DAISY: Making up the fire. We started talking and she said she’d written a letter. She was ever so nice. I still get sad when I think about her.35
MRS HUGHES: And it didn’t occur to you to tell me?
DAISY: Tell you what?
MARY: Never mind. I am grateful to you, Daisy. You cannot know how much.
37 INT. ROBERT’S DRESSING ROOM. DAY
Robert is with Thomas, who is helping him to dress.
ROBERT: I’ll change for the wedding after luncheon.
THOMAS: Very good, m’lord.
ROBERT: Did it surprise you? When you heard O’Brien might be on the move?
THOMAS: Not really, m’lord. She’s always been quite a dark horse.
ROBERT: It seems she’s changed her mind, but I dare say we’d recover if she went.
THOMAS: Oh, yes. It’d take more than that to drive us out of Downton.
38 INT. LIBRARY. DOWNTON. DAY.
Robert is with Violet. They are in wedding clothes.
VIOLET: Well, this is the last of them.
ROBERT: I’m glad they’ve hurried it. So she can be married from Downton.
VIOLET: Are you? I should have thought a little sober reflection would not have gone amiss.
ROBERT: Mama, let’s try to be positive. Of all of them, Anthony Strallan is the most traditional choice.
VIOLET: Robert. Edith is beginning her life as an old man’s drudge. I should not have thought a large drawing room much compensation.
ROBERT: Why dwell on that now?
VIOLET: Because I want the pleasure of saying I told you so.
39 INT. MRS HUGHES’S SITTING ROOM. DOWNTON. DAY.
Mrs Patmore is with Mrs Hughes.
MRS HUGHES: We’re not forgetting anything?
MRS PATMORE: I don’t think so. One of the maids will supervise the oven and Alfred is staying to manage the wine.
MRS HUGHES: It’s a shame they have to miss it.
MRS PATMORE: Not really. They’ve not been here long enough to know Lady Edith.
Carson looks in.
CARSON: Now, the moment you feel tired, you’re to tell me, and I’ll take over whatever it is you’re doing.
MRS HUGHES: Oh, will you, now?
CARSON: Are you sure you want to come to church? You could stay here and have a lie down.
MRS HUGHES: It would be so nice if people would wait to learn if I really am ill before boxing me up.
CARSON: I don’t know what you mean. I don’t know anything about any illness.
MRS HUGHES: Don’t you? I see.
He goes.
MRS HUGHES (CONT’D): Who told him?
MRS PATMORE: I don’t know. Maybe he just picked it up somehow. He’s worried about you. He’s a good man.
MRS HUGHES: He’s a hopeless liar.
MRS PATMORE: But that’s quite nice really, isn’t it?
MRS HUGHES: I’ve had a message from the doctor. He’ll have the results tomorrow. I’m to call in the afternoon.
MRS PATMORE: Try not to worry.
MRS HUGHES: I’ll try, but I won’t succeed.
40 INT. MARY’S BEDROOM. DOWNTON. DAY.
Anna is finishing Mary’s costume. Matthew is with her.
MARY: That’s it. I’ll put the hat on later. Go straight to Lady Edith.
Anna hurries out as Mary stands.
MATTHEW: You look marvellous.
MARY: I feel marvellous.
MATTHEW: I’m glad.
MARY: That is, I feel marvellous because we don’t have to leave Downton.
He stares at her. What is coming?
MARY (CONT’D): Lavinia did write to her father and it was posted from this house. In other words, every word Mr Swire wrote in that letter was true.
Matthew sits down.
MARY (CONT’D): Daisy posted it. The kitchen maid.
MATTHEW: I see.
MARY: Do you, my darling? I hope so. Because if you try to find one more excuse not to accept the money, I’ll have to beat you about the head.
MATTHEW: I see. I do have one condition, however.
MARY: Make it a good one.
MATTHEW: Let’s not steal Edith’s thunder. I’ll tell Robert after it’s over, and she’s left on honeymoon.
MARY: Now that I can live with.
Matthew stands and they kiss.
END OF ACT THREE
ACT FOUR
41 INT. EDITH’S BEDROOM. DOWNTON. DAY.
Edith’s in her wedding dress. Anna is finalising a dazzling tiara. Cora, Sybil and Mary are with them.
CORA: The wedding tiara is so much prettier than that fender I have to wear for the opening of Parliament.
