Of course, everyone will know. They'll all be whispering.
- Yes, happy New Year. - So glad you could come.
Thank you. Happy New Year to you too.
I can't look at them. I can't look at anyone.
For God's sake, don't glance into the garden.
- Wha-- - Four hours.
Till midnight?
Until it's acceptable for us to ask them all to leave.
Did you really?
Told you.
Lord and Lady Brightlingsea.
Your Grace, we're so glad you could come.
Thank you for opening up your beautiful home.
And here's to a very happy New Year.
Well, at least we're not the most ashamed here.
His father will be turning in his grave. Marrying an illegitimate.
Can you believe he's still marrying her?
It can only be love.
Or witchcraft.
Maybe she's carrying a bastard of her own.
I need to go find my friends.
- There you are. - Excuse me.
I was starting to forget what a friendly face looked like.
I noticed you weren't getting the best welcome.
Must feel a bit foreign.
I was hoping society might take my lead in their response to Nan's lineage.
I'm afraid not everyone's so generous.
Well, lucky Nan, to have fallen for a man so bighearted and charitable.
And with the means to be able to disregard her secret.
I disregarded it because it doesn't matter to me. Not because I can afford to.
Of course. Financial worries are irrelevant if you've never had any.
No Jean this evening?
So, how is Nan? Hiding from all the high horses?
Nan's with her friends.
Good of you to be concerned. But I know my fiancée better than you.
Of course.
Though I do know the weight of feeling inadequate.
Something else entirely unfamiliar to you.
Hello, ladies and beautiful men.
Hi!
Welcome to our extravaganza.
- Happy New Year, everyone. - Cheers.
Well, Lady Brightlingsea sure changed.
You know, the joy of it all is that she hasn't.
- Conchita! - No!
Girls, can I help it if the party organizers find me persuasive?
I have to take my pleasure where I can.
Can you think of anything they'll hate more than this?
- Cheers to that. - Cheers.
- Yes. - Cheers to that.
Having fun?
I am being treated like a stray dog who you were kind enough to adopt.
All I'll ever be from now on is my father's shame.
Not at all. In a week, you'll be the Duchess of Tintagel
and have all the legitimacy and respect you could wish for.
No, your legitimacy and respect. I'd like some of my own.
Well, respect has to be earned.
I've worked desperately my whole life to be the person people want me to be.
I'm used to the whispering, of course.
It's just until recently, the whispers were...
Admiring?
Well, I'm sorry if I've ruined your reputation.
Didn't I make it abundantly clear at Christmas that I love you?
And that I've chosen to share your burden?
So that's how you see me? A burden.
You're deliberately misunderstanding.
Why aren't you more grateful?
Nan, you're forgetting that the minute you revealed your secret at Christmas,
- I immediately overlooked it. - Well, how can I ever thank you?
What have they done to the house? It looks like a circus.
Conchita has once again managed to embarrass my parents.
Jinny?
Darling, no need to be nervous.
I don't expect we'll get a very warm welcome.
Well, we can keep each other warm.
And you'll always have me. Will I do?
You'll do very nicely.
I believe you're one of the Americans.
I'm the original American.
Well, could you advise your friend to find somewhere
other than the bathroom for crying?
She's causing a queue.
Thank you. Excuse me.
Nan, open up.
Are you in there? Nan?
Nan?
Hey.
Darling.
I just feel idiotic. Of course, they're all gonna judge me.
And they're not just judging me. They're judging Theo.
Well, we're not.
You've got the right idea.
Okay, Nan, we're not getting out of this tub until you feel better.
I tried to tell you about my mother a hundred times.
And I thought everyone finding out at Christmas would be the end of all this.
I suppose we've been so busy worrying about husbands we've drifted far apart.
We're not that far apart.
Nope.
Nan. No, never. Never properly apart.
Oh, my God.
We are busy using the lavatory.
Oh, Jinny.
Nan.
How is she?
Perfect.
Hello. I've missed you.
I'm glad they're back.
Do you think Mother and Father ever tickled us like this?
I don't know.
Can't imagine it.
