Downton Abbey, Series 3 Scripts (Official)

by Julian Fellowes

  He has addressed this to Thomas, but Jimmy sniggers.

  JIMMY: Isn’t it a bit rough for Mr Barrow?

  THOMAS: Oh, I think I could manage.

  The men start to walk off, as Edna spots her moment.

  EDNA: I’ll come cheer you on, if that’s all right.

  She puts her arm through Branson’s. Daisy watches them go.

  DAISY: Wait till Mrs Hughes sees that.

  IVY: Come on. I don’t care about any tug-of-war. Let’s go find some games.

  DAISY: You do know they’re all fixed?

  IVY: I don’t think they are.

  DAISY: They must have seen you coming.

  65 EXT. TUFTON’S STALL. THIRSK. DAY.

  Jos Tufton is delighted to welcome his visitors. He has equipped them with a glass of punch.

  TUFTON: Come on, ladies. Drink up, drink up. We can go and join in the fun then…

  MRS PATMORE: Well, what about your stall?

  TUFTON: Don’t worry about that. Lucy can look after the stall, can’t you, Lucy?

  Tufton walks behind Lucy, an attractive young woman, who flinches and squeals as he walks by. Mrs Hughes is not impressed.

  TUFTON (CONT’D): I hope you don’t mind my saying so, Mrs Patmore, but in that blouse you look as though you’ve stepped off the pages of Vogue.

  MRS PATMORE: I don’t mind. I don’t believe you, but I don’t mind your saying it at all. Eh, Mrs Hughes?

  MRS HUGHES: You’re generous with compliments.

  TUFTON: I love to be in love, Mrs Hughes. I’ll not deny it. Any time, any place. I love to be in love.

  MRS PATMORE: Get away with you, you daft beggar!

  MRS HUGHES: I must go and find Alfred and tell him where to look for the spice stall. If you don’t mind my leaving you?

  MRS PATMORE: No, I don’t mind that, either.

  66 EXT. THIRSK FAIR. DAY.

  The tug-of-war is under way. A team of thugs is about to pull against the Downton team. A self-appointed judge is in charge.

  JUDGE: Any side bets? Before we begin?

  FIRST MAN: Who’d bet on them?

  Jimmy speaks up.

  JIMMY: What odds would you give us?

  JUDGE: Ten to one.

  JIMMY: Right. A quid on the Downton team.

  This is greeted by a laugh. He produces a one-pound note and hands it over.

  JUDGE: Any more?

  ALFRED: That’s enough money down the drain.

  JUDGE: Ready?

  JIMMY: One moment.

  He hails Tufton and Mrs Patmore who have just arrived.

  JIMMY (CONT’D): Mr Tufton! You’ll join our team, won’t you? As a Downton supplier?

  TUFTON: If you want us, lad, aye.

  He hands his jacket to Mrs Patmore. The other team are irritated by his arrival. Alfred whispers to Jimmy.

  ALFRED: Had you already seen him when you made the bet?

  JIMMY: What do you think?

  Tufton also hands his hat to Mrs Patmore.

  TUFTON: If you’d be so kind.

  Then he jogs down the line of the Downton team.

  TUFTON: Tufton’s at your service.

  He approaches a couple of young ladies in the crowd.

  TUFTON: Good afternoon, ladies. They needed a bit of muscle so they sent for Tufton.

  The ladies are quite amused as he flexes his bicep.

  TUFTON: Go on, feel that muscle.

  They oblige, still giggling.

  LADIES: Very strong!

  TUFTON: That’s my name, Jos Tufton. You see that stall over there with the spices on?

  LADIES: Oh, yeah.

  Mrs Hughes watches this scene with some interest.

  TUFTON: That’s me. If you want a bit of spice in your life, send for Tufton.

  ALFRED (V.0.): Mr Tufton, come on!

  TUFTON: I’m coming.

  JUDGE: Gentlemen, take the strain…

  The Downton team, with Tufton at the rear, still chuntering away, get ready.

  JUDGE (CONT’D): Pull!

  67 EXT. GARRON RIVER. DAY.

  Matthew and Gregson are fishing. But they have been distracted by their conversation.62

  GREGSON: Of course it’s a lot to ask, but what else can I do? I’m prevented from divorcing a woman who doesn’t even know who I am. Does the law expect me to have no life at all, until I die? Would Lord Grantham?

  MATTHEW: I’m sure my father-in-law would be the first to understand that you have to make some sort of life for yourself, beyond the pale. I do.

  GREGSON: Well, then.

