This had best be worth it, child,
or I shall have you strangled!
You see?
I told you.
Thank you, Lord Kingsley.
Oh, as for your proposal...
I would sooner be boiled alive.
Although, I do admire your carriage.
Lord Kingsley was greatly offended...
I was candid.
And that is a virtue.
Is it not, Ms Hankins.
Quite so. Brother?
Uh... yes...
Although there is much to be said for tact.
I showed him as much respect as any fortune hunter deserves.
I am not a natural guardian, Mary.
She is quite indifferent to my counsel...
Give her time, dearest.
It has only been three months since Sidney's death.
It has affected her far more than she would admit.
I believe what she needs,
more than anything, is another friend.
Happily, one is on the way.
It was so kind of the Parkers
to lend us their carriage.
When I am married, I shall have one just like this.
And four footmen!
Only the four?
I cannot decide who I am most excited to meet.
They were all so vivid in your letters!
I know Miss Lambe and I are destined
to be the greatest of friends.
Look, Charlotte! The sea!
Are you not excited to be returning?
Welcome.
Oh, hello. How you have grown!
I shall be as tall as mama soon.
Tom, you are so generous to invite us both.
This is my sister, Alison.
Come on.
I had hoped that when I returned,
I would be able to make you a proposal of marriage.
But it cannot be.
The fact is, I have been obliged to engage myself
to Mrs Eliza Campion.
Please believe me that if there was any other way,
to resolve Tom's situation, I would...
We'll take you to your bedroom?
I do hope Mary passed on my sympathies.
Yes, yes. Thank you.
I'm surprised to learn Sidney was in Antigua.
We were as surprised as you, we cannot account for it.
We instructed an agent in Antigua
with repatriating his possessions.
We hope he might be able to find some kind of explanation.
If only he'd never gone,
he would have been spared the yellow fever
and still be with us.
It is some comfort
to know that he found such happiness with Eliza
before he... before we lost him.
What a beautiful house.
I cannot wait to see the town.
Once you are both settled, you shall meet Georgiana
for some tea in the new assembly room.
But first, I must show you the promenade.
I'd love to see it.
Georgiana will be so pleased to see you.
Mr Hankins and his sister
have kindly offered to become her chaperones.
But the arrangement could not be called... ideal.
♪ Feed me till I want no more ♪
♪ Want no more ♪
♪ Feed me till I want no more ♪
You must sing up, my dear.
How is the lord to hear you, unless you raise your sweet
voice to his ear.
I have long since concluded that the lord is deaf.
The lord is not deaf, Miss Lambe.
Then why does He persist in ignoring my prayers?
Er. Miss Lambe... The lord does not ignore...
I'm going to be late for Charlotte.
Miss Lambe?
As you can see, my dears, Sanditon is fast becoming
the most desirable destination on the south coast!
Now that I am Tom's right hand,
I've been planning some schemes of my own.
A pagoda and even a theatre.
How exciting!
I gather Mr Stringer is doing well in London?
Yes! By all accounts,
he is well on his way to becoming a MasterArchitect!
- Lord Cramond, good morning! - Good morning.
I trust we shall see you at the parade?
Parade?
Your timing could hardly be better!
We await the arrival of Colonel Lennox and his company.
They are to remain the whole Summer!
A colonel and his company!
How thrilling!
Yes. Decorated for his bravery at Waterloo.
And, as if you required any further proof that Sanditon
has arrived, we have even attracted our own Artist,
Charles Lockhart. I dare say you've heard of him.
He is a portraitist.
Good morning, Mr Lockhart.
It is, Mr Parker.
I have just braved the waves and I feel quite reborn!
Nothing like the sting of salt on skin to rouse the senses.
Ladies.
I fear we look hopelessly parochial.
We must ask Papa to send us money for clothes at once.
He hasn't enough to spare.
But it would be an investment.
How are we to attract rich husbands
unless we look the part?
I came here to avoid all that.
You came here to avoid a certain man,
not marriage altogether.
Why would you wish to do that?
What say you, Colonel?
We have certainly faced harsher battlefields.
Around a hundred men, I am told.
They march on Sanditon tomorrow afternoon...
Don't you think it rather peculiar?
To the best of my knowledge, we are not at risk of invasion...
Not from without, perhaps
but sedition is sweeping the country!