I sometimes used to pretend Miss Testvalley was our real mother.
It wasn't hard. She did all the things a mother should.
We never had that, had we?
Perhaps that's why we clung to her so.
- You the most. - That's not...
I found it all very confusing at the time.
And I wonder if you did too.
You were very young. Just a boy really.
All those mornings when your bed hadn't been slept in.
It wasn't your job to come looking for me, Honoria.
It's okay.
Hey.
It's okay.
Hey.
I often think about that summer playing hide-and-seek.
You always used to give yourself away. Do you remember?
You'd get the giggles the minute you knew I was near.
But then she came, and you stopped wanting to play.
I don't think I saw you laugh again until you met Conchita.
Nan.
Did you see who's here?
Father, I was just saying to Virginia, all these vultures ruining the floorboards
just to get a look at some disgraced nearly-duchess.
Yes, very good.
So, my boy, I want you to do the first footing.
But what about Richard?
He's wandering around like a lame duck or a girl.
But we can't have him cross the threshold first in that state.
God knows what rotten luck we'll invite.
I'm just gonna go to the bathroom.
I'll miss you.
Sorry.
- Mother. - Darling, we were meant to surprise you.
I thought you weren't coming till next week.
Well, that's the surprise.
Now, where's Nan? I've missed you both.
Mother, I...
Jinny, what's wrong? What's the matter?
Jinny.
So, everybody knows.
But actually, it all worked out rather well.
Theo's a gentleman, and the wedding is still going ahead.
And actually, I'm sure Nan is happy to have it all out in the open
and to know how much Theo cares.
So maybe it is all for the best.
Maybe.
Well, Jinny, you always did like to talk.
I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, Mother.
But we really did-- I really did think it was important--
I'm not embarrassed. I'm done being embarrassed.
I never ever meant to purposefully hurt you.
But you purposefully hurt your sister, and that breaks my heart.
This is so unlike the Jinny I know. I don't understand.
Oh, Nan.
What must this be like for you? I'm so sorry.
That's all right. I've had my friends look after me.
Sweetheart.
In the absence of family.
So, the duke still wants to marry you, huh?
Mr. Good Guy.
They're all talking about us.
Well, we're worth talking about.
You're happy, though?
Guy.
This is Guy Thwarte. This is Theo's oldest friend.
- Parents. - No need. No, I'm nobody.
- I'm delighted to meet you both. - Likewise.
Well, any friend of the duke's is a--
Do you still need help with that job?
- Yes, I do. Thank you. - Yes. Okay.
I'll see you soon.
So, all's well that ends well.
Tracy, she's pretending. We all are.
You always know the best spots.
Don't let the whisperers make you ashamed of who you are.
Mrs. St. George.
Lady Brightlingsea. What a very chic party.
Too kind.
Well, this time she--
Colonel, would you be so good as to fetch us some drinks?
Oh, yes. Yes, of course.
Just to say, if the rumors are to be believed,
the Earl of Leicester had at least one cuckoo in the nest.
Of course, the earl hasn't been seen in public for over a decade.
Aren't you brave, showing your face, come what may?
I do admire you Americans, your lack of shame.
Well, I have no shame.
That's the spirit. Well done, you.
Mrs. St. George. Welcome. Would you care to dance?
I would love to.
I'm terribly sorry for all the embarrassment
that my family has caused you.
You don't need to apologize for anything, Mrs. St. George.
And soon, you'll be the mother of a duchess,
so no need to answer to anyone.
You must be exhausted.
It's not easy bearing the weight of someone else's cross.
Whatever weight I've had to bear, I have to remind myself
it's light as a feather compared to what's been forced upon Nan.
I hope you know I'm not simply marrying your daughter.
I'm in love with her too.
Well, that's all I've ever wanted for both of my daughters.
And for yourself?
What did you want for yourself?
Guess we'd all like to hide away up here, of course.
This constant drama, Richard. You've learned that from your wife.
Now, come on. Up you get. Let's get you dressed. Come on.
Come on.
Mother, I need to tell you something.
