傲慢与偏见(2005)英文剧本

傲慢与偏见(2005)英文剧本 傲慢与偏见(2005)英文剧本 1 EXT. LONGBOURN HOUSE - DAY. FADE UP ON: A YOUNG WOMAN, as she walks through a field of tall, meadow grass. She is reading a novel entitled ‘First Impressions’. This is LIZZIE BENNET, 20, good humoured, attractive, and nobody’s fool. She approaches Longbourn, a fairly run down 17th Century house with a small moat around it. Lizzie jumps up onto a wall and crosses the moat by walking a wooden plank duck board, a reckless trick learnt in early childhood. She walks passed the back of the house where, through an open window to the library, we see her mother and father, MR and MRS BENNET. MRS BENNET: My dear Mr Bennet, have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last? We follow Lizzie into the house, but still overhear her parents’ conversation. MRS BENNET: (cont’d) Do you not want to know who has taken it? MR BENNET: As you wish to tell me, I doubt I have any choice in the matter. 2 INT. LONGBOURN - CONTINUOUS. As Lizzie walks through the hallway, we hear the sound of piano scales plodding through the afternoon. She walks down the entrance hall past the room where MARY (18) the bluestocking of the family, is practising, and finds KITTY (16) and LYDIA (15) are listening at the door to the library. Lizzie pokes Lydia. LIZZIE: Liddy! Kitty - what have I told you about listening at – LYDIA: Never mind that, there’s a Mr Bingley arrived from the North KITTY: - with more than one chaise LYDIA: - and five thousand a year! LIZZIE: Really? LYDIA: And he’s single! JANE, the eldest and very beautiful if rather naive sister, materializes at Lizzie’s elbow. JANE: Who’s single? LIZZIE: A Mr Bingley, apparently. KITTY: Shhhh! She clamps her ear to the door. LIZZIE: Oh, really Kitty. Lydia leans in, whilst Jane and Lizzie strain to hear without appearing to. 3 INT. LIBRARY - LONGBOURN - CONTINUOUS. Mr Bennet is trying to ignore Mrs Bennet. MRS BENNET: What a fine thing for our girls! MR BENNET: How can it affect them? MRS BENNET: My dear Mr Bennet, how can you be so tiresome! You know that he must marry one of them. MR BENNET: Oh, so that is his design in settling here? Mr Bennet takes a plant he’s been looking at from his table and walks out of the library into the corridor, where the girls are gathered, Mrs Bennet following. MR BENNET: (cont’d) Good heavens. People. 4 INT. CORRIDOR - LONGBOURN - THE SAME. He walks through the girls to the drawing room pursued by Mrs Bennet. MRS BENNET: - So you must go and visit him at once. 5 INT. DRAWING ROOM - LONGBOURN - THE SAME. Mr Bennet walks to a table and places the plant in the light. Mary is still practising the piano. The girls flock behind him. LYDIA: Are you listening? You never listen. KITTY: You must, Papa! MRS BENNET: At once! MR BENNET: There is no need, for I already have. The piano stops. A frozen silence. They all stare. MRS BENNET: You have? JANE: When? MRS BENNET: How can you tease me, Mr Bennet? Have you no compassion for my poor nerves? MR BENNET: You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for them; they have been my constant companions these twenty years. MRS BENNET: Is he amiable? MARY: Who? KITTY: Is he handsome? MARY: Who? LYDIA: He’s sure to be handsome. LIZZIE: (ironically) With five thousand a year, would not matter if he had warts and a leer. MR BENNET: I will give my hearty consent to his marrying whichever of the girls he chooses. Warts and all. MARY: Who’s got warts? LYDIA: So will he come to the ball tomorrow? MR BENNET: I believe so. Lydia and Kitty shriek with excitement and jump up and down. KITTY: (to Jane) I have to have your spotted muslin, Jane! LYDIA: No, I need it! It makes Kitty look like a pudding. KITTY: - Oh please Jane, I’ll lend you my green slippers. They both look onto Jane and pull at her arms. Mr Bennet winks at Lizzie. 