The Scandalous Lady W Page #4

As a consequence of your love

affair and your elopement,

you have lost your means,

your place in society...

You will never see your daughter

again, of that I'm certain.

If you choose this path, you may

not win. But whatever the outcome...

.. you will be shamed forevermore.

I do not want to lose George.

It will not touch my love for you.

I must have time to think.

What else may I do?

Go to Sir Richard.

Reason with him.

Lady Worsley is here.

What does she want of me?

She wishes to see the child, and

if you wished it, speak with you,

Sir Richard.

Richard, do you not think

it wise to hear her?

Sir Richard Worsley wishes

it to be known to Lady Worsley

that the child is not here.

And in any case, if the child were here,

Lady Worsley would not be

permitted to see the child.

For Lady Worsley has forgone

all her maternal rights

and Sir Richard is no longer

obliged, nor is he disposed

to grant them.

Furthermore, Sir Richard wishes

it to be known that Lady Worsley's

visitation is a further

cruel and vicious act

perpetrated upon his person

and he will inform the Lord

Justice in the morning.

I will have you, Richard Worsley!

I will have you for breakfast.

You will see. The whole of

London will know what you are!

We must tell the truth.

Then I will do as you wish, Seymour.

Though man is a damn fool.

The defendant is very ready

to admit that the plaintiff is

entitled to a verdict.

But I will prove to the

satisfaction of the jury

that the plaintiff is not entitled

to 20,000 of compensation.

Lady Worsley is not worth

the sum of 20,000.

I will prove this to be a fact, my lord.

The court calls the right

honourable Lord Deerhurst.

'Madam, our marriage and our frolics

are for us and us alone. '

Of course they are.

I must know that I can rely on you.

Of course you can, Richard.

On what year was your lordship first

acquainted with Lady Worsley?

We were introduced by Sir Richard

Worsley in the year 1779.

Hmm.

And you became an intimate of hers?

Yes, I was a most intimate friend.

You have had an intimacy of friendship.

But have you had any particularly

intimate connection with her?

In the bedchamber.

With your lordship's permission,

I decline that question.

It is improper for a gentleman

to admit whether he has had

many prior and intimate connections

with Lady Worsley, sir.

Certainly.

You have no right to

be asked that question.

The court calls the right

honourable Lord Peterborough.

How did your lordship first make

the acquaintance of Lady Worsley?

I was first introduced to her by Sir

Richard Worsley at Sadler's Wells.

What about that fly fellow?

How intimate were your relations

with the Lady Worsley?

Sir, you may decline that.

Sir, how many a gentleman admit

to the most intimate of relations

with Lady Worsley?

The court calls the honourable

Charles Wyndham, Esquire.

The court calls the right honourable

the Marquess of Graham.

The court calls Joseph

Bouchier Smith, Esquire.

Disgrace!

"This indifference, Richard,

so often you blame

"is not owing to nature,

to fear or to shame.

"I hate to be abused and never

will accept years of solitude

"and pitiful neglect. "

They are mine, Richard.

They are my most private things.

It's no more than the trifling

doggerel of an ungrateful shrew.

Please leave me in peace.

The court calls Dr Osborn.

Dr Osborn, in what condition

did you find Lady Worsley?

She had a number of complaints,

all of which, I fancy,

were the consequence of venereal disease.

And were you ever employed by Sir Richard

for complaints of a similar order, sir?

No, sir, I was not.

In your opinion, sir,

did Sir Richard and Lady Worsley

lie together as man and wife?

No, sir.

Not with any regularity, no.

And what, then, of the child, Jane?

In my opinion, sir, the child

Sir Richard says belongs to him

is a bastard.

The child is a bastard, you say?

Order, I say! Order! Silence in court!

I understood there was Deerhurst

and then there were others

to take the stand.

26, Seymour?!

I thought we lived as moderns, my love.

As moderns.

I see.

You think me a whore, too.

Forgive me, if I may.

I am Mr Bisset, George Bisset.

I am the new owner of Newton.

So, you are Mr Bisset? Pleased

to make your acquaintance, sir.

I am Sir Richard Worsley. May I present

to you my wife, Lady Worsley?

Mr Bisset, I understand you have

been our neighbour here a week,

and you have neglected to call upon us.

Forgive me, sir, madam.

I have a card for you and was

to deliver it to you tomorrow.

- Do you believe this cheeky fellow?

- I assure you, it is the truth.

And you are to stand in the

by-elections, for Newport?

- What of it? - I wish you to

know that you will have my vote.

That is all.

Hmm!

Gentlemen, whilst some in Parliament

may baulk to call themselves

a Tory, I am proud to do so.

It has been an honour to offer

myself for you as a candidate

for your favour. And gentlemen, know this.

If I should have the honour of being

freely elected by you, I shall,

when your service requires it,

be at your service for ever more.

I give you, my lady, the

honourable member for the seat

of Newport in the county of Hampshire.

Mm-hm!

I am most remiss, my dear. - Richard?

- I've been keeping Mr Bisset

from you. - Why, Richard!

I wanted him for myself.

I'm sure his talents know no bounds.

I've been thinking of

rewarding him, Seymour.

Mm?

Why, sir, you are too generous.

I think you will look rather dashing,

a commissioned officer of

the South Hampshire Militia.

Wh...

I wish it could be so that

Richard were away for a month.

So do I.

You are like no other

woman I have ever met.

Though some may say that what you

do for your husband makes you

no more than a common

whore. But you are not.

You're just doing your best for him.

You have done your duty.

It is how I have kept my husband happy.

You make me feel as if a new

kind of future may exist.

A meeting not just of lovers,

but of a new kind of love,

based upon liberty, free will.

That we may have a life

together, as moderns.

Am I your love?

You are, George.

My true love.

Good. Because you are mine.

I love you, Seymour.

My lord, these 26 lovers

are no more than a fiction,

concocted by the defendant,

Lady Worsley, and her friends.

Not one independent witness

has corroborated these

implausible tales.

For how much longer will Sir Richard

Worsley be tormented in this manner?

Sir, what say you?

My Lord?

Are we to hear any more

evidence for the defence?

- What is your name?

- Mary, madam.

My maid's name is Mary.

'What is your name?

'Mary Marriott, sir.

'Uh-huh.

- 'And you are a bathing

woman? - Yes, sir. '

Do you know Sir Richard and Lady Worsley?

Yes, I do.

How do you know them?

Lady Worsley came to the bathhouse

when they was in Maidstone, sir.

Did she come on her own?

No, sir, she came with Sir

Richard and Captain Bisset.

All three, together.

...Sir!... Shh!

- Richard! - Seymour, Seymour! Bisset

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