The Patriot Page #18

INT. SHACK - SHANTY TOWN - NIGHT

The children help Aaron and Abigail make beds out of

armloads of hay. OUTSIDE, Charlotte and Gabriel talk

quietly.

CHARLOTTE:

So he's the one they talk about, the

Swamp Fox.

GABRIEL:

Yes.

CHARLOTTE:

I thought it might be him, the bits

and pieces we heard, a veteran,

fought in the French and Indian War,

knows the swamps.

GABRIEL:

They won't stop looking for you and

the children.

CHARLOTTE:

We'll be alright, here, for now.

(beat)

How is he?

Gabriel searches for an honest answer.

GABRIEL:

I don't know... I'm his son.

Gabriel steps over to his saddlebags, opens his pack and

pulls out a stack of letters which he hands to Charlotte.

GABRIEL:

These are for you and the children.

They sense someone behind them.

SUSAN:

Why didn't father come?

Gabriel is astonished to hear words coming from his

heretofore silent sister. Charlotte nods, smiling.

CHARLOTTE:

Speaking for months now.

SUSAN:

Why didn't he come?

GABRIEL:

He wanted to, Susan, but he couldn't

leave his men.

SUSAN:

He left us.

GABRIEL:

I know he did and he's sorry. He'll

come back as soon as he can.

Susan says nothing. Gabriel continues, hopefully.

GABRIEL:

There are some letters here from

him. Some are just to you.

SUSAN:

I don't care. I hate him.

GABRIEL:

You don't hate him.

SUSAN:

Yes, I do. I hate him and I hope he

never comes back.

Gabriel kneels down and embraces her. She stands coldly

with her arms at her sides.

EXT. MARION'S ENCAMPMENT - DAY

An astonished Marion talks to Gabriel.

MARION:

She spoke? Susan spoke?

GABRIEL:

Full sentences. As if she had been

speaking all along.

MARION:

I don't believe it... and I wasn't

there for it...

The cloud passes quickly.

MARION:

Tell me everything she said, word

for word.

Gabriel hesitates.

GABRIEL:

She said... she loves you and misses

you but she understands why you

can't be there with her.

MARION:

She said that? Oh, my Lord, she said

that?

Gabriel nods.

MARION:

Isn't that something.

Marion shakes his head at the thought, smiling to himself.

Gabriel, uncomfortable with the lie, changes the subject.

GABRIEL:

Father, there's something else I

need to talk to you about.

MARION:

What?

GABRIEL:

Come with me. I'll tell you when we

get there.

Marion nods and curiously follows Gabriel.

EXT. PEMBROKE VILLAGE - NIGHT

Dark. The village square is deserted. Marion follows

Gabriel into the shadow of the village church. They

dismount, tie up their horses and enter the back door of

the church.

INT. CHURCH - PEMBROKE VILLAGE - NIGHT

Marion walks in and stops dead. At the altar of the small

sanctuary, HALF-A-DOZEN PEOPLE stand with Rev. Oliver. At

the center of the tiny gathering is Anne Green, flanked by

her parents.

GABRIEL:

Father, I'm looking for a best man.

Marion is stunned but recovers quickly.

MARION:

I'd be honored.

They share a moment, then head down the aisle. Marion

greets Anne's parents, shaking hands with her father and

bowing to her mother. Abner, at the door, nods that the

coast is clear.

REV. OLIVER

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here

in the sight of God to join this man

and this woman in holy matrimony...

MARION feels every word, looking straight ahead but

knowing that he's standing next to his son.

EXT. CHURCH - NIGHT

In the shadows behind the church, the bride and groom say

goodbye to the wedding party. Anne talks quietly with her

parents. Marion and Gabriel talk nearby.

GABRIEL:

Sir, I'd like to request a furlough.

Two days?

MARION:

Granted. Where are you going?

GABRIEL:

Cheraw Falls.

MARION:

It's beautiful there. Your mother

and I were there once, before you

were born.

GABRIEL:

I know.

They're silent for a moment.

MARION:

She would have been pleased.

Gabriel nods, then turns to his horse, unnecessarily

checking his pack ropes. Anne joins them. Marion

embraces her and gives her a fatherly kiss.

ANNE:

I'm sorry we didn't give you more

warning.

MARION:

It's alright. I'm very happy for

you.

He helps her mount up. Abner, on guard near the road,

motions them on. They all watch as Gabriel and Anne ride

off.

EXT. WOODED ROAD - NIGHT

Marion, Rev. Oliver and Abner ride slowly down the road.

It's a beautiful, moonlit night. Marion breaks the

silence, speaking as much for himself as the others.

MARION:

It's a good measure of a woman that

she'll have her honeymoon under the

stars.

REV. OLIVER

For richer, for poorer, in sickness

and in health, 'til death do they

part.

Marion nods. They ride on.

EXT. SOUTH CAROLINA SHORE - DAY

A British packet, a small, fast warship, lies anchored

just offshore. A rowboat, manned by half-a-dozen sailors,

carrying a Redcoat Lieutenant, beaches. Several Redcoats

wait.

The Lieutenant, carrying a dispatch case, jumps out off

the boat, mounts a waiting horse and rides off.

EXT. SMALL BRITISH FORT - DAY

Cornwallis, with his command staff clustered around him,

sits on horseback reading the dispatch as the dispatch

rider waits. They're on a hillside, looking over the

burned-out remains of a small British fort as some

Redcoats pull the Union Jack out of a trench latrine.

Cornwallis motions Tarleton and they ride a few yards from

the other officers and speak, out of earshot.

CORNWALLIS:

From General Clinton in New York...

(reading)

"... your request to move north is

denied until you have properly dealt

with your militia problem."

(aside)

He underlined, 'militia'.

(reading)

"You have spent over six months

dealing with a six-week problem. It

is essential that you quell the

militia..."

(aside)

Underlined again.

(reading)

"... insurgency, particularly

because of the likely move south of

Washington and the inevitable

arrival of the French. Militia, as

you have so often pointed out, is

not worth the attention of a

significant army, hence it is

mystifying why militia has bedeviled

you for so long..."

Tarleton smiles slightly, enjoying the show.

CORNWALLIS:

(reading)

"... it is my fervent hope that the

vigor of your campaign comes to

match the vigor of your

correspondence with your

Parliamentary and Court patrons.

Only then might you share in the

victory, on the verge of which I now

stand."

(beat)

"Your guardedly respectful

Commander, General Sir George

Clinton."

Cornwallis grows eerily calm and turns to Tarleton.

CORNWALLIS:

If I fail, you fail.

TARLETON:

Perhaps.

CORNWALLIS:

And if I triumph, you triumph.

TARLETON:

Probably.

CORNWALLIS:

How can we end this madness?

TARLETON:

Difficult, sir. This is, as you

pointed out, a civil war.

Cornwallis takes a moment, then speaks simply.

CORNWALLIS:

Civility is a secondary virtue. It

is superseded by duty.

TARLETON:

I understand, sir.

Tarleton salutes, yanks his reins, turning his horse, and

rides off.

EXT. SMALL FARMHOUSE - SUNSET

Tarleton lounges in the grass on a slope in front of a

farmhouse, looking out at a lovely sunset, absentmindedly

picking at the petals of some wildflowers. A HIDEOUS

SCREAM pierces the calm.

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