Original subtitles

It's a book of hate, to wreak revenge on every pompous,

trembling worm who taps at Mrs. Castaway's door.

And you are?

"Sugar" is all there is to myname.

I am going to get well, even if it kills me.

Kindred spirits, like yourself,

are difficult to find.

Exclusive patronage of Sugar by me.

I am willing.

William: Your life is going to be very different, from now on.

I am not a madwoman!

I expect a full collapse very shortly.

Sugar: My God. William Rackham.

You'll keep me better than you do now.

My angel,

come at last.

[Crying]

♪♪

Sugar: He sleeps so sweetly,

like a child,

imagining that he is safe.

♪♪

But I have my dreams, also.

♪♪

Dreams of revenge

against the men who took my innocence.

♪♪

[Sizzles]

[Gasps]

Oh, you know, it's been years

since I've slept beside a woman all night.

But I must get up.

I have to look in at home.

You have so many responsibilities.

Ah.

Did you make those changes we discussed to the letter?

Damn jute merchants. Can't afford to fall out with them.

It's all done.

[Baby crying]

What is that terrible smell?

[Sniffs] My nose is very sensitive, at the moment.

If it can distinguish between Lavandula delphinensis

and Lavandula latifolia, then it can certainly detect --

[Sniffing] Ah, dog's mess.

Damn it.

William, I'm sorry.

St. Giles is filthy.

I do wish there was somewhere else we could meet.

I hate dragging you to this plague pit.

You know, I sometimes think it'll be a miracle

if I'm not carried off by the cholera by the time I'm 25.

Don't say that!

Ugh! Really. [Sighs]

One forms the slightest attachment to a woman, then...

Letter.

[Woman screams outdoors]

William, forgive me. I -- I wasjoking.

Well, I wish you wouldn't.

[Child with pertussis coughing, wheezing]

[Footsteps departing]

[Birds chirping]

Goodness, Mrs. Rackham, you havebeen busy.

Do you know what this is, Clara?

Um, invitations?

It's forgiveness.

Society, opening its doors.

I am to be included in the Season.

Even Lady Bridgelow. See?

And -- And Mrs. Amphlett has invited me to tea next week.

A great change is in the air, Clara.

[Shudders]

Everything's going to be all right.

♪♪

Mrs. Fox.

Henry.

I -- I hope I do not inconvenience you.

Not in the least. Forgive all this.

I've become the Rescue Society's unofficial warehouse.

[Coughing]

♪♪

Oh, excuse me.

This is why you did not see me at church today.

Forgive me, where is your maid?

Oh, I let her go home on the weekends,

to care for her grandfather.

So, we are alone in the house.

Is -- Is that... quite decent?

Ohh.

I'm afraid I find cocoa terrifically stimulating.

We are so easily seduced.

Are we?

Just last week,

I was on my way home from visiting

a particularly wretched family.

I was tired, discouraged, and I didn't want to walk.

And, before I knew what I was doing,

I was in the underground railway,

speeding through the Earth,

mindless of anything, except my own pleasure.

[Giggle] And all at the cost of a sixpence.

Goodness.

I enjoyed it so much, I missed my stop.

[Clock ticking]

This is how the world will end, Henry.

The Antichrist is our own desires.

[Cup rattles]

[Woman shouting nearby]

Castaway: You arethe early bird.

I have some errands to run.

Well, you've time on your hands.

We haven't seen much of Mr. Hunt, lately, have we?

What is it, a week, now?

Mr. Hunt is a busy man.

Oh, so it seems.

Although, with what, exactly, I'm never certain.

Well, you can ask him, the next time he comes.

Just so long as you parted from him on good terms, hmm?

As always.

But what do we care?

I know you're much missed at the Fireside.

Do you remember the game we used to play when you were a baby?

On the coldest winter nights,

I'd creep into your room while you were sleeping,

all cuddled up in your blanket,

and I'd... pull it off.

Do you remember?

I'd pull it off and I'd say,

"That's what God does."