EDITH: You should wear this one, then.
CORA: No. Your father wouldn’t like it. And I think it’s nice that we keep it for all the Crawley brides.
SYBIL: Not for me. I didn’t wear it.
MARY: For all the Crawley brides except Sybil.
ANNA: Please say if it’s not comfy.36
CORA: You look beautiful.
EDITH: All of us married, all of us happy. And the first baby on the way.
Cora squeezes Sybil’s hand. The latter seems nervous.
SYBIL: Mama, will you come over to Dublin when the baby’s due?
CORA: Of course, if you want me.
MARY: You ought to have it here.
SYBIL: Tom wants it to be born in Ireland.
MARY: Obviously.
EDITH: Why don’t we get the photographer to take a picture of the three of us? When we get to the church.
CORA: What a lovely way to finish our life here. A wedding is a new beginning and that’s what we’ll have, too, as a family.
MARY: Don’t be so defeatist, Mama.
SYBIL: Do you mean we might still pull a rabbit out of the hat? Oh, I do hope so. What do you think, Anna?
ANNA: I think that to take a rabbit out of a hat there must first be a rabbit in the hat.
CORA: We should move. The wagonette’s waiting for you, Anna.
MARY: Then let us go and marry off… the last of the Crawley sisters.
This makes the three siblings smile as they prepare to leave.
42 INT. CHURCH. DOWNTON VILLAGE. DAY.
The Reverend Mr Travis and Violet are watching Strallan.37
VIOLET: He looks as if he’s waiting for a beating from the headmaster.
TRAVIS: Do you think I should reassure him?
VIOLET: How? He’s done it before so he must be in possession of all the facts.
TRAVIS: Perhaps the first Lady Strallan was a difficult act to follow.
VIOLET: Or a difficult one to repeat.
43 EXT. CHURCH. DOWNTON VILLAGE. DAY.
Mary, in a ravishing hat, and Sybil, in a modest one, are being photographed with Edith, the bride, while Anna watches. Robert looks at his fob watch.
ROBERT: Well, fashionably late is one thing…
MARY: We’re going in. Edith, I know we haven’t always got along, and I doubt things change much in the future, but today I wish you all the luck in the world.
EDITH: Thank you.
They kiss and, with Anna, the sisters hurry inside.
44 INT. CHURCH. DOWNTON VILLAGE. DAY.
Mary, Sybil and Anna find their places. The organ strikes up, the congregation stands. Robert and Edith walk down the aisle. The music stops and Travis moves forward. Strallan steps out into the aisle. Edith whispers up at him.
EDITH: Good afternoon.
STRALLAN: Good afternoon, my sweet one.
But as he looks at her, he is aware of a terrible truth.
TRAVIS: Dearly beloved, we are gathered —
STRALLAN: I can’t do this.
For a moment, nobody speaks or moves. Then whispers erupt among the guests…
ROBERT: What?
STRALLAN: I can’t do it. You know it’s wrong. You told me so yourself, several times.
ROBERT: My dear chap —
STRALLAN: No. I should never have let it get this far.
I should have stopped it long ago. I tried to stop it.
EDITH: What are you saying? I don’t understand what you’re saying.
STRALLAN: Edith, Edith… I can’t let you throw away your life like this.
EDITH: What do you mean? We’re so happy, aren’t we? We’re going to be so terribly, terribly happy.
STRALLAN: But you are going to be happy. I pray you are. But only if you don’t waste yourself on me.
ROBERT: Anthony, it is too late for this —
TRAVIS: Might I suggest we all take a step back —
VIOLET: No. Let him go. Let him go.38
All eyes swivel to her.
VIOLET (CONT’D): You know he’s right. Don’t stop him doing the only sensible thing he’s come up with in months.
STRALLAN: Thank you, Lady Grantham.
EDITH: But Granny —
VIOLET: No, no. It’s over, my dear. Don’t drag it out. Wish him well and let him go.
EDITH: I can’t.
STRALLAN: Goodbye, my dearest darling. And may God bless you. Always.
He hurries up the aisle to the amazement of the guests. Edith looks at her lucky sisters and their husbands. Once again, the dice have rolled against her.
45 EXT. CHURCH. DOWNTON VILLAGE. DAY.
Strallan comes out, wiping away tears. Some chauffeurs chatting by their cars glance at him. He walks away.