6 EXT. LONGBOURN HOUSE - DAY. A wide shot of the house as we continue to hear the girls argue over what they will wear. 7 INT. ASSEMBLY ROOMS - MERYTON VILLAGE - NIGHT. The local subscription dance is in full swing, (Dance 1). It’s a rough-and-ready, though enthusiastic affair: yeoman farmers, small-time squires with their ruddy-cheeked daughters. Lydia and Kitty are dancing. LYDIA: I can’t breathe. How am I going to dance all night if I can’t breathe? KITTY: My toes hurt already. Lizzie and Jane are a little apart from their family. Jane looks breathtaking. LIZZIE: Well, if every man in this room does not end the evening in love with you then I am no judge of beauty. JANE: Or men. LIZZIE: Oh, they are far too easy to judge. JANE: They are not all bad. LIZZIE: Humourless poppycocks, in my limited experience. JANE: One of these days, Lizzie, someone will catch your eye and then you’ll have to watch your tongue. She stops speaking and stares. A dazzling group enters the room: George Charles Bingley (25) a good hearted soul but prone to bumbling embarrassment when his enthusiasms get the better of him, his sister Caroline (23) a victim of every latest fashion, counting herself superior to most company she encounters, and finally, Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy (27) dashing, brooding with an introversion which could be misconstrued as hauteur. They are dressed in the highest modes. The music and dancing stops as the local people turn and stare. The newcomers - creatures from another world - make quite a stir. Darcy surveys the hall. He catches Lizzie’s eye. She stares, with a kind of surprised shock. Caroline Bingley turns to Darcy. CAROLINE: Oh dear, we are a long way from Grosvenor Square, are we not, Mr Darcy? He does indeed look superior to the assembled company. SIR WILLIAM LUCAS (53) a hale but unsophisticated member of the self-made gentry, hurries to greet the new arrivals. He leads them down the center of the dance floor towards the best seats in the room, stopping occasionally to introduce them to various parties. Lizzie’s great friend Charlotte Lucas, Sir Williams’ daughter - an intelligent, sensible woman in her late twenties, comes to Lizzie’s side. LIZZIE: So which of the painted peacocks is our Mr Bingley? CHARLOTTE: He is on the right, and on the left is his sister. LIZZIE: And the person with the quizzical brow? CHARLOTTE: That is his good friend, ‘Mr Darcy. LIZZIE: He looks miserable, poor soul. CHARLOTTE: Miserable he may be, but poor he most certainly is not. LIZZIE: Tell me. CHARLOTTE: Ten thousand a year and he owns half of Derbyshire. LIZZIE: The miserable half? They share a complicit giggle. Sir William Lucas arrives with Darcy and the Bingley’s to introduce his daughter Charlotte and the Bennet family. Behind them the music and dancing re-start where they left off. SIR WILLIAM: (to Mr Bingley) My eldest daughter you know, Mrs Bennet, Miss Jane Bennet, Elizabeth and Miss Mary Bennet. MRS BENNET: It is a pleasure. I have two others but they are already dancing. Mr Bingley is transfixed by Jane and gazes openly at her. MR BINGLEY: Delighted to make your acquaintance. SIR WILLIAM: And may I introduce Mr Darcy. (Significant look) - of Pemberley, in Derbyshire! A stiff bow from Darcy, Lizzie smiles, Darcy does not. 8 INT. ASSEMBLY ROOMS - MERYTON VILLAGE - NIGHT. Moments later. Lizzie is standing in a small group with Jane, Bingley, Miss Bingley and Darcy. JANE: How do you like it here in Hertfordshire, Mr Bingley? MR BINGLEY: (smiling at Jane shyly) Very much. LIZZIE: The library at Netherfield, I’ve heard, is one of the finest in the country. MR BINGLEY: Yes, it fills me with guilt. He looks at Jane and a little blush starts around his collar. BINGLEY: Not a good reader, you see. I prefer being out of doors. I mean, I can read, of course and, and I’m not suggesting you can’t read outdoors - of course. JANE: I wish I read more, but there always seems so many other things to do. BINGLEY: That’s exactly what I meant. He beams at Jane, gratefully. The first dance ends. Lydia and Kitty rush past in a state of high excitement. LYDIA: Mama! You will never ever ever ever believe what I’m about to tell you! MR BENNET: You’ve decided to take the veil? Lydia ignores him. MRS BENNET: Tell me quickly, my love LYDIA: (shrieking) The regiment are coming! Mrs Bennet shrieks too. Mr Bennet winces. KITTY: They’re to be stationed the whole winter! Stationed in the village, just right there! Now all three Bennet females shriek and Lydia actually jumps up and down. LYDIA: Officers! Officers as far as the eye can see! KITTY: How will we meet them? LYDIA: It’s easy. You just walk up and down in front of them and drop something. Lydia pantomimes the actions for Kitty. LYDIA: (cont’d) They pick it up. You say ‘Oh thank you sir’ and