MRS PATMORE: No, I’m not. Well, we’re eating in half an hour, but it’s all done.
MRS HUGHES: Well, if you could spare a minute.
As they walk out they cross Anna descending the stairs with a mountain of Mary’s clothes. Which Daisy sees.
DAISY: Blimey. Is it all for the laundry?
ANNA: Most of it just needs ironing. I’ll do it tomorrow.13
Daisy fingers a lace-edged nightgown.
DAISY: Do you ever think of the one that died? Miss Swire. Did you like her?14
ANNA: I hardly knew her, but, yes, I think she was a kind person.
DAISY: I only talked to her once, but I thought she was nice.
7 INT. DINING ROOM. DOWNTON. NIGHT.
Robert and Matthew are alone, with Isis, drinking port and smoking cigars.
MATTHEW: This is very good. I hope you didn’t open it for me.
ROBERT: Certainly I did. To welcome you into this house as my son. I can’t tell you how glad it makes me.
MATTHEW: Robert, I want us always to feel we can be honest with each other…
ROBERT: Of course.
MATTHEW: Because Mary’s told me about your present difficulties.
ROBERT: She was right. Losing Downton will affect you both more than anyone.
MATTHEW: I wonder if she’s told you about the will of Lavinia’s father… Because if not, I must explain my decision. You should hear it from me.15
8 INT. DRAWING ROOM. DOWNTON. NIGHT.
The ladies are being served coffee by Carson and Alfred. Mary is with Violet, a little away from the rest.
VIOLET: Your father’s told me all about it. But I cannot understand why so much money was put into one company.
MARY: I couldn’t agree more.
VIOLET: And now we’re to be turned out of Downton… Even Lloyd George can’t want that.16
MARY: I’m not sure he’s a good example.
VIOLET: The point is, have we overlooked something? A source of revenue previously untapped? If only we had some coal, or gravel, or… tin.17
MARY: Well, I can think of someone who’s got plenty of tin.18
She looks across the room at Martha. We join her.
MARTHA: So, you help women who have fallen over?
ISOBEL: Not quite.
CORA: Cousin Isobel helps women who have had to degrade themselves to survive. There’s a centre in York.19
MARTHA: Oh, no addresses, please, or Alfred will be making notes.
Martha winks at Alfred, who nearly laughs, then he sees Carson’s face.
MARTHA (CONT’D): So what do you do for these women?
ISOBEL: Well, first, we like to send them away. To rest.
MARTHA: I should think they need it.
ISOBEL: And then we try to find them alternative employment.
CORA: The war destroyed many households. In thousands of families, the bread-winners are dead.
MARTHA: So, you want me to contribute?
CORA: You don’t have to give money after every conversation, Mother.
MARTHA: No? Isn’t that what the English expect of rich Americans?
Violet and Mary register this.
9 INT. DINING ROOM. DOWNTON. NIGHT.
Matthew and Robert are still there. Robert feeds Isis.
ROBERT: But why can’t you benefit from the will? You’ve done nothing wrong.
MATTHEW: When Swire made it he didn’t know I’d broken his daughter’s heart. It was to reward my fidelity, when in fact I had betrayed her.
ROBERT: So you can never be persuaded?
MATTHEW: If I kept that money, I would be no better than a common criminal.
ROBERT: I see. Well, if that’s how you feel then there’s no more to be said —
Anna walks into the room from the servery. She is horrified.
ANNA: I’m ever so sorry, m’lord. I thought you were out of here.
ROBERT: Yes, we should be. Please. We’re going now.
10 INT. MRS HUGHES’S SITTING ROOM. DOWNTON. NIGHT.
Mrs Hughes is with Mrs Patmore. Her shirt is open and she is guiding Mrs Patmore’s hand. It is all intensely awkward.
MRS PATMORE: It’s a lump all right. There’s no point in dithering about that.
Mrs Hughes nods, and buttons herself up again.
MRS PATMORE (CONT’D): What are you going to do about it?
MRS HUGHES: I don’t know.
MRS PATMORE: Well, I do know. Tomorrow, you’ll make an appointment with the doctor, and we’ll see what he’s got to say.
MRS HUGHES: But what if it’s…?
MRS PATMORE: If it is, and I’m not saying it is, it’s best to know now.