As landed gentry, it would be our necks in the guillotine!
I welcome a military presence.
A hundred drunk, unshaven libertines.
Quite the civilising influence.
Not every soldier is a rascal.
I have always had a certain fondness for a redcoat.
My favourite brother was a cavalryman. Maximilian.
As long as they do not outstay their welcome...
I have been here less than a week, Aunt.
Yes. And yet I am still not clear
as to what purpose your stay in the first place.
A new husband should retain his lustre for a year at least.
Occasionally two.
You have not tired of him already?
Quite the opposite.
But while he is away, it's the perfect opportunity
to visit my favourite aunt.
How thoughtful of you.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
Georgiana.
I have been counting the hours.
My sister, Alison.
She and her brother are well-meaning.
Painfully so.
And Tom Parker is a woefully ineffective guardian,
though he is determined to see me married
before my twenty-first birthday.
I think he is just keen to be rid of me,
like his brother before him.
Sidney was fonder of you than you allow.
Perhaps. Though now, we shall never know.
Is there any sugar?
We are leading a boycott
in the hopes that those plantation owners
who persist in keeping slaves
will be forced to follow my father's example.
Forgive me, I thought we had abolished slavery.
The law only prohibits the buying
and selling of slaves.
As yet there is no law against owning them.
Then I shall never have sugar again.
Good day to you, Miss Lambe.
An admirer?
am besieged by fortune hunters.
Each day brings a fresh proposal.
That man in the corner proposed just this morning.
You have not been tempted to accept any of them?
Why?
I've never possessed such power.
The moment I marry, that will vanish.
You are not the only one
who has been trying to evade a proposal.
Charlotte?
You made no mention in your letters.
Ralph Starling.
He keeps a farm in Willingden.
Our father is... keen.
More than keen.
A proposal is a foregone conclusion.
But I have no desire to see Charlotte marry sensible Ralph.
Neither do I.
So, I have a plan,
for us both to find husbands here in Sanditon.
Perhaps you could help us, Miss Lambe.
I would like nothing more than to see your sister find love,
Miss Heywood.
Who do you suppose that man is?
Charles Lockhart.
He is an artist.
He looks rather pleased with himself.
Business is booming.
Almost all of our properties are let!
That is no reason to rest on our laurels.
What is next?
Your grand plan seems to have ground to a halt.
By no means.
But I will not proceed until all the investment is secured.
I have learned my lesson from flying too close to the sun.
I should hope so, given half the town burnt down!
Hence the regrettable fact that your brother's widow
now owns a large share of Sanditon.
That was a loan, my lady. One I fully intend to pay back.
Good!
I am supposed to be the primary investor, not some interloper!
Although I should like to know how you intend to pay her back,
given the size of the debt!
We shall find a way, my lady!
Indeed. And I do believe the first part of the solution
is marching into town this afternoon.
Forgive me, Mr Parker,
but how will the army help your situation?
What is an army, my ladies, but a ready made population,
all looking to spend, spend, spend?
I can't say I have ever understood the appeal
that soldiers are meant to hold for our sex.
It is because they are brave and noble and heroic.
And frequently handsome.
Doubtless some are.
Yet I cannot help thinking
those qualities are conferred on anyone in a red coat,
regardless of what true character might lies beneath.
Fraser!
It appears we have been ambushed.
Have mercy, Ladies. We are unarmed and outnumbered.
- Forgive us, Sir. - It is I who should apologise.
A gentleman at his ablutions is not a sight for fair eyes.
Colonel Francis Lennox at your service.
And my Aide, Captain Fraser.
Ladies.
Charlotte Heywood.
My sister, Miss Alison Heywood. Miss Georgiana Lambe.
How do you do.
We need to strengthen our fortifications, Colonel.
We cannot leave ourselves so open to intruders...
Should we be concerned by your arrival, Sir?
Does it suggest that Sanditon requires defending?
By no means.
But should you receive intelligence
of an imminent invasion, Miss Heywood,
I hope you will be good enough to share it.
I shall keep my ear to the ground.
And will your family be joining you, Colonel?
I have no such attachments.
Ladies, perhaps I might escort you out?
Good day.
We are quite capable of finding our own way out.
Thank you, Sir.
Saints alive, Fraser. Who was that?
I didn't get her name.
