she has done nothing wrong.

No, I-- I owe her the truth.

I must tell the truth.

I beg pardon of the Court.

I admit I was unfaithful to my wife.

Order.

Order! Order!

I bitterly regret the hurt I have caused.

I fell in love.

What's a man to do?

Look at her. How could you not?

I'm sorry,

and I beg Audrey's forgiveness.

By his own admission.

Mrs. Strange, you are granted your Decree Nisi.

"The strangest divorce,

for although Nevile Strange lost his case,

you would think for all the world

that he was the winner."

Is that the post?

My dear Mary.

May I call you dear?

I find I can only think of you now

with the tenderest of feelings.

Thomas, dear, you may.

Of course you may.

Perhaps it is strange to be so free

with someone I have not even met.

After everything we've shared,

all our sorrows and frustrations.

I feel I know you better than any of the people

I see every day.

I don't mean to be so ungrateful.

Just one of those grey days when the wind comes off the sea

and Gull's Point can seem the bleakest spot on Earth.

I've never known a house so cold.

Even when the sun is out.

My memories of it...

I must confess they make me a little melancholy sometimes.

And yet I'm homesick.

Miss Aldin.

She's asking for you.

I miss England.

Would you help me, Mary?

Repairs to the cottage rooves...

I want to come home, but Lady Tressilian

won't reply to my letters.

Won't you put in a good word for me?

...in the gamekeeper’s cottage...

If you would only tell her

how very much I want to make the peace.

Lady Tressilian.

The ferryman is out.

There's a body in the water.

Another death.

That damned hotel.

Some city fool tried to swim across.

- Got caught in the rip. - Yes.

Mrs. Strange, you must be looking forward

to the honeymoon very much.

Uh, no. Tennis first. We agreed.

And then in September, yachting off the Cap d'Antibes.

No, Lucky, my dearest love.

We agreed tennis, and then September in Saltcreek.

Saltcreek-- that's where you summered as a boy.

You said, uh, it was the closest thing

you had to a home.

We're not spending our honeymoon in rainy old Devon,

not when it's 80 degrees off the Cap.

Fine. How's a man to resist?

We'll just have to have

two honeymoons or three, or four.

Our whole life is going to be a honeymoon.

"I shall very much enjoy being the new Mrs. Strange."

We'll see.

Camilla.

I should have written sooner,

but I feel sure you will understand.

"I hope there are no hard feelings between us."

Do you think she wants to come and visit?

It was her childhood home, too.

She gave all that up when she divorced him.

Nevile plays the tournaments in August, doesn't he?

Can't she come then, when he's not here?

And then he can come in September, with the new one.

Yes.

She'll be long gone before they arrive.

I shall be glad to see Audrey again.

Not a dull bone in her body.

England's Nevile Strange

faces the Dutchman Vanrile

in the final stages of this game,

Strange having reached this stage

for the third time in three years.

A tense opening rally now.

Both players showing extreme acumen.

15-love.

Powerful forehand from Strange

catching Vanrile off guard.

30-love.

Quiet, please.

Quiet, please.

And it's a cannonball from Strange,

sending it speeding down the line.

40-love.

Audrey.

What are you doing here?

I've come to see Fred Perry play.

Audrey.

I've come to tell you that...

Camilla has invited me to Gull's Point.

And I've said yes.

I'm going in August.

You'll be playing. You won't even be there.

Will you?

No, Audrey, I won't.

The front row!

She sat in the front row, Nevile.

Yes. I, uh--

I need to talk to you about that, about her.

Come here.

Aunt Camilla has invited Audrey to Gull's Point.

Listen-- Lucky, listen.

When I spoke to her today,

I felt like this weight had been lifted,

and I felt free of her.

And it got me thinking.

She's going in August.

What if we went in August, too?

No, listen, listen.

Friendly relations.

We just put it all behind us.

You want me to spend our honeymoon-- my honeymoon...

- Mm. - ...with your ex-wife?

Yes.

Well, when you put it like that...

Ah, it's just...

Saltcreek-- it's the happiest place I've ever known.

It's bright blue days and golden evenings,

and I want to share that with you.

Then we'll go another time.

Look, the truth is, I feel a heel.

We treated Audrey badly.

I-- I treated Audrey badly.

But we're the winners, aren't we?

You're the winner.

- Mm. - Huh?

Mm-hmm.

Lady Tressilian.

Thomas has written to me. Thomas Royde.

Thomas Royde?

He has asked me to speak to you on his behalf, as--

as you will not reply to his letters.

He wishes to visit and speak to you in person.

No, Mary.

Categorically, emphatically, no.

And it's extremely low of him to use you.

No he's-- he's not using me.

Why are you so set against him?

Family business, Mary.

Doesn't concern you.

For the love of God.

Fireworks at 10:00 in the morning?

Mary, call Inspector Leach.

Mary, call Inspector Leach.

Go on with you now.

Ah, Inspector. Thank you for coming.

How can I help you today, Lady Tressilian?

I want you to see for yourself.

