All language subtitles for Belle.2013.1080p.BluRay.x264.YIFY.en

How lovely she is.

So much of her mother.

Do not be afraid.

I am here to take
you to a good life.

A life that you were born to.

Here.

Elizabeth Murray! Bring yourself
back here this very moment!

Her mother is dead.

I beg you, Uncle... love her,
as I would were I here...

and ensure that she is in receipt

of all that is due to
her as a child of mine.

That is simply impossible.

What is right... can
never be impossible.

She is black.

She is my blood.

But she is black.

A detail you chose not
to share with us.

In a few hours I am to captain a voyage
to the Indies on a longitude experiment.

After that, who knows?

It is not in my gift to question
the King and his Royal Navy.

Do you have in mind my
position, my reputation?

- Sir.
- I am the Lord Chief Justice.

Have some sense of propriety, boy, and
understand what it is you are asking.

She is a mulatto.

What has she been named?

She is Belle. After her mother.

Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay.

She takes your name?

I am not ashamed.

We will call her Dido.

Good Lord, she is thin.

Mary, find her some food.

Sweet child.

A ship is...

no place for one so
precious as you.

In these walls...

yours will be a life
equal to my blood.

And you will not understand
in this moment...

but know in your
heart you are loved.

Just as I loved your mother.

Are you what they call a 'negro'?
I heard them talking.

Questions, Elizabeth. A most irritating
trait you share with your father.

Papa M?

No! Your birth papa,
Sir David Murray.

You should not always insist on
speaking your mind, you know.

You'll end up an old maid, with only
your own company as entertainment.

Like you, Aunt Mary?
That's what the maids say.

Oh, you little...

Just wait till I catch you.

Elizabeth, come back
here this moment!

There's one of me, too.
Would you like to see it?

William Murray.
1st Earl of Mansfield.

Now...

this is my nephew.
Do you understand?

It's your uncle...
Sir David Murray.

Elizabeth's papa?

Yes, that's right.
You're very sharp.

7th Viscount Stormont
who will inherit...

everything we are standing on...
when I am gone.

Born on English soil.

Indeed.

He discovered her mother aboard
a captured Spanish slave ship.

So... now we have 2 nieces
in our guardianship.

Well, Elizabeth was in
much need of a companion.

And that is what we shall say
when questions are asked.

We shall say that, in accordance
with her birthright...

she is entitled to live
beneath this roof.

That is the nature of order.

And where in that order
should her color be placed?

Above or below her
Murray bloodline?

- Marriage?
- Impossible.

Any match her 'other origins'
would attract would...

surely disgrace her and
the family's rank.

And when we are no longer here?

No husband... who will
take care of her then?

Ring a ring o' roses
A pocket full of posies

Atishoo, atishoo We all fall down!

Girls!

Will you refrain from shrieking!
Like the blessed French!

I have no experience in the ways
of breaking grave news to you.

I had thought I should one day...

have the opportunity to make
his better acquaintance.

Yes.

Yes, I know.

£2,000 a year?

Then you are an heiress.
He has left you your fortune.

My father's new wife wishes him
to leave me not a thing...

and he obliges her.

I think he might have loved
me more if mama had not died.

I think... love must be a
very complicated thing.

With such a dowry,

you may marry into any
good family you wish.

We shall be receiving
visitors for dinner.

Visitors? Whoever bothers
to visit us here?

Or leave, except the dead.

Once again, Dido?

Beds... Aunt Mary.

We should prepare some extra beds
in case our visitors are to stay.

- May we wear the new silk?
- I will do your hair, Bette.

Say we may wear them, Aunt Mary.

You will not be
dining with us, Dido.

Of course.

But I may join after
dinner, may I not?

Yes. Such are the rules
and you know them well.

Papa, how may I be too high in
rank to dine with the servants...

and too low to dine with my family?

Dinner with guests is a
formal proceeding, Dido.

We simply can't impose upon visitors
our disregard of those formalities.

But... am I not wealthy now?

An heiress? Surely
that changes matters.

Oh, my dear. If it were so simple.

Finance may go some way but...

society has a habit of disregarding
even one of its own...

when opportunity provides.

But after dinner,

when formality is of
less consequence...

well...

your presence can raise
no defendable objections.

As you wish... sir.

I would rather dine with Dido.

What a great pity. Our young gentlemen
guests will miss you, Elizabeth.

Young gentlemen?

Very good connections.

And most agreeable by all accounts.

Now close your mouth
and understand.

There shall be no discussion tonight
in any language but English.

No whispering in gentlemen's
ears, not in Latin, Italian...

and certainly not in French.

I must say, the entire
country barely breathes...

awaiting your judgment
on the Zong appeal.

Terrified you will destroy
England, no doubt.

I know Lord Ashford is.

He does wonder, however, what
might be taking you so long.

The law, Lady Ashford, it is to be
interpreted not merely administered.

Your husband, of all
people, knows this.

Oh, what a lot of
fuss over dead cargo.

It is a fuss over the
bread and butter of...

a great many people in this
country, Lady Ashford.

Why, what wonderful French.

Though I have not an
idea of what you said.