46 INT. HALL. DOWNTON. DAY.
The front door flies open and Edith, sobbing, runs to the staircase, followed by Sybil and Mary. Their husbands linger below. Robert and Cora join them.
ROBERT: Should we go up?
BRANSON: Leave it to the girls. Let them all cry it out for a bit.
MATTHEW: I think he’s right.
46A INT. EDITH’S BEDROOM. DOWNTON. DAY.
Edith pulls off her tiara and cries uncontrollably into her bed.
46B INT. HALL. DOWNTON. DAY.
Robert approaches a gob-smacked Alfred by a glass-laden table.
ROBERT: When everyone gets back, can you clear all this away? I want it gone before Lady Edith comes downstairs. Flowers, glasses, everything. And ask the outside staff to help put back the carpet and the furniture.
ALFRED: Yes, m’lord. But what about…?
MATTHEW: There’s been no wedding, and there will be no reception.
47 INT. EDITH’S BEDROOM. DOWNTON. DAY.
Edith’s crying on the bed. She has pulled off the tiara and veil, wrecking her hair, but not her dress. Her mother and sisters are with her.
SYBIL: Maybe he’ll change his mind.
MARY: Don’t say that. He won’t change his mind. He won’t be back.
Edith weeps some more. The door opens and Cora comes in.
CORA: Is there anything I could say to make it better?
EDITH: No.
She stares at her sisters.
EDITH (CONT’D): Look at them. Both with their husbands, Sybil pregnant, Mary probably pregnant, and what have I got? What has poor, sad, plain little Edith got? Oh, just go. I mean it. Go.
SYBIL: Can’t we —?
CORA: Perhaps you should go.
They accept this, and leave. Cora consoles Edith.
EDITH: Oh, Mama.
CORA: You are being tested. And do you know what they say, my darling? Being tested only makes you stronger.
EDITH: I don’t think it’s working with me.39
48 INT. BEDROOM PASSAGE. DOWNTON. DAY.
Sybil and Mary walk along the passage.
SYBIL: Poor Edith… Are you pregnant?
MARY: When I am, I promise you’ll be the first to know. Well, the third.
SYBIL: And you’re not stopping it?
MARY: God, no. The sooner we have a baby boy, the sooner we can all relax.
48A INT. HALL. DOWNTON. DAY.
Champagne glasses are cleared, the wedding cake is removed and the carpet is rolled out once again.
49 EXT. DOWNTON. DAY.
Robert is walking when Matthew comes out.
MATTHEW: What should we do now?
ROBERT: There’s nothing we can do. Beyond removing all signs of a wedding and holding her hand while she recovers… She will, of course.
Matthew nods.
ROBERT (CONT’D): Meanwhile, it’s time to face the business of leaving Downton. Without the wedding to hide behind, there’s no reason not to get on with it and astonish the world with the extent of my wretched failure.
He looks about him, at the house and park, with a sigh.
MATTHEW: Actually, Mary and I intended to make an announcement at dinner.
ROBERT: What announcement? What about?
MATTHEW: You don’t have to leave… I’ll explain it later, but I’m going to give you Reggie’s money. I’ll accept it. And I’ll give it to you.
Robert is silent for a second.
ROBERT: Don’t be silly. You’re not going to give me any money.
MATTHEW: But I am. You don’t want to leave, nor does Mary… Nor do any of us, for that matter —
ROBERT: I still won’t take your money. What I will allow is for you to invest in the place. If we stay, you’ll share the ownership. It’ll be your house, your estate, as much as mine. We will be joint Masters.
MATTHEW: But —
ROBERT: And if you don’t agree, I will sell and it’ll all be your fault.
They shake hands and Robert clasps Matthew’s shoulder.40
50 INT. KITCHENS. DOWNTON. NIGHT.
Daisy is working when Anna comes in.
DAISY: What shall we do with the food?
ANNA: I think we should dine very well, in the dining room and down here, and tomorrow we can give the rest to Mr Travis for one of his causes.41
DAISY: I never thought I’d feel sorry for an earl’s daughter.
ANNA: All God’s creatures have their troubles.
DAISY: Anna —
ANNA: Yes?
DAISY: Do you think it’s right that women should say what they think? Speak out. About romance and everything?