♪♪

That's... what God does.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Morning.

♪♪

Morning.

♪♪

The dagger tip touched tender flesh and, yet, I hesitated.

[Crying out]

Is not this man worse than all the rest?

Has he not abused my trust

and cast me back into the pit of filth?

Yet I could not thrust it home.

Aah! No!

I put away my trusty blade,

fetched poison and the softest cloth.

[Muffled] Stop!

Aah! Aah.

[Whimpers]

Sweet dreams, my love.

Mrs. Rackham, what is your secret?

My secret?

Some new spa, perhaps?

You're looking most terribly well.

Oh, no, no, no, Mrs. Amphlett. Um...

Well, I was just thinking that youlook

quite remarkably different from the last time I saw you.

So thin. I hardly recognized you.

You are very kind.

Not at all. I'm envious.

I swear by a strict, but simple, regime of water and green beans

and, if I'm feeling dizzy, a mouthful of oxtail soup,

but the soup must be very well-strained.

[Chuckling] Oh, oh, I-I shall remember.

No, I shall write this down.

I should caution you that, at first,

you may experience debilitating headaches.

I'm already a martyr to headache.

As we speak,

I'm prey to a terrible throbbing.

But there is no need for you to suffer as you do.

[Bird squawking]

Here, look.

On bad days, I take a couple of these,

with a dose of Godfrey's Cordial.

Ask your pharmacist.

Your doctor would give you

a lecture on them,

but, trust me,

you will hardly know yourself.

[Snaps case shut]

♪♪

♪♪

[Chirping]

♪♪

♪♪

Well, this ispleasant, a meal together.

You suggested we have a meal together.

Yes, I did.

Bon appetit.

What is it, dear?

Hmm? Oh, it's -- Um, green beans.

No, you were just smiling.

Well, ahem, William,

the fact is,

I have a guardian angel.

Are you referring to Clara?

No, a real guardian angel.

She watches over us.

I-I feel her about me all the time.

I thinkshe's from the Convent of Health,

you know, the place I go when I'm asleep.

I wasn't aware that you were going anywhere, dear,

while you were sleeping.

The nuns there are really angels.

[Laughs] I've suspected that

for a long time, but what a relief,

to have proof.

"Proof"?

Yeah, I waved to her and she waved back.

Mmm.

♪♪

Are you not hungry?

♪♪

♪♪

[Doorbell rings]

[Door opens]Christopher: He's here.

Well, go on, send him up.

He wants you to come down.

He's talking to Castaway.

[Man shouting]

Woman: Oh, God! Oh, oh!

Oh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.

Castaway: Ah, Sugar.

I'm afraid to say,

Mr. Hunt has had enough of our house.

I'm sorry to hear that, Mr. Hunt.

It seems Mr. Hunt has other plans for you.

[Man shouting]

♪♪

I've missed your company.

It's been difficult getting away.

Agnes is... seeing things.

"Seeing things"?

Angels in the street.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Who else is here?

[Clock ticking]

What is this?

This is yours.

And mine.

I couldn't bear the thought of you living

in that filthy part of town any longer.

[Crying]

The bank will send you an allowance.

The first payment is here.

You will be independent.

[Both laughs]

Say something.

Oh, dear God!

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Will you miss your looking glass?

Oh. Why do I need to look at myself,

when I have you to look at me?

[Laughs] I've instructed Mrs. Castaway

that nothing in your room be touched

until youremove it.

Did she seem sorry to see me go?

[Chuckling] Not in the least.

The old trout knows a good deal when she sees one.

But you need not worry about her anymore,

nor anyone from your past.

You have a new life, here, with me.

♪♪

♪♪

Taken all your books, I see.

Don't forget your bowl.

Good bowl, that.

I won't need it.

There's a bath at the new place.

Who'll take care of your sheets?

I will, I suppose.

[Bell tolling]

That's me, out of a job, then.

You know, I was thinking, Christopher, that...

I could come back sometimes

and you and I could read together.

[Crying] I will come back for you.