- Wimbridge.
- Miss Lindsay?

There are poachers wandering.

Good evening to you. Uh...
My name is John Davinier.

I believe I may have disturbed a lady
of this house. Ah! There she is.

Please, forgive me,
though you barely...

Sir, I do not believe we
have been introduced.

Indeed.

Please inform the lady of my
apologies for startling her.

I took a shortcut to deliver this
to Lord Mansfield. From my father.

Sir?

Reverend... Davinier.

I will see that he
gets it immediately...

You shall not interrupt
him at dinner.

Immediately after dinner, sir.

- Goodnight.
- Goodnight, sir.

Dido, my dear.

Papa?

Good Lord, it's the negro.
She really is...

- A lady.
- Capital.

I had no idea she
would be so... black.

Did you not listen to the rumors
when you were spreading them, Mama?

May I present the second of my
two nieces: Miss Dido Lindsay.

A pleasure, Miss Lindsay.

James is the eldest.

To inherit the entire
Ashford fortune.

He's also to inherit
from his uncle...

a healthy man, who shows
little sign of departure.

She is intriguing, is she not?

I find her repulsive.

Well, I suppose she is... if you find
a most rare and exotic flower so.

He has much to recommend him.

And a second fortune in life
should please any wife.

Dido. You are not to be
a coquette with him.

You already have your fortune.

One does not make a wife of
the rare and exotic, Oliver.

One samples it on the
cotton fields of the Indies.

Why so far when it
is right at my door?

Good Lord, they are appraising me.

Then find a pure English rose
to decorate one's home.

Britain hail
O hail to thee

Fairest island in the sea

Though my favorite land shalt be

Is she 'out'?

Not quite.

Any day now.

Though my favorite land shalt be

Britain hail All hail to thee

Fairest island in the sea?

You will refrain from any
intercourse with the negro.

They may find it fascinating to have a Lady
mulatto running around in their house...

but I will not have one
running around in mine.

- She is an heiress.
- Although exceptions can be made.

It is said her father left
her a rather vast fortune.

I mean to say, if that
is your inclination.

She is rather soft on the eye.
I have thought no further of it, Mama.

Where do you get your information?

Her sister-cousin has
a rather fast tongue.

And what of you, Miss Lindsay?

Are we to hear you play tonight?

Well...

Papa?

Oh, do not be selfish with
your good fortune, m'Lord.

This will be most interesting.

She's never played in company.

She is... most accomplished.

Hers was a most diligent governess.

His family name will no doubt
induce her to take him seriously.

She must not delude herself. Such
decisions are not hers to make.

Well, then spell it out to her...

before she renders herself sport
to some 'gent' of cruel promises.

She has no reason. Her inheritance
leaves her free to marry.

That at least is true.

It is Elizabeth who must
secure her bread and butter.

A portrait? Are you sure?

Yes. Aunt Mary has confirmed it.

Good Lord, how truly wonderful.

- But...
- But what?

Papa, should he not have wished
to see me before deciding?

Sorry, I did not know you...

Mr. Davinier, I believe you've
already had the pleasure.

In some way, yes. Miss Lindsay.

Decide what?

If he should... should
want to paint me.

The man is to be paid a fortune.
What is there to decide?

You are simply to sit still, Dido.
Not a very challenging task.

Next to Elizabeth?

As you always are,
right beside each other.

Should not any lady be flattered
to be such a subject?

How should any male
know the ways of a lady

when he has not even mastered
the ways of a gentleman?

Quite. Though one should be
forgiven for thinking...

he is in the presence of a lady

when she is, in fact,
still a juvenile.

- Papa! May we do this in private?
- No, not now.

You may take the books
back to the library.

Upon the death of her husband,
a widow may receive...

her marriage portion and
her inheritance at once.

She has 40 days to leave
her husband's home.

Mr. Davinier, what is the purpose
of the law, in your eyes?

To provide certainty where
there otherwise might be none.

Example?

The Zong ship and those drowned.

The law is one of the few trades
acceptable to a gentleman.

I have little...

but where my father
relies on the Bible,

I wish to rely on the law courts.

And you aspire to the judiciary?

One day, yes, my Lord.

I wish to make the laws, for that is
how I may truly change this world.

That is I... I mean to say...

make it a better place.

You have grand ambitions.

A country lawyer you may make if you
pay attention to what you are taught.

But you have neither the rank
nor the finances for any more.

Well if I may, my Lord,
neither did you.

I beg your pardon?

Well...

as a fourth son...

you had rank but not the income

to pay for your
qualification to the Inns.

Without the sponsorship of Lord
Foley and William Hamilton...

the English courts might not have
benefited from your brilliance...

and the title Lord Chief Justice
could not be yours today... my Lord.

And you think you are worthy
of such considerations?

Of that I do not know, my Lord,

but I do know that a country
life does not suit me.

Dido...

the Reverend Davinier has asked me
to take his son under my tutelage.

What do you think?

Thank you for your
gracious support.

I neither spoke for or against
you since neither is my place.

Silence speaks volumes.

Papa's new student.

Mr. Davinier...
my cousin, Elizabeth.

