All language subtitles for Cranford.S01E03.720p.BluRay.x264-GABE_Subtitles_1

They look very nice there. Well done.

I wish it didn't say he was an angel.

- Lizzie.
- He wasn't.

We never called him so.

Good morning.

You are all well, I hope.

Yes, thank you. We are well enough.

It wasn't his fault, Sophy.

No, it was mine.

MR CARTER:

Is for "labour",
a source of bread and pride.

"II"

Is for "intelligence", which all men are
born with, but must learn to use.

"BI"

"Books", which hold the key
to almost everything.

"E" is for "education".

Which will teach me how to...

I' R" -

Read them.

"T" is for "transcend".

To rise above one's circumstances.

"Y" -

"Y" is for "you", sir.

You paint over it now
before somebody comes.

You were not dependent upon your sister
for all things, Miss Matty.

But Deborah'sjudgement
was always so exact.

I find I have to defer to her even now
when I arrange a drawer,

or tie up preserves, or must remind
Martha that followers are not allowed.

Martha will not take advantage of you
on that score. I'm certain.

And Miss Deborah might have taken charge
of all your affairs at the bank,

but who was it who drew up
the weekly accounts?

Well, I suppose it was I.

Quite. That's not an easy task.

I should fail at it altogether.

Come, eat your orange.

Here?

Miss Matty, why do you not just take it
to your room as you were used to doing?

Perhaps not today, my dear.

Dr Harrison?

I heard a crash.
I think we have an intruder.

Pray, do nothing hasty.

(DOG BARKING)

Be careful, you have no weapon with you.

(GAS PS)

The mutton has gone.

And the knife taken, too.

I very much fear
it is a spy from France.

I can hardly bear to think of
Dr Harrison creeping downstairs armed.

He would have been woken from sleep

and barely had time
to step into his top boots or his shirt.

It was a factory hand
on the run from strikes,

and he has doubtless fled the county
back to whence he came.

On a horse shod with felt.

For that is what they do
to make their passage silent.

Mr Johnson told me that himself

Men, they're all the same,
they know everything about everything

save when it is to happen
and how it can be stopped.

My father was a man.
I think I understand the sex.

I left my butler in the garden
dusting off his musket.

(MISS POLE GAS PS)

(sum COCKS)

Dada, this is Lady Ludlow's land.

It's all some bugger's land.
We got mouths to feed.

I'll teach you something new.
This ain't like rabbits.

No blood, no wire, come on.

(DOG BARKING)

I've agreed terms
with the mail coach driver.

Caught game's very popular down London.

Why?

Not all that shot in it.

Oh...

(SHUSHING)

He's probably Irish.
They'll be all over the district soon.

They'll be like lice.

And the opium fiends
will be hot on their heels.

We shall have to put shutters
on the shop like you see in Manchester.

Maybe it is time
Cranford had a police force.

We got a constable, name of Graves.
Farms at Nether Cranford.

He's got a lame leg and a bad back.
He's probably on your books.

I'll have justice for this.

Go on, lad, show your mum.

You're a good boy, Harry.

Hey, not done yet. Go fetch the twine.
These want putting into brace. Go on.

(BELL TOLLING)

Harry, I must make haste.
Poachers got into the pens last night

and Lady Ludlow wants
the keeper brought before her.

Is he in trouble?

Oh, yes. They were prize specimens.

Her Ladyship sends six brace
to Chatsworth each December

with her compliments, and now this year
she cannot and she's deeply angry.

And cut me some nibs while I'm gone.
You know the sort I like.

Buy some clothes pegs?

Clothes pegs? At Christmas?

Ask your mistress, dearie.

CAPTAIN BROWN: The crime rate
in Cranford is increasing.

You need to seek out those responsible.

It's only my duty
to apprehend wrongdoers.

I'm not obliged to
go out looking for them.

That's what the constables do in London.

- Frank, this is...
- In London, the constables get paid.