Can it wait, please? I mean, they're out there pocketing the silver.
Years ago, when you employed her...
I had a--
a courtship,
I suppose, with Miss Testvalley.
We were intimate.
I believed we were in love, but I'm coming to wonder--
When I think of it now, it feels confusing, to say the least.
And...
Is she asking for money this time?
You knew?
Who do you think persuaded her to leave the first time?
But you didn't say anything to me. You didn't talk to me.
- I'm your mother. - And I was barely a man.
Richard, mothers often don't talk to their sons at all in polite society.
I sent her away before you could do something foolish,
like proposing, which wouldn't just have meant your name in ruins,
it would've brought your brother and sister down with you.
Well, heaven forbid their lives might have been any less blissful.
I'm not gonna have any more of this tedious wallowing.
Now enough, please.
You're a man now.
Time to act like one.
Splash some water on your face, and I'll see you downstairs.
...eight, nine, ten.
Over here.
Okay...
I have no idea.
Who are you?
Funny, you don't know me when I know every inch of you.
First, you ruin Nan's life,
and then you stand by and let your husband humiliate me again.
- Lizzy. - I thought you needed protecting,
but you are just as bad as he is. You deserve each other.
Lizzy.
Every single person here either has a rod up their backside
or is laughing at us.
Come on. Find your coat.
- We're leaving. - It's not even midnight.
I don't care. I've had enough of all the whispering,
and everyone seems to be avoiding me anyway.
- I wanna leave. - But what do I want?
Excuse me?
How the hell would I know, Patti?
Have you ever asked? Even once?
Do you even care?
Please, can we just find our coats?
I'm not leaving you.
But Tracy...
I believe I'm leaving you.
Sweetheart, without me, you have nothing.
Not true. Not anymore.
Haven't you heard? My daughter's marrying a duke.
I'll be the mother of a duchess,
with the kind of power that money could never buy.
The power to walk away from you.
Okay, Patti--
Look, we are both very tired after an extremely long journey.
We've had too much champagne, and now this whole farrago.
So, please, let's--
Let's just get some sleep, and we can talk tomorrow.
No more talking.
And no more pretending to laugh at your jokes
or turning my back every time something young and pretty catches your eye.
I have always deserved more.
But I've always put my girls first.
And no matter how small you made me feel,
I made sure they were the tallest in the room.
And now they're letting me stand on their shoulders...
where you could never reach.
Once Nan's married and we get back to New York,
let me be clear, I shall be getting a divorce.
It's my first time seeing the New Year in from England.
It's almost midnight. You ought to find your fiancé.
I got engaged so I could carry on being me.
So that's who you are then, a liar and a disappointment.
I forgot making others feel small is your favorite pastime.
I was fine before I met you.
I'd never been under any impression that I might be special.
Never lied to by my parents that I might one day be wanted.
I knew my limitations. And I had made peace with them.
But then you arrived...
and you made me feel so...
I hate you for making me feel like I could be loved.
I was worried about you, but I see your spirits have been lifted.
- We were just up-- - Taking the view of the roof.
Have you seen it?
I haven't.
It's quite something.
I'll bet.
Three minutes. Chop-chop.
Collect your coats before the bells and miss the rush.
- Should we? - You go ahead.
I've remembered something I need to discuss with my best man.
So, the wedding...
Well, it's certainly related to the wedding.
Specifically my future wife and your inability to stay away from her.
Nan and I are friends.
You and I have been friends a long time, in theory,
and you never once sent me a telegram declaring love.
You've known all this time, and you didn't say?
That's right.
I'm the villain,
not the man sending love letters to his best friend's fiancée.
Well, it didn't work. She chose me.
Did she?
Here we go, everyone!
- Ten, nine... - Ten, nine...
eight, seven...
six, five...
four, three...
two, one.
Happy New Year!
Welcome.
Stay away from her!
Happy New Year.
- He started it. - You were throwing food.
Are we five years old? What's happening?
That telegram I sent you, it didn't go missing.
He read it and kept it from you.
I thought it was for me,
from my oldest friend.
I didn't realize it would be so personal.