What is to be done with you, man?
I do not suppose you have had any word
from your reprobate brother?
Step brother. Mercifully not.
I neither know nor care about his whereabouts.
I imagine Lord Babington must be growing impatient
for an heir by now?
It has not been so very long -
Eight and a half months should be ample.
I assume you know what is required?
The mechanics -
Yes, thank you, Aunt.
Well then? What is your excuse?
Oh.
Lord Babington and I agreed that...
I should come here while he is away.
Perhaps the sea air might...
that it might help me recover and...
Perhaps Dr Fuchs...
Well, it is no use feeling sorry for yourself.
That will achieve nothing.
But the sea air alone will not do the trick.
And nor will Fuchs!
The man is a charlatan.
He saved your life.
Oh, poppycock!
I survived despite him!
The man is a complete menace.
So, you have been married for nine months now,
Lady Babington?
Yes.
And yet, regrettably, you have not yet succeeded
in becoming schwanger... that is to say, with child.
No, Dr Fuchs.
I succeeded perfectly well at conceiving.
But I was unable to... carry her.
How long ago did you lose the infant?
About a month.
And how far along?
Five and a half months.
The doctors told me I came perilously close
to losing my own life.
They said it would be dangerous, fatal even, to try again.
Which only made me more determined to prove them wrong.
Well, what do you suggest?
I've suggested the milk from my asses
will replenish her strength,
but no doubt you have some miraculous elixir to sell -
Certainly, there are remedies I can prepare
for a woman in your position, Lady Babington.
But I must be honest,
I cannot say how efficacious they may be.
It grieves me to say it,
but perhaps God does not intend for you to be a mother.
I told you he would be no use.
I will swallow any pill, subject myself to any treatment.
Please...
I want to give my husband a child.
This May Day dress is far too plain.
Perhaps I could borrow one of yours?
Mary's shoes are a perfect fit.
Although I did have to stuff a little paper in the toes.
It is a parade, Alison, not a ball.
We are not the ones who are to be on display.
Are we not?
A hundred soldiers, Charlotte!
And I have read one cannot overstate the importance
of a first impression.
But then you have already made quite an impression.
I speak of Colonel Lennox.
We barely exchanged five words.
Sometimes that is all it takes.
Alison, can a man and a woman not exchange a passing glance
without you supposing them to be in love.
I want to see you happy again, Charlotte, is that so wrong?
I fear all those books have warped your view of the world.
Love is not as simple as you seem to think.
Why should it not be?
I fear my shoes are hurting you?
By no means. They are far too pretty to be painful.
It is a curious thing, but since I returned without Diana,
all my former ailments have vanished.
Having an occupation agrees with me.
A sense of purpose is altogether galvanising.
You give me hope that I may soon discover my life's purpose.
I am no substitute for Sidney,
but I make myself useful to Tom.
Although I worry for him.
He can hardly bring himself to speak Sidney's name.
It is unwise to keep grief bottled up.
True.
Since we have no grave to mark him,
I often light a candle in the church and weep like a baby.
I always feel much the better for it!
Enjoy the parade!
You are not coming?
I am not as excited about the army's arrival as some.
I shall be taking tea with Miss Lambe instead.
What is this nonsense, Ms Hankins?
'Tis a movement of women, who hope to bring about
the total abolition of slavery, Lady Denham.
Radical nonsense!
What good will denying ourselves sugar do?
Do you really think slavery will be stopped
by a few do-gooding ladies at the seaside?
It is Miss Lambe who started the boycott
in Sanditon, my lady...
Quelle surprise!
There's the Colonel.
Lady Denham, Lady Babington.
You remember Miss Heywood,
and may I introduce her sister, Miss Alison Heywood.
Lady Denham.
Lady Babington.
Oh.
I rather thought we had seen the last of you.
Sit down.
I believe you met your husband here
last Summer, Lady Babington.
Have you any advice
for one hoping to find a good match of her own?
Disdain his every word.
If he persists, marry him.
And you remain stubbornly unwed, I see?
Yes, Lady Denham.
You had better hurry up or you will miss your chance.
There are some women who choose not to marry at all.
Oh, don't be absurd!
An unmarried woman is a worthless pariah
who brings shame and ruin upon her family.
Regard the unfortunate Miss Hankins.
No-one chooses to be a spinster!