If you can identify the man
who robbed you, Mrjohnson,

you're within your rights
to bring a prosecution directly.

Simply report the culprit
to Sir Charles Maulver.

Well, he's the magistrate, and then
Farmer Graves can make an arrest.

I don't know who the culprit is,
he came up on me from behind.

(CHATTERING)

Miss Pole, what's going on?

I've gathered all my silver.
We must flee. The crimes are escalating.

I answered the door myself

since you had been gone
such an unconscionable time,

and the most abominable gypsy was there.

And she mistook me for my own servant
and tried to push past me, shouting out,

"I must speak with the mistress."

I've gone cold.

Shh! We must remain stalwart
and display calm common sense.

Mrs jamieson has rooms to spare, and
she possesses a butler with a musket.

MAN: Who goes there?

(DOG BARKING)

Show yourselves,
you lousy thieving cowards.

Make yourself known to Mrs jamieson.
You said she'd take us in.

But now the dog has been distressed.

I fear it may alter her disposition
towards me.

(DOG YELPING)

You think he swallowed his tongue?

(MUSKET FIRES)

(POUNDING ON DOOR)

- Miss Pole?
- Whatever are you thinking of!

Opening the door? I could have been
anybody with a cutlass.

Get inside, Bertha.

No! Go straight to The George

and tell your aunt
you may remain until I fetch you.

Poker! Foolish girl.

There is a plot to rob my house tonight.

Have there been men in the vicinity?

Three, and one of them has a hump.

It is as well I'm not a creature
of fragile nerve. I came directly here.

Well, you must stay here. You will have
dear Mary's room. She can sleep with me.

All is well,
there's no man concealed there.

You seem very practised at this.

It's been my habit since I was but 18.

When I was a child, I used to take
a flying leap from floor to bed,

lest a hand should reach out
and seize me by the foot.

Then Deborah persuaded me it was not
dignified, so I started with the ball.

I've such a horror of hands under beds.

I think we might be extravagant
with our candle tonight.

(CLAN KING)

(GASPS) Poor little dog.

Was he shot?

It was he who alerted us
to the presence of the robbers.

He barked and barked and barked
until completely over-exercised,

or else he simply died of fright.

Either way, it is murder.

It is a dreadful business.

But did they take all your silver?

Truth to be told,
they got away with nothing.

They left more than they took,
great big footprints.

Half a dozen or more,
right under the kitchen window.

Don't ruffle his hair.

Took all night to curl it.

JOB: Don't be dallying, come on.

Don't be daft, woman, get in.
Come on, come on.

(DOOR OPENING)

Mrs Johnson

Don't know how he's got the brass...

Come on,
pick one for your Christmas box.

Such an extravagance.

You serve them.
I've got matters to attend to.

We've all been forced indoors
so much of late,

we're in danger of becoming morbid,

so Miss Tomkinson is giving a party
in honour of Christmas Eve.

She very much hopes you will attend.

I'm not sure that I should.

I think a party would be most welcome.

It can be no disgrace
to your sister's memory

to mark the season
with your closest friends.

We cannot proceed without you.

You'd be too much missed.

Is Miss Tomkinson
inviting Captain Brown?

My sister's final words with him
were really very

vexed.

We need Captain Brown to carry a club.

Darkness Lane is not so called
for nothing.

Cranford has seen such trouble,
Miss Matty,

I think we should rally
and demonstrate our strength.

Deborah would not hide away at home.

(CHATTERING)

I'm not enjoying this.

I have cuffs quite smart enough
for Miss Tomkinson's party.

If you have cuffs, Missjenkyns,
why not think about a gown?

We're only here for haberdashery.

Mr Johnson, Miss Matilda jenkyns
is planning a new gown.

What is the cheaper this month,
the mousseline de laine or sarcenet?

MRJOHNSON: Two and two
the yard, both of them.

Miss Matilda.

This is an unexpected pleasure.

Three months must have passed by
since we saw each other last.