  MATTHEW: You can’t expect him to want you to involve his own daughter! Not when all you have to offer is a job as your mistress.

  GREGSON: No. I love her. I’m offering my love.

  MATTHEW: You’ve been misled by our surroundings. We’re not in a novel by Walter Scott.63

  68 EXT. THIRSK FAIR. DAY.

  Mrs Hughes has reached the tug-of-war. As she arrives, something catches her eye in the crowd. Her attention is drawn back to Mrs Patmore, who calls encouragement, wildly.

  MRS HUGHES: Mrs Patmore —

  MRS PATMORE: Don’t tell me to calm down.

  MRS HUGHES: Should I not?

  MRS PATMORE: No. Because I can’t remember having a better time than this!

  Each team is straining and the crowd is shouting encouragement. The judge is in the ear of the leader of the opposing team.

  JUDGE: Pull it. Pull the rope!

  But with a shout the other team falls. The judge raises his hand.

  JUDGE: I declare the Downton team the winner! Have a drink, lads!

  A tray of beer is brought forward as the judge pulls out a wad of notes and gives them to Jimmy. The judge and the other team do not look amused.

  BRANSON: Well done, Jimmy.

  He shakes his hand.

  JIMMY: Thank you, Mr Branson.

  69 EXT. GARRON RIVER. DAY.

  Matthew is amazed by what he has been listening to.

  GREGSON: So the laws of Society should be preserved, no matter what? Edith gave me the impression you were a freer soul than that.

  MATTHEW: I find that hard to believe. I agree, your position is tragic, and I’m very sorry. But you can’t imagine I would let Edith slide into a life of scandal without lifting a finger to stop her.

  GREGSON: Will you tell Lord Grantham?

  MATTHEW: I’m not going to tell anyone. But you must see it’s quite hopeless.

  GREGSON: Are you saying I should leave now? And not stay for the ball?

  MATTHEW: No. Use it to say a proper goodbye. You owe her that.

  GREGSON: It’s odd the way we’re punished for things, when we’re not to blame.

  MATTHEW: But we also get rewards we don’t deserve. It’s called luck. And I’m afraid you’ve had rotten luck.

  GREGSON: More than you, I suspect.

  MATTHEW: Perhaps, touch wood, but you never know what’s coming.

  70 EXT. THIRSK FAIR. DAY.

  Mrs Patmore is on the swings with Tufton. Branson and Edna ride the merry-go-round as Mrs Hughes looks on. Jimmy is throwing his money around at the bar, while Ivy and Daisy are walking through the stalls.

  DAISY: Look at all these people wasting their hard-earned cash.

  IVY: But what’s it for, if it’s not to have a bit of fun?

  They’ve stopped by a stall proclaiming ‘Win a Golden Sovereign!’ Squares of wood hold prizes and at the top is a sovereign on its own base. A man carries the wooden rings.

  IVY (CONT’D): How much is it?

  STALL KEEPER: Hook yourselves a fortune, ladies. Thruppence for three.

  DAISY: Thruppence? Never in this world!

  STALL KEEPER: Look at the prizes, eh? Not fairground rubbish here, you know. When did you last see a gold sovereign?

  DAISY: When did you last win one?

  JIMMY: What’s the matter?

  He has turned up by their side.

  IVY: I want a go but Daisy thinks it’s too expensive.r />
  JIMMY: Ah, have it on me.

  He pulls out the wad of his winnings, takes a sixpence and hands it over.

  JIMMY (CONT’D): One go for each of them.

  DAISY: Are you drunk?64

  JIMMY: ‘Ah, thank you, Jimmy. How kind of you.’

  IVY: It is kind. Thanks very much.

  DAISY: Don’t flash your money about.

  JIMMY: It’s my money, won fair and square. I’ll do what I want with it.

  STALL KEEPER: Remember, the ring must go over the base and lie flat.

  Jimmy goes, colliding with someone as he walks away.

  STALL KEEPER: Now you.

  Ivy has failed and so Daisy starts to throw.

  DAISY: I don’t believe it!

  She has won the sovereign.

  DAISY (CONT’D): I’ve never won nothing before!

  STALL KEEPER: Don’t let it make a gambler of you.

  She takes her prize eagerly.

  IVY: See. I told you they were honest.

  They move off. The keeper’s mood darkens for his assistant.

  STALL KEEPER: Didn’t I say to make the blocks too wide for the bally rings!

  Mrs Hughes and Alfred are at the food stall.

  ALFRED: Thanks for not telling Mr Carson about us sitting down in the drawing room. We’d not be here now.