A pleasure.

Papa has never taken a
pupil, you realize?

Someone to keep you company while
you take papa's dictation, Dido.

Truth is, there have been more men here
this week than I've seen in my entire life.

Hopefully we have not disappointed.

On the contrary.

Mr. Davinier, what...

what is the importance of the Zong?

Why is the case before papa's
court, the Supreme Court?

Well...

it is a ship.

I am aware of that.

It is... a human cargo ship.

Oh.

It... it lost most of its slaves
before arriving at its destination.

Drowned by the crew,
on the captain's orders.

But... why?

Miss, your supper is served
now in the ladies' parlor.

Thank you.

Will you be joining us for
dinner, Mr. Davinier?

Uh... Thank you, madam,
but I am promised to

the company of my
aunt this evening.

Very well, as you wish.

Permit me to ask, but...

why do you not dine
with your family ever?

That is not correct.

Forgive me but twice now I have seen
you separated from the gathering.

I am confounded.

And well you might be...

when the son of clergy is permitted to
the table before a lady of the house.

Is that a reminder of my place?

No. It is a statement of mine.

132 drowned en route from
Africa to the West Indies.

Your ruling could bring the
slave trade to its knees...

entirely destroying an economic
foundation of this land.

Is that pressure not
maddening, my Lord?

"Justitia fiat, ruat
coelum, " Mr Davinier.

"Let justice be done, though
the heavens may fall."

The insurance claim states

the slaves were thrown overboard
for the safety of the ship.

That there wasn't sufficient water
to survive the rest of the voyage.

- It does.
- Then, if I'm correct, the case hangs on...

it hangs on 'absolute necessity'.

If the killing of the negroes
was truly necessary...

to save the ship, as
the captain contends.

But is that where it hinges?

No man happily
disposes of his cargo.

Let me ask you: were
you to enter a port...

with barely one piece of merchandise
left to trade, what would you do?

Swallow financial ruin or seek
recompense from your insurer?

With due respect...

I should question whether human life
should be insurable as cargo at all.

A gentleman rather like him
once showed me great interest.

Mr. Davinier?

Really, Mary?

Well, don't look at me like that.

It was my mama who intervened.

I thought he had a very
great sense of duty.

A little over-kind at times but...

He is engaged, you know?

- Is he?
- Engaged.

Mr. Beresford's daughter.

The carriage-maker? He might have
set his sights a little higher.

I do love roses.

Everything's a little
late this year.

For it is the power of
God unto salvation...

so sayeth Christ the Lord. Amen.

Hymn number 76.

Mr. Davinier.

Wait.

I was curious.

Quite a task... to sit
for so many hours.

Of course.

I appear the only one to have
just learned of the Zong case.

Perhaps yours is a life less
concerned with such matters.

Why do you judge me so?

It is a fact that I have contemplated
on the matter for many hours and I...

I do not think the
slaves could have been

drowned in the way that you say.

Are you at utter disconnect
from everything?

Mr. Davinier, please.

Tell me what you know.

Tell me.

Do not render me your amusement.

I can only tell you what I believe.

And what... what is that?

The slaves were thrown
into the waters...

chained together as one.

They were diseased...

worth more as dead insured merchandise,
than as alive spoiled goods.

Miss Lindsay...

But the insurers are appealing?

They are refusing to pay
for murdered slaves.

Thank you.

You told her they were
wantonly drowned?

They were diseased, but it was essential
that they die on the journey...

or they would not come under
the insurance consideration.

Neither, too, if they had expired of their
diseases. That is why they were killed.

You have taken advantage of
confidential matters afforded you.

These 'matters' have been for
public consumption for months.

Miss Lindsay is
no child... no fool.

Her precious care is in my hands...

and I will decide when she is
ready for such realities...

not the son of a vicar!

I will gather my belongings.

Do so.

Your Lordship, a question.

Well?

As the mere son of a vicar...

I wonder whether the value you extend
to your very precious mulatto niece...

amounts to the £30 insurance

the traders are asking for
each life they murdered?

Good day, my Lord.

Mr. Davinier...

find yourself in her
vicinity again...

and I will make you rue the
day you ever set eyes on me.

John Davinier is leaving
very early today.

There you are. We are requested.

You: drawing room. I relegated
to the ladies' parlor.

We are to attend
London for the season.

We are to finally 'come out'?

Elizabeth is to come out.

Dido is not.

But... why?

You understand the ways of
the world for a female, Dido.

Elizabeth has no income.

You are to meet as many gentlemen as
possible before we make the match.

When all this has gone to her father,
there'll be nothing left for her.

And... me?

Any gentleman of good breeding...

would be unlikely to form a
serious attachment to Dido.

And a man without would lower
her position in society.

She's not merely my cousin, Mama.

- Papa, please.
- She is my sister.

These are the keys of the house.

I cannot attend London without her.

They have hung at your
aunt's waist for 30 years.

I am not Lady Mary.
I am not an unwanted maid.

Lady Mary is too old to continue
in charge of the house.

You may take up your
duties on your return.

Lord knows I'll need the two of you
to keep each other out of trouble.