It has been nearer four, I think.

Mary dear, this is Mr Thomas Holbrook.

Mr Holbrook, this is my friend,
Miss Mary Smith.

You've had some sorrow
since we last met.

I've suffered a great loss, Mr Holbrook.

My sister died.

I'm sorry to hear that. Truly I am.

I haven't seen Mr Holbrook before.
Is he a Cranford gentleman?

No, no.
He has a farm some five miles off.

Although he is a cousin of Miss Pole's
once removed.

And I was ordering a length of sarcenet.

No, Miss Matty, Mrs Johnson was trying
to sell you a length of sarcenet.

Two and two the yard.

(PIPE PLAYING)

Thank you.

(BANGING ON DOOR)

job Gregson, I'm arresting you
on a charge of robbery and assault

with intent to endanger the life
of Mr Josiah Johnson.

Thirty years ago my cousin
Thomas Holbrook had the nerve

to ask Miss Matilda for her hand.

He asked for her hand?

And she sent him on his way.

He was a farmer
who drove his own cattle.

Not enough of a gentleman
for the Rector and Miss Deborah.

Well, Mr Holbrook
didn't want to marry them.

Perhaps I'm surmising,
perhaps she did not like him.

He always had the most masculine ways,

and unless there was somebody sick
in the house,

he never saw any need
to moderate his voice.

That is enough. One can be overzealous
with one's yuletide decorations.

But what did Mr Holbrook do?

After Miss Matty declined him.

Avoided Cranford altogether
for almost 30 years.

(HAMMERING)

What do you want?

- Can I see my father, please?
- Be quick about it, then.

JOB: Good lad.

Tell them where you were,
what you were really doing.

You were poaching, too.
We'd both go down.

Dada, they'll put you on the ships.
You'll be transported.

You're 10 years old.
I will not see you in jail.

Sir, he's not guilty.

Can you vouch for his whereabouts
on that night?

Can you prove he was at another place?

Otherwise occupied?

He was on Lady Ludlow's land.

Poaching.

Six brace of pheasants, two of snipe.

I helped you write it in the ledger.

How do you know it was him?

I was there.

I was helping.

Go home now.

Now, Harry!

MR CARTER: job Gregson is neither
a thief nor violent, but he's a poacher

and that fact might save him.

Poaching is next to thieving, Mr Carter.

I abhor it for that reason.

Madam, I'm convinced it was done

because the man was desperate
to feed his family.

Has he no work?

Where does he live?

He's a squatter in Herman's Lane.

Then he's not, I think,
a tenant of mine.

I have no responsibility towards him.

He's a tenant of this earth, my lady,

and since the enclosure of common land,
there is nowhere

for the poor to forage for fuel or food.

What is it that you want me to do,
Mr Carter?

Sir Charles Maulver will hear the case.

I beg you most humbly to
intercede on job Gregson's behalf.

To explain that
he was poaching on your land

and to state that you can vouch
for the time of the of fence.

The man will still be jailed
for snaring pheasants.

He will serve three months
or be fined £5.

My lady, compare that
to banishment in a prison hulk,

a woman as good as widowed
and six children fatherless forever.

I think we will end this discussion.

This is not a subject upon which
we're likely to agree.

Madam,

I must hope that
if you cannot help this family,

God will.

- Jack.
- Merry Ch ristmas, Fra n k.

Any room at the inn?

Mrs Rose, this is my friend from Guy's
Dr jack Marshland.

He works at Manchester now,
in the infirmary.

He has come to join us for Christmas.

Dr Marshland, we're very pleased
to have you with us.

(CHILD CRYING)

Is this where job Gregson lives?

Yes, it is, my lady.

(CHILD WAILING)

Believe me, jack,

the Tomkinson's party is the last place
I wanted to spend Christmas Eve.

There was one invitation I wanted,
more than any other,

that was from the Rector
and his daughter,

Miss Sophy Hutton.

- Oh, yes?
- But it did not come.

