Downton Abbey

by Julian Fellowes

  10 INT. HALL. DOWNTON. NIGHT.

  Robert, Cora and Violet walk away from the drawing room from where we can hear chatter. They reach the outer hall.

  VIOLET: I don’t dislike him. I just don’t like him, which is quite different.

  ROBERT: Did he talk about Haxby? He’s got ghastly plans for the place. Of course, Cora doesn’t agree.

  CORA: I’m an American. I don’t share your English hatred of comfort.*

  ROBERT: Downton’s comfortable enough for me. I can’t wait to have it back.

  CORA: That’s if Cousin Isobel allows it. She turned up today with a hideous list of projects that stretched to 1920 and beyond.

  VIOLET: Well, surely you can put her off?

  CORA: I don’t know how, once the bit’s between her teeth.

  VIOLET: Well, change the bridle. Find a cause that needs her more than Downton.

  CORA: She’s such a martyr.

  VIOLET: Then we must tempt her with a more enticing scaffold.

  Anna steps forward with her cloak as Carson opens the door.

  * Here we have Robert and Violet talking about how frightful Carlisle is going to make Haxby, and Cora disagreeing. That is my childhood. I can always remember, when we moved into our house in Sussex in 1959, my mother carpeting her bathroom and saying to my father, ‘I don’t care how common it is, I don’t like cold feet.’ This was very daring of her because, in those days, the well-bred bathroom had horrible linoleum, and was preferably at the end of a long and draughty passage. The whole business of having it open off your bedroom, and be carpeted and warm and just for you, was still to come for most people, and was considered to be quite ghastly.

  11 INT. SERVANTS’ HALL. DOWNTON. NIGHT.

  It is after dinner. Daisy is clearing the last of it away.

  BATES: We’re safe. We’ve got the Decree Nisi. I’m sure it’s all right —

  ANNA: Except you’re not sure.

  O’BRIEN: Not sure about what?

  Jane is mending lace on a frame near where Thomas is sitting.

  JANE: What about you, Sergeant? Have you started planning for after the war?

  THOMAS: Not really. Not yet.

  MRS PATMORE: I know what you should be doing. I know what we should all be doing.

  THOMAS: Oh, yeah? What’s that?

  MRS PATMORE: Hoarding. It may be wrong, but this rationing is starting to bite. Even with everyone’s books, I’d a battle to get enough sugar for this week.

  THOMAS: But where would I find a supplier?

  MRS PATMORE: You’re a clever fellow. You’re always telling us so, any road.

  THOMAS: Are you suggesting the black market, Mrs Patmore? I’m shocked.

  MRS PATMORE: Oh, I doubt that very much.

  For this last exchange they have dropped their voices. Carson is drinking his tea when Mrs Hughes comes back in.

  MRS HUGHES: You’re quiet this evening, Mr Carson. What did Sir Richard want?

  CARSON: I think he wanted to take advantage of my good nature.

  12 INT. MARY’S BEDROOM. DOWNTON. NIGHT.

  Anna is helping Mary undress.

  ANNA: So Mary Pickford has this operation and then she can walk again. After three years. It was so beautiful.

  MARY: Why is it called Stella Maris?

  ANNA: I don’t know. But the point is that you should never give up hope. That’s what Conway Tearle said. At least, that’s what the card said.

  MARY: Yes, but it’s just a film, isn’t it?*

  She sits wearily down at her dressing table as Cora enters.

  CORA: I’ve ordered a hamper for tomorrow, so there’s no need to find a hotel.

  MARY: Why? We can easily get there and back in time for luncheon.

  CORA: Richard told me he wants to make a day of it. I think that’s nice. And before you can be rude to me, I’m going to say goodnight.

  She has gone, leaving the other two alone.

  MARY: She’s afraid I still want Matthew, with all his limitations.

  ANNA: And do you, m’lady?

  MARY: Only when I’m honest.