Are you punishing me?

Punishing you?

You are most cherished.

Most loved.

I'm so very sorry.

Do you think I may see
Mr. James in town?

Perhaps.

I could fall in love
with such a man, Dido.

Love?

Hmm.

Bette, you shall feel
no such sentiment...

for you shall either end
poor or broken-hearted.

Aren't you quietly relieved...

that you shan't be at the caprice

of some silly Sir and his fortune?

The rest of us haven't the choice.

Not a chance of inheritance
if we have brothers...

and forbidden from any activity that
allows us to support ourselves.

We are but their property.

Girls! Come along now.

Light the fires for
dinner, will you, Thomas?

Certainly, ma'am.

Thank you.

Some bed-socks for
you, Miss Murray.

Miss Lindsay.

Thank you, Mabel. How kind.

It's not as warm as
we'd hoped tonight.

Can I help you with
that, Miss Lindsay?

You must start from the ends, miss.

My mam taught me.

See?

Promise me you will do something
about that vulgar teal paint...

if you ever become
lady of this house.

It is positively
wanting, Elizabeth.

Lady Mansfield, Lady Mary
and their nieces, madam.

- Ladies.
- Lady Ashford.

And the gentlemen? Mr. James?

Here, of course.

Nothing could have prevented him knowing
that Miss Murray was visiting today.

Papa.

Lord Mansfield's infamous mulatto.

No wonder our Lord Chief Justice knows
not whether he's coming or going.

Well she cannot know your thoughts
unless you offer them to her.

Ah, the Ladies Mansfield.

Come here.

Careful.

Oh, Dido, look, Mr. James has made
me a boat and it has capsized.

What a dreadful shame.

For you.

Miss Lindsay, would you do me the honor
of taking some air with me... sometime?

Don't you care what
people will say?

What is that to mean, Mr. James?

What should anyone say?

That he would compromise
a lady's reputation...

by stepping out with her scarcely
having made her acquaintance.

I think you are a great
deal too anxious, brother.

We should merely take a
turn around Vauxhall.

I should be delighted, Mr. Oliver.

Most delighted.

Are you really to defy papa?

I did not think I would
ever find a lady

who was not to be
conquered or ignored...

until you.

I am not at ease with this. Lord
Mansfield would be most aggrieved.

Oh... it can do no harm.

We are just two families
spending some time together.

Although, if a desirable match

were a possibility...

your dear husband could have
no objection, could he?

Oh, they've disappeared. People
will think she has no family.

People will think
they are courting.

See how my heart beats?

I am utterly taken with
you, Miss Lindsay.

Despite such pronounced
protestations from your brother?

He cannot overlook your
mother's origins as I do.

Foolish.

Why should anyone even
pay her regard...

when your better half has
equipped you so well with...

with loveliness and privilege?

What a lovely sound.

You are unrelentingly cultured.
Come, let's find it.

I do hope you know how
well I think of you.

As I do you.

I might have only dreamed of
these moments, at one time.

Really?

Then I hope you plan to
honor your attentions...

as not to would leave me
looking quite foolish.

And I should not call
myself a gentleman.

You are much of the
conqueror, Mr. Oliver.

- Mr. Davinier.
- Miss Lindsay.

How...

how nice to see you.

And you, Miss Lindsay.

Forgive me. Uh...

Mr. Ashford, may I
present to you...

Mr. Davinier. He is the son
of our vicar at Hampstead.

A clergyman.

Good evening to you, sir.

Sir.

Miss Lindsay. You are alone.

I did not have the chance to see you
before you left to convey my apologies.

- Apologies?
- Your pupillage.

Father would never have ended it, you
never would have had to leave Kenwood...

He would make mine a living hell
were he to know of us speaking.

I have tried to keep
up with the Zong...

Forgive me.

I have tried to keep up...
with the Zong.

'Tis pitiful. Such
inability to simply know

what value to put
on another's life.

What price a worthless negro?

You utterly misunderstand me.

I am saying that no man may
have the value of cargo.

Human beings cannot be priced since we
are priceless. Freemen and slaves alike.

I am with others here.
All students in law...

applying pressure on the
insurance companies...

to refuse from hereon to
insure slaves on any ship.

But that would require
a change in law.

How can we expect to be civilized when
we live in such a barbaric world?

It is the utter injustice.

It is more than that.

It is the shame of a
law that would uphold

a financial transaction
upon that atrocity.

That is indeed the truth.

I have never heard
anyone speak like you.

Nor I you, Miss Lindsay.

You should return.
They will be anxious.

Goodbye, Miss Lindsay.

Goodbye... Mr. Davinier.

Miss Lindsay...

we commune at the coaching
inn, Kentish Town...

most evenings.

Quite.

Elizabeth is a determined spirit.

She will need a gentleman
who can temper her.

Quite a task.

Do I sense that an address
is finally to be made?

She is an exquisite girl.

And since there is no male heir...

it will fall upon Elizabeth
and her husband...

eventually, to inherit
Kenwood and all its lands.

I realize that there will be many
worthy addresses to consider.

Lady Mansfield, what is it?

Penniless?