♪♪

You're leaving us, then, after all these years?

Lord knows I tried hard enough to be rid of you, once.

No brew so toxic, I didn't inflict it upon myself;

no bath so scalding, I didn't immerse myself in it.

[Scoff] You were... indestructible.

Let's hope I remain so.

♪♪

Nineteen years, since we embarked on this life together.

Six, since you tiptoed to my room and told me

there was a gentleman come to keep me warm.

Well...Mother, I --

Course, dear.

Nothing to hold you here.

Onward and upward with Mr. Hunt!

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

[Wind whistling]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

[Knock on door]

[Door closes]

[Laughs]

Ah!

♪♪

[Sugar gasping]

-Ah! -Ohh!

William: Oh!

♪♪

Ahh!

William: Ah! Ah! Ah!

Ahh! Ahh! Ahh!

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

I'm afraid I won't see you for a while.

I'm in Dundee until Thursday

and then I have Bodley and Ashwell on the Friday.

I will get away from them as early as I can.

You'll be here?

Where else?

Believe it or not, Agnes is also out that night.

Lady Bridgelow is taking her to the Royal Albert Hall.

Goodness, that's a step forward.

Yeah. Too big a step, she thought,

but I persuaded her. [Sniffs]

The new Verdi. Thank goodness for Cheesman.

At least I know she'll get there and back in one piece.

I-I've told you of this new coachman?

I checked his references for you.

Of course you did.

She has been marvelous, really,

considering how she has suffered.

Well, perhaps Agnes is stronger than you imagine.

No, I mean Lady Bridgelow.

[Sniffs] She knows, better than most, the --

the cruelty of petty social stigma.

Don't underestimate your own allure, William.

She is a modern aristocrat, not afraid to associate herself

with those who have dealings with people in trade.

I admire her for that.

Do you have enough money?

Plenty.

Mmm! Make sure you eat properly.

Go to the Warwick, order the bream.

[Door closes]

[Shudders]

♪♪

"But I am a respectable family man," he cried,

as I cut through his shirt with my razor-sharp shears.

♪♪

♪♪

[Indistinct conversation outside]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Woman: No!

Aaaah!

[Barks]

Woman: Aah!

Spare a coin? Miss, spare a coin?

[Horse neighs]

Woman: Down here!

[Shouting, screaming from outside]

I just came to pick up my powders.

I thought I'd call in.

Oh, that's nice.

Can't get your powders in Marylebone, then?

Well, I-I daresay I could, but I don't know where or --

or who to ask.

Got no friends up there?

Not that kind.

He's fair to you, then, is he?

[Scoff] Clothes don't mean nothing, Sugar.

Might beat you with a poker

or make you lick his shoes, for all that.

No, he's not like that.

Well, what mighty good luck.

[Breathy chuckle]

Are you, you know,

fond of him?

Well, I'm used to him.

And when he's away, like now --

Do you miss him?

I don't miss him.

I miss the world that comes withhim.

I'm involved with his business.

It's oddly satisfying. [Chuckles]

Do you still got time for your book?

Not as much as I'd hoped.

Perhaps got less to avenge now.

No, I don't think that.

Not at all.

No harm in getting soft, Sugar.

We all would, given half a chance.

[Baby crying]

♪♪

[Chuckling]

Oh, Rackers, buck up.

You look as though you'd rather be tucked up.

I got back from Dundee at 4:00 this morning.

Flatelli will soon put the wind in your sails.

We have plans to, uh, revive you later, don't worry.

We called on Mrs. Castaway this morning.

Some lucky gent has taken the legendary Sugar off the market,

before we'd had the benefit of her charms.

If you find out who's got her,

do tell him we're dying to have a bash.

Heh heh.

Anyway, we thought a trip to the twins in Drury Lane.

Ah, previous engagement.

You aredull, Bill.

But happy.

He's lost his mind.

You haven't been drinking the lavender water?

[All laugh]

[Birds chirping]

Not everyone can wear white.

