New Beginning A Place to Call Home

I saw them at the guest cottage, him and the Jew.

They're rutting at Ash Park.

If you even think of marrying this woman,

Ash Park will go to James.

What sort of man do you think I am?

I won't have our baby born into her pit of poison.

Livvy?

SHE PANTS

HE BREATHES QUICKLY

We should go. To the city. You were right.

The child that I gave away to be raised by others -

it was you.

I'll marry Gino, and I will have the baby.

Marry me!

You may have overplayed your hand.

Then I'll deal another.

-Of course I want to say yes.

-Then say it.

Why now?

-I know what I want now.

-Why the sudden urgency?

-Does it matter?

-Yes.

Mother threatened to disinherit me if we stay together.

So this is...defiance?

No.

I'm doing something I should have done weeks ago.

-But we're happy with the way it is.

-I'm not.

You deserve to be more than my mistress.

You deserve more than stolen moments and a charade in public.

-There are practicalities, George.

-Damn them!

What does your heart say? Say it.

Yes.

KNOCKS DOOR

George?

Oh. My darling.

Is something wrong?

A small matter with your father.

I don't want to add to your worries.

Would you like me to leave?

If you wouldn't mind.

Of...of course.

Would you see if there's any sign of George?

You know how hard things have been for Livvy and me.

We're much closer now. We're stronger.

But uh...

..there are tensions here, and...

James, get to the point. I may not live much longer.

We want to spend some time in the city.

Good!

Well, don't look so shocked.

I thought you'd be upset.

James, I'm your grandmother, not your jailer.

I'm not sure for how long.

As long as is necessary. Whatever helps your marriage.

A word of warning, though. There is more temptation in the city.

For my kind?

That won't be a problem.

-Thank you.

-Oh...

I'm going to seek professional help while I'm there.

There are doctors for that sort of thing.

I'm going to change. Whatever it takes.

I'm very proud of you.

You've given me hope for this family at a time when I so badly need it.

Well, go and pack.

A decision like this, once taken, is best acted upon.

DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES

HE SIGHS

She almost seemed glad.

With her health, it may be a relief.

All that time wasted worrying.

Can I leave that to you? I've got some things I have to attend to.

Don't be long.

Quick as I can.

A new beginning.

It is.

I'll be here till seven.

I'll pick you up. We'll spend the night at the cottage.

I'd love that. We can discuss the implications.

Tonight's for romance.

Who cares?

I love you.

I love you too.

I'll keep it to myself until you've told the family.

Yeah.

Sister, Eve Walker's ready for discharge.

He kissed you?

He did.

Everything feels so strange.

You've found a mother and you're becoming one yourself.

It'd be strange if it didn't.

So, what now?

Home.

Well, you can stay here as long as you need.

Gino will be worried.

Any way I can help.

Thank you.

Anna...

Our situation is a complication you don't need in the mix.

Not yet. One thing at a time.

I have to tell Gino.

Of course, but I won't be offended if you wait to tell the family.

And when it is time, I will support you in whatever way is best for you.

You're wonderful.

And you're my brave girl.

I'll pack.

George, she won't say what's happening,

but something is, clearly.

I'm here to help, remember. Both of you.

She needs you more. I have Sarah.

Whose bags?

James and Olivia have decided to spend some time in Sydney.

Because of us?

It's best for the baby.

-Have you told them?

-No. And I would rather you didn't.

You just threatened to disinherit me.

-Which we can discuss later.

-Amongst other things.

George.

Matters are getting out of hand.

I am going to try to be more... constructive.

Just so you know what we will be discussing,

I've just proposed to Sarah and she's accepted.

Try and be constructive about that.

I've ordered the taxi.

And I'm pouring you a stiff one to get you through the journey.

If a girl's got to be covered in soot,

she needs to soften the edges.

It won't stop.

-You can't marry him.

-You don't need him. I'll help out.

-I love him.

-You heard her. Now go.

Please, you're just making it worse.

I just came for my tools.

Then you can take her with you too.

My wife and I are moving to Sydney.

How long?

I'm not sure.

You asked me if I still felt...

..you know...if it... if it was still there.

I owe you the truth.

It is still there?

I lied.

Why?

Some things are easier resisted if they're denied.

But I made you feel like you're a freak, and that you're alone,

and that's not true.

If you can't find a way to proceed, a woman to love,

then I hope that you can find...

..someone to love.

Can I kiss you?

Please.

At least the memory.

Just one.

No.

The baby's gone.