blush prettily and then you’re introduced! Couples begin to form for the next dance. Mr Bingley turns to Jane. MR BINGLEY: May I have the honour? They leave to dance (Dance 2). Lizzie addresses Darcy as much to distract him from her family as for any other reason. LIZZIE: Do you dance Mr Darcy? DARCY: Not if I can help it. Lizzie, Darcy and Miss Bingley stand in uncompanionable silence. On the dance floor Mr Bingley is dancing with Jane. His ears are bright pink. Mrs Bennet, with a group of other mothers, watches the young couple with rather too obvious a satisfaction. MRS BENNET: That dress becomes her does it not. Though of course my Jane needs little help from couturiers. Lizzie wanders through the throng. She looks at Bingley and Jane dancing - Jane is calm and demure, Bingley clearly smitten. 9 INT. ASSEMBLY ROOMS - MERYTON VILLAGE – NIGHT. Later. Darcy is joined by an exhilarated Bingley. MR BINGLEY: Upon my word I’ve never seen so many pretty girls in my life. DARCY: You are dancing with the only handsome girl in the room. BINGLEY: Oh, she is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld, but her sister Lizzie is very agreeable. They have stopped at the edge of the dance floor but have not seen Lizzie and Charlotte who are hiding behind a pillar. Lizzie starts to smile. DARCY: Perfectly tolerable, I dare say, but not handsome enough to tempt me. Lizzie stops smiling. DARCY: (cont’d) You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me. Bingley goes off. CUT TO: Lizzie and Charlotte. CHARLOTTE: Count your blessings, Lizzie. If he liked you, you’d have to talk to him. LIZZIE: Precisely. As it is, I would not dance with him for all of Derbyshire, let alone the miserable half. Charlotte smiles at her friend, but sees nonetheless that she is stung. 10 INT. ASSEMBLY ROOMS - MERYTON VILLAGE - NIGHT. Later, (Dance 3). Bingley politely dancing with Charlotte. As he does so, he catches sight of Jane dancing with somebody else. A look of pure longing, but he cannot dance every dance with her. Lizzie too is dancing and clocks this. Lydia and Kitty are exuberantly dancing too, laughing and chatting. Darcy stands watching, a look of infinitely superior boredom on his fine features. 11 INT. ASSEMBLY ROOMS - MERYTON VILLAGE – NIGHT. Bingley is standing with Jane, Lizzie, Mrs Bennet and Darcy. (Dance 4). BINGLEY: (to Lizzie) Your friend Miss Lucas is a most amusing young woman. LIZZIE: Yes! I adore her. MRS BENNET: It is a pity she is not more handsome. LIZZIE: Mama! MRS BENNET: But Lizzie will never admit she is plain. (to Bingley) Of course it is my Jane Who is considered the beauty of the county. JANE: Oh, Mama, please! MRS BENNET: When she was only fifteen there was a gentleman so much in love with her that I was sure he would make her an offer. However, he did write her some very pretty verses. LIZZIE: (impatiently) And that put paid to it. I wonder who first discovered the power of poetry in driving away love? DARCY: I thought that poetry was the food of love. LIZZIE: Of a fine, stout love it may. But if it is only a vague inclination, I am convinced that one poor sonnet will kill it stone dead. Darcy looks at Lizzie with a glimmering of interest. DARCY: So what do you recommend, to encourage affection? Lizzie turns and looks at Darcy square on. s partner is barely tolerable. LIZZIE: Dancing. Even if one’ She gives him a dazzling smile. Darcy looks startled. He has no idea she heard him. Now it is his turn to blush. End on a wide shot of the assembly rooms and the dance continuing. 12 INT. LIZZIE & JANE’S BEDROOM - LONGBOURN - NIGHT. Lizzie and Jane are both in the same bed under the covers. They are too excited to sleep. Jane puts on an extra pair of socks to keep herself warm. JANE: Mr Bingley is just what a young man ought to be. Sensible, good humoured -LIZZIE: (completing the list) Handsome, conveniently rich. JANE: You know perfectly well I do not believe marriage should be driven by thoughts of money. LIZZIE: I agree entirely, only the deepest love will persuade me into matrimony, which is why I will end up an old maid. JANE: Do you really believe he liked me, Lizzie? LIZZIE: Jane, he danced with you most of the night and stared at you for the rest of it. But I give you leave to like him. You’ve liked many a stupider person. JANE: Lizzie! LIZZIE: