Restoration Page #3

at your service.

You are alone, sir ?

Yes. Lady Merivel desired

that l act as a vanguard...

and see the lay of the land.

l trust that the wedding

went off as planned.

Yes, most well.

Um, l shall now retire.

[ Clears Throat ]

Oh, could you send up

some strong liquor ?

Yes, sir.

[ Bell Chiming ]

Good morning, Sir Robert.

Mr. Gates, l find

the house induces in me...

a most melancholy

frame of mind.

And exceeding dark.

The King confiscated it

from a Puritan.

Oh.

Mr. Gates.

l must be straight

with you.

We shall not expect

Lady Merivel's arrival for some time.

Well...

one cannot stay in bed

indefinitely.

What one needs

is a diversion.

The King told me to make

something of the house.

Oh ! And you

are monarch here.

[ Merivel ]

We shall have color and light !

With purples and golds

and crimsons and scarlets and carmines.

- What, all together in one place, sir ?

- Yes, Mr. Gates.

We will make this house

so beautiful that if Lady Celia

were to pay us a visit,

she would never want to leave.

Ah, the Dutchman.

Yes !

All of it !

Yes !

[ Chattering ]

[ Merivel's Voice ]

Mr. Gates, to divert myself further...

and to display

our lavish decoration,

l feel the urge for company.

Perhaps a visit

from the neighbors...

will restore my old

uncontainable nature.

A pox on wisdom !

Let us all be

mares and stallions.

[ Guests Laughing, Chattering ]

Sir Robert,

someone at the door.

What ? At the door ? Another man come

to whinny in our festivities !

Why do you not have

a turban ?

Guy, supply Mr. Gates

with a turban !

[ Laughing, Chattering Continue ]

Sir Robert Merivel.

- [ Merriment Continues ]

- [ Woman Laughing ]

Oh, Lady--

Would you show me

immediately to my rooms ?

Yes, of course,

and without delay.

- Without delay.

- [ Crash ]

[ Quiet Chattering ]

[ Snoring ]

[ Clears Throat ]

Where am l ?

l attempted to take you back

to your room last night, sir,

but you were most

insistent to sleep here.

What--

What's the bird ?

A gift from Lady Violet.

[ Groans ]

Oh, Mr. Gates, l've just had

a most extraordinary dream.

l dreamed that Lady Celia did arrive

at Bidnold in the most foul humor.

l'm afraid she did, sir, and she

has now repaired to the garden room.

[ Man ]

All right, now, gently. Gently.

Careful ! Careful !

l've got it.

Keep it to your left.

- [ Door Closes ]

- Lady Celia.

l have come to bid you

welcome to Bidnold.

No, l do not desire

to be made welcome.

- The King will very soon

ask me back to him.

- l'm sure he will.

l'm sure he has of late been

most distracted by the foreign wars.

But in the meantime,

if there's any comfort...

l might provide here at Bidnold

for Your Ladyship--

No, there is nothing.

Nothing.

Well... um, well, then

together we shall wait...

for the return

of the King's love.

Love ?

You use that word ?

The King and his love for me

made use of you.

He looked around for the stupidest man

he could find, and he found you.

l begged him not to marry me

to such a fool.

[ Laughs, Sighs ]

l have brought a--

Stay away from me.

[ Merivel's Voice ]

''Celia, my loneliness consumes me,

but l see your unhappiness

is as great as mine.''

?? [ Recorder ]

Well, come in, please.

l hope my playing

isn't disturbing you.

No, it is l

who am disturbing you.

l-- No.

What is the bird ?

l am told it is an lndian nightingale.

lt was a gift.

- From the King ?

- Yes, from the King.

- lt's most beautiful.

- Mmm.

- Only it does not sing.

- No.

Perhaps it wants

encouragement.

Now, if it were to hear you play,

for your playing, as l recall,

- has about it an exceeding sweetness.

- [ Chuckles ]

Would it be asking too much

if l were to keep the bird in my room ?

No, nothing would be

too much. Will !

No, no. l'll--

And let the garden room

be my private habitation,

where l shall perhaps

from time to time invite you.

Um--

l find much of the decoration

here rather disturbing.

Yes, certain of the servants

regularly complain of it.

Merivel, forgive me if l spoke before

of matters that do not regard me.

We live in an age where many

are made fools and many are deceived.

l, in my faith for the King's love,

am probably as foolish as you.

[ Clears Throat ]

Oh.

lt's from my old friend,

Mr. Pearce.

lt seems he's now working

in a hospital with his Quakers.

Will, will you

sit down ? Please.

ls there a Mrs. Gates ?

Oh, no, sir.

[ Sighs ] The messy constellations

l see through my telescope...

offer me no clue

to my destiny.

There is, l fear, a great deal

about the world and my role in it...

which, despite all my early learning,

l have utterly failed to understand.

l must restrain my thoughts and do

something altogether more constructive.

What is the matter, sir ?

l have done the one thing

forbidden by the King:

l have fallen in love

with my wife.

?? [ Recorder ]

[ Knocking ]

Merivel, there is

someone to see you.

This is Mr. Finn,

a painter.

A painter ?

A painter ! Welcome !

A painter ! Most excellent.

- Did l send for a painter ?

- No, sir.

Never mind.

l'm a keen painter myself.

l call it

''Le Matin de Merivel L'Automne.''

What do you make of it,

honestly ?

lt is an excrescence.

Ah ! Perhaps that is

the word for it.

But to me it's a rather

memorable rendering...

of all the colors

l have in my park.

You must not show

this painting to anyone.

- You must, l think, burn it.

- Oh.

Merivel, Mr. Finn has arrived

with a commission.

A commission !

From whom ?

- Robin Hood ?

- [ Snickers ]

Robin Hood ? Oh, yes.

My Lincoln green.

[ Polite Chuckle ]

How funny.

Now, if l may,

this letter commands...

the following commission

by one Elias Finn, myself,

a noble and beautiful

portrait of Lady Merivel.

''An excellent painting will earn

Mr. Finn a small place at court.''

So, you see,

not Robin Hood-- the King.

Shall we go ?

My imprisonment is over.

The King means me to return.

- Aw, cherubs.

- Uh-huh.

The King has often told me

he cannot abide the cherub.

l would not depend upon this

for your future, either of you.

- Why not, Merivel ?

- lt is a commission from the King.

My dear Flinn--

No, Finch--

- Uh, ''Finn.''

- Oh.

Many portraits are

commissioned by the King,

and most of the poor artists

are still waiting to be paid.

Yes, well, we shall have to make the

painting too beautiful to be resisted.

And, Celia, there seems to be

no mention of your returning to court.

- But why else would he

ask for a portrait ?

- Souvenir, perhaps.

[ Gates ]

A letter, Sir Robert.

Mmm.

From the King.

lf l may !

lf l may !

What mention does the King

make of the painting in his letter ?

Oh, it's-- None.

l would frame some message to him,

but l don't know what to say.

Celia, if l do not set sail now,

l shall not reach London by morning.

And we both know the King regards a

betrayal of time as a betrayal of faith.

[ Chattering ]

[ Chatter Continues ]

[ Man ]

...there is a void--

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