Without an inch of property
or a shilling to her name.

Do you hear that, James? A lady's
good breeding alone will not do.

Your brother needs a wife who
can bring him more land...

if he is ever to exert more political
influence than your father has!

But what of her own father?

The 7th Viscount
Stormont is a scoundrel.

Ensconced in Vienna with that girl's
vicious step-mama and his new offspring...

who, I am told,
is to inherit everything.

I must say, pen-ni-less!

Though, thankfully,
her cousin is not.

Each time I set eyes on that
girl she becomes more beautiful.

She has the coloring of a farmer.

James, you are my first boy... blessed
by law to inherit your father's wealth.

Be sympathetic to your brother.

Like the unfortunate Miss Murray...

good family name and empty pockets
will only get him so far.

Is Mabel a slave?

I beg your pardon?

Is Mabel a slave?

She is free and under
our protection.

Oh, like me.

Hardly, Dido.

And paid a very respectable wage.

How is the fraud appeal, Papa?

Fraud?

The marine insurance.
It is a fraud case, is it not?

It depends on who you speak to.

To cull your 'cargo'?

Solely to claim insurance...

because it was too diseased to
achieve a good price at market...

if not fraud, then what?

Do you speak on my behalf?

Will you please stop!

This is a vulgar subject
to discuss at breakfast.

I learned yesterday...
Mr. Davinier is in town.

I'm not surprised Dido is beginning
to sound very much like him.

Excuse me.

I had the pleasure of laying
eyes on your adopted girl.

You have raised a lovely young lady and
though I understand she is kept under...

interesting rules, she
raises questions.

Oh?

Her introduction to society comes at
a key time in the insurance appeal.

Parliament is nervous
that the situation

in your family will
color your judgment.

I will not have pressure put on me,

either from the inside
or the outside.

You are the highest
judge in the land.

In you they see a man who is of the
persuasion and the power to bring down...

the greatest trade of our time and the
commercial health of this country.

Some will say that,
next to our King,

you're the most powerful
man in England.

And the same will ask how you,
our Chief Justice, can be fair?

There are rules in place
which dictate how we live.

If that were not the case...

I would not have had the mandate

to give shelter to my
nephew's daughter.

She is his blood and mine...

and is rightfully entitled to be
brought up on the family estate.

If the law supports the
Zong slave owners...

as strongly as Murray blood runs
through the veins of Dido Belle...

then make no mistake, the
insurers will be forced to pay.

I believe you.

I, uh, have reason to speak
with you on another matter.

Yes?

I have a wish to seal the bond between
the Ashford and Mansfield names.

Whatever did happen in
the end, Aunt Mary?

With your gentleman friend.

He never married.

He died last year...

after a long illness.

Oh, Aunt Mary.

Pardon me.

Mr. Ashford is here for you, miss.

Which Mr. Ashford?

You need worry about nothing.
Papa has been dealt with.

Miss Lindsay.

Mr. Oliver.

I think...

well, I know...

that we make a rather good match.

Father has purchased me a
commission in the Navy as Captain.

All that remains...

Uh, I cannot offer you a title
for the next Lady Ashford...

well that title must fall
to my brother's wife.

What I'm trying to say is, uh...

is I can, without doubt...

offer you all that is due
to Mrs. Oliver Ashford...

and trust that this will
be acceptable to you...

since it would very
much be my privilege...

my honor, if you would
agree to become my wife.

- I cannot see!
- Shh!

Good Lord.

Mrs. Ashford.

I...

cannot...

- What are you doing?
- Quiet, Elizabeth.

cannot think of anything...

more wonderful.

Oh! She has agreed.

Mama, we are engaged.

Oh, my darling.

It is a good thing,
is it not, Mama?

Oh, it is a wonderful thing.

Dido.

Yes?

Was there any message for me?

No, Bette.

But I'm sure it won't be long.

What does it feel like, Dido?

To be engaged?

Perfect, Bette.

Perfect.

Papa?

Thank you.

We are to make many
calls today, Elizabeth.

Acquainting oneself with the most
eligible gentlemen is not light business.

Should we not wait a day
or two... for Mr. James?

Elizabeth, a word of advice.
Wait for no man, dear.

Will you join us, Dido?

Dido?

Oh. I am terribly light-headed
this morning, Mama.

I should like to take rest,
if it would not displease you.

Oh, dear. Unwell? And just as we're
about to announce your news.

Papa.

Let's see that smile. Come along.

Harry. Harry, I need your help.

- I need you to take me somewhere.
- Alone, miss?

I shall not be alone.
I shall be with you.

This is written anonymously.

I have a list of those who have
not yet indicated their position.

Mr. Davinier?

Mr. Davinier.

Miss Lindsay. I...

it is said all of the ship's
papers have been lost. But here...

I found these in papa's library.

What are they?

Papa's notes on the ship's log.

It seems the first mate
has come forward with it

one Mr. Stubbs.

I could not find the log itself

but look at papa's markings.

See the map positions.

Captain Collingwood and his men directed
the ship past no less than 8 ports...

where there was every opportunity

to replenish the
ship's water supplies.