But why didn't you give it to me?
What did it say?
- I don't think we ought to-- - Tell her.
You want me to?
No more secrets. You should absolutely tell her.
- Well, I hardly re-- - Tell her!
I suppose it was along the lines of--
"My dearest Nan..."
"My dearest Nan.
This past year, I've learnt a lot about grief,
but recently I can't quite explain why I s--
I so greatly feel the loss of you when you were never mine to lose.
I wonder if it's because the opposite is true.
That part of me...
part of me--"
-"Has." -"...has always belonged to you."
I suppose by that, I meant my heart belongs to you.
Keep going.
"And now, because of..."
"And now, because of my own cowardice, I shall forever be incomplete.
We were so close, Nan. Weren't we?
But I can't rest for fear that you thinking my walking away
at Runnymede had anything to do with you.
I am weak. And I'm confused, but, Nan, my love for you is neither.
But what started as my father's stupid plan
to save the house became an entangled mess of guilt the moment we met.
Because Nan, nothing about my feelings for you could have been planned.
You took my breath away.
It does matter that you were born out of wedlock...
but only because it's part of what makes you.
And you are entirely perfect.
Eternally yours, in the understanding that you will never be mine...
Guy."
You read all of that in New York?
- You'd already decided to marry me-- - You knew? About my mother?
And you didn't say anything?
Yes, I-- Nan.
It's Richard.
- Where to, milady? - Pardon?
- Where are you going? - Could you just go?
Nan. Stop.
- Nan. - How could you not tell me you knew?
I told you, I told everyone how you came into the world doesn't matter to me.
- It's who you are I fell in love with-- - It matters to me.
Didn't you think, if you were someone I could have talked to--
I've been terrified of you finding out. I've been consumed by it.
And you've known this entire time.
I thought I was doing you a kindness.
Doesn't that just sum up our relationship?
Am I supposed to apologize now for trying to be kind?
It's not kindness. It's silence. This whole country prefers silence.
You're not some magnanimous duke who forgave me the second you knew.
You're a secretive duke who stewed silently for months,
never thinking it would actually help to just say it out loud.
So now you're blaming me for keeping secrets.
- I'm not blaming you, I was j-- - It wasn't mine to speak.
What should I have done? Confront you? Embarrass you? Or allow you your privacy?
This was yours to either keep or decide one day to share.
I have told the whole world that I love you unconditionally...
but I will not fight for someone who, deep down,
doesn't want me in the same way.
Which part of what was written in that telegram
are you really reacting to?
Are you in love with him?
This isn't about Guy.
This isn't about you actually either. This is about me.
Isn't everything?
Dick? What are you doing?
I used to come up here when I was younger.
When I felt alone or angry. So, often.
I never should have brought you here. Never should have let them near you.
Who?
My parents.
They suffocate you with their silence.
That's how it's always been.
And I suppose back then...
I just... I just wanted some noise.
I'm so sorry about my family.
It's okay. I'm your family now. You're stuck with me.
- Nan, I-- - Did you mean it?
Did you mean what you said in the telegram?
Every word.
I meant it then.
And what about now?
You chose Theo.
That's not an answer.
I moved on. I had to.
I asked Jean to marry me.
I think we could learn to love each other.
You and I need to free each other of this now.
I'm gonna walk away now.
Jinny?
Where are you, Jinny? Jinny?
Have you seen Jinny?
Not since the bells, no.
There you are. What on earth were you doing outside?
I was watching the fireworks.
And how were they?
Very far away.
When was the last time you did this?
Watch you smear meat on your face?
Get in a fight.
God. Not since...
Henry Burton.
- Henry Burton. - Henry Burton.
Still reckon I could have taken him on my own.
Unquestionably.
Though he was pretty big for a 12-year-old.
He was enormous.
- Close to six foot. - More like seven, at least.
I mean, six I could have handled.
You always looked out for me.
And I was wrong to send that telegram.
So wrong, and... so drunk.
I should have come to you instead, and I didn't.
I'm sorry.
Goodbye.
Your Grace.
Take good care of Nan.