The ambulance will take her to the hospital

for dilation and curettage.

She'll be in overnight.

Thank you.

All I wanted was to lose it.

Why do I feel so...?

Sh.

Our love made it and it's gone.

HE GROANS

Come on! Come on, fight back!

Hit me!

HE WHEEZES

I'm just going to have a moment with your grandmother.

I think she'd appreciate that.

I'll meet you at the car.

You are sure about this?

Absolutely.

Something's changed.

It's not cold feet.

Amy, come here a moment.

As awful as it is

thinking of your sister and nephew living with that brute...

..I am very glad to have you back home.

It's good to be here, Mrs Bligh.

Best get to it.

We'll miss you, ma'am.

Thank you, Amy.

Amy, would you ask cook to come and see me about dinner?

We may have a guest.

I've come to say goodbye.

I hoped you would.

You understand why we're leaving?

Because you find living with me so intolerable.

It is what it is and you cannot be but what you are.

I would like my great-grandchild to be born here.

Then we will return for that.

Thank you.

Whether we stay...

I hope one day things are different.

Oh, I see so much of myself in you.

So do I.

ELIZABETH TITTERS

Let me help you outside?

I thought I married James to someone too weak to be a threat.

But I married him to someone with a strength that may yet save him.

-You're sure?

-If you love her, be with her.

-What else matters?

-Ah, that means the world to me.

Anna will feel the same. Marry her, Dad.

It'll start a war.

Well, as long as it makes you feel happy.

Grandmother will have to accept it eventually.

There you are.

If there are any doors you need opened in the city,

I have just as many keys as your father.

It's been wonderful seeing you again, Reggie.

Will you be looking for employment?

I'm considering all options.

-Grandmother.

-You take it slowly.

Oh, don't lecture, George.

Olivia and I have had a lovely farewell.

Thank you.

Come.

I meant what I said. I'm so proud of you.

I'll be rid of it, any way I can.

Ready?

Safe travels.

-They look happier already.

-And may that continue.

Uh, Reggie, I think

a tray in your room for dinner.

I'm hoping Miss Adams will join us tonight.

I beg your pardon?

Well, we said we'd talk once the children had left

and I think she should be here.

For dinner?

You have been pressuring me about it since she arrived.

Well, we've made other arrangements.

Well, I hope to put this unpleasantness behind us

and I believe the only way to do that

is for the three of us to sit down and face matters frankly -

a constructive effort.

I'll see what I can do.

Dealing that new hand?

I'm changing the whole deck.

Go on, get out of here.

Why didn't you ever tell me?

-Look at you.

-Well, it's disgusting.

-It's how I was born.

-No-one's born filth.

-You were.

-Please, just go.

You have to understand, I can't have you around Colin.

Maybe you do deserve him.

You're lucky to be alive.

No-one can ever know.

Just the three of us?

No, please don't. I'm sure Roy won't mind giving me a lift.

7:30. So much for romance.

Bye.

Dinner at Ash Park. Elizabeth's invitation.

Right. What brought this on?

I can't say. Not yet.

Anything to do with the gossip amongst the nurses?

I don't know what you're talking about.

Right. Well, I'd wear a flak jacket.

You got a spare?

Can't beat arriving in style, I say.

Well, at least the driveway wasn't mined.

THEY CHUCKLE

Here. Hold your horses.

Can't have anyone thinking you're just pretending to be posh.

As if anyone would ever think that.

In that frock, you could fool the world.

Don't let her get away with anything.

I forgot who I was talking to there for a moment.

I trust Eve Walker has made a complete recovery.

Well, she'll have to be careful for some time.

Hmm. Do, please, begin.

You'll be seeing her on your rounds, I imagine?

As long as it doesn't cause too much trouble for her.

Bert Ford.

Ah, yes. Every community has one of those.

Mother. We're not here to discuss the Walkers.

The norm at mealtimes, George,

is that one avoids topics which may cause indigestion.

So no Bert Ford either, on that basis.

London? What do you miss about it?

Oh, certainly not the smog!

Indeed.

Our own private world. Heaven.

Reality will sneak in soon enough.

But not yet.

I wish I'd come to know Sarah better now.

You'll have plenty of opportunity for that, I imagine.

Not if your grandmother has her way.

She won't.

Father's determined to blow the doors off the hinges and let the world in.

And this family needs it.

Your daddy is turning into an anarchist.

We're stuck in some sort of Edwardian aspic

while the country changes around us.

What?

Your turn of phrase. You'd make a very good politician.