You swear you don't object to
our attending the Miss Tomkinson's?

Object? It's an evening spent in
the company of Cranford single ladies.

Your turn, Miss Matty.

"Of the present company,
who thinks themselves the most..."

- Virtuous.
-"...virtuous?"

"I leave that for you to judge."

(ALL LAUGHING)

"Can you tell what those nearest to you
think of you at the present time?"

"How can you expect me to reveal
such a secret to the company?"

(ALL LAUGHING)

Jesus wept

You sent for me, my lady?

Mr Carter, I have business in Cranford.

- On Christmas Eve?
- I wish you to attend with me.

Come, we must make haste.

It makes me laugh to see him purring and
murmuring his way around the room.

We had such a time of it at Guy's.

But he's never spoken of it.

Did he not tell you of the time
he caught a dog?

A terrible mangy cur,
and put it to bed in my room.

I think he lured it with a chop.

When I got home,
I lay right beside it without noticing.

I fell fast asleep
until it licked my face.

(ALL LAUGHING)

That's quite enough from you.

Whist?

MISS POLE: I do like spices,
but they don't like me.

MARY: I'm sure you'll like it,
Captain Brown.

I'm so glad
they didn't ask me to play cards!

- Good evening, Sir Charles.
- What the devil's going on, Graves?

Her Ladyship awaits you
in her carriage, sir.

Fine Christmas Eve this is.

- Sir Charles.
- Mr Carter.

I issued the constable with a warrant
for this arrest.

The of fence brought to me
was robbery with violence.

The man will be tried for that
and found guilty.

He's guilty of poaching, nothing more.

And nothing less.

I'm plagued by poachers, too,
and they're all vagabonds.

Vagabonds can be sentenced
purely for their way of life.

No specific crime is required.

That, Lady Ludlow, is the law.

And who is it who makes the law?

Those such as you in
the House of Commons,

those such as I in the House of Lords?

You can also mete outjustice
as you see fit.

That's your privilege as a magistrate.

Convict job Gregson of poaching

and I will pay the fine.

Five pounds from my own purse
to save a father of six from jail.

He'll work on my land, unwaged,
in reparation.

My lady.

LADY LUDLOW: Mr Carter,
take the constable's key.

(PLAYING SOFT MUSIC)

May I offer you the compliments
of the season, Captain Brown?

You may indeed,
and I return them most wholeheartedly.

It will be a sad Christ-tide, I fear,
in both our houses.

But tonight we enjoy the company
of friends, which is as it ought to be.

My sister Deborah
was very fond of Jessie

I think she hoped to see her married.

The poor girl never even
had a chance of that.

My sister was a woman
who noticed things, Captain Brown,

and she noticed
Major Gordon's interest in jessie.

She was of very decided opinion
when it came to matches,

but I believe she thought that
jessie should have encouraged him.

Major Gordon?

He's gone to India.

I did not know. I truly did not know.

- I was hoping for some soil.
- It's crocuses, or it will be.

Thank you.

# Of all the money that ere I had

# I spent it in good company

# And all the harm I've ever done

# Alas it was to none but me

# And all I've done for want of wit

# To memory now I can't recall

# So fill for me the parting glass

# Good night and joy be with you all

# Of all the comrades that ere I had

# They're sorry for my going away

# Ana' all the sweethearts
that ere I had

# They'd wish me one more day to stay

# But since it fell unto my lot

# That I should rise and you should not

# I'll gently rise and softly call

# Good night and jo y be with you all #

MR HOLB R00 K: Winter is
the darkest season when one is alone.

You must miss your sister by the hour.

Ana' I would not seek to disturb you
in your grieving,

but mornings will lighten
and lea ves will turn anew.

I hope that when your deepest mourning
is concluded,

you will allow me to attend upon you.

Yours respectfully, Thomas Holbrook.

I do not think Cranford has ever seen
such a display of Valentine cards.