You’re a great deal too apt to like people in general, you know. All the world is good and agreeable in your eyes. JANE: Not his friend. I still cannot believe what he said about you. LIZZIE: Mr Darcy? I could more easily forgive his vanity had he not wounded mine. But no matter. I doubt we shall ever speak again. We move away from the bed and out through the window to take in the starry night sky. 13 INT. DINING ROOM - LONGBOURN - DAY. Mrs Bennet presides over breakfast with an endless description of the ball. Mary is doing some needle work, whilst Lydia, Kitty and Jane blearily eat. MRS BENNET: ...and then he danced the third with Miss Lucas. Poor thing, it is a shame she is not more handsome. There’s a spinster in the making and no mistake. The fourth with a Miss King of little standing. And the fifth again with Jane. MR BENNET: If he’d had any compassion for me he would have sprained his ankle in the first set. MRS BENNET: Oh, Mr Bennet! The way you carry on, anybody would think the girls looked forward to a grand inheritance. Lizzie rolls her eyes at Mr Bennet, they’ve heard this speech many times before. MR BENNET: Kitty, be so kind as to pass the butter. MRS BENNET: As you well know, Mr Bennet, when you die, which may in fact be very soon MR BENNET: As soon as I can manage it. MRS BENNET: - our girls will be left without a roof over their head nor a penny to their name. LIZZIE: Oh Mother, please! It’s ten in the morning. Betsy, the maid, enters the room and interrupts Mrs Bennet’s babbling. BETSY: A letter addressed to Miss Bennet, Ma’am. From Netherfield Hall. MRS BENNET: Praise the Lord! We are saved. Mrs Hill gives the letter to Jane. MRS BENNET: (cont’d) Make haste, Jane, make haste. O happy day! Mrs Bennet takes Jane’s toast from her hand and whips her napkin off. JANE: It is from Caroline. Mrs Bennet is stopped in her tracks. JANE: (cont’d) She has invited me to dine with her. (pause) Her brother will be dining out. MRS BENNET: Dining out? JANE: Can I take the carriage? MRS BENNET: Out where? Let me see that. She tweaks the letter from Jane’s grasp. JANE: It is too far too walk. MRS BENNET: Unaccountable of him. Dining out, indeed. LIZZIE: Mama! The carriage? For Jane? MRS BENNET: Certainly not. She’ll go on horseback. LIZZIE/JANE: Horseback? 14 EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DAY. Jane rides through the countryside. A distant rumble of thunder. She looks up... 17 EXT. GARDEN – DAY. A louder rumble of thunder. Betsy hastily pulls clothes from a line, it’s bucketing down heavily now. Lizzie runs through the garden. She pulls a towel from the washing line as she passes. 18 EXT/INT. HALL/DINING ROOM. LONGBOURN - DAY. Mr and Mrs Bennet look out at the pouring rain. Lizzie rushes in with the towel and begins drying her hair with it. Through in the kitchen we can see Mr and Mrs Hill. MRS BENNET: Excellent. Now she will have to stay the night. Exactly as I predicted. MR BENNET: Good grief, woman. Your matchmaking skills are becoming positively occult. LIZZIE: Though I don’t think, Mama, you can reasonably take credit for making it rain. Let’s hope she doesn’t catch her death. 19 INT. NETHERFIELD – DAY. A footman opens the great doors to find Jane standing there soaked. She sneezes. 20 INT. KITCHEN ROOM - LONGBOURN - DAY. Lizzie reads a letter. Kitty and Lydia are also present. LIZZIE: "And my kind friends will not hear of me returning home until I am better - but do not be alarmed excepting a sore throat, a fever, and a headache there is nothing wrong with me." I hope you’re satisfied, Mother. MR BENNET: Well, my dear, if your daughter does die it will be a comfort to know it was all in pursuit of Mr Bingley. MRS BENNET: People do not die of colds. LIZZIE: Though she might well perish with the shame of having such a mother. Mr Bennet laughs, but Lizzie is genuinely angry. LIZZIE: (cont’d) I am going to Netherfield at once. She stomps out. 21 EXT. COUNTRYSIDE/NETHERFIELD - DAY. Lizzie strides across vast muddy fields, slipping as she goes. Netherfield is in view on the horizon. She stops to take it in, then carries on down an even more muddy track. 