- Good Lord.
- And they did not.

They either ignored the possibilities
or they were never in need.

This is remarkable.

Perhaps if you could

make these facts
known, Mr. Davinier.

This places you in an
impossible position

with Lord Mansfield.

What is the alternative?

Walk with me, Miss Lindsay.

The back of the inn is safe from
anyone who may know you.

There's no-one but blind
and crying drunks.

Papa would rather I
see no ill, as though

by ignoring it, it
somehow escapes me.

Perhaps by position but not...

not by blood.

The fault was never with you.

Just as in life, we are no
better in paintings.

You were afraid.

Afraid?

To be painted beside Miss Murray,

and I ridiculed you.

I feel ashamed.

Do not feel ashamed.

Elizabeth said something
when we arrived in London.

"We women are but the
property of gentlemen."

But it came into my
head that I have been

blessed with freedom twice over.

As a negro and as a woman.

I suppose you have.

Or have I?

Must not a lady marry even
if she is financially secure?

For who is she without a
husband of consequence?

It seems silly... like a free negro

who begs for a master.

Well...

unless... she marries her equal.

Her true equal.
A man who respects her.

I remember my father's eyes.

They were kind, gentle.

- A little like yours.
- Mine?

I mean... in color.

He showed me much love though
I only knew him a few hours.

What of your own mother?

I know very little of her

other than the color

she has given me.

Well then, at least you
know she was beautiful.

I am to marry... shortly.

Mr. Ashford.

Oh.

He is amiable and of good family.

Is it... what you want?

The alternative is
to replace Lady Mary

in her responsibilities at Kenwood.

But she's a spinster.

Papa did not trust I
could achieve a match

that would raise my
rank or even equal it.

You are above reducing
yourself for the sake of rank.

I pray he would marry you
without a penny to your name...

for that is a man who
would truly treasure you.

What if I shall never find someone
so incomparably suitable?

And wealthy?

What if he is suitable but you
do not feel 'yourself' with him?

Oh, Dido. He understood me.

And whenever he looked at me I
somehow felt better in this world.

I am convinced his
affections are growing

and I feel certain of my own love.

Oh, stop it! It is not love.

You stop it.

You know no more of love
than I myself, do you?

Do you, Dido?

No.

Oliver and Miss Lindsay
make a blissful match.

Exactly when is she due to
receive her inheritance?

And tell me, are you an only son?

I have 6 brothers, madam.

Six? Goodness. And...
are they all...

Older, madam? Yes.

Oh, do look. Here comes
the Baroness in her boat.

Oh, how dreadfully
wonderful, Lady M.

Your girl is a picture. An utter
picture. With her intended?

Indeed, Baroness Vernon.

And I see the other
does not give up.

So terribly endearing.

You must meet the Mansfield girl.

Still available.

Mama, Mr. Vaughn approaches.

I have checked, he has
no London home...

but he achieves an income of
no less than £4,000 a year.

Miss Murray. Lady Mansfield.

I trust your stay in London is
proving pleasant, Miss Murray.

Oh, most certainly.

I wonder if you might permit me to
call upon you at home... some time?

Oh.

With her Ladyship's permission?

I will make arrangements.

Miss Lindsay.

Not husband hunting, are we?

Good Lord, I forgot...

you have ensnared my brother.

Tell me, are you to share his
dining room as well as his bed?

Oh, Mr. James, your manners are as
poor as your brother's finances.

And you are foolish enough to
marry him. I, on the other hand...

have no further use for
your impoverished cousin.

Though she does make for
rather amusing sport.

That is painful, sir!

Have you never been manhandled?

It is not in my repertoire

to keep company with beasts.

How dare you!

With ease.

You will destroy us.

You will destroy the entire
order of our family.

I'd never imagined myself to be
married, but my aunt is determined.

If one were to count, I have not even
been acquainted with Miss Beresford on...

3 occasions.

Is she not terribly disappointed that
you will not return to Hampstead?

My aunt?

Well, I doubt Miss Beresford has any
more wish to marry me than I her.

I should rather make a nuisance
of myself alone in London...

than in an unwanted
marriage in Hampstead.

Where is everyone, Mabel?
All the carriages are gone.

The ladies and Miss Murray are
out calling, Your Lordship.

Is Dido with them?

- Um...
- Shh.

I believe so.

Were you a curious child?

Completely. Elizabeth always
asked the questions for me.

Dear, dear Bette.

Papa is to finally speak
in a few days and...

I fear, despite persuasive argument,
your papa has not been moved.

I'm not certain he is ready
to go against the traders.

They are some of the most
powerful in these isles...

and theirs are the finances that
hold up England, after all.

The enemies of any man who stood
against the trade would be vicious.

And yet, if he does... stand up...

if he speaks the words and
condemns the trade...

the Lord Chief Justice of England,
then it may be impossible...

for the slave laws of England and
its colonies to remain absolute.

That is a fact.

I've heard nothing from
him since Vauxhall, Dido.

I was certain an announcement was to be
made any day... that he meant it this time.

Then he is not a man of his word.

I will help you find the kindest,
most wonderful of husbands.

And...

