Downton Abbey Page 6

  CORA: You look very bouncy.

  ROBERT: I am bouncy. I’ve been asked to a dinner to meet my brother officers.

  CORA: When and where?

  ROBERT: Friday. In the mess at Richmond.

  CORA: I wish I could be as happy about it as you are.

  ROBERT: It’s not exactly that I’m happy, my dear, but I felt before… almost as if I were a liar. How could I criticise others for not enlisting when I was dodging the war myself?

  CORA: You offered your services to your regiment the day after war broke out. What more could you do?

  But he’s aware of O’Brien listening, so he wants to end this.

  ROBERT: Yes, well… I’ll see you later. Branson’ll be waiting for me.

  He leaves and O’Brien returns to the dressing table.

  CORA: Tell me he won’t have to go.

  O’BRIEN: It’s very hard for you, m’lady.

  CORA: What can I do? I suppose men must fight and women must weep.

  O’BRIEN: It seems to me that women must weep whatever men choose to get up to.

  37 INT. DRAWING ROOM. CRAWLEY HOUSE. DAY.

  Clarkson is with Isobel as Molesley clears away tea.

  ISOBEL: What are we aiming at?

  CLARKSON: They’d like us to take a hundred wounded men. Three times the number the hospital was built for.

  ISOBEL: Well, that settles it. We’ll have to convert the second day room.

  CLARKSON: So, there’s to be no convalescence at all?

  ISOBEL: I’m afraid not. Once they can stand, they must go.

  CLARKSON: If only there was somewhere nearer than Farley Hall. I can’t get there more than twice a week at the most.

  Molesley leaves, carrying a large, full tray of tea things.

  CLARKSON (CONT’D): Should he be doing that?

  ISOBEL: Why not?

  CLARKSON: I only meant with his condition.

  ISOBEL: What condition is that?

  CLARKSON: His lungs. Old Lady Grantham told me he’s had a lot of trouble with his lungs.

  ISOBEL: And why did she tell you that, particularly?

  CLARKSON: She wanted me to write to the War Office. She was anxious to spare him the humiliation of being refused on medical grounds.

  There is a dawning suspicion in Isobel.

  ISOBEL: And who else did she wish you to take under your protection?

  CLARKSON: Only one other and not long ago. William Mason. The footman at the big house. He has a bad skin condition, apparently, and hates people to know. She wanted to spare him the physical examination.

  ISOBEL: I’m sure she did.

  38 INT. KITCHENS. DOWNTON. DAY.

  Sybil is struggling valiantly at the stove, stirring some sauce. Mrs Patmore walks past her, looking over her shoulder.

  MRS PATMORE: What in Wonderland do you call that?

  Sybil turns, and Mrs Patmore remembers who she is.*

  MRS PATMORE (CONT’D): I mean, I do not fully understand what you are trying to do, m’lady.

  SYBIL: I knew it wasn’t supposed to look like this.

  MRS PATMORE: No, m’lady. I would go so far as to say there is no food on the earth that is supposed to look like that!

  She goes as Daisy arrives. They stare at the mess in the pan.

  SYBIL: Why does everything go so lumpy?

  DAISY: Tell you what. Chuck it out and we’ll start again.

  * Mrs Patmore is initially talking as she would talk to her helpers in her own kitchen. I felt it was unbelievable that she would immediately be transformed into a deferential servant, because what one has to remember is that the kitchen staff on the whole did not deal with the family. The cook, of course, spoke to the mistress of the house about the menus. But cooks didn’t serve, they didn’t wait at table, they didn’t dress in a uniform or livery. In fact, cooks were notoriously difficult to deal with.

  39 INT. SERVANTS’ HALL. DOWNTON. NIGHT.

  Anna and Bates are alone in the room, planning their future.

  ANNA: I don’t think we should sell your mother’s house. Not yet.

  BATES: We could rent it out. Then we can save. When I’ve some time off, I’ll go up to London and get it ready.

  ANNA: Maybe I can come with you. We could do it together.

  BATES: I’ve got an idea that a bit later on, if we want to…

  He breaks off, slightly embarrassed. She takes his hand.

  ANNA: If we want to start a family.

  BATES: I thought, when the time is right, we might sell, and we could buy a small hotel, just a little one, maybe near here. Then we could work together and have the children with us. What is it?