22 INT. NETHERFIELD - BREAKFAST ROOM - DAY. In the large grand dining room Caroline and Darcy are eating breakfast. It’s very formal, in fact frigid, compared to the volatile Bennet household. Darcy is reading the newspaper, Caroline is reading a letter. CAROLINE: (puts down the letter) Apparently, -Lady Bathurst is redecorating her ballroom in the French style. A little unpatriotic, don’t you think? Mr Darcy is about to answer when the door opens. A footman appears, his face rigid with disapproval. FOOTMAN: Miss Lizzie Bennet. Lizzie comes in, her face flushed, her skirt covered in mud. She looks ravishing. Darcy stares at her, then quickly rises to his feet. Caroline Bingley, astonished, looks her up and down. CAROLINE: Good Lord, Miss Bennet. Have you walked here? LIZZIE: I have. I’m so sorry. How is my sister? DARCY: (more kindly) She’s upstairs. (to footman) Show Miss Bennet the way, Alfred. Lizzie leaves. A beat. CAROLINE: Goodness, did you see her petticoat? Six inches deep in mud! No response. CAROLINE: (cont’d) And her hair, so blowsy and untidy! DARCY: I think her concern for her sister does her credit. A little pause, Caroline recovers. CAROLINE: Oh yes, it’s shocking to have a bad cold. I dislike excessively being ill myself. 23 INT. NETHERFIELD STAIRS - DAY. Lizzie races up the stairs to meet Bingley half way. His face lights up when he sees her. BINGLEY: Miss Lizzie! Oh I’m so glad to see you LIZZIE: How is she? BINGLEY: She has a violent cold, but we shall get the better of it. I will have a bed made up for you. You must be our guest here until Jane recovers. 24 INT. NETHERFIELD - JANE’S BEDROOM - DAY. Lizzie goes into the bedroom where Jane lies in bed, feverish and ill. The blinds are drawn. LIZZIE: Jane! Jane’s face lights up. Lizzie kisses her. JANE: Lizzie! Oh, your face is so cold. They’re being so kind to me, I feel such a terrible imposition. LIZZIE: Don’t worry. I don’t know who is more pleased at your being here, Mama or Mr Bingley. Bingley enters. LIZZIE: (cont’d) Thank you, for tending to my sister so diligently, it seems she is in better comfort here than she would be at home. BINGLEY: It is a pleasure - I mean - not a pleasure that she’s ill, of course not, but a pleasure that she’s here - being ill. 25 INT. STAIRCASE - NETHERFIELD - DAY. Caroline berates her brother. CAROLINE: Stay!? She is a perfectly sweet girl but save being an excellent walker, there is very little to recommend her as a house-guest. BINGLEY: I thought she showed remarkable spirit coming all this way. CAROLINE: The eldest Miss Bennet, as you know, I hold in excessive regard but as for the rest of them She walks down two steps and then turns back. CAROLINE: (cont’d) You do realise their uncle is in trade? In Cheapside? BINGLEY: (irritably) If they had uncles enough to fill all Cheapside it would not make them one jot less agreeable, Caroline. 26 EXT. YARD - LONGBOURN - DAY. Mr Bennet is admiring a huge boar which has been delivered to cover his sows. Mr Hill, the manservant stands with him. Mrs Bennet bustles up looking smug. MRS BENNET: It’s all going according to plan. He’s head-over-heels already, now all he needs is a little encouragement. MR BENNET: Who’s that, my blossom? MRS BENNET: Oh don’t torment me, Mr Bennet. I mean Mr Bingley, as you well know, and he doesn’t mind a bit that she hasn’t a penny for he has enough for the two of them. Kitty and Lydia rush past as the distant sounds of drums and trumpet mingle with the snipping of Giles’s shears. MRS BENNET: (cont’d) Wait for me! Mr Bennet gazes at their departing figures, sucking his teeth with relief. He turns back to the boar. 27 EXT. MERYTON VILLAGE - DAY. _ Mrs Bennet and her two daughters rush down the street into the village. Dogs bark, children run alongside as a regiment of soldiers march through the street. Geese scatter, shopkeepers stand in their doorways. The two Bennet girls simper at the handsome young soldiers. Mrs Bennet, flushed and excited, runs panting behind them. Lydia deliberately drops her handkerchief. One of the soldiers stands on it. She is appalled. 