No, indeed, Mrs. Rackham.

You have to be very thin.

[Orchestra tuning up]

[Whispering] Do you think she ever eats?

Shall we?

[Orchestra playing]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

[Gasps, sobs]

[Applause]

Oh, bravo!

Men: Bravo! Bravo. Bravo!

♪♪

Your opinion, Agnes?

I have no opinion. I'd merely like some air.

Oh, goodness, you do look peakish.

Lady Bridgelow, your concern for me

is false and poisonous.

You are fat and your chin has hairs on it.

[Heaving]

-My God! -Ohh!

-[Sobbing, exclaiming] -Oh, dear.

♪♪

♪♪

Agnes?

Agnes!

♪♪

Agnes...

♪♪

Clara?

No.

You must not look me in the face.

You're not supposed to see me.

[Shuddering] Is it you?

I'm going to help you, Agnes,

but you must not look at my face.

Ohh, William says you are a trick of my imagination.

[Sobbing]

Ohh.

Ohh! Oh, I-I'm filthy.

[Shuddering]

I-I'm covered in filth.

Stand up. Stand up.

Wrap this round you.

You -- You smell familiar. [Sobbing]

Now, listen,

I need you to walk out of here and turn left.

I'll be watching you, Agnes,

but this must be our secret.

Do you understand?

Otherwise, I could get into trouble.

Can -- Can angels get into trouble?

Creatures like us are not supposed to interfere

in your world.

[Shuddering]

I'm watching you, remember.

Go on, keep moving.

[Sniffles]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

"I do wonder where you can be, at this time of night."

Clara.

[Whispering] It's me, William.

Where's Clara?

Just outside. Don't worry.

How do you feel now, dear?

Like a lost bonnet,

floating along a dark river.

You are so very understanding.

No. I pity her.

We who have uninterrupted health

must be thankful for our good fortune.

Certainly, my dear Albert always urged me

to be thankful for it when he was alive.

Oh, my dear Lady Bridgelow.

Oh, I should not complain.

I have my son, in whom Albert lives on.

The resemblance is very strong.

[Chuckles]

I don't doubt it'll be the same for you,

when you have a son.

I daresay it will.

You're visiting my sister?

Uh, yes. I trust she's well.

Of course she's not well. Use your sense, man.

Don't stay too long and tire her out.

You are perhaps a little pale.

Hmm, appearances mean so little.

My dear Bertie appeared to be in the pink of health always, yet,

he is gone and I remain.

[Coughing]

[Gagging cough]

[Hacking]

Ohh,

I am so anxious to be well, Henry.

[Coughs] With no children to look after,

I've saved all my juices for the cause.

I know the cause is grateful.

I sit here tormented, knowing, each day that passes,

one more woman sinks into a life of unbridled vice.

Mrs. Fox,

I want you to know that I have, myself,

begun to work in St. Giles.

You,Henry?

So you must rest easy in the knowledge

that a presence is maintained.

Oh, oh, I knew that you felt as I do.

I do.

♪♪

Caroline: Hello, sir.

Want a nice girl,

not expensive?

I -- I wish only to talk with you.

♪♪

Very good. Come to my house.

No, no, I mean what I say.

A shilling,

just to talk.

What are you writing it down for?

Oh, I'm temporarily taking over the work

of a dear friend in the Rescue Society.

I intend to report back in every detail.

Oh, nice.

Well, you've paid your shilling. Don't be shy.

Ah, ah, when, if you don't mind, Caroline,

did you lose your virtue?

Age 16.

To me husband.

-To your husband? -Mm-hmm.

Ah, well, then you did not lose your virtue.

So you must have left him, then,

or been cast out?

He died, sir.

And my little boy followed close behind.

Hmm. I am deeply sorry.

So, that is when you fell into this way of being?

I didn't fall, I was pushed.

Owed the doctor for the child's medicine.

He arranged my start in the profession.

The doctor?

-Mm-hmm. -I see.

Well, forgive me,

I know a man who runs a great concern.