Ah, here they come now.
Don't they look magnificent!
How commanding the colonel looks!
What is it?
Edward.
Leo, come back here!
Leo, stop!
Are you alright?
I do wish you'd marry me, Arthur.
Then I wouldn't have to consider
any more of these tedious suitors.
Should I be forced to marry,
you would be right at the top of my list, but it is not for me.
I am certain Tom will find someone worthy yet.
How?
These men do not care who I am, they care only for my fortune.
Whereas you, Arthur...
you treat me with kindness and respect and good humour.
But I fear you are one of a kind...
Oh, I doubt that, Miss Lambe.
I shall keep an eye out for a kindred spirit
in search of a wife!
I don't suppose you could turn a blind eye
to just one teeny tiny little bun?
You couldn't live with yourself, Arthur.
It doesn't hurt.
It's only a scratch.
Put him down here.
There we go.
Alison, could you fetch some water?
- What's your name? - Leo.
Here. Thank you.
Your little brother is very brave.
She is not my brother, she is my cousin.
- She? - Leo-nora.
And she is not brave, she is reckless.
Jumping in front of a horse is an act of rank stupidity.
Her leg needs tending to, do you live close by?
You can take the carriage...
You have not yet told me your name.
Miss Augusta Markham.
I am Charlotte Heywood.
This is quite unnecessary.
We could easily have walked. It is not such a distance.
I have to ask... Your cousin is injured
but you do not seem the least troubled by it.
Or by the fact she came within an inch of being trampled
by a horse...
Yet she did not.
So I see little point in vexing myself
over something which did not happen.
I wasn't in danger and you ruined my mission.
Your mission?
I'm a spy for the Spanish Army and you ruined it.
Well, then Leo, I must apologise.
All the same, I am sure
your mother would rather see you returned in one piece...
Our mothers are dead.
Both of them?
What of it?
Mr Parker. Did you enjoy the parade?
Mr Lockhart!
As a matter of fact, we chose to avoid it.
I fail to see why we should be so enamoured
of those swaggering brutes.
Just because they polished off a lot of Frenchmen.
I quite agree.
I happen to be enormously fond of the French myself.
Although I know it is blasphemy to say so.
Oh, may I introduce my dear friend Miss Lambe?
Miss Lambe, I must confess I noticed you
in the Assembly Rooms yesterday.
How observant.
I wonder what it was that caught your attention?
It was your expression. Haughty yet inscrutable.
Interesting.
Because I thought you looked arrogant and affected.
Oh, I am both of those things, I fear I am an open book.
And with you, I find your true character harder to ascertain.
But perhaps that's by design.
Perhaps it's simply that I do not wish to be known by you.
Come, Arthur.
A pleasure, Sir!
A bientot!
Heyrick Park.
Is that where you live?
I do not live here.
I am a prisoner.
To date I have been held against my will
for 16 months and 11 days...
If you hate it so much, you can leave!
Had I anywhere else to go, you horrible child,
do you not think I would?
Stop. Please. There is no need to argue...
MRS WHEATLEY May I help you, Miss...?
Miss Heywood.
I just returned Miss Colbourne and Miss Markham
from the parade, but...
Miss Colbourne has hurt her leg
and it really does need seeing to.
Mr Colbourne told them expressly not to go near those soldiers.
He will not be best pleased.
This is why we are looking for a governess.
Thank you, Miss Heywood.
Mary tells me those girls belonged to Alexander Colbourne.
Small wonder they were so objectionable.
Tom!
Well. You cannot deny that the man is a miser and a recluse
and owns not one quality I could call admirable.
What has this Mr Colbourne done to cause you such offence?
He has tried at every turn
to obstruct my improvements, Charlotte!
If he had his way,
Sanditon would still be a fishing village.
I have never heard you mention him before.
That is because I prefer not to think of him.
And in truth, he is rarely seen outside of his estate.
After the death of his wife some years ago,
Mr Colbourne largely withdrew from society.
They say the precise circumstances of her death
have never been explained...
Arthur!
Thank you.
I am sorry to call unannounced,
please, but I must know - the child that fell...?
Quite unharmed, I assure you, Sir.
Besides a small cut to her leg.
I am heartily relieved to hear it, Miss Heywood.
That she was spared a far graver outcome
is thanks only to your quick thinking and courage...