29 INT. JANE’S BEDROOM - NETHERFIELD - MORNING. Jane is asleep in bed. Lizzie is awake in a small cot bed next to Jane. She gets up. 30 EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - MORNING. Darcy gallops through the countryside still looking put out. 31 EXT. BACK LAWN TO PARK LAND - NETHERFIELD - MORNING. Lizzie stands on the edge of the formal garden looking out onto to the rustic parkland. Suddenly Darcy emerges over the crest of a hill and gallops towards the house. He pulls the horse to a halt as he sees Lizzie. With his wet hair flattened against his head and his face soaked in sweat he looks for a second like a mysterious and beautiful boy. They lock eyes for a brief moment before Lizzie turns in a shiver and walks away. 32 INT. JANE’S BEDROOM - NETHERFIELD - MORNING. Lizzie enters the room and goes to Jane’s bed. Jane is waking up. LIZZIE: Jane, do you think you might feel well enough to leave today? 33 INT. DRAWING ROOM - NETHERFIELD - DAY. The doors open. The Footman as before: FOOTMAN: A Mrs Bennet, a Miss Bennet, a Miss Bennet and a Miss Bennet, sir. CAROLINE: Are we to receive every Bennet in the country? Mrs Bennet, Lydia, Mary and Kitty are introduced to Caroline, Bingley and Darcy. Lizzie holds her breath as her mother launches into familiar form. MRS BENNET: What an excellent room you have sir. Such expensive furnishings. I hope you intend to stay here, Mr Bingley. BINGLEY: Absolutely I find the country very diverting. Don’t you agree, Darcy? DARCY: I find it perfectly adequate even if society is a little less varied than in town. MRS BENNET: Less varied? Not at all! We dine with four and twenty families of all shapes and sizes. Sir William Lucas for instance is a very agreeable man. A good deal less self-important than some people of half his rank. Lizzie cringes. LYDIA: Mr Bingley, is it true that you have promised to hold a ball here at Netherfield? BINGLEY: A ball? LYDIA: It would be an excellent way to meet new friends. You could invite the militia. They are excellent company. KITTY: Oh do hold a ball. LIZZIE: (trying to stop Bingley being bamboozled) Kitty? BINGLEY: When your sister has recovered you shall name the day. MARY: I think a Ball is a perfectly irrational way to gain new acquaintance. It would be better if conversation instead of dancing were the order of the day. CAROLINE: Indeed much more rational but rather less like a ball. LIZZIE: Thank you, Mary. BINGLEY: (to Mrs Bennet) Please let me show you to Jane, you will find her quite recovered. 34 EXT. DRIVE - NETHERFIELD - DAY. The Bennet’s carriage awaits. The Bingleys are gathered to see the Bennets off. Jane is radiant - in the peak of the health that only love brings. JANE: (to the Bingleys) I don’t know how to thank you. Bingley beams bashfully. BINGLEY: You’re welcome anytime you feel the least bit poorly. I mean - you’re welcome at any time, but not any less welcome if you know you’re - He hands her into the carriage, still babbling. Jane remains demure. LIZZIE: (to Caroline) Thank you, for such stimulating company. It has been most instructive. CAROLINE: Not at all. The pleasure is all mine. Lizzie looks at Darcy, who bows wordlessly. LIZZIE: Mr Darcy. DARCY: Miss Bennet. Maintaining his glacial exterior, Darcy moves forward and, before Bingley can do so, hands Lizzie into her carriage. She gives him a surprised glance as their hands meet and then, unaccountably, blushes. Bingley starts to wave violently as the carriage draws off. Darcy turns without a second glance. Caroline watches him narrowly. BINGLEY: Goodbye. Goodbye. 35 INT. CARRIAGE - LEAVING NETHERFIELD - THE SAME. The family are all squeezed in rather too tightly. MRS BENNET: What a high and mighty man that Mr Darcy is, quite eaten up with pride. Lizzie is still confused by the touch of his hand and frowns to herself. 36 EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - DAY. The Bennet’s carriage is stopped in its tracks by a company of the Militia who are crossing in front of them. 37 INT. CARRIAGE - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY. A few of the soldiers look in at the Bennet girls with some interest. Leading them is WICKHAM, a very handsome blonde officer. Lydia spots him and swoons. LYDIA: I can’t believe it! They’re close enough to touch! KITTY: I think one of them just winked at me! LYDIA: Oh! See! The blonde! Oh, be still my beating heart! LIZZIE: (to the coachman) Thomas, can’t you drive around them? To loud protest from Lydia and Kitty the carriage veers off. 38 INT. LONGBOURN - HERTFORDSHIRE - DAY. As the Bennet girls come into the house, Lydia eulogizing the Militia, they meet Mr Bennet. LYDIA: There was one with great long lashes, like a cow, did you see him? He looked right at me. MR BENNET: I hope, my dear, that you have ordered a good dinner today, because I have reason to expect an addition to our family party. Mr Bennet holds up a letter. 