Mrs Johnson says some of them
have been made by machine.

Machine?

I cannot imagine what sort of sentiment
a card made by apparatus might convey.

Oh! Mrs jamieson,
you're back from Cheltenham.

Indeed I am.

And we can quite cease to grieve
for our little lost friend.

He is called Giuseppe.
I purchased him full-grown,

the better to fit
my poor dead Carlo's jacket.

When I was a girl,
there was very little call for cards.

A posy of flowers was thought
sufficient as a valentine.

But cards are the fashion now,
Mrs jamieson.

Still, were a maid servant
to receive one,

it would be far more difficult to
explain away than flowers.

Followers would give themselves away
at a stroke.

(GASPS) We had not thought of that.

Frank, it's jack.

Any news of your young lady,
Miss Sophy Hutton?

None and she's still not
my young lady, sadly.

Jack, she is just exquisite,

and I will work night and day
to deserve her if I have to.

What happened to the other one?
Miss Smith?

Now, why are you asking about
Miss Mary Smith?

I was watching her at Christmas,
when we were at cards,

and I think she has a problem
with her eyes,

far sight certainly,
perhaps an astigmatism.

Astigmatism?

It's a refractive defect.
Jesus, I love eyes.

I love their lenses and their humours,
I love their ligaments and their nerves.

I even love the way most girls have two,

you know, stuck right in the middle
of their faces.

I'm not in love with her, though,
or like to be.

You're the one
with the unresisting heart.

Anyway, you should send her some flowers
on Valentine's Day.

It may not go down well,
they're still deep in grief.

Look, you want a nice unassuming posy.

Preferably in some tender, dainty shade.

Dr Harrison. Dr Marshland.

It seems such a time since you came
to our little Christmas party.

I've been inside the store
with the Hutton sisters.

You cannot imagine the amusement
dear Lizzie and Helen had

from the Valentine cards.

Do you affix much meaning to the
little gallantries of the day, Doctor?

I think they can be
of miraculous benefit.

- Dr Harrison.
- HELEN: Sophy, Dr Harrison is here.

How delightful to see you all.

Miss Hutton, Lizzie, Helen,
may I introduce Dr Marshland?

- We are pleased to meet you, sir.
- And I, you.

- You are all well, I hope.
- We could not be better, Dr Harrison.

Send her snowdrops.
She's got that sort of face.

Must you leave tomorrow?

I can't cope
with the social whirl of Cranford.

- Oh, dear God!
- Who are you sending valentines to?

The two little Hutton girls.
Oh, go on, Frank.

They're such sweet funny things.
They remind me of my sisters.

Girls, the postman has been.
What a delivery.

(GIRLS CLAMOU RING)

There's one for Lizzie.
And there's one for Helen.

- Oh, there's a note, Papa.
- Let me see.

What bold handwriting
your admirers have.

- Wonder who it is?
- Both of them.

"With the compliments of Dr Harrison."

- Shall I invite him to visit?
- Yes.

(DOOR OPENING)

- Good morning, Miss Matty.
- Good morning, Martha dear.

Oh! A valentine! Oh, Martha.

Martha, what would
Miss Deborah have said.

You gave your word.

Oh! Sister! Sister!

A valentine?

- It is anonymous.
- As all such tokens are. Read the verse.

"My heart aches,
I can no longer tarry.

"You must give me physic and agree to...

-"To marry!"
- Give me physic. Me.

My admirer has underlined the word,
to point out

that our customary relationship
is, in this case, reversed.

The ink is very blotched.
And the hand looks awkward.

Dr Harrison is a medical man.

He is allowed to write badly.
Have you nothing else to say to me?

Only that I cannot deny that I shall

miss you very much when you're married.

Oh, Augusta.

(SIGHING)

I hardly dared hope
this day would ever come.

Oh, Mary dear.

We've been invited
to Mr Holbrook's house.

- You and I both.
- And I, too.

I received minejust this hour.