  MRS HUGHES: Don’t let me catch you again. Oh, there’s Mrs Crawley with Doctor Clarkson.

  Sure enough, Clarkson and Isobel are there.

  ALFRED: This is where I belong. I know it.

  MRS HUGHES: What? At a fairground stall?

  ALFRED: No. Working with food. Cooking. Preparing. It’s what I love.

  MRS HUGHES: Don’t sound so tragic. Your time at Downton won’t be wasted. You know how a great house runs now. That’ll come in handy.

  Just then she is distracted by Tufton flirting with another woman. She looks worried.

  ALFRED: What’s the matter? What have you found now?

  MRS HUGHES: Nothing. Mr Tufton.

  ALFRED: What about him?

  But she doesn’t answer. Isobel is chatting to Clarkson.

  ISOBEL: Well, that was great fun, with the music and everything. I’m glad we came.

  CLARKSON: I’m very glad you came.

  ISOBEL: Shall we sit down for a bit?

  CLARKSON: Let me fetch you a drink… I’ve got something I want to ask you. Punch?

  ISOBEL: That would be lovely.

  Jos Tufton is bringing a glass of wine to Mrs Patmore.

  TUFTON: You wouldn’t miss service.

  MRS PATMORE: I’ve not been unhappy, you know. I can’t pretend I have.

  TUFTON: But taking orders from a husband, it’s got to be better than taking them from some jumped-up lord or lady.

  MRS PATMORE: Hmm. It’s still orders, isn’t it? Wait a minute. Is that you, James?

  Jimmy does not hear her. He is really drunk as he walks by, picking up another tankard of beer. Tufton is tucking into the sandwiches.

  TUFTON: Did you make this pâté as well?

  MRS PATMORE: All with my own fair hand.

  TUFTON: Well, fair hand or red flipper, you’re the cook for me.

  Jimmy walks down an alley under a bridge. An opposing team member steps out.

  FIRST MAN: Where d’you think you’re going, m’laddo?

  JIMMY: Get out of my way!

  But the man does not move. Instead he pushes Jimmy back. Another man appears.

  FIRST MAN: Take him!

  The second man seizes Jimmy.

  THOMAS: Let him go!

  He also appears to have come from nowhere. He stands there.

  FIRST MAN: And who’s going to make me?

  THOMAS: I am.

  Catching them out, he launches a punch not at the first, but at the second tough who holds Jimmy. Taken by surprise, he releases Jimmy. Thomas shouts as the first man grabs him.

  THOMAS (CONT’D): I mean it, Jimmy! Run! Run!65

  Jimmy does run, leaving Thomas to his fate. The first man holds his arms, and the second lays in with a vengeance. Back by the wine stall, Clarkson drains a glass for courage, and then takes two more to where Isobel is sitting.

  CLARKSON: There.

  ISOBEL: Thank you.

  CLARKSON: I’m so sorry. The queue was a mile long.

  ISOBEL: What was it you wanted to ask me?

  CLARKSON: Ah. Well, I’m not sure I have the right…

  ISOBEL: If you’d like me to come back to the hospital, I was thinking —

  CLARKSON: No, it’s not the hospital… I’d be interested to know if you’ve ever thought of marrying again?

  Suddenly everything is clear.

  ISOBEL: Are you thinking of getting married, Doctor Clarkson? Because if you are, you’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din.

  CLARKSON: Why?

  ISOBEL: Well, with good friends like you, I enjoy my life as it is and I wouldn’t want to risk things by changing it.66

  Before Clarkson can reply, Jimmy, who has barged through the crowd, runs up.

  JIMMY: Doctor! Doctor! You’ve got to come now!

  His tone brings Isobel and Clarkson sharply to their feet.

  CLARKSON: What is it?

  JIMMY: It’s Thomas, please!

  71 INT. BEDROOM LANDING. DUNEAGLE CASTLE. EVE.

  Rose is arguing with her mother.

  SUSAN: Rose, you are not wearing that dress and that is final. You are not a street girl from a slum.

  Shrimpie, in Highland dress, arrives with Violet.

  ROSE: Oh, Daddy, please stick up for me!

  SUSAN: She looks like a slut.

  VIOLET: Heavens. That’s not a word you often hear among the heather.

  ROSE: But Princess Mary has one just like it! It’s the fashion now!

  SUSAN: Then it is a mad fashion. Aunt Violet, tell her.

  VIOLET: Oh, my dear, in my time I wore the crinoline, the bustle and the leg-of-mutton sleeve. I’m not in a strong position to criticise.67

  SHRIMPIE: Rose, take Aunt Violet through to the ballroom. Now.