39 INT. CARRIAGE - COMING THROUGH MERYTON - DAY. MR COLLINS (late twenties) an overweening sycophant, nervous and unctuous in equal measure, sits in his black garb, hunched uncomfortably as he comes through town. MR COLLINS: (V.O.) Dear sir, the disagreement over the entail to me of the Longbourn estate, has been a subject of torment which I wish to heal. Having received ordination this Easter and being so fortunately distinguished by the patronage of the Right Honorable Lady Catherine de Bourgh..." Mr Collins’s voice fades out as his carriage wipes through frame revealing Lizzie and Charlotte on their way to the butchers. LIZZIE: His name is Mr Collins. He’s the dreaded cousin. CHARLOTTE: Who’s to inherit? LIZZIE: Indeed. Everything, apparently. He may leave us our stays, but even my piano stool belongs to Mr Collins. CHARLOTTE: When? LIZZIE: He can turn us out of the house as soon as he pleases. CHARLOTTE: But why? LIZZIE: Because the estate is entailed to him and not to us poor females. A cart passes, crammed with sheep going to slaughter. They baa plaintively. 40 INT. HALLWAY - LONGBOURN - DAY. Mr Collins is ushered in by the manservant, Giles. He looks around his future home with interest. Mr and Mrs Bennet greet him. MR COLLINS: (deep bow) Mr Collins, at your service. 41 INT. DINING ROOM - LONGBOURN - EVENING. The Bennets and Mr Collins are seated formally for supper. Mr Collins is served some food. MR COLLINS: What a superbly featured room and what excellent boiled potatoes. It is many years since I had such an exemplary vegetable. To which of my fair cousins should I compliment the excellence of the cooking? MRS BENNET: Mr Collins, we are perfectly able to keep a cook. MR COLLINS: What a blessing. I am honoured to have, as my patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourg, you have heard of her, I presume? Mrs Bennet shakes her head. MR COLLINS: (cont’d) My small rectory abuts her estate, Rosings Park, and she often condescends to drive by my humble dwelling in her little phaeton and ponies. A pause. Lizzie catches her father’s eye. MRS BENNET: Does she have any family? MR COLLINS: One daughter, the heiress of it all and a creature of such superior graces she seems born to greatness. (little cough) These are the kind of little, delicate compliments that are always acceptable to ladies, and which I conceive myself particularly bound to pay. MR BENNET: (gravely) How happy for you, Mr Collins, to possess the talent for flattering with such delicacy. Mr Collins nods with satisfaction. LIZZIE: Do these pleasing attentions proceed from the impulse of the moment or are they the result of previous study? Jane kicks Lizzie under the table. Lizzie tries not to laugh at Mr Collins’ answer. MR COLLINS: They arise chiefly from what is passing at the time, and though I sometimes amuse myself with arranging such little elegant compliments, I always wish to give them as unstudied an air as possible. LIZZIE: Believe me, no one would suspect your manners to be rehearsed. Lydia suddenly lets off a little explosion of hysteria. A fierce look from Lizzie quells it and Kitty pats her on the back solicitously. MR COLLINS: After dinner I thought I might read to you all for an hour or two. I have with me Fordyce’s sermons, which speak eloquently on all matters moral. (to Jane) Do you know Fordyce’s sermons Miss Bennet? 42 INT. CORRIDOR/DRAWING ROOM - LONGBOURN - LATER. We can see the girls and Mr Bennet gathered by the fire through the doorway. Mr Collins leaves the room and takes Mrs Bennet aside to a very discreet conference, out of hearing of anyone else. MR COLLINS: Mrs Bennet. You do know I have been bestowed by the good grace of Lady Catherine de Bourg a parsonage of no mean size. MRS BENNET: I have become aware of the fact. MR COLLINS: Well, it is my avowed hope that soon I may find a mistress for it, and I have to inform you that the eldest Miss Bennet has captured my special attention. Mr Collins looks lasciviously into the room. MRS BENNET: Mr Collins, unfortunately it is incumbent on me to hint that the eldest Miss Bennet is - very soon to be engaged. MR COLLINS: Engaged! MRS BENNET: But Miss Lizzie next to her in both age and beauty would make anyone an excellent partner. Do not you agree, Mr Collins? Mr Collins looks through the doorway at Lizzie MR COLLINS: Indeed. Indeed. A very agreeable alternative. 