Those are just two
of my sister's many fine qualities, colonel!
Would you join us for tea, Colonel?
I would be honoured.
- I will get another cup. - I'll go.
What a spectacle your company gave us, Colonel!
...I am dying to hear
your first impressions of Sanditon, Colonel?
I was struck at once by its natural beauty...
It is fair to say all who set foot in Sanditon
fall in love on the spot.
Was that your experience, Miss Heywood?
I am exceedingly fond of Sanditon.
And the people in it.
I shouldn't be surprised if by the Summer's end,
you decide to build a permanent barracks here!
Let us not get ahead of ourselves, Tom.
The colonel has barely arrived...
Quite so, Mrs Parker.
And in truth, our company does not tend to stay
in any one place for long...
I must say, Colonel,
it does sound a rather lonely sort of life.
Do you never long to put down roots of a more permanent sort?
I cannot deny the thought has crossed my mind.
But to be an army officer's wife
requires a particular kind of forbearance...
Yes, I imagine it would require quick thinking and courage.
Knowing your husband might at any moment
be shipped across the ocean... perhaps never to return.
That seems a price worth paying,
given the life of an officer's wife
is surely a great deal more exciting than that of,
say, a farmer's wife.
Would you not agree Charlotte?
That is beside the point,
given I have no intention of becoming either.
I shall take that as a sign of sound judgment.
Excuse me a moment.
Believe me, Aunt, this was not by design.
When I joined the regiment,
I never dreamt the colonel would bring us here, of all places...
A remarkable coincidence.
I would never presume to ask your forgiveness.
I do not deserve it.
But I am hoping I may yet prove
I have seen the error of my ways.
That I am not the Edward Denham that I once was.
I find that extremely difficult to believe.
While you are here, you will keep your distance.
Especially from Esther.
She has enough to worry about.
You have my word.
My apologies once again for Miss Heywood's abrupt departure.
I hope you will not think too poorly of her.
On the contrary, she has only risen in my estimation.
What was the meaning of Charlotte's behaviour,
do you suppose?
I can only guess...
I believe I am my best self...
my truest self...
when I'm with you.
Esther.
I have nothing to say to you.
My life has been quite empty without you in it.
I know that is not what you want to hear but it's the truth...
All I want to hear is the door closing behind you.
Is there no part of you that has felt my absence?
Can you honestly say that?
Poor, tragic, deluded Edward.
I have not spared you a second's thought.
Would Lord Babington be joining you?
He has business to attend to.
Shame.
I do hope he is treating you kindly?
He brings me more joy than you could possibly imagine.
You look well, Esther.
Radiant with health and happiness...
I have no desire to cause you further pain or embarrassment.
From now on, I will keep my distance.
Please do not be angry with me.
I am not...
It was badly done but I meant no harm by it...
There are things you do not understand.
I understand perfectly.
You are still in love with him.
Despite everything.
I am not as naive as you think.
I hoped, coming back here -
that you could somehow lay your memories to rest.
But instead I fear it has stirred them up again.
No.
It has given me clarity.
I've realised I can never again put myself in a man's power.
It is not Ralph.
Or Colonel Lennox.
It is marriage itself.
But how will we live if we do not marry?
We do not have the freedom of Georgiana's fortune.
We are poor, Charlotte.
Wretchedly so.
Three bad harvests in a row.
Papa cannot afford to keep us...
Nor would I expect him to.
I will keep myself.
How?
A governess!
And for Mr Colbourne, of all people?
My dear Charlotte.
I appreciate your concern, Mary...
Think of our poor family!
The shame you will bring to them!
I see no shame in earning a living.
A governess position is a last resort for a young woman.
When circumstances leave you no alternative.
If I am resolved not to marry, I will need an income.
And as a young woman of three and twenty,
what other professions are available to me?
I cannot have my sister be a spinster!
This will not do, Charlotte!
Charlotte.
You are allowed to grieve him.
He has a widow.
It is not my place.
I think perhaps I should extend my stay.
If you can bear my company for a few more weeks?
I suppose it serves me right for being such an indulgent hostess.
Babington will be away for a while yet.
I am not yet ready to accept the doctor's opinion.
And in all conscience,
I cannot leave you to the mercy of my stepbrother.
I hardly need your protection from Edward!