MRS HUGHES: I suppose so.
But she is very frightened and starts to cry.
MRS PATMORE: Now, look. You’ll not be alone for a minute if you don’t want to be. But we have to get it seen to.
MRS HUGHES: And then there’s the expense.
MRS PATMORE: Well, if you must pay money, better to a doctor than an undertaker.
MRS HUGHES: If that’s an example of your bedside manner, Mrs Patmore, I think I’d sooner face it alone.20
11 INT. SERVANTS’ HALL. DOWNTON. DAY.
The end of breakfast. Carson comes in with some letters, which he distributes. There are about a dozen for Anna.
CARSON: These came while you were away.
She takes them from him and starts to open them.
CARSON (CONT’D): Anna, I’m sorry we can’t free you up to be a proper lady’s maid, but we’re very short-handed. I hope it’s not a disappointment.
ANNA: I know you will when you can.21
CARSON: Bad news?
ANNA: Oh, no. I just wrote to some people and two of them have been returned.
She picks up a tea tray and leaves.
12 INT. MARY’S BEDROOM. DOWNTON. DAY.
Anna comes in and puts down the tray on Mary’s side, then draws the curtains as Matthew, who is bare-chested, stirs beside his wife.
MATTHEW: It seems rather shocking for Anna to have to see me en déshabillé.22
ANNA: I’m made of stout stuff, sir. Don’t worry about that.
MARY: Are you seeing Bates today?
ANNA: I am. And I can’t wait.
MARY: Give him our best wishes.
Anna smiles and leaves. They are alone.
MATTHEW: I’m sorry. It still seems odd to be found in your bed.
MARY: But very nice.
MATTHEW: Oh, as nice as nice can be…
He pulls her into his arms and kisses her.
MATTHEW (CONT’D): I’m going to see Jarvis today. To find out what houses are available.
MARY: Do you have to? When these are our last days here? I thought something might have turned up when we were away, but it seems it hasn’t.
MATTHEW: Would you rather wait until we have to go, and find a new house then?
MARY: After all, darling, you’re the one who’s pushing us out.23
But she is just playful enough for it to be a sort-of joke.
END OF ACT ONE
ACT TWO
12A EXT. TOWN STREET. DAY
Isobel walks down the street and catches a glimpse of Edith, who runs off before Isobel properly recognises her.
13 INT. LIBRARY. STRALLAN’S HOUSE. DAY.
Edith is with Anthony Strallan.24
STRALLAN: But Mary’s only just got back from honeymoon. It’s a family time.
EDITH: But you are —
STRALLAN: Please stop saying I’m family when I’m not. I’ll be there for the big dinner next week… What is it?
EDITH: I know you don’t mean to hurt me —
STRALLAN: Of course I don’t. That’s the last thing I’d ever wish to do.
EDITH: Then why do you shove me away?
STRALLAN: I don’t want to, not at all, but —
EDITH: If you’re going to talk about your wretched arm again, I won’t listen.
STRALLAN: It’s not just my arm. I’m too o
ld for you. You need a young chap, with his life ahead of him —25
EDITH: But your life’s ahead of you…
STRALLAN: Oh, my dear, if you knew how much I’d like to believe that.
EDITH: Then it’s settled. You’re not going to push me away any more, and you are coming for dinner tonight. That’s all there is to it.
14 INT. YORK PRISON VISITING CELL. DAY.
Anna is with Bates with all the supervised visitors.
BATES: How’d you get on with Vera’s book?
ANNA: I had a few answers waiting for me when I got back. And two returned ‘address unknown’.
BATES: Who from?
ANNA: Let me see… One was a Mr Harlip, I think. And the other was… Mrs Bartlett, was it?
BATES: Harlip doesn’t matter. He was a cousin in the North. She never saw him. But Mrs Bartlett’s a shame. She lived round the corner. She was very friendly with Vera.
ANNA: I’ll find her. Don’t worry.
BATES: Tell me about France. Did you eat frogs’ legs and dance the can-can?
She leans across the table, so she can whisper.
ANNA: No… But I bought a garter.
15 INT. CLARKSON’S CONSULTING ROOMS. DOWNTON VILLAGE. DAY.
Mrs Hughes and Mrs Patmore watch Clarkson wash his hands.