  * Stella Maris was a real film. The fact that it was all about operations and walking again seemed very appropriate, so I was pleased to have found it. Of course, you always have to weigh the relative importance of what is cut and what is kept, but I was sad when it had to go. I’ve always admired Mary Pickford. At the beginning, the early film-makers didn’t let anyone know the names of the actors, because they didn’t want the actors to think they could charge more. But when they saw that the public would follow certain players to the box office, they decided to take advantage of it. Initially, she wasn’t allowed to have a name, so they called her the girl with the curls. The distributors would put a card outside the cinema – ‘featuring the girl with the curls’ – and the crowds would pour in. Finally, she was allowed a name, and she became the first proper film star.

  13 EXT. KITCHEN COURTYARD. DOWNTON. NIGHT.

  The back door opens and Mrs Hughes emerges, carrying two full bags. A figure comes out of the shadows. It is Ethel.

  MRS HUGHES: I’m sorry I couldn’t get down this week but we’ve had a houseful. Who’s looking after the baby?

  ETHEL: Oh, my neighbour. And she’s lent me her bike, so I can get back.

  MRS HUGHES: Ah, well, you’d best be off. I’ll be over in a few days if I can manage.

  Ethel hooks the bags onto the handlebars as Mrs Hughes watches.

  14 INT. BACK DOOR. KITCHEN PASSAGE. DOWNTON. NIGHT.

  Mrs Hughes comes in, shuts the door and turns to find herself face to face with Carson.

  END OF ACT ONE

  ACT TWO

  15 INT. STAIRCASE/MAIN HALL. DOWNTON. DAY.

  A new day. Robert is with Cora.

  CORA: I can’t, darling. I’ve got too much work. We’re losing two of the nurses and I must rearrange the roster.

  ROBERT: But if Mary’s out with Carlisle and Edith’s going to Mama’s, I’ll be on my own. What about Sybil?

  CORA: Sybil’s on duty.

  ROBERT: I wish you’d told me. I could have fixed something up for myself.

  CORA: You could always ask Major Clarkson to join you. If you really can’t be on your own for one luncheon.*

  But Robert doesn’t want to make an issue out of it.

  ROBERT: I’ll manage. And now I want to say hello to the new chap.

  * Cora has found a role that is much more in keeping with her own upbringing than just being an English lady sitting on a sofa. She is truer to her real self here. But I’m afraid that, by paying Robert less attention, Cora opens up the field for the pretty housemaid. I’m not justifying it, but men are pretty feeble in that way. They’re just not very good at resisting temptation. I think the difference is – I’m not sure if it’s true now, but it was still true when I was young – that, for any sexual encounter, the man had to make all the running. As a man, you were always trying to find out who was going to say yes in the end, and whom it was worth lavishing dinner on, and all that stuff. As a result, when it was offered on a plate, it was more than you could do to say no. It wasn’t offered very often – certainly not to me – but it is being offered here and, to make matters worse, Robert is feeling neglected by his wife. I like Robert, who is based on my father – although he’s not actually as clever as my father – but, like many such men, he takes it for granted that he’s the centre of the picture, and when that is threatened he doesn’t like it much.

  16 INT. LIBRARY. DOWNTON. DAY.

  Robert comes in to find Mary, Matthew and Edith with Gordon.

  ROBERT: Major Gordon, how do you do? Edith tells me you don’t think we’re related through my Great-Aunt Anne?

  GORDON: We’re a bit closer than that.

  MATTHEW: It’s odd we don’t know about it.

  Robert stares at Matthew. The door opens. It is Richard.

  CARLISLE: The car’s ready. We should be off.

  EDITH: Is this your house-hunting?

&n
bsp; CARLISLE: It is.

  He walks away and Mary follows him.

  ROBERT: I’d better get on. I hope they make you comfortable.

  As he goes, Matthew looks up and Robert bends down.

  MATTHEW: Did I say something wrong?

  ROBERT: Only that the poor chap’s link to us is obviously illegitimate, and you put him right on the spot.

  MATTHEW: Oh, crikey.

  17 INT. EMPTY ROOM. HAXBY PARK. YORKSHIRE. DAY.

  MARY: It’s so empty. I didn’t know they’d gone.

  CARLISLE: They’ve given up.

  MARY: You can’t blame them. When Billy was killed, it knocked the stuffing out of them completely.

  She stares at the huge building.

  MARY (CONT’D): What’ll we do about furniture and pictures and everything?