There. Gomorrah.

It is, um...

a pleasure hotel.

There's no law against...

pleasure.

One death already this year.

That cursed hotel brings the worst kind to Saltcreek.

No law against stupidity.

Stupidity, fecklessness, decadence.

My men make daily patrols. We answer all complaints.

Are you being modern, Inspector?

This lack of deference

I find very unamusing.

I'm being neither modern nor amusing.

I simply couldn't care less.

You've got the black dog on you.

Devil's got your soul.

I'll make an inspection myself. Would that satisfy you?

Close the damn place down.

That would satisfy me.

Whisky.

Just leave the bottle.

Thank you.

What's your pleasure, sir?

I don't think I've seen you here before.

No, sir, I'm new to this hotel.

But be assured--

I can help you to anything your heart desires.

Girls. Boys.

If you stop talking,

I won't have to tell you that I'm a policeman.

Mm.

Nevile.

Audrey. My Lord.

It's, uh-- It's been a while.

You-- you look wonderful.

I've been climbing, in the Alps.

Alone, if that's what you're wondering.

You know, it's, uh-- It's uncanny.

I was--

I was gonna to write to you this morning.

Gull's Point-- it's a change of plans.

We will be there in August, Kay and I, if you don't mind.

Do you know, I think it might be a good thing.

To be friends again.

Yes.

Yeah, I mean, after all we've shared,

everything we've been through...

Well...

it'd be madness not to be in each other's lives.

Madness.

Well...

until August.

Yes.

Friends, Mary.

They've decided they're all going to be friends.

It's intolerable, bizarre.

May I?

He wants to bring his new wife to stay here with his ex-wife.

Isn't it their honeymoon?

Water and electricity, Mary.

But perhaps, if they can put it all behind them

and find some ease with each other,

wouldn't that be best for everyone?

You just want a ringside seat, Mary.

- Well, I-- - I'm sorry you find life here

so very boring.

Matthew would not deny them.

I must do as Matthew would wish.

But I will have Mr. Treves here.

I will need a man about the place.

My mother used to say,

"Why have a husband when you can have a lawyer?"

Dear Mr. Treves,

following a spate of thefts at the school,

the items in question were all discovered

in your ward's possession.

There is no place for delinquency in my school.

And regrettably, I must inform you

that Sylvia will not be staying with us for the long holiday.

Nor will she be returning to us next term.

Oh, Sylvia.

What am I to do with you?

He's bringing his ward. She's 14.

I'm not paid to look after children.

He says they're staying at the hotel,

but they'll be joining us for meals,

so you'll have to get more help in, Barrett.

- Well, I'm not asking her. - You're the housekeeper.

Well, you're-- you're--

I'm her companion and friend.

You're her paid friend.

The maids are your responsibility, Mrs. Barrett.

I'm not wasting my breath. We both know what she'll say.

- No. - Camilla, I am not a maid.

But too often, I find myself up to my elbows in dirty dishes

because Barrett needs help.

You're doing a great deal of plain speaking today, Mary.

Well, then, I-I shall go on.

I have had another letter from Thomas.

He asks again if he may visit.

You will write to him,

and for the last time, you will tell him no.

He is not to come here. I forbid it.

And you are not to mention this matter again, Mary.

I mean it.

We have always gotten along

very well together, you and I.

I should be sorry to have to part with you.

That will be all.

Thomas, you are not welcome at Gull's Point.

Come anyway.

I will make up a room for you.

I will be very glad to meet you.

Mary. Dear Mary.

Arrive in 8 days.

Coming by air.

Because I cannot wait.

A goat, a broomstick, and vinegar.

Headmistress went to the market, and she bought

a goat, a broomstick,

vinegar, and...

a bottle of cyanide.

I can't believe I let you talk me into this,

us with her.

We'll hardly see her.

And we can go bathing and rockpooling

and dancing at Easterhead.

I daresay I could...

force myself onto a yacht.

No, no, no. No boats. No boating allowed.

- No boats? - No.

What on earth do you mean?

Well, Uncle Matthew.

His yacht went down not half a mile from Saltcreek.

Aunt Camilla saw the whole thing from her window.

She never left her room after that.

No.

The only boat she'll allow is the ferry.

Yeah, I mean, it's treacherous, that headland.

Tidal races, rip currents, awful stuff.

They're here!

Welcome.

Mary.

- Hello, Nevile. -You look well.

Mm!

- Look at you. - Oh, stop.

Meet-- Meet Kay.

Lucky, this is Mary.

She's the boss.

So you must be very, very nice to her.

Oh, I'm just Lady Tressilian's companion.

Oh.

Mrs. Bee.

Oh, it's so good to see you.

Kay, this is Barrett.

Dear old Mrs. Bee, this is Mrs. Strange.

Hurstall will show you to your rooms.

Thank you.

Audrey's not here yet.

This will be your room, Mr.--

Macdonald, Miss Aldin.

And you'll serve as Footman at dinner?

Yes, Miss Aldin.

Right, yes.