I could arrange employment for you.

I have employment.

Employment by which you would not risk damnation.

I haveemployment.

You want me to break my health in a dirty factory

for two shillings a week to help your friend make his fortune?

Now, your shilling's long since up.

Caroline.

Do you believe you have a soul?

Anything you got, I got, too.

Then don't you fear for it?

You know, I fear nothing much,

because I've loved and I've been loved.

Ain't that what a soul's about?

Brother.

Oh, I -- I need to talk to you, William.

Ah, I've only just returned from Birmingham and I have

an important appointment I need to make in Marylebone.

It is a confession, of sorts.

Sit down, Henry.

♪♪

[Knock on door]

Ma'am.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

He dresses it up as spiritual poppycock, of course,

but the fact is that Henry's on heat

and too priggish to admit it.

[Both laughing]

So how did you advise him?

I simply told him that the feelings he had for Mrs. Fox

beared all the hallmarks of infatuation

and they would simply run their course.

What enthrals us today may simply have no hold tomorrow.

Indeed.

-Poor William. -Mmm.

The whole world runs to you with its troubles.

Mmm!

All except you.

What troubles have I? I am the luckiest woman alive.

Oh!

Mm.

Oh, I wish I could just fall asleep here.

Well, do.

I have to be up early tomorrow.

I have to go into the lavender fields.

The lavender fields?

Mm-hmm.

Where the lavender actually grows?

[Laughs]

Won't you take me?

Oh, I'd love nothing more.

But...

I understand.

It's a shame you don't have a chaperone.

Some kindly old gent to add a veneer

of respectability to the exercise.

I need to pee.

Pretend you're at home: do it in your pants.

[Bees buzzing]So kindhearted.

Six shillings and whiskey, remember?

Enjoy the sunshine.

William: They claim they've been pruning these bushes for weeks.

Yesterday afternoon, more like.

It really is magnificent.

Bigger than I'd ever imagined.

Ha!

What a bonfire this'd make, eh?

Actually, we do burn all the plants,

in their fifth autumn.

The blaze is fragrant enough

to cause all of Mitcham to swoon.

Ah! I've been looking for you.

I give it six months, you'll be out on your arse.

Sugar: You don't know what you're talking about.

Oh, don't let anything dirty pass your lips.

It isbreathtaking.

If only I had a son to leave it to.

Dear William.

It suits you, the fresh air.

♪♪

[Chuckle]

♪♪

Agnes: Bleeding again, underneath.

I am certain it's caused by eating.

If I don't eat, I don't bleed,

but then I get faint and they summon Curlew.

Where is my angel?

I have not seen her in so long.

Perhaps I have not deserved her.

Some stains, you never get out.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Thank you.

You may sit up.

I'm afraid all is not as it should be.

Your womb has moved.

It's much higher than where it ought to be, which is...

Mrs. Rackham,

are you looking at anything in particular?

I'm looking forsomething, Dr. Curlew.

What?

A sign.

[Crying] I suggest Agnes take more interest in the household.

Next thing I know, she's actually scrubbing.

Curlew's adamant she must be secured.

No.

Surely, Agnes would never survive an asylum.

I've told him that. Exactly.

Awful thing is, one day, she's as normal as you or I,

and the next...

she's waving at angels.

How long has Agnes been this way?

If I'm honest,

her madness has blossomed since the child.

Agnes lost a child?

No, we havea child.

You have?

Yes.

A-A daughter, unfortunately.

Sophie.

Sophie.

I see very little of her.

The odd glimpse,

as she's being swept off to church by her nurse.

[Sniff] Ugh! Another looming disaster.

Miss Cleave claims that Sophie needs a governess.

Does a child of eight need schooling?

[Scoff] A girl, too.

Trying to bounce another shilling

out of me a week, I don't doubt.

Mm.

Oh!

I wish, for all the world, I could live with you.

[Sighs]

[Distantly] Man: Rejoice, Christ exhorts us,

and be exceeding glad,

for great is your reward in heaven

for so persecuted they

the prophets which were before you.