CLARKSON: You have no other symptoms?
MRS HUGHES: Not that I’m aware of.
CLARKSON: You’re not feeling ill or tired?
MRS HUGHES: I can’t swear to not feeling tired, but nothing out of the ordinary.
CLARKSON: Very well. Well, I’m just going to conduct a preliminary investigation.
MRS PATMORE: Do you mind if I stay?
CLARKSON: I should prefer it.26
16 INT. KITCHEN PASSAGE. DOWNTON. DAY.
Alfred, with a tailcoat, runs into Thomas in the passage.
THOMAS: What you got there?
ALFRED: Mr Matthew’s tailcoat. What do you think that is?
THOMAS: Hard to say.
ALFRED: I’ve tried it with all the usual things, but I can’t shift it.
THOMAS: I’ll give you a tip if you like.
ALFRED: Would you, really?
THOMAS: But keep it to yourself. I don’t want to give away all my secrets.27
He takes him into one of the side rooms off the passage.
17 INT. DRAWING ROOM. DOWNTON. DAY.
Violet walks in to find Mary reading Vogue.
VIOLET: Oh, there you are, my dear.
MARY: Good morning, Granny.
VIOLET: I’ve been looking for you. Now, I want to know if we’re serious. About getting that wom— about asking your other grandmother to come to our aid.
MARY: She’s made of money, and there’s only Mama and Uncle Harold to share it when she’s gone.
VIOLET: We can’t wait that long. She looks as if she’ll bury us all. No. We must act now. We must make her feel it is her duty to save Downton.
MARY: But how? What can we do?
VIOLET: Well, get her to sense its value, its vital role in the area. You are her granddaughter; this will be your house if it survives. Surely you can make something of that, if she has a heart at all.
MARY: We’ll come for tea this afternoon.
VIOLET: Then we can begin.28
18 INT. CLARKSON’S CONSULTING ROOMS. DOWNTON VILLAGE. DAY.
Mrs Hughes is fastening her dress.
CLARKSON: Believe me, there are several stages to go through before there’s any cause for despair.
MRS HUGHES: What stages?
CLARKSON: When you come back in a day or two I will remove some fluid from the cyst. With any luck, it’ll be clear and that will be that.
MRS PATMORE: How will you do it?
CLARKSON: With a syringe.
MRS PATMORE: Will it hurt?
MRS HUGHES: Since he has to do it whether it hurts or not, I don’t see the point of that question. What I want to know is, what happens if the fluid is not clear?
CLARKSON: It’ll be sent away for analysis.
MRS HUGHES: Because it may be… cancer.
CLARKSON: You’re an adult, Mrs Hughes, and I won’t insult you. It may be cancer, but I am fairly certain it is not.
MRS PATMORE: There you are. It’s very, very unlikely. Isn’t it, Doctor?
MRS HUGHES: If the doctor treats me like an adult, Mrs Patmore, why do you insist on treating me like a child?29
19 INT. KITCHENS. DOWNTON. DAY.
Daisy pokes the coal when Alfred comes in.
DAISY: Does this seem slow to you?
ALFRED: Not really.
He fills a small bowl with water as Reed appears.
REED: Mrs Levinson is going to the Dower House with the others for tea.
Alfred leaves. He smiles at Reed as he goes.
REED (CONT’D): I think he likes me.
DAISY: He’s being friendly. That’s all.30
20 INT. LIBRARY. DOWNTON. DAY.
Matthew is working, surrounded by letters. Mary comes in.
MARY: Are you all right? You seem to have been slaving away for hours.
MATTHEW: I want to be up-to-date with it all before I go back into the office.
MARY: Anything from Mr Swire’s lawyer?
MATTHEW: You can read it if you like.
He hands her a sheet of writing paper. She skims through it.
MARY: So you are definitely Reggie’s heir?
MATTHEW: Looks like it. But if they have to get a death certificate out of the Indian authorities, it won’t all be settled by Tuesday.
MARY: Good.
MATTHEW: Why is it good?
MARY: The delay may give you time to change your mind.
MATTHEW: Stop punishing me, Mary. Please. If I accepted the legacy I would be taking money under false pretences. I’d be stealing. Your father understands. Now why can’t you?