  She cannot answer him for a second. Her eyes are filling.

  ANNA: Nothing. It’s just that, in my whole life, I never thought I could be as happy as I am at this moment.

  But Ethel’s arrival prevents the flood gates opening.*

  * I always find this scene very touching actually, when I watch it, because the actors play it so well. I felt it was important, before everything goes wrong, to establish an image of what life could be for the Bateses if they had a bit of luck. The divorce going through, their getting married, starting a little hotel: what could be nicer than that? The point is, you’ve got to give the characters a bit of happiness every now and again for their sorrow to resonate.

  40 EXT. DOWNTON VILLAGE/STATION. SIX O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING.

  Matthew is walking through the village towards the station. He pauses to watch a milkman flirting with a housemaid. It is all so far from war. When he emerges onto the platform, Mary is waiting for him. He’s puzzled as to quite what this means.

  MARY: Don’t worry. I haven’t come to undo your good work of the other night.

  MATTHEW: You must have been up before the servants.

  MARY: They were rather surprised to see me… I wanted to give you this.

  She brings something from her bag and holds it out. He takes it. It’s a very small, very battered, old toy rabbit.

  MARY (CONT’D): It’s my lucky charm. I’ve had it always. So you must promise to bring it back… without a scratch.

  MATTHEW: Won’t you need it?

  MARY: Not as much as you. So look after it. Please.†

  MATTHEW: I’ll try not to be a hero, if that’s what you’re afraid of.

  MARY: Just come back, safe and sound. Did you have a happy time yesterday?

  MATTHEW: I showed Lavinia the places I like most. To give her a few memories.

  Of course this is exactly the point.

  MATTHEW (CONT’D): Mary, if I don’t come back —

  MARY: But —

  MATTHEW: No. If I don’t, then do remember how very glad I am that we made up when we had the chance. I mean it. You send me off to war a happy man.

  He smiles at her as he prepares to ask a favour.

  MATTHEW (CONT’D): Will you do something for me? Will you look after Mother, if anything happens?

  MARY: Of course we will, but it won’t.

  MATTHEW: And Lavinia? She’s young and she’ll find someone else — I hope she does, anyway — but until she does…

  She is saved from answering by the whistle of an engine.

  MATTHEW (CONT’D): That’s my train.

  They take each other’s hands. She kisses his cheek.

  MARY: Goodbye, then. And such good luck.

  MATTHEW: Goodbye, Mary. And God bless you.*

  A second later, she is alone. The train moves off. A woman, Vera, in her thirties, has got down onto the platform. She passes Mary and heads for the village.

  † I had a bit of a battle initially with Mary’s lucky charm, I remember, because it photographed incredibly clean. In the script, it started out as a rabbit, and then someone thought a rabbit was too girly. I had an old rabbit, which I based the idea on, and I would have gladly lent it to them, but they said, ‘No, we really want a dog.’ And I thought, well, I can’t really just say, ‘No, you’ve got to have a rabbit,’ so we got the dog. But w
hen we watched the rushes it looked too new to be a child-chewed toy of many years’ standing, so it was dusted over by the special-effects lab to age it up a bit. But I thought it worked very well, and indeed it reappears later in the story.

  * This scene at the railway station is one of my favourites in the whole show so far, because it is all about things that they are not saying out loud. Mary is trying to contain the fact that her love for Matthew is completely undimmed. And one has to remember that even though she didn’t dump him at the end of the first series and he dumped her, nevertheless she provoked him, which was the biggest mistake of her life. Now, she’s not prepared to make a direct appeal, both because of her pride and her upbringing. She just can’t say, ‘Would it make a difference if I told you I loved you?’ But, given that he may die, she can’t let an ordinary goodbye at the end of an evening serve as the last time they see each other this side of the grave, which it might have had to if she hadn’t come to see him off. Especially now that they’re talking again. So, she is emotionally obliged to walk down to the station and say goodbye, whatever it costs her. I think Dan Stevens and Michelle Dockery both play the scene terribly well, and the whole business of Matthew asking Mary to look after Lavinia is handled brilliantly by them. In one way it is a big ask, obviously, but in another way we should understand that he needs to feel that if this poor girl is not even widowed – if he’s killed before they’re married – then he must try to see that she will have powerful friends to support her through it and be on her side.

