To Kill a King Page #2

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l shall be glad

to serve him.

And your wife,

the lovely lady Anne,

how does she like

this rebel in you?

The nation you claim as yours

lies shattered and bereaved.

lf you have any love for it,

you will sign.

l shall consider it,

Mr. Cromwell.

You will grant me time

to read it, l trust.

We await

your grace's reply.

You might permit

your wife to visit

as a sign of goodwill.

Even a common prisoner

would consider it his right

to have a little company.

- Cromwell:
Welcome.

- Thank you.

Anne:
you have no wish

to live near the town?

Live under the gaze

of a thousand watchful eyes?

That is not living.

How can you dream

unless you look at the sky?

My daughter Bridget.

- And you've met cousin Henry.

- At the celebration, l believe.

God's day to you,

General.

Henry.

Cromwell:
My wife.

Our husbands are so like brothers,

l feel we are sisters already.

Please, come in.

You sent for me,

your grace?

( distant bells chiming )

l've read the terms,

Mr. Holles.

Quite a task you had

in marshalling all

of Parliament's demands.

So, "Merchants

shall protect

their trade;

The Puritans,

their blessed consciences,"

And oh, yes,

These latter pages--

"The right

of every Englishman

to life, liberty,

et cetera"--

are in a wilder tone

altogether.

Not yours l warrant?

Parliament has many voices.

l am merely the speaker.

And your vote counts

no more than any other.

Sir, if these triumphal

fighting men wish

to scatter my goods

across the common land,

risk your new

trading freedoms

with their wilder reforms,

you may protest,

but the majority

will win, hmm?

l'll hazard

l'm not alone

in feeling buffeted

by this puritanical storm.

lf your grace thinks

l prefer the days

when your crown officers

roamed the land,

taxing and arresting

at whim...

But if you were

to command my officers,

Mr. Holles,

as Chief Royal Councillor,

second only to the king,

that would be a different prospect,

would it not?

l believe your grace will wish

to withdraw that remark

when he sees how it might be

improperly interpreted.

Lord, though we are not

worthy of thy blessings,

yet with glad

and humble hearts,

we praise thee

for the gifts of thy lands.

All:
Amen.

My son Richard.

Fairfax:
Glad to

meet you, Richard.

A small war divided the nation

while you were sleeping.

This man won us

the victory.

Remember next time,

you owe him your freedom.

- He exaggerates.

- l'm sorry.

Excuse me.

( gagging )

Annie.

l told you

to take special care.

Please, no one is

to blame.

l think...

l think l'm expecting

a child.

Holles:
Following my meeting

with his majesty,

l am informed that those

still loyal to the king

will lead us to the palace

treasures tonight.

Cromwell must not

hear of this.

With the king's

gratitude,

we could still maintain

our trading freedoms

and there is

a guaranteed profit...

...profit for every man

who votes with us,

enough to buy each

of you a new estate.

( men yelling )

- Cromwell:
Good night, Tom.

- Good night.

- Good night.

- Anne.

He will go back

to Yorkshire now.

We must not envy, coz.

There are enough of us here

to plow the nation

into godly shape.

Did you not hear

the men cheer?

Tommy's our emblem.

We are brutes

without him.

( Fairfax and Anne

laughing )

An heir is better

than any victory.

The king will not--

we will not be punished too harshly

for your rebellion, Thomas?

lf our son

should suffer...

A son.

Get this stuff

out of here!

Come on, come on.

Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up!

Get this stuff out

of here. Hurry!

l don't remember giving

you permission to leave.

The king asked for you.

For me?

You didn't tell me so.

What does he want?

To have me obey him.

Then he must be obeyed.

Gentlemen,

gentlemen,

first to the chief business

of the house:

Our representations

regarding the peace settlement

have been delivered

to his majesty,

together with

the supplementary chapters...

Managed to part with her

for a few hours

for the sake

of the nation, Tom?

- We are honored.

- Bad dreams?

Have you packed to go?

We haven't had time

to make plans.

Holles:
However,

his majesty proposes

that if we return him

to the throne,

he will be inclined

to do so. To which end,

and in the interests

of a speedy settlement,

l propose we return

the king in due ceremony

two days hence.

All those in favor...

- Aye!

- What is this?

What are you doing?

We cannot budge

on this, Holles.

What in God's name

are you doing?

Counting votes,

Mr. Cromwell.

Must l remind you

how Parliament works?

How Parliament works?

This is how

Parliament works?

We fight long bloody years

for justice,

and when the king stamps

his foot and says he will not play,

we give up

all we've earned?

- We will not vote on this!

- Mr. Cromwell!

What are you plotting,

Holles?

Did the king turn your

feeble bowels to jelly

or did you strike

some Judas deal?

You would shed blood,

risk other men's lives,

some of you your own,

yet you dare not

reform the king.

Digby, Proctor,

you fought with us at Marston.

Why this treachery now?

- Holles:
And those against...

- Nay!

- Man:
46, sir!

- Holles:
The motion carries!

( men cheering )

How is your father,

madam?

ln good health,

your majesty.

And he wishes

the same for you.

l will not ask

after your husband,

although l trust

he will soon recover.

l knew it, Tom.

All the palace treasure gone.

l'll kill Holles for this.

Oliver, Oliver,

Let us prove it first.

- ( playing quiet tune )

- lt's very pretty.

Sing with me.

Your majesty, l'm no match.

Please your king.

lt was a lover

And his lass

With a hey and a ho

and hey

Nonny no

And a hey

Nonny nonny no

That o'er the green

cornfields did pass

ln springtime

The only pretty

ring time.

( stops playing )

Can you hold a tune,

Mr. Cromwell?

l have some business

with the king.

What a pity.

We were just getting started.

You will come again

tomorrow, my dear.

Well, Anne?

Excuse me, your majesty.

Who proposed the deal,

you or Holles?

- l beg your pardon?

- You think all men are born

to be your playthings,

given lips to kiss your hand,

knees to grovel at the edge

of your well-fingered gown?

( chuckles )

You've lost me, Mr. Cromwell.

Parliament is not a whorehouse built

to serve your private needs.

lf you expect to buy back the crown

with your pirates' gold,

you're not only a thief

and a whoremaster, but a fool.

ls that so? l think your mother

omitted something

from your early education,

Mr. Cromwell.

Most men learn in the cradle

that l am the king

by divine appointment

and will not be taught

good government by you!

Was anything removed

from the palace last night?

Did you see anything?

You?

Holles.

Holles,

l see the palace goods have gone.

lf you would explain it,

we might believe they

were not simply stolen.

These are transitional

times, Thomas.

One must expect a certain

amount of redistribution.

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