Belle Page #5

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LORD MANSFIELDDecide what?

She is hesitant now, awkward in JOHN’S presence.

DIDOIf he should...should WANT to

paint me!

LORD MANSFIELDThe man is to be paid a fortune.

What is there to decide?

DIDOBut...

LORD MANSFIELDDido, you are to simply sit

still. Not a challenging task!

DIDO(anxious)

Next...next to Elizabeth...?

LORD MANSFIELDAs you always are - right beside

one another.

DIDO’s chest heaves with distress.

JOHNShould...should not any lady be

flattered to be such a subject?

His tone is impatient, irritating her.

DIDOHow should any male know the ways

of a lady when he has not even

mastered the ways of a gentleman?

JOHNQuite! Though one should be

forgiven for thinking he was in

the presence of a lady - when she

is, in fact, still a juvenile!

DIDOPapaa, may we do this in private!

LORD MANSFIELDNot now, no! You may return thebooks to the library.

DIDOPapaa...!

24.

LORD MANSFIELD casts her a stare and she is silenced.

DIDO begins collecting giant hardbacks, exasperated.

LORD MANSFIELDUpon her husband’s death a widow

may receive....

JOHN...her marriage portion and

inheritance at once. She has forty

days to leave her husband's home...

LORD MANSFIELDHummm...

(contemplation)

Yours are grand ambitions.

JOHN says nothing - swallows hard. DIDO steals a glance.

LORD MANSFIELD (CONT’D)

What is the purpose of the law in

your eyes, Mr Davinier?

JOHNTo... to provide certainty where

there might otherwise be none.

LORD MANSFIELDExample.

JOHNThe Zong ship and those drowned.

LORD MANSFIELD stiffens. He looks uncomfortably at DIDO

piling books. JOHN’S eyes follow.

LORD MANSFIELDIt is one of the few trades

acceptable to a gentleman.

JOHNI am no member of the nobility -

I have little, but...where my

father relies on the bible, I...I

wish to rely on the law courts.

LORD MANSFIELDYou aspire to the judiciary?

LORD MANSFIELD laughs at him. DIDO stares at the ground -

cringing on JOHN’S behalf. John asserts himself.

JOHNOne day...yes...m’lord. I wish tomake the laws not only administer

them - for that...that is how I may

truly change this world. I mean to

say, make it... a better place.

25.

A beat. His words force DIDO to look up, affected.

LORD MANSFIELDNoble if not pompous! A country

lawyer, you may make - perhaps! If

you pay every regard to what you

are taught - but you have neither

the rank nor finances for any more!

JOHN(tentative)

If I may, m’lord - neither did you!

LORD MANSFIELDI beg your pardon?

JOHNWell...as a fourth son, you had

rank but not the income to pay for

your qualification to the Inns.

DIDO’s wide eyes take in JOHN, astonished by his chuzpah.

JOHN (CONT’D)

Without the sponsorship of Lord

Foley and William Hamilton...the

English courts may not have

benefited from your brilliance -

and the title, Lord Chief Justice

could not be yours today...M’lord.

LORD MANSFIELDYou believe you are worthy of

such considerations? Such are

your capabilities?

JOHNThat I do not know, M’lord. I

have not yet been afforded those

considerations...but I know a

country life does not suit me.

LORD MANSFIELD’s gaze is trained on JOHN. DIDO has finished

gathering the books and is quietly slipping from the room.

LORD MANSFIELDThe Reverend has requested I take

his son into my tutorage, Dido.

(Beat)

What do you think?

DIDO freezes, in the doorway - all eyes locked on her.

INT. KENWOOD HOUSE. GALLERY - NIGHT. 53131*

DIDO moves along the hallway, lined with enormous artists’ *

interpretations, communicating a certain lifestyle.

26.

She slows, caught by one of the paintings - an English rose

stares out, as a black domestic submissively fastens a

priceless bracelet around her lady-master’s wrist.

DIDO’s POV:
CLOSE on the domestic. Suddenly...

JOHNThank you for your gracious

support.

DIDO jumps - finds JOHN standing beside her.

DIDOI neither spoke for or against

you - since neither is my place.

JOHN:

Silence speaks volumes.

Elizabeth approaches, calls out, as she curtseys.

ELIZABETHPapaa’s new student.

JOHNIndeed!

DIDOMr Davinier, my cousin, Elizabeth.

JOHNA pleasure.

DIDO(to John)

Papaa has never taken a pupil,

you realise?

ELIZABETHSomeone to keep you company while

you take Papaa’s dictation, Dido.

(to John)

Truth is, there have been more of

your sex at Kenwood this week,

than I’ve previously seen in all

my entire life!

DIDO flushes.

JOHNHopefully we have not disappointed!

ELIZABETHOn the contrary!

She raises a minxish eyebrow and moves off. Awkward silence.

27.

DIDOMr Davinier, what...what is the

importance of the Zong... why is

the case before Papaa’s court,

the supreme court...?

He searches her, taken aback. Why is she asking him?

JOHNWell...

(he struggles, tentative)

It is a cargo ship.

DIDOI...I am aware of that.

JOHNA human-cargo ship.

DIDO hesitates, tentative.

DIDOOh. You said those who were

drowned.

JOHNIt lost most of its slaves before

arriving at its destination.

(hesitant)

Drowned - by the crew on the

captain’s order.

JOHN watches as DIDO falters.

DIDOBut...why?

The SOUND of the MANSFIELDS gathering with the ASHFORDS. A

maid approaches hurrying about her duties.

MAIDMiss, your supper is served

now in the ladies’ parlour.

DIDOThank you.

JOHN hesitates, struck with confusion at the maid’s words.

DIDO becomes awkward. LADY MANSFIELD emerges, disappearing

into the dining room.

LADY MANSFIELDMr Davinier, will you be joining

us for dinner?

JOHN’s eyes dart to DIDO - sees her unease. It pierces him.

28.

JOHNI..er...I thank you, Madam, but I

am promised to the company of my

aunt this evening. She has recently

moved to the cottage at Belsize.

LADY MANSFIELDOf course - as you wish.

She moves off, and DIDO and JOHN are left in tense silence.

JOHNPermit me to ask, why you do not

dine with your family - ever?

DIDOThat is not correct.

JOHNForgive me...but twice now I have

seen...I have seen you separated

from the gathering.

DIDO’s cheeks begin to burn.

JOHN (CONT’D)

I am confounded.

DIDO snaps, her shame over-spilling...

DIDOAnd well you might be - when the

son of clergy is permitted to the

table before a lady of the house.

JOHNIs that a reminder of my place,

Miss Lindsay?

She holds back frustrated tears, pained.

DIDONo. It’s a statement of mine!

Both of them are smarting. JOHN moves off, stung.

EXT. KENWOOD HOUSE. DIDO AND ELIZABETH’S BEDROOM. NIGHT.5 3232*

DIDO steps into the room, expressionless. She sits on the

chaise longue, allows her gaze to settle on her reflection.

Something terrible resonates through her - some awful

thought or feeling, that leaves her breathless with

emotion. And then her fingers come up to the skin on her

chest...and she begins to pinch and pull with self-hatred,

rubbing the heel of her palm across her cheek, her

forehead, as her face crumples and she begins to cry.

29.

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