Miss Matty, I hope you will forgive me.
And Miss Pole.

If I tell you that I do know
there was once a friendship

between yourself and Mr Holbrook.

At least I need not explain
whyl must refuse his invitation.

Why must you refuse?
So much time has passed.

And it is not as if
you are invited there alone.

Why do you seek to force me into this?

Because I have not been invited
to that house

since Mr Canning was Prime Minister.

Deborah would deplore my going there.

She deplored him.
That is not the same at all.

Ladies, ladies, you are welcome indeed.

A delightful room.

This is my counting house, Miss Matilda.

Not a room where I thought
you would like to sit.

I should like it very much.

Sort of room Drjohnson might have had.

Well, in that case,
we shall eat our dinner here.

Mrs Willits, would you
show the ladies upstairs?

How very kind.

I should take a turn around the garden,
in the meantime.

- Come along, Mary.
- I should rather see the garden.

- If that is agreeable to Mr Holbrook?
- Oh, yes. Most agreeable.

Thank you.

I'm afraid he's got
a lot of uncouth habits, living alone.

I can't imagine the last time
they used the linen in this press.

I'm sorry to say,
that marvellous set looks...

I thought Miss Matty
might like a drive after her dinner.

She would like it very much, I am sure.

I recollect
she's very fond of baby chicks.

We've just had three dozen hatched.
They'll be delightful viewing.

Miss Matty is fond of all small things.

You've put a great deal of thought
into her entertainment.

I've had 30 years to plan it.

I hope the dumplings haven't
blunted your appetites too much.

My housekeeper
doesn't like to serve them.

When my father was alive,
we always started with dumplings.

We didn't get any meat till
we'd done justice to the first course.

I think it is a very proper way
of doing things.

Dinners have gone
all topsy-turvy nowadays.

"In the spring, a fuller crimson
Comes upon the robin's breast

"In the spring the wanton lapwing
Gets himself another crest

"In the spring a livelier iris
Changes on the burnished dove

"In the spring a young man's fancy
Lightly turns to thoughts of love"

Thank you, Miss Matilda.

That's most beautifully done.

There's a shocking draught in here.
I'm sure it was never thus

in my uncle's time.

Oh! Excuse me. I've been remiss.

Thank you.

Miss Matty, madam.

To think that you went out
with that thin shawl, at your age.

At my age. At my age!

How old do you think I am
that you talk about my age?

Some people do look much older
than they are.

(CLOCK CHIMING)

What is amiss?
Is this cap unsuitable for a weekday?

It is only that I see another
underneath it.

Uh!

How on earth did I do that?

You spent too long
before the looking-glass.

There is a madness that descends
on such occasions.

I will arrange myself here.

(CLOCK CHIMING 1:00)

(CLOCK CHIMING 2:00)

(CLOCK CHIMING 3200)

I don't think
there will be visitors today, Martha.

Perhaps they'll come tomorrow.

Well, it's all right for her,
whether he turns up or not.

At least she's allowed to entertain him.

Martha!

You know how much I think of Miss Matty.

But it's so hard that
I'm not allowed a follower.

It's a wasted opportunity.
There's such a lot of lads in Cranford.

It's not like it was when I was on farm

and there were only old dairymen
and Ginger jack who was simple.

But I think the world of Miss Matty,

-and I never take advantage.
- I know.

Oh, God, I'm sorry.
I've let myself down.

But after the to-do about the valentine,

I felt obliged to shut the door
injem Hearne's face.

And he did not like it.
And I haven't seen him since.

- You gonna toss it, Sophy?
- No, Lizzie, I'm not.

Bessie has quite enough pancake
to clean up off the floor.

I am sorry.
I should not have even tried.

You fared no worse than I did last year.
I dropped two.

- Will you have the last, Dr Harrison?
- I should be delighted.

That's your eighth.

(ALL LAUGHING)

MRS ROSE: Especially for you.

- Pancakes.
- There are more in the kitchen.