I shall ask papa to use a portion
of my inheritance for your dowry.

You would do that?

Bette... anything for you.

Dido...

I have been of the mind
these last few days that...

it is my little means that has delayed
James in making his approach.

I think you may be right.

Then I cannot thank you enough.

Bette?

I will ask papa to write
immediately to Lady Ashford.

No?

James Ashford is not kind.
He is not appropriate.

Appropriate?

The brother of the man you are to
marry is not appropriate for me?

He does not desire you, Bette!

Or at least, even if he does, you
would regret such a mistake.

He...

laid his hands on me, Bette... in
the most ungentlemanly fashion.

Why should you say such a thing?

He hurt me.

You are a liar!

- Why would I lie to you?
- I don't know.

Have you never been able to see?
He would never touch you!

- Bette...
- You are beneath him!

I am beneath him?

Yes.

- Yes! You are...
- What?

Tell me what I am, Bette!

You are...

you are illegitimate!

Have you never wondered why you were
not permitted to eat with our guests?

My mother and father never
married, you are correct.

But my father acknowledged
me as his child.

It is yours who refuses to legitimize your
position and that is why you are poor.

And that is why it is not me who is
beneath Mr. James. It is not me.

Whoa.

- Papa.
- This man's ambition includes you.

You will endure shame and risk your
position for a man without name...

who will sully yours and drag
your reputation into the gutter.

I take great offense at your summation
of my character without even knowing me.

- Where is your right?
- I have every right.

Not until you cease from
judging the entire world

as those above and those below...

and begin to see people as people.

Human beings who think

and feel no more or
less than you do.

I know there is a lady in Belsize

who is waiting to be your wife.

No, I have an ambitious
aunt in Belsize...

who, like you, assumes that
wealth and reputation...

are all that life depends on...

and despises love

as though it were

the devil's own creation!

- You claim love...
- Yes! Yes...

I love her!

I love her with every
breath I breathe!

Go, John.

You do not deserve this.

Captain Sir John Lindsay would
never have behaved like this.

He would never have behaved like
this because he was never here!

You are destroying
your possibilities

with the only gentleman
who will consider you.

Is that what you want?

Arrogant parasite!

Fills her head with
worthless ideals.

Wants to 'make the
world a better place'.

And his childish campaign simply
adds to the ridicule aimed at me...

in those contemptible pamphlets.

And now, like some kind of
saint, immune from reproach...

You said something
identical once...

that you wanted to
change the world.

Quite some time before you entered
your chambers, of course.

Defiant, principled...

desperate to secure your position
amongst the Establishment but...

always a little
too radical for them.

I never broke the rules.

You simply became powerful
enough to make new ones.

I always felt that you
already loved me...

when I gave you my hand.

That we were a good match
was never a doubt...

but I don't think I could
have married a gentleman...

without that light in his eye.

Without knowing, privately, that
my heart stopped a moment...

each time that he looked at me.

It is possible that even you...

cannot fight change, my darling.

Sometimes you cannot fight it
because you are a part of it.

Do you love her?

As though she were
created of you and me.

And that is why...

I simply will not
see her diminished.

The niece of the
Marquis of Winchester.

Mr. James Ashford is to marry the
niece of the Marquis of Winchester.

I'm reading it here.

Well, that will render your future
mother-in-law ecstatic, Dido.

Shh.

Don't you dare say a word.

I won't.

Why...

why do they always do that?

Who, Bette?

Men.

They just leave and
never come back.

I saw you with Mr. Davinier...

at the pleasure garden.

You said nothing.

I wanted you to tell me.

To trust me.

I should have.

You know...

if I had your choice...

I would choose the man I loved.

I simply hope he's worth it.

I am not in the habit of requiring
an explanation more than twice...

but on this occasion you
will have to forgive me.

There is little point
in repetition.

Then let me be clear I understand.

Your charge, your mulatto charge...

- That is enough!
- Is it not true, Your Ladyship?

whose unfortunate circumstances,

at birth, we chose to forgive...

has decided she no longer
wishes the match with my son...

a gentleman and an officer?

Why...

Miss Lindsay?

Do you feel I have any lesser need to ensure
my child's wellbeing and future than you?

Does she still have a tongue?

I have a tongue... madam.

Though yours explains well enough
why I may not marry your son.

You view my circumstances
as unfortunate...

though I cannot claim even a
portion of the misfortune...

to those whom I most
closely resemble.

My greatest misfortune would
be to marry into a family...

who would carry me
as their shame...

as I have been required
to carry my own mother.

Her apparent crime
to be born negro...

and mine to be the evidence.

Since I wish to deny her no more
than I wish to deny myself...

you will pardon me for
wanting a husband...

who feels 'forgiveness'
of my bloodline...

is both unnecessary
and without grace.

It will hang at Kenwood.

Will it?

Why should that surprise you?

Why should it not?

What are you reading?

A gentleman named Thomas Day.

He speaks of a slave who agreed
to marry an English lady.

A voice for people...

people like my mother...

who do not have one.

Do you find yourself
in such writing?

I don't know that I
find myself anywhere.

What do you want, Dido?