Maybe I would. I've thought about it.

Which gives me all the more reason to do what I intend to.

You could work here.

I can't.

What did you do that was so terrible? And why can't you tell me?

Don't hate me when they tell you.

I'm not blind. Or stupid.

You're not disgusted?

Bert disgusts me.

Hate disgusts me.

Not you.

It puzzles me, and saddens me, but...

I never thought...

HE SIGHS

I'm just worried you'll end up sad and lonely with no-one.

Reckon the world's stitched up my kind on that one.

Olivia's unwell?

Unsettled.

It's more she's anxious about the baby.

I'd rather not elaborate.

Of course.

It's why we've come to town, actually.

Don't tell Anna. I don't want her worrying.

She's off with, uh, Swanson, I presume?

Yes.

A GP for Olivia, or were you after a specialist?

A psychiatrist, I think.

Do you know any...?

-I know...

-..preferably, um...progressive.

It sounds a lot more than anxiety.

But it's none of my affair. I'll get you a name.

By the way,

Father is in the process of supplanting you

as the black sheep of the family.

Thank you, George.

Offley 1881.

A particular favourite of my husband's.

He laid down a number of cases after our wedding.

-Over 70 years old.

-Mmm.

The sun shone on these grapes before even I was born.

So the manipulative matriarch and the scheming Jewess...

Mother!

..have managed a civilised dinner,

and, dare I say it, even enjoyed each other's company.

George, where's your sense of humour?

Fast losing it.

I hope this demonstrates that we're not natural enemies, Miss Adams.

Was that its purpose?

We have all fallen into assigned roles in this little melodrama.

And I felt it important to put those aside

so that we could discuss your relationship frankly

and dispassionately.

-Well, I certainly feel more relaxed.

-Good.

Then we can strike out into more dangerous territory

a little less defensively.

This won't take long.

George, I loved like you, once.

Inappropriately.

Deeply.

After your father and I were married. Before you.

I could have created a scandal and followed my heart.

But had I, you'd never have been born

and I would be an aged dirt-farmer's wife

living the dog days of a life of regret.

You're shocked?

Yes.

I tell you this so that you understand I ask nothing of you

that I haven't given myself,

or, indeed, that James gave in London.

Which is why

Ash Park will go to him

if you insist on this mismatch.

That is an absolute.

SHE COUGHS QUIETLY

Good night, Miss Adams.

-I'll help you to your room.

-Thank you.

Good night, Mrs Bligh.

I'll wait for you outside.

So you're happy to drag him down to your level?

Because you'll never be accepted on his.

Unlike you?

He should have been mine - from the first day we met.

SHE CHUCKLES

I will see you gone.

Whatever it takes.

I've faced far worse than you. And here I am.

Yes.

Sadly.

You know what Hitler got wrong?

He ran out of steam before he'd finished you all off.

Sorry, gassed.

SHE WHIMPERS

-I'm sorry if Mother upset you.

-No. No, I'm fine.

It's the first I'd heard of her nearly leaving my father.

It doesn't surprise me.

There was always something missing between them.

I'd understand if it's too much of a sacrifice.

I love you for that.

But it's all going to James eventually.

So what if it skips a generation?

-It's so much of who you are.

-It's a house and some land.

-It's your home.

-We'll build a new home.

Something I bought while I was up at the wool sales.

Proof that I always intended to propose.

You're certain?

Even more so.

Good morning, Lucky.

Oh! Oh! Careful!

I guess that means he approves.

Do you?

Hope I don't have to lick your hand to prove it.

Preferably not.

What?

Me and the missus only had the two boys, so...

I'm not much use to giving fatherly advice to...

But I just hope you're not biting off more than you can chew.

-George is a good man.

-I'm not talking about George.

I can handle what comes with it.

-Even that old girl?

-Especially that old girl.

Well, if it makes sense to you, it makes sense to me.

Good on ya, missy!

Hey, Col.

So you remember what to say, if anyone asks?

Hey, you want me to be nice to your ma, right?

Yeah.

Yeah. Shake?

Least there's one man in the family.

Can I get you something? Food? Drink?

No.

This makes everything a lot less complicated.

It's as though it never happened.

I might never have told you about us if not for this.

It happened.

I want to go home.

You think you're up to it?

What if he doesn't believe me?

It seems so convenient.

He'll think you've had an abortion?

It's all I could think about last night.

Oh!

If he doesn't believe you, he doesn't deserve you.

And that is final?

Yes.

If she truly loved you, she would not make you give up your inheritance.