Oh, Mrs Rose.

It is the little things
that make a house a home.

I'm sorry for my tardiness.
I should've come sooner,

but there was trouble with the calving.

Spring must be a busy time on a farm.

You used to be fond of primroses.

I've remained so always.

- These are still in bud.
- They'll open up in time.

Miss Matilda,
I'm resolved to take a trip away.

- You will be gone very long?
- Oh, no. No, it's not far to Paris.

Pafis?

Are there any revolutions there
at present?

It's tranquil of late. Thank God for it.

I'm not limber enough
to be clambering over barricades.

Miss Matilda,
it cannot, I think, be denied that our

association

has been drawn out over more years
than we might have wished.

We cannot reverse the clock.

Only move forward,
in the way of time itself.

And I do not arrange an absence
for no reason.

I do so hoping that whilst I'm away,

you will take pause to consider
how our future path might run.

I see.

I believe you do.

Haste has never been our hallmark,
Miss Matilda.

We would be unshaped
if we began to move at speed.

Oh, I almost forgot.

Mr Tennyson's poems,

which you so enjoyed at my house.

May I call to see you
as soon as I return?

Yes, Mr Holbrook. I would like that.

Take care of yourself, Matty.

Is this your family Bible, Miss Matty?
I have not seen it before.

Yes, it has become so frail.
I hardly ever bring it out.

I must find a better place
to keep these letters.

Miss Matty, what happened to Peter?

- Peter?
- Your brother.

His birth is entered here, just
under yours, but there is nothing else.

- And I've never heard him mentioned.
- No.

My sister maintained
that was the better way.

Dr Harrison.

Good morning, Doctor.

Were you hoping
to chance upon Miss Hutton?

No.

I just came in to buy a pair of

gloves.

Kid leather, satin gauntlet,
chamois, wool or gardening?

This is from my father,
when he was away from the rectory once.

It's mostly in Latin and in verse,
but after he signs his name, he writes,

"Do not kill the pig,"
in very black letters.

In this one, your grandfather says,

"I'm certain that if the child, Matilda,

"has your hair and eyes,
as you describe,

"she will grow up to be a great beauty."

I'm not sure that was true.

But people did say
I had a very good complexion.

Do the letters distress you, Miss Matty?

It's not the letters,
but the memories that grieve me.

Suddenly they rise up,
when I thought them fastened down.

Here's a letter from Peter
that he wrote at school.

It doesn't matter
that I can barely see to read it

or that one day, it will be dust.

I've been through it so many times.

"Mother dear, I've been beaten again,
and I've seen a ghost.

"Please send some cake
with some citron in."

Was he sent far from home?

Shrewsbury.

But things did not work out
as they ought,

so Father decided to tutor him at home

to keep him out of mischief.

Because he really did have
a dreadful habit of...

He had a habit of hoaxing.

- Boys misbehave.
- Peter was more than a boy.

And less than sensible.

That's when things began to come undone.

Might we blow out the candles,
Mary dear?

I think I might talk better in the dark

When he was 16,

our sister, Deborah,
went to stay with friends

near the garrison at Newcastle.

She was away three months,
and Cranford had begun to miss her.

One day,
Father had come back from his walk,

and he saw a crowd at the rectory gates.

As he approached,
he saw a woman in the garden

holding an infant in her arms

and babbling to it as if it were newborn

and out for its first airing.

Even Father thought it was Deborah
for a moment,

but it was Peter dressed in a bonnet
and her pea-green gown,

and holding a pillow in his arms,
wrapped in a shawl as if...

As if it were a baby.

Father was so incensed.

He took his stick and beat poor Peter
there in front of everyone.

Until he was sick, and they both wept.

By then the crowd had gone.

But they had seen
that it was not Miss Deborah.

Peter was so ashamed.

And you know Cranford by now.
How people talk and talk.

He ran away.
They dragged the river for him.

And then we got a letter
saying he had joined the navy

and would go abroad.