  VIOLET: Do you know, Rose, dear, the first Ghillies’ Ball I ever attended was at Balmoral… in 1860. Yes, I’d not long been married, and I confess I was a little alarmed because all the men were as tight as ticks, but the amusing thing was that the Queen resolutely refused to notice…68

  During this speech Rose has walked off down the passage with Violet, leaving Shrimpie and Susan alone.

  SUSAN: Don’t blame me if she is the object of ridicule.

  SHRIMPIE: I won’t. Whatever else I might blame you for.

  SUSAN: You are a fool to indulge her. Have you never stopped —

  SHRIMPIE: No, you stop! Stop making everyone so unhappy all the bloody time!

  Her eyes look beyond him. Now Robert stands there, in tails.

  ROBERT: I’m just on my way down. Forgive me. I think I know where I’m going.

  SHRIMPIE: I’ll come with you.

  The two men walk away, leaving Susan alone.

  72 EXT. THIRSK FAIR. EVE.

  Thomas has been badly beaten. He is a mess, with his face bruised and bleeding. Branson, Edna, Mrs Hughes, Jimmy and Alfred hover as Clarkson and Isobel tend to him.

  MRS HUGHES: Thank God I saw you, Doctor.

  ISOBEL: Is there any chance of apprehending these men?

  ALFRED: Not really.

  MRS HUGHES: But why did you get into a fight? It’s not like you.

  Thomas glances at Jimmy but says nothing.

  BRANSON: What have they taken?

  THOMAS: Every penny I had, but it weren’t much.

  MRS HUGHES: Is there anything broken?

  CLARKSON: I don’t think so.

  JIMMY: So he’ll be all right?

  ISOBEL: We ought to get him home.

  BRANSON: I’ll fetch the wagonette. Can you make it back to the road?

  ALFRED: I’ll help him.

  Clarkson and Alfred lift Thomas to his feet. He is in severe pain.

/>   ALFRED (CONT’D): Lean on me.

  Watched by a troubled Jimmy, the group staggers off.69

  73 INT. BEDROOM PASSAGE/SYBBIE’S NURSERY. DOWNTON. DAY.

  Carson is walking along when he hears the sound of crying. He pushes the door open and goes in. The child is weeping.

  CARSON: Hello? What’s the matter with you, eh? Where’s your nanny?

  The child continues to cry and he lifts her out of the crib.

  CARSON (CONT’D): Let’s have a little chat about it.

  And he rocks her gently in his arms.

  74 INT. BALLROOM. DUNEAGLE CASTLE. NIGHT.

  A band plays and the reeling has begun. The party is lively but not out of control. Anna is with Bates, Mary and Matthew.

  MARY: Oh, we must all join in.

  BATES: Not me, m’lady. And I have a cast-iron alibi.

  MATTHEW: I can manage an eightsome and the Dashing White Sergeant but that’s about it.

  MARY: Well, I’m very good. Hamilton House is my favourite but I know most of them. Our dancing master was a Scot for this very reason.70

  MATTHEW: But you won’t be doing any tonight.

  MARY: Spoilsport.

  ANNA: I think Mr Crawley’s right, m’lady.

  MATTHEW: Will you be staying out of it?

  ANNA: We’ll have to see.

  Molesley is putting on quite a show. O’Brien approaches Susan and Wilkins.

  SUSAN: O’Brien. Wilkins has been trying her best to imitate you. What do you think?

  O’BRIEN: It looks very nice, your ladyship.

  SUSAN: Yes, well, it’s not right yet, but we’re trying our best. Aren’t we, Wilkins?

  She drifts away, leaving Wilkins almost too angry to speak.

  O’BRIEN: I might go find a drink.

  WILKINS: I’ll fetch you one.

  O’BRIEN: There’s no need. I’ll go.

  WILKINS: No. I insist. You’re the guest.

  She moves off towards a drinks table where the punch is being ladled out.

  Violet and Rose are with Cora as Rose takes a passing glass, having just finished her previous one.

  CORA: You must be careful. Matthew says it’s rather strong.

  ROSE: I should jolly well hope so.

  She gulps it down. Cora looks at Violet.

  VIOLET: Rose’s evening had a bumpy start. I’m afraid Susan isn’t herself.

  ROSE: But she’s absolutely herself. That’s the problem.

  She walks off. Violet looks after her.

  VIOLET: Poor souls. It’s bad enough parenting a child when you like each other.