ANNA: Well, things are changing for us. And the vote won’t be long now. So I suppose they must get used to us speaking our minds, but —42
DAISY: But what?
ANNA: With most of the men I’ve ever met, if you started to court them they’d be so terrified they’d run a mile.
Alfred walks in and Daisy smiles.
51 INT. DINING ROOM. DOWNTON. NIGHT.
The family, without Edith, are at dinner.
ISOBEL: Has she had something to eat?
MARY: Anna took up some sandwiches, but she didn’t touch a thing.
ROBERT: This is absolutely delicious.
CORA: That reminds me. Carson, I don’t want Lady Edith to see any of the wedding food.
CARSON: Mrs Hughes and Anna are taking what’s left down to Mr Travis tomorrow, m’lady. For the poor.
VIOLET: If the poor don’t want it, you can bring it over to me.
MATTHEW: How can we help Edith?
ISOBEL: You can help her by finding her something to do.
SYBIL: Then we have the answer. We must find Edith something to do.
52 INT. SERVANTS’ HALL. DOWNTON. NIGHT.
The table is laid with bowls and plates of delicacies.
ALFRED: Is this all we’re getting? Just these picketty bits?
THOMAS: Hardly. These are canapés, Alfred. For your first course, some truffled egg on toast, perhaps? Some oysters à la Russe?
ALFRED: Then what?
MRS PATMORE: There’s lobster rissoles in mousseline sauce or Calvados-glazed duckling, or do you fancy a little asparagus salad with champagne-saffron vinaigrette?
MRS HUGHES: When I think how you’ve gone to such pains…
MRS PATMORE: Never mind me. What about the pain of that poor girl upstairs?
O’BRIEN: Jilted at the altar. I don’t think I could stand the shame.
THOMAS: Then it’s lucky no one’s ever asked you, isn’t it?
ANNA: Poor thing. How will she find the strength
to hold up her head?
DAISY: I swear I’d have to run and hide, in a place where no one knew me.
ALFRED: I think she’s well out of it.
MOLESLEY: How can you say that?
ALFRED: I mean it. She’s young, she’s not bad looking. She could do much better than that broken-down old crock.
CARSON: Sir Anthony may have betrayed a daughter of this house, but he still does not deserve to be addressed in that manner by a footman.
MRS HUGHES: Oh, I think he does, Mr Carson. Every bit of that, and worse.
CARSON: Well, maybe just this once.
MRS PATMORE: Right. What’s it to be? Lobster, duck or asparagus?
ALFRED: Is there any cheese, Mrs Patmore?
53 EXT. DOWNTON. DAY.
The house seems unaware of the misery within.
54 INT. EDITH’S BEDROOM. DOWNTON. DAY.
Edith lies, staring at the ceiling. Anna comes in.
ANNA: What would you like me to get you?
EDITH: A different life.
ANNA: Let me bring you up some breakfast.
EDITH: No. I am a useful spinster, good at helping out. That is my role. And spinsters get up for breakfast.
Wearily, she pushes back the bedclothes.43
55 INT. MRS HUGHES’S SITTING ROOM/PASSAGE. DOWNTON. DAY.
Mrs Hughes is in her hat and coat. Carson looks in.
CARSON: Going out?
MRS HUGHES: Just into the village. I… have to fetch something.
CARSON: Can I help? I’m going down later.
MRS HUGHES: No, thank you. This is an errand I have to do for myself.
She is very determined. Mrs Patmore arrives in coat and hat.
MRS PATMORE: Ready?
MRS HUGHES: As ready as I’ll ever be.
Watched by the butler, the two women leave, passing O’Brien who, in turn, walks past Thomas, carrying some boots.
56 EXT. HOSPITAL. DOWNTON VILLAGE. DAY.
Mrs Patmore and Mrs Hughes stand outside, biting their lips.
MRS HUGHES: We can be sure of one thing. I won’t be cured by standing here.
Mrs Patmore nods and together they go forward.
56A INT. KITCHENS DOWNTON. DAY.
Carson loads a tray and then checks his fob watch anxiously.
56B INT. WAITING ROOM. HOSPITAL. DAY.
Mrs Hughes and Mrs Patmore wait in silence. A nurse opens the door and Mrs Patmore goes to speak.
MRS HUGHES: No.
Downton Abbey, Series 3 Scripts (Official) Page 18