Ye are the salt of the Earth,

but if the salt have lost its savor,

wherewith shall it be salted?

It is thenceforth good for nothing,

but to be cast out and to be trodden.

♪♪

[Whispering] Face front and pay attention.

♪♪

Henry: Why, Dr. Curlew.

Henry.

I received a message

from Mrs. Fox today.

Indeed?

I gather she is to be sent away to the coast, to recover?

She's going to Folkestone, yes.

Ha. That much is true.

Ah. Do you have you any idea how long she'll be there?

Uh, I imagine,

given my experience of the disease,

not long at all.

A couple of months, at most.

She'll be gone so long?

Well, I -- I shall strive to find ways

to pass the time until she's back.

Dear God, what is the matter with the men in your family?

Do you understand nothing?!

[Tearfully] My sister is dying of consumption.

She'll never come back.

[Door opens, slams]

[Gasping] Henry.

I hoped it was you.

But what kept you?

Nothing keptme.

Time passes so slowly for me when I'm waiting for you.

Oh.

[Crying] Mrs. Fox,

I am not worthy.

-Oh, but you are. -No!

My feelings for you leave me in no doubt.

I am not cut out to be a clergyman.

Henry, stop.

I rageto see you punished in this way.

God is bigger than one woman's illness

and you would make the kindest, sincerest,

handsomest minister.

Forgive me.

[Clatter]

[Gasping]

[Knocks softly]

Are you quite sure you won't join us this evening, Agnes?

I know how fond you are of Henry.

Dr. Curlew has advised against socializing.

I think he also said it might be better not

to spend so much time sitting at the window, dearest.

You don't believe in angels, do you?

No, I don't.

You don't believe in anything except William Rackham.

[Sobbing] Sh-She's dying, Bill!

No, she's absurdly highly strung and on new medication.

Mrs. Fox is dying.

Her brother says there's no hope.

Oh.

She stares into my soul, Bill. Those imploring eyes.

You two had...

grown surprisingly close.

Her breast heaves.

[Glass rattles]

She pants and clutches at my hand.

How lucky she is to have you to comfort her, Henry.

It is as if --

as if she wants something more from me.

It's not surprising.

I ask myself, over and over and over,

what is it she thinks I can give her.

Are you serious?!

I have prayed for guidance, night and day.

For pity's sake, Henry!

She wants you to give her a good seeing to.

She wants you to give her a good fucking, Henry!

What sort of a... creature?

I can't stay in this house!

Stop tormenting her, Henry! If she really is dying,

just let her feel pleasure, at least once!

[Sniffles]

[Agnes snoring]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

[Gasps]

William? What is it?

I've asked Cheesman to come at dawn.

We will leave for the lavender fields, straightaway.

What about...

What do I care what people think?!

It's my damn lavender field! It's my damn business!

I'm sick of being judged by fools

who have no idea how the world works,

who have the luxury of a clear conscience

because I pay for it, on a dirty, daily basis!

[Crying]

[Sobbing]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

[Shudders]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

Mrs. Fox.

You look so well.

Of course, Henry.

I'm in heaven.

♪♪

I can't wait for you to join me.

♪♪

I want to join you.

I want to.

But we're not married.

There's no marriage in heaven, Henry.

Mark 12:25.

Mrs. Fox.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

[Birds chirping]

[Bees buzzing]

If only I could live with you.

You are such a help to me.

I wish I could help you more.

It's not only Henry and Agnes.

The entire household is out of control.

Agnes's maid treats me with open contempt.

Miss Cleave has finally handed notice,

so now I have to find a new governess.

Are you serious about living with me?

Of course I am,

but it's impossible.

Could I not, in fact,

live with you, asyour new governess?

[Chuckling]

Foreman: Mr. Rackham!

You're not serious?

I'm sorry.

Mr. Rackham!

I only thought...

Mr. Rackham!

Sir!

You're wanted, sir, at once!

It's your brother!

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

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♪♪