MARY: I don’t think he understands at all. He just doesn’t want to beg… Anyway, I’m off to Granny’s for tea. I’ll see you later.31
MATTHEW: I do love you, so terribly much.
MARY: Yes. I know you do.
21 INT. DRAWING ROOM. DOWER HOUSE. DAY.
Mary, Martha and Cora are having tea with Violet.
CORA: So what’s Harold doing now?
MARTHA: His idée fixe is yachts. Bigger yachts, faster yachts… something with yachts.32
CORA: Is he happy?
MARTHA: He’s much too busy to find out.
VIOLET: It always seems so strange to me that Cora has a brother.
MARTHA: Why?
CORA: You know how things work here, Mother. If there’s a boy, the daughters don’t get anything.
VIOLET: There is no such thing as an English heiress with a brother. Why do we never see him?
MARTHA: Oh, Harold hates to leave America.
VIOLET: Curious. He hates to leave America; I should hate to go there.
MARY: You don’t mean that, Granny. When we’re both so drawn to America.
She glares at her grandmother, who remembers their mission.
VIOLET: Indeed, indeed we are. Never more than now. When the bond between the Crawleys and the Levinsons is so strong.
CORA: That’s nice, if you mean it, Mama.
VIOLET: I do. It is marvellous the way our families support each other.
MARTHA: You mean you needed the Levinson cash to keep the Crawleys on top.
MARY: I’m not sure we’d put it that way —
VIOLET: I am quite sure we would not.
MARY: But I hope you do feel that Mama’s fortune has been well spent in shoring up an ancient family.
MARTHA: Ah, you gotta spend it on something.
Mary catches her other grandmother’s eye and gives a nod.
22 INT. MATTHEW’S DRESSING ROOM. DOWNTON. EVE.
Alfred is helping Matthew to change into white tie. Matthew pulls up one tail of his coat. There is a gaping hole in it.
MATTHEW: What happened here?
ALFRED: I… I
just…
MATTHEW: You just what?
ALFRED: There was a mark…
MATTHEW: I know there was a mark, but you didn’t need to burn it away. What have you done? Well, I’ll go down in my dinner jacket. You can send it to my tailor in London in the morning… Come on. Nobody’s died. Just find the dinner jacket.33
Alfred looks as if he’s going to burst into tears.
23 INT. KITCHEN PASSAGE. DOWNTON. NIGHT.
Mrs Hughes is standing there when Carson appears.
CARSON: Mrs Hughes, there don’t seem to be any glasses laid for the pudding wine.
MRS HUGHES: Oh. Are they having one tonight?
CARSON: It’s on the menus. I don’t write them for my own amusement.
MRS HUGHES: No. I dare say not.
CARSON: Mrs Hughes, I am trying, and so far failing, to persuade his lordship to bring the staff levels back up to snuff. But until he does, it is vital that you pull your weight.34
He is gone before she can defend herself.
24 INT. DINING ROOM. DOWNTON. NIGHT.
Carson and Alfred are serving.
MARTHA: Newport’s not a jungle. Not at all. But it is a little less formal.
VIOLET: Well, Matthew obviously wants you to feel at home in his play clothes.
MATTHEW: Don’t blame me for this. I’m afraid Alfred and I had a bit of a disaster earlier.
CORA: Why? What happened?
MATTHEW: Somehow the poor chap managed to burn a hole in my tails… Don’t worry. It can be mended.
During this, Carson pulls a dish away from Robert prematurely.
ROBERT: Careful, Carson. Steady the Buffs.
CARSON: Beg your pardon, m’lord.
But he looks at Alfred as if he would eat him.
STRALLAN: I rather like dinner jackets. And I agree with you. Sometimes it’s nice to be informal.
EDITH: Especially when a couple is alone.35
She beams into Strallan’s eyes, which he responds to. Silently, Violet indicates the exchange to Robert.
MARY: But people like us should lead the fight to keep tradition going.
ISOBEL: If you mean we should never change, I can’t agree to that.
CORA: Nor me. I think accepting change is quite as important as defending the past.
MARY: But the role of houses like Downton is to protect tradition. That’s why they’re so important to maintain.
VIOLET: Don’t you agree, Mrs Levinson? We must do everything in our power to keep houses like Downton going.
Downton Abbey, Series 3 Scripts (Official) Page 10