  41 INT. KITCHENS. DOWNTON. DAY.

  Sybil is at the stove. Mrs Patmore is inspecting her work.

  MRS PATMORE: Well, well, m’lady. Not bad. Not bad at all. You have come on. I wasn’t sure you had the aptitude. But I was wrong. And I’m glad to admit it.

  SYBIL: Mrs Patmore, might I make something for Mama? As a surprise, when I tell her what I’ve been doing.

  MRS PATMORE: Why don’t you bake her a cake?

  SYBIL: But could I?

  MRS PATMORE: Oh, I think so. As long as you do what I tell you and we don’t try anything too fancy.

  There is a small triumph in this, which Sybil shares with Daisy. She notices Branson watching her from the doorway.

  SYBIL: You see, Branson? I’m not completely useless.

  BRANSON: I never said you were, m’lady.

  42 INT. KITCHEN PASSAGE/SERVANTS’ HALL. DOWNTON. DAY.

  Anna is walking along the kitchen passage. As she draws near the door to the servants’ hall, she can hear voices.

  VERA (V.O.): Lady Mary was very much a part of the story, I assure you.

  ETHEL: But how do you know?

  VERA (V.O.): Well, you see, I worked for Lady Flintshire —

  Anna walks in to find Ethel with the woman we saw leaving the station. She’s not bad-looking, but she has a hard face.

  ANNA: Ethel? I hope you’ve offered our visitor some tea?

  ETHEL: I’ll go and ask Daisy.

  She stands and walks out down the passage. Anna follows.

  ANNA: What is the first law of service? We do not discuss the business of this house with strangers!

  ETHEL: But she’s not a stranger. She’s Mr Bates’s wife.

  Anna is completely winded by the words. This is Vera Bates.*

  ETHEL (CONT’D): Has anyone told him she’s here?

  * We were extremely lucky to get Maria Doyle Kennedy, who is a very, very strong actress. One of the difficulties when you have a character who everyone has talked about forever is that, when they do finally appear, they cannot be disappointing. And Maria managed this without difficulty. Her Vera is bitter and dominant, and yet you could believe that she must have been attractive when she was young; attractive and strong and not cowed or shy or any of those things, and perhaps rather glorious in her way. But all of that has turned into rage and hurt and a desire for revenge. I thought she was very powerful in the two scenes. Originally, we did have a little break, but then, in the edit, they made it continuous and, if anything, she was more powerful still. I would work with Maria again not long after this, in a four-part version of the story of the Titanic. She and Toby Jones played a married couple in Second Class – my favourite of the different narratives of that show.

  43 INT. SERVANTS’ HALL. DOWNTON. DAY.

  Anna is with Vera, who looks at her coldly.

  VERA: So you’re Anna.

  ANNA: I am.

  VERA: You’re the one who went to call on my late, lamented mother-in-law.

  ANNA: Yes, I did.

  VERA: I know you did.

  They lock eyes, as Ethel returns with Bates.

  BATES: I’m sorry to keep you waiting, Vera. I was up in the attics, sorting out some cupboards.

  VERA: Don’t worry. I’ve been having a nice time here with Ethel and Miss Smith.

  They are evenly matched, these two. Mrs Hughes now enters.

  MRS HUGHES: Mr Bates, Ethel told me about your visitor, so I’ve had the tea put in my sitting room. I thought you might take Mrs Bates in there.

  BATES: That’s very thoughtful.

  VERA: It is. But then you’re all so kind. I’m beginning to understand why my Batesy’s got so spoiled.

  Her voice is like nails down a blackboard.

  44 INT. HALL. DOWNTON. DAY.

  Carson approaches Cora.

  CARSON: I’m sorry to trouble you, m’lady.

  CORA: What is it, Carson?

  CARSON: Something’s been going on and I don’t feel quite easy that you’ve not been made aware of it.

  CORA: Goodness. What is this dark secret?

  CARSON: Lady Sybil has spent the last two days in the kitchens.

  CORA: What?

  CARSON: She asked Mrs Patmore for some cooking lessons. Because of this nursing course she’s going on.

  CORA: I wondered where she’d been hiding. But why didn’t she mention it?