Yes. Yes, your room will be ready.

Well, isn't this nice?

How nice to see you, sir.

- Yes, hi. -Thank you.

Oh!

Audrey, you're here.

Was the traffic bad at Saltington?

Well, it's market day. Of course it was.

Kay.

Audrey.

I'll ask Barrett to bring some tea.

Yes.

Ah.

Well, that'll be for me.

Better go and account for myself.

Nevile.

One letter, Nevile, in six months?

I've had to read the newspapers

to know what's going on in your life.

You've managed everything very poorly.

If you'd thought to consult me...

I didn't-- I didn't want to trouble you.

This nonsense,

your wife and your ex-wife under the same roof.

My roof, Nevile.

Ah.

Some lavender from Provence.

And that lovely soap you like from Marseille.

And, oh, Mrs. B, here.

It's that hand cream you like from Switzerland.

Oh!

My hands get that dry.

Oh.

Don't think for a minute that you're forgiven, Nevile.

No. I mean, I wouldn't dream of it.

Mmm.

I won't stay too late.

I've had to leave Sylvia with one of the maids.

I just hope she doesn't give her the slip.

And how is her Ladyship?

- Still alive. - Mm.

I'm not sure I'm speaking to you, Mr. Treves.

As the family lawyer,

I was compelled to act for Mr. Strange,

but let's have no hard feelings about it.

I am the successful party.

I have no hard feelings whatsoever.

Thank you.

Now, Aunt Camilla takes her dinner in her room, in bed.

So we'll be called one by one for an audience.

But Mr. Treves is here in her place.

So everyone behave.

I'm here as friend and guest.

But I sincerely hope that I shan't be called upon

to play umpire.

Nevile, Audrey, you're first.

Sorry, uh...

Uh, surely you mean Kay?

I mean, she should be welcoming my new wife first.

I don't know, Nevile. She asked for you and Audrey.

Together, she said.

She made a point of it.

Well, I can't possibly eat this.

All this cream, so...

Hmm.

Bring Mrs. Strange something else.

And for the avoidance of all doubt,

I am Mrs. Strange.

Come on.

Nevile. Audrey.

You say you mean to be friends.

- We thought it for the best. - We called a truce.

- Mm. - And you've come here together,

the three of you-- husband, wife, ex-wife.

I hope this isn't some kind of unfinished business

between the two of you.

You will not make a mockery of marriage under my roof.

We've put all that behind us now.

Let bygones be bygones, I say.

Mm-hmm.

Mrs. Kay Strange.

On my own?

You'll be fine. I promise.

Well, then, Mrs. Strange, let's have a look at you.

Beautiful, of course.

Thank you.

I know your father by reputation,

and your mother.

I have long since disowned them.

I consider myself my own person.

My dear, a woman can't be her own person.

You're Nevile's wife.

It's a fair trade.

He provides.

Very generously, I see.

I have provided for myself since I was 16, Lady Tressilian.

I may be a wife now, bought and paid for,

but if I know one thing,

it's that I can always rely on myself.

They call me a gold digger.

Let them.

I didn't marry Nevile for money.

I married him for love.

Oh. I am disappointed.

Well, there it is, my dear.

Your Achilles' heel.

Thank you.

Who the hell is that?

I'll go. I'll see.

M-Mary?

Thomas.

Come in.

Come in.

You're just as I imagined you.

You're rather better,

I should say.

Oh, please forgive my, erm...

A long and arduous journey.

We had some trouble refuelling in Jaipur.

I knew you'd come.

Er, I shall say you knew nothing of it...

I don't want to get you in trouble.

I don't care.

Err, but, but, Mary, best not to mention...

our friendship.

For now.

Thomas Royde.

How dare you come here, when I expressly forbade it.

I am Sir Matthew's nephew,

and I have as much right to be here as anyone else.

You forfeited all that,

with your insinuations against Nevile.

Your lies, Thomas.

And you dare to come here before me, filthy like a tinker.

I-- I haven't come to make trouble.

Then why have you come, Thomas?

I want a fair hearing.

I want a fair hearing.

Uncle Matthew was very fond of me.

I believe he'd have given me nothing less.

Dear God.

Thomas Royde.

Nevile.

Audrey. What are you doing here?

Could ask you the same.

Hm.

You've got a bloody nerve, Royde.

Now, Nevile.

Thomas...

Err, I...

have some business with my aunt.

There's no need for any unpleasantness.

And there shan't be any from me.

Please...

Will somebody please introduce us?

No.

Nevile's cousin.

Hm.

The liar.

Well then.

Here we all are.

I should have stayed at the hotel.

I'll go tomorrow.

Don't.

♪ How much do I love you? ♪

♪ I'll tell you no lie... ♪

Yes.

Look, I...

I'm going!

Come on, sir.

♪ How many times a day do I think of you? ♪

♪ How many roses are sprinkled with dew? ♪

♪ How far would I travel ♪

♪ To be where you are? ♪

♪ How far is the journey ♪

♪ From here to a star? ♪