  CARLISLE: What does anyone do? Buy it, I presume.

  MARY: Your lot buys it. My lot inherits it… We ought to be getting back.

  CARLISLE: Why? What’s at Downton that needs your attention so urgently?

  She looks at him and says nothing. They both know the answer.

  CARLISLE (CONT’D): So, shall we rescue it? Shall we give the house another chapter?

  MARY: Well, I suppose one has to live somewhere.*

  * I wasn’t sure they were right in choosing a house with a very similar gallery going round a double-height hall, like Highclere. I know, if I had been choosing the location, I would have picked one that was very different from Highclere, so you didn’t get essentially the same image of looking across from one gallery to another. The other thing I had a problem with was the carpet, which is fitted on the landing, and it would have been a runner. But I’m being picky. I’m sure they had sound logistical reasons for choosing it. The house was clearly very big, which was all that was needed. I like Mary’s line at the end, ‘I suppose one has to live somewhere.’ But the point of the scene is that, to Carlisle, buying this house is a statement. To Mary, it’s just the sort of house one lives in. In my head, Mary is choosing, quite deliberately, someone who can afford to provide the same way of life she has always known, whatever the future may bring.

  18 INT. SMALL LIBRARY. DOWNTON. DAY.

  Cora is at her desk. Carson and Mrs Hughes are with her.

  CORA: You’re telling me we’ve been feeding Ethel for some time?

  MRS HUGHES: We have, m’lady. Well, supplementing her food. I didn’t think you’d mind, what with the baby and all, but Mr Carson suggested you’d like to be informed, all the same.

  CORA: Carson is right, Mrs Hughes.

  This is a reprimand, which both the others recognise.

  CORA (CONT’D): Really, what with Mrs Bird’s old soldiers and now this, I’m beginning to feel we’re feeding half of Europe.

  MRS HUGHES: But the girl was our employee, and while she was in the wrong —

  CARSON: Indeed, she was! Men will always be men, but for any young woman to let her judgement so desert her —

  CORA: She’s not the first girl to be taken in by a uniform. And don’t worry, Carson. The baby will ensure she pays the price. Has she tried to get the father to assume some responsibility?

  MRS HUGHES: She’s tried and failed, I’m afraid.

  CORA: I wonder, if I were to write to Major Bryant, inviting him to visit us again, maybe Lord Grantham can prevail on his good nature.

  MRS HUGHES: I’m not sure he’s got one to prevail on.*

  * We cut Cora’s line in this scene about Mrs Bird’s soldiers, but later I wondered if it was right, because without it Cora becomes too generous. If she had been allowed to be a little bit caustic, she would have been a more normal person, objecting to the fact that food was flowing out of her kitchen. That said, the main reason for this scene is to show that Cora is in alliance with Mrs Hughes about the unfortunate Ethel’s seduction by Bryant, which they make clear. Whereas for Carson, Ethel could always have said no, and so now she must take her punishment. The women are both more inclined to sympathise with Ethel, which is the side I’m on, in fact.

  19 INT. KITCHEN STAIRCASE. DOWNTON. DAY.

  Carson and Mrs Hughes come downstairs. She is quite sharp.

  MRS HUGHES: Satisfied?

  CARSON: I feel sorry for Ethel, but I cannot condone her inability to pronounce a simple two-letter word: ‘No.’

  He looks at his watch.

  CARSON (CONT’D): The wine delivery should have been here by twelve. Get me out of the dining room when they come.

  MRS HUGHES: Serve the main course and let Jane finish. He won’t mind.

  20 INT. DRAWING ROOM. DOWER HOUSE. DAY.

  Violet is with Edith.

  EDITH: I feel rather guilty. I’ve left poor Papa to eat luncheon alone.

  VIOLET: Why? What’s your mother doing?

  EDITH: She always has a tray at her desk these days. She says she’s too busy to waste time. The trouble is, they keep reducing the staff, but they send the same number of invalids.

  VIOLET: Beware enthusiasm, my dear. And remember, if you marry, include your spouse, whenever you can.

  EDITH: You don’t believe in spending time apart, then?

  VIOLET: Certainly not. The devil makes work for idle husbands.

  She opens a pretty folder full of papers and letters.