You made me choose, Mother.

We'll discuss the details another time.

Must you sneak around like a character in a penny dreadful?

I didn't mean to intrude.

I've come to make an offer.

I caught a glimpse last night into the true nature of Sarah Adams.

I saw a very dangerous woman.

I am well aware of how dangerous she is.

I mean physically dangerous, capable of real physical harm.

You've told me how little you know about her.

Does George know the real truth?

A Jew who lived through the war in Europe?

Who knows what lengths she went to to survive?

Go on.

I have excellent access to records through old embassy contacts,

and to less formal modes of investigation.

I'd go across.

You would do that?

With pleasure.

If there are secrets to bring her undone,

I'm convinced that's where we'll find them.

I don't care what it costs.

Find something that will rid us of her for ever.

Oh, the best man won.

If I'm not jumping for joy

it's because I'm about to lose one of my best nurses, that's all.

Why would you think that?

-Oh, Mrs George Bligh doesn't work.

-This Mrs George Bligh will.

We're a rather unlikely couple.

We won't be proceeding in any likely way.

You make it sound easy.

Of course it won't be, but we're happy when we're together.

We'll just have to fight to keep that.

What did Freud say about being too neat?

First impressions count.

You're sure about this?

There's something I haven't told you.

I tried to kill myself because of this.

In despair. On the ship.

And I've thought about doing it a number of times since.

But it's you and the baby that made me want to live.

I'm so sorry.

Oh, James.

I'll get it out of me,

even if he has to cut it out.

George. I've kept out of your way deliberately.

I know you've had a lot to deal with.

But I do hear congratulations are in order.

-Thank you.

-Not from your mother.

-Which can't have surprised.

-I was hoping, but...

Ah, yes, "hope".

Naught but a waking dream.

It is wonderful that you're ready to start again.

I'm sure one day you'll be able to as well.

Soon, I trust. Perhaps it's a good thing I've been called away.

-You're leaving?

-Tomorrow.

-Elizabeth feels she can manage.

-Well, you'll be missed.

-You don't have to say that.

-It's true.

I'm not blind to the fact your fiancee hasn't taken to me.

You got off to a bad start.

Well, perhaps when I return

I can convince her that I'm not the anti-Semite she thinks I am.

We'll see you at the wedding.

Wonderful.

Mr Bligh. You're wanted at the back door.

Who is it?

I tried to get him to go away, but he wouldn't listen.

What do you want?

What's it worth to you

for the world not to find out that your son's a queer?

-You don't want to do this.

-Get off my property!

-You'll be sorry.

-I'm calling the police.

Go on, call them. Only person doing anything illegal's your son.

Or maybe you want them to find out,

knowing how much he's going to enjoy taking it in the slammer.

You think you can make up some cock-and-bull story

and I'm going to open my wallet?

-I ain't making...

-He's a married man!

Who's going to believe a piece of filth like you anyway?

Get off my property.

What about Colin?

It was him that saw it.

Poor kid his age having to watch perverts at it.

You reckon they'll believe him?

You think you're so good sitting up here at Cash Park,

peering down your nose at the rest of us,

but it ain't us fooling round with the station hand.

Nah, it's your fairy son...

Get off my property!

I reckon a thousand quid should be about right.

See you tomorrow.

What happened in England?

Why did James try to jump off the ship?

-Do we have to drag this all...

-What happened?!

You know what happened.

Was it the truth?

-Mother!

-Yes.

It wasn't an unsuitable woman, was it?

It all makes sense suddenly.

His rush to marry, his attempted suicide.

-My son is a pervert.

-No!

-He's been seen with Harry Polson.

-Oh, God.

By a child.

Accusations have been made, Mother. We're being blackmailed!

I was only trying to protect you both.

-No. No!

-George...

-Stop!

-Please!

-Stop!

-You'd do exactly...

-Stop!

Just STOP!

Did Sarah know?

I thought I'd controlled it.

You're wrong.

Oh, God.

Look at those diamonds and sapphires!

Where did he get it? Hardy Brothers?

Maybe Prouds even.

Oh! You have to get Monte Luke to take your photographs.

He does all the society folk...

We've only been engaged for five minutes.

-It's just so exciting!

-Whoever would have thought?

Sister Adams and Mr Bligh living happily ever after!

CAR ENGINE ROARS

Elizabeth?

What have I done? What have I done?

-What have I done?

-Hey, hey.

What's happened?

Oh, what have I done? What have I done? What have I done?

Oh!