  45 INT. KITCHEN PASSAGE. DOWNTON. DAY.

  Carson and Cora are at the internal passage window. In the kitchen beyond, the kitchen maids have gathered round. They are all in a state of nerves, as Sybil is about to take the cake out of the oven. Mrs Patmore’s still in charge.

  MRS PATMORE: Now steady. Even the most experienced cook in the world can burn themselves if they’re not careful.

  SYBIL: But do you think it’s ready?

  MRS PATMORE: I know it’s ready.

  DAISY: Go on. You don’t want to spoil it.

  Beyond the window, Carson whispers to Cora.

  CARSON: It seems she’s made a cake for your ladyship, as a surprise. But I’m uneasy with surprises at the best of times. And I wonder if the whole exercise is entirely appropriate.

  Sybil turns the cake out with a flourish and steps back.

  SYBIL: Da-dah!

  The cake is perfect. All the girls start to clap and laugh and cheer and gather round her, as they admire her handiwork.

  CARSON: I’m not comfortable with this, m’lady, not comfortable at all.

  But Cora is seeing her daughter anew, independent, rubbing along with the others, laughing and chatting.

  CORA: They’re just girls, Carson. Just young girls. All on the brink of the rest of their lives.

  The butler is puzzled by her response. She explains.

  CORA (CONT’D): I was worried about Lady Sybil. But now I’m not worried any more. So, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just tiptoe upstairs.

  CARSON: So you don’t mind, m’lady?

  CORA: No. I do not mind. And I’m very grateful to you.

  She starts to leave, then she stops and whispers.

  CORA (CONT’D): And Carson, the cake will be a surprise, whether you approve or not. So please don’t give me away.

  END OF ACT FOUR

  ACT FIVE

  46 INT. MRS HUGHES’S SITTING ROOM. DOWNTON. DAY.

  Vera pours milk into two cups. Bates stands by the window.

  VERA: Sit down.

  BATES: I don’t want to sit down.

  VERA: Suit
yourself.

  She pours out the tea and sits back to drink it.

  BATES: Look, I’m not saying it’s all your fault for how things were between us, but I couldn’t go back to that. I’ll take the blame. I’ll go to some hotel in Malton with a tart. So why hold on?

  VERA: Because I’ve tried it on my own and I don’t like it. You’ve got money now. We’ll be comfortable.

  BATES: You’re out of your mind! What makes you think that I’d ever let it happen?

  VERA: You went to prison for me once…

  Vera takes a delicious sip of tea.

  VERA (CONT’D): I must say this is very good. Does Lord Grantham have his own blend?

  BATES: Is that all?

  VERA: Not quite. You see, if you don’t come back to me, I’m going to the newspapers with a cracking story. And I’d like to bet the Granthams won’t survive it.

  BATES: Oh? And what nonsense is this?

  VERA: The nonsense I heard when I used your name to get a job with Lady Flintshire. His lordship’s cousin.

  BATES: I know who Lady Flintshire is.

  VERA: Well, when I arrived, her maid asked if it was true about Lady Mary Crawley and the Turkish diplomat… They thought I’d know, you see, being your wife.

  BATES: I hope you told them you knew nothing about it.

  VERA: As if. I said: ‘Why don’t you tell me what you think you know, and I’ll tell you if it’s true?’

  She gives Bates a triumphant smile.

  VERA (CONT’D): Goodness me, wasn’t my patience rewarded? The public’s bored with the war, you see. They like gossip, and a diplomat dying in the bed of an earl’s unmarried daughter… Well, that takes the ticket for the Tale of the Year.

  BATES: It’s a pack of lies.

  VERA: I assume that’s loyalty, and not ignorance? Because, you see, I heard Lady Mary needed her maid to help carry him. And, yes, you’ve guessed it, your precious Anna’s going to figure in the story, too. Not to worry too much. It isn’t a criminal offence, is it? Just a social one.

  For a moment Bates is still, then he lurches towards her, his hand raised to strike her. He sounds like an animal at bay.

  BATES: You bitch!

  But she holds her cup and her nerve, and smiles up at him.

  VERA: Please. Be my guest. But then you must excuse me while I run into town and have it photographed.

  Bates sinks back against the wall. He is in despair.