My mother would not credit it.

I fear she parted with her proper mind.

She took my father's hand

and said, "Come, husband,

"if you come with me,
I'm sure we will find him."

And they would walk from room to room,
with Mother looking for their boy

and Father at a loss
to know how he could correct her.

She did not live another 12 months.

And what became of Peter?

We had a letter from India

the week my mother died.

He said he would go to sea no more.

That he'd made a fine new life on land,

and that he'd bought
some white sprig muslin

that he would send for my wedding dress.

For your wedding dress?

He knew about Mr Holbrook.

But, Miss Matty, you...

I thought you had
turned Mr Holbrook down.

I had hoped to persuade
my family of his worth.

I knew it would take some time.

But Peter knew of his intentions,
and he liked him so much.

That gave me hope.

Then Peter ran away?

Mr Holbrook proposed
in the midst of all our sorrows.

I so wanted to say yes, but I couldn't.
I couldn't accept him.

Not after all that had occurred.

Were you afraid
you might upset your family further?

I was afraid it would destroy them.

We'd been so buffeted about.
I had no choice.

I wounded Mr Holbrook instead of them.

What did you do with that muslin?

It never arrived.

And we never heard
from my brother again.

Miss Matty, there's a letter.
It looks foreign.

MR H O LB R00 K: Paris cannot match the
charms that I left behind in Cheshire.

Ana' so,
I am resolved to return forthwiz'/1.

I hope you will dine with me
on Easter day

and that you will have
a favourable answer

to the proposition put before you

by your faithful friend,
Thomas Holbrook.

You're right.
I must prevaricate no longer.

I feel the need for lace
to lift my features.

But I fear Mr Holbrook
might prefer things to be plain.

Then there's the question
of pleating at the back.

Would a double fold be too elaborate?

Miss Matty, it has taken us the morning
to decide to come at all.

And now Miss Galindo is not in.
And we waste another day.

(KNOCKING AT DOOR)

Good morning, Doctor.

I found these gloves on the table,
in the kitchen.

They are ladies gloves.

And new.
They're still wrapped in tissue.

They are a gift, Mrs Rose. For you.

Uh!

Perhaps you attempt
to alert me to something?

I suspect you've tired
of seeing me in black

and wish me to lighten my mourning,
just a little.

It has been years since my husband died.

I could, perhaps, move on to mauves.

Really, I'm very touched.

(BELL RINGING)

Do not alarm your mistress.

Only tell her
that the fly is summoned urgently,

and like to be at her door
within the minute.

Mr Holbrook contracted a chill
on the voyage back from France.

By the time he reached home,
pneumonia had set in.

I'm so very sorry.

I will go to him.

It is the proper thing to do.

MAI I Y: I have hid my feelings

Fearing they should do me wrong

Saying, dost thou love me?

Weeping I have loved thee long

What is this? His eyes are heavy

Think not they are glazed with wine

Go to him. I2' is thy duty

Kiss him. Take his hand in thine

Cursed be the social wants

That sin against the strength of youth

Cursed be the social lies

That warp us from the living truth

Tis well that I should bluster!

Hadst thou less unworthy proved

Would to God

For I had loved thee more

Than ever wife was loved.

It's all in there.

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

Did you want me, Miss Matty?

Martha, you are young.

And it seems to me
that you might, in time,

meet with a young man whom you like
and who likes you.

I know I said that
followers were not permitted.

But if you do meet with such a man,

and you come to me and tell me,

and I find him quite respectable,

you may see each other once a week.

I should not like to grieve
any youthful hearts.

Jem! jem! jem!

You'll never guess.

- Martha, what coat have I got on?
- Sorry.

I'm on my way to Mr Holbrook's.
That's his coffin on the back.

Will it keep until tonight?

It will.

I'm quite certain
which style will suit me best.

I would like two

made like Mrs jamieson's,

coming to a peak in front.

But Mrs jamieson wears widow's caps.

Yes.