What precisely are you looking for?

I have enabled every
rule of convention...

so that you would know
exactly where you belong...

and yet little appears
enough for you.

And what if there were
not a rule, Papa?

What if the rule that allowed
you to take me did not exist?

Would you have returned
me to the slums?

You are courageous.

When it comes to the matters you believe
in, society is inconsequential.

You break every rule when it matters
enough, Papa. I am the evidence.

This painting is the evidence.

Look at them. For and Against
at each other's throats.

How on earth did the damn
Quakers find their way in here?

You are a brave man, negotiating these
quarters on the eve of your judgment.

Finally you are to speak. If England
is destroyed, we shall blame you.

religion not being the only
guardian of our morality.

Of course not. There is
self-responsibility.

And failing that, does
the law not have a duty?

Does the Bench and Parliament not have
a duty to uphold and create the laws...

that progress our
morality not retard it?

If not to protect us from others
then to protect us from ourselves.

Laws that allow us to diminish the
humanity of anybody are not laws.

They are frameworks for crime.

I do not care if you, as an individual,
are without character or conscience.

But a land whose laws
sanction, not control...

the barbarous among its citizens,

that is a country
whose hope is lost.

Why does it matter to you so much?

M'lord... I have seen your notes!

If they had wanted water,
they could have had it.

Dido took them.

M'lord! If you find
for the traders...

you will be formalizing in law the
concept of insuring human cargo.

That's correct.

Drive.

Then know that when you are gone, your
legacy will be to have left Miss Lindsay...

in a world where she may be
worth more dead than alive.

Miss Lindsay is not a slave.

By the very grace of God.

This is not about Miss Lindsay.

Of course it is.

It's about all of us.

It's about everything.
Everything that's important.

Mr. Davinier...

the world is a devastating place.

You must learn to protect
your emotions...

if you wish to prevent
matters both of law...

and love, from devastating you.

Good to see you, John.

Silence in the court! Silence!

The Appeal Court of
the King's Bench

case of Gregson versus Gilbert.

I am here today...

to rule on certain matters...

referred to me from
the Lower Court...

in the case of the slave ship Zong.

How kind of you to
come, Mr. Vaughn.

I have thought of nothing
else but showing

you Aunt Mary's chrysanthemums.

What a pleasure, Miss Murray.

You too, Mama.

Aunt Mary?

Whether the enslaved cargo was
jettisoned in emergency...

to save captain and crew
from certain death...

when the extended journey threatened
shortage of drinking water.

No. Never again.

Then allow me to take the reins.

Now let me be clear...

the loss of water on a ship constitutes
a singularly dangerous affair.

Insurrection of thirsty
and hostile slaves...

at its extreme, and
an impossible task...

to share diminished water reserve
amongst all those living, at best.

Each implies a severe threat
to the lives of the seamen.

And in such emergency
circumstances...

our law is transparent
and unequivocal.

The jettisoning of
enslaved cargo is legal!

And it beholds the
insurers to pay losses.

No!

Silence in court!

Gentlemen, silence in court!

However...

these were not the
circumstances of the Zong.

Slaves were not jettisoned
because water supplies ran low.

Indeed, evidence shows the
ship sailed past 8 ports...

without pausing to
restore water supplies.

My finding is that the slaves...

were jettisoned, killed, because
the Zong ship's owners...

chose a tight packing fashion
to transport their slaves.

They knew the risk since this
fashion of transportation...

is well-known to cause
disease in slaves.

Disease that rendered
the Zong slaves

impossible to sell.

Silence in the court!
Gentlemen, silence!

It is not legal...

to discharge lives from
a ship into the waters...

to facilitate insurance
compensation.

Whether they be the
lives of horses...

or human beings,
slaves or otherwise...

it is not legal...

neither is it right.

It is clear that a fraud
has been committed...

in claiming insurance on
slaves who were drowned...

solely for financial gain.

It is my opinion...

that the state of slavery...

is so odious a position...

that nothing may support it.

Let justice be done...

though the heavens may fall.

I find in favor of the insurers...

Ah!

and overturn the decision
of the Lower Court.

All rise!

You may not blame Mr. Davinier.

My attendance today is
absolutely at my own volition.

I'm fully aware, Dido.

My Lord, I am inspired
by your decision today.

We will not go backwards from here.

History will judge whether
your optimism is warranted.

You're a man of conviction.

I'm trying to be.

I've not changed my mind.
She is to marry a gentleman.

And Mr. Davinier is
not a gentleman?

He is, indeed.

My affections are with him, Papa.

And that is why he should have
an occupation befitting one.

I wish for nothing if
not to be his wife.

Mr. Davinier, I would like you to
attend my chambers in the morning.

There are some matters
you can assist me with.

- Your Lordship?
- And, if you think it's a good idea...

I would like to facilitate your
entry into the Inns of Court.

I think it is a very
good idea, my Lord.

Can it be true?

Of course. He sees what I see.
His words were as clear as...

No.

No, that your feelings
for me are so?

That you would be my wife?

Because I cannot conceive
of a life without you.

I love you...

for all that you are...

and with all...

all that I am.