  VIOLET (CONT’D): Now, I’ve done some research, but I want your opinion: which of these would tempt Cousin Isobel the most? Diseased children, refugees or women who’ll lose their jobs to returning soldiers?

  EDITH: You are clever. I should think each one is almost irresistible.

  The butler appears to announce luncheon.

  21 INT. DINING ROOM. DOWNTON. DAY.

  Robert is alone with Isis. Jane brings in the pudding.

  ROBERT: Has Carson abandoned me?

  JANE: He’s dealing with a wine delivery, m’lord. Shall I fetch him?

  ROBERT: No, no. I dare say we’ll manage… I hope you’re happy here, and that your family arrangements are not proving too complicated.

  JANE: Your lordship has a good memory.

  ROBERT: All our lives are lived around our children. How old is your son?

  JANE: Twelve, m’lord.

  ROBERT: Is he at the local school?

  JANE: He is. But he’s trying for a scholarship to Ripon Grammar.

  ROBERT: Ah. Is that a realistic prospect?

  JANE: I think so. He has a real talent for mathematics, and his teachers believe it’s worth a try.

  ROBERT: Well done, him. I’m impressed.

  JANE: Since the Education Act, they have to give a quarter of the places to scholarship boys from the public elementaries, so why not Freddie?

  ROBERT: Why not, indeed? Perhaps I can put in a word.

  JANE: I’m sure I should say he wants to do it all by himself, but — but I’m not proud, so if you can say anything, m’lord, then for heaven’s sake do.*†

  She laughs as she says this, and so does he.

  CARSON (V.O.): Jane? Have you finished in here?

  He is by the servery door. She nods and hurries out.

  CARSON: I hope she wasn’t talking out of turn, m’lord.

  ROBERT: Not at all. It was my fault. I asked the questions.

  But he knows that Carson disapproves strongly.‡

  * This is what I always feel when people ask me, ‘Would you have a word?’ It’s not that I think my word’s going to make any difference, but it’s not going to hurt, and so why not?

  † This is also an example of where you write a line to make something clear to an audience, in this case that Jane is beginning to find Robert attractive. It is deliberately worded to take her slightly over the line that divides employer and servant. But, in the event, although I like the line and I was glad it stayed in, it was completely unnecessary, because Clare Calbraith’s performance had already made it perfectly clear that she finds him attractive and nice. A good actor’s skill will always obviate some of the dialogue.

  ‡ Carson doesn’t like the fact that he walk
s into the dining room and finds a conversation going on. He wouldn’t mind at all if he walked in and heard Robert asking for some sugar, but the idea that they’re chatting about Ripon Grammar School offends his sense of what’s right.

  22 INT. KITCHENS. DOWNTON. DAY.

  Mrs Patmore and Daisy are working when Jane arrives.

  JANE: There’s a meeting this afternoon in Ripon. War Widows Rights and so on —

  DAISY: I could never get time off.

  MRS PATMORE: You can have time off, if you like.

  DAISY: I don’t like.

  JANE: Well, if you’re sure.

  She turns to go, then she stops.

  JANE (CONT’D): He’s nice, Lord Grantham, isn’t he?

  MRS PATMORE: He is. Very nice. A very considerate man.

  JANE: That’s good to know.

  She goes. Mrs Patmore and Daisy exchange a quick glance.

  23 INT. ETHEL’S COTTAGE. DAY.

  Ethel is excited by what she has just heard.

  ETHEL: But surely, if his lordship asks him, he must do something?

  MRS HUGHES: Why? What difference will it make? We’re not in the fourteenth century.

  ETHEL: But when he hears that Lord Grantham knows what he’s done —

  MRS HUGHES: What’s he done? That all young men aren’t anxious to do, behind the bicycle sheds every night?

  ETHEL: Then what am I going to do? If Major Bryant doesn’t come round?

  MRS HUGHES: Who knows? Go to a big city. Invent a past… You’ve broken the rules, my girl, and it’s no good pretending they’re easily mended.

  24 INT. SERVANTS’ HALL. DOWNTON. DAY.

  The servants are having tea when Carson looks in.

  CARSON: Mr Bates? There’s a telephone call for you. It’s your lawyer.