I have never been the least susceptible
to his unctuous charms.
Although it must be said, the shock of disinheritance
does seem to have provoked some genuine stirrings of remorse.
Do not be fooled, Aunt.
There is nothing genuine about it.
Denham!
I must thank you for recommending Sanditon
as a company outpost.
Honoured to be of service, Colonel.
And your aunt?
Was she pleased to see you?
Exceptionally, Sir.
And to my great delight,
my stepsister is currently her guest.
So it has been the happiest of reunions.
Captain Fraser tells me you lost another two guineas
at cards last night.
Was that wise?
Given you have yet to pay for your commission?
Rest assured, Colonel.
You will have your money within weeks.
- I have everything in hand. - Good man.
There is much excitement
at the arrival of a company of soldiers...
but I am altogether indifferent,
since my thoughts are only of you, my husband,
and our life to come.
I do believe the sea air is doing me the power of good.
The doctor assures me there is every reason to believe
our prayers may yet be answered...
I thought you were coming here to spend time with me.
To be my friend.
I am your friend, Georgiana.
I will forever be your friend.
This does nothing to change that.
I do not suppose it would help if I were to pay you?
I could match whatever he offers...
You know I could never accept.
I don't want to be beholden to anyone.
Not even you.
I do understand, you know?
Sidney and I were hardly friends.
Yet even I feel unmoored.
I can only imagine how you must feel.
Thank you for travelling with me, Georgiana.
But from this point on, I can journey alone.
Mr Colbourne, Miss Heywood is here
about the governess position.
She is the young lady who returned the girls
from the parade.
Thank you.
One moment, Mrs Wheatley.
Seven fifteens?
- I beg your pardon? - What are seven fifteens?
A hundred and five.
- The capital of Argentina? - Buenos Aires.
Do you play an instrument?
The pianoforte, a little.
Mrs Wheatley. Will you see this is delivered today please.
- Sir. - Thank you.
Pouvez-vous tenir une conversation en français?
Oui monsieur. Je parpier en Francais.
Please.
You have already met my daughter and my niece?
Yes, Sir.
And that experience was not sufficient to deter you?
On the contrary.
What did you make of them?
Miss Colbourne has a keen imagination,
and Miss Markham a sharp wit...
By which you mean they are respectively feral and insolent.
If I had meant that, Sir, I would have said so.
What those children require... is discipline.
Someone who will take them in hand...
Leonora is nine years old,
and despite what she seems to think, a girl.
Augusta, on the other hand is...
well, you've met her.
Her attempt to assert her maturity
only proves the fact that she is still a child.
I believe independence of spirit is something to be encouraged.
Really?
My brother and I had a governess who met independence of spirit
with a leather belt.
That's how I learnt to behave...
Then I feel very sorry for you and your brother, Sir.
I assume you have a letter of recommendation
from your previous employer?
No, but I have brought some work to show you.
I have eleven younger brothers and sisters
and I have been helping our father with their education
for the past year.
Then you are not a governess at all?
You are here under false pretences?
I have some classical learning.
Homer, Heraclitus.
The English poets of course.
A deal of Shakespeare.
Mathematics...
What use are poetry and mathematics to Augusta?
Society asks that a woman be accomplished, not learned.
Trust me, Miss Heywood,
I know what happens when a woman falls short
of society's expectations.
Then, society is wrong, Sir!
Why should your girls be deprived of an education
on account of their sex?
I would seek to open their minds to the world around them,
not encourage them to be meekly submissive.
So if that is what you are looking for,
I apologise for wasting your time.
What are we to do?
If I had thought for even a moment
that returning here would lead to this...
Be patient with Charlotte. In time, she will reconsider.
Something will change her mind... or someone.
In the meantime, we must enjoy the summer while we can.
Is this your carriage?
No. But I am sure Lord Kingsley would not mind us borrowing it.
Did you not speak of a desire to meet a soldier?
You are wicked, Miss Lambe.
Look, look!
You are alive.
Thank God.
Mary!
What is it, my dear?
A letter arrived from our agent in Antigua.
It seems that Sidney was not there to settle his own affairs.
He was there for Georgiana.
Miss Heywood.
You did not wait to hear my decision.
- There hardly seemed much point. - The position is yours.
Presuming you still want it?
You start on Monday.