42. EXT. BACK GARDEN MEADOW - LONGBOURN – DAY. Mr Collins appears through a door to the yard. He spots Jane and Lizzie and advance towards them. LIZZIE: No, no! Quick! This way! She pulls Jane across the duck board spanning the moat. Mr Collins comes out into the back garden. The girls are nowhere to be seen. He looks around, puzzled, as we reveal Lizzie and Jane hiding behind the moat wall. 43 EXT. MERYTON VILLAGE - DAY. Lizzie, holding Jane’s hand, is still running and laughing as she goes. Jane is grumbling, holding onto her bonnet. JANE: Oh do stop, Lizzie, I’ve got no more breath! Lizzie slows, turning around to laugh at Jane, then turning back and practically winding the tall, blonde officer spotted earlier by Lydia. He stands before her, holding a handkerchief that’s down fluttered from her sleeve, a witty curl on his exquisite mouth. WICKHAM Yours, I believe? Lizzie is, for a moment, speechless, but then nods and takes the kerchief as Kitty and Lydia rush up from behind Wickham. LYDIA: Oh how perfect you are, Mr Wickham! KITTY: He picked up my glove, too. Did you drop yours on purpose, Lizzie? LYDIA: Mr Wickham’s a lieutenant. WICKHAM: An enchanted lieutenant. JANE: What are you up to, Liddy? LYDIA: We just happened to be looking for some ribbon KITTY: White, for the ball! WICKHAM: Shall we all look for some ribbon together? Wickham’s wry tone tells Lizzie that he perfectly understands her silly sisters. 45 INT. MILLINER’S SHOP - DAY. They come into the shop. The others go towards the counter. Wickham hangs back, and smiles a complicit, witty smile at Lizzie. WICKHAM: I shan’t even browse. I can’t be trusted. I have very poor taste in ribbons. LIZZIE: (gravely) Only a man truly confident of himself would admit that. WICKHAM: No, it’s true. And buckles. When it comes to buckles, I’m lost. LIZZIE: Dear oh dear. You must be the shame of the regiment. WICKHAM: A laughing-stock. LIZZIE: What do your superiors do with you? WICKHAM: Ignore me. I’m of next to no importance, so it’s easily done. On the contrary, Wickham is almost impossible to ignore. Lizzie tears her eyes from his winsome features as Lydia grabs her sleeve... LYDIA: Lizzie, lend me some money! LIZZIE: You already owe me a fortune, Liddy. WICKHAM: Allow me to oblige. LIZZIE: No! Please - Mr Wickham Wickham gives Lizzie a smile and moves away to the counter. 46 EXT. ROAD TO MERYTON – DAY. Wickham is escorting the girls home. He’s scything down cow-parsley with his sword, as Lydia and Kitty wave yards of ribbon about. It’s impossible not to admire the cut of Wickham’s jib as darts athletically about the undergrowth. Lizzy is almost as fizzly as her sisters. Jane watches them all with her benevolent smile. WICKHAM: Take that, you cur! And that, and that! More cow-parsley bites the dust. LIZZIE: I pity the French. WICKHAM: Oh so do I. Miserable bunch. Small, swarthy and that tiny Emperor. Lizzie laughs. JANE: Look! Mr Bingley. Mr Bingley and Darcy are riding towards them. Bingley pulls in his horse, jumps down and hurries over, his open friendly face filled with delight. Darcy stays astride, staring at Wickham, who suddenly sheaths his sword and looks at the ground. Lizzie watches him. His eyes dart up to Darcy and away again. Darcy’s face is dark and closed. BINGLEY: I was on my way to your house. LYDIA: Mr Bingley, how do you like my ribbons for your ball? Bingley is gazing at Jane. BINGLEY: Very beautiful. LYDIA: She is! Look at her! She’s blooming JANE: Lydia! But Lydia dances around Bingley like Squirrel Nutkin, waving her ribbons in his face. LYDIA: Be sure to invite Mr Wickham, he’s a credit to his profession. Darcy turns and rides off without a word. Lizzie watches, fascinated as Wickham recovers himself. JANE: Lydia you can’t invite people to other people’s ball. BINGLEY: Of course you must come, Mr Wickham. Ladies, excuse me. Enjoy the day. Bingley bows, principally to Jane, and jumps back on his horse. Lizzie turns to Wickham, but he has walked ahead. The mood of the day has changed completely and Lizzie starts to follow him thoroughly puzzled.