0:00:06 > 0:00:07CLAPS OF THUNDER
0:00:10 > 0:00:12Branwen!
0:00:12 > 0:00:17I condemn thee for exercising wicked arts in pact with the Devil
0:00:17 > 0:00:20- by means of incantations and magic...- No!
0:00:21 > 0:00:25..of bringing death by Satanic abominations upon the newborn
0:00:25 > 0:00:28- of thy neighbour.- Lies! They bear grudge against me!
0:00:28 > 0:00:31The sentence for thy foul maleficium...
0:00:32 > 0:00:34..death fire!
0:00:34 > 0:00:40- No! I'm innocent! Mercy, my Lord! I beg you mercy!- Take her.
0:00:40 > 0:00:46No! My Lord, I beg mercy! No! No!
0:00:47 > 0:00:50CLAPS OF THUNDER
0:00:50 > 0:00:52HOWL OF WIND
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Udolf of Pryde, I curse thee
0:00:54 > 0:00:59and the male of thy line, that they be for ever tainted with insanity!
0:01:00 > 0:01:04SHE SCREAMS
0:01:32 > 0:01:34"Having delivered her prophecy,
0:01:34 > 0:01:37"was hauled to an agonising death by fiery torment,
0:01:37 > 0:01:42"rendering the male line of the Prydes for ever accursed."
0:01:43 > 0:01:49- Riveting.- Bravo.- Extraordinary use of language.- Chapter two...
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Parish business presses, but I'm looking forward to buying a copy
0:01:52 > 0:01:55- this afternoon at the Grand Opening. - Oh, thank you!
0:01:55 > 0:01:57And I'll show Miss Diggle to the office
0:01:57 > 0:01:59so she can get on with her research.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02Thank you so much! So pleased you like it!
0:02:19 > 0:02:23- The servants' and tradesmen's entrance is at the back.- I'm neither,
0:02:23 > 0:02:27- and worthy as the next man to stand here.- The front is for guests,
0:02:27 > 0:02:31- and you are uninvited. - I explained my position.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35I must act in the best interests of the estate.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37These men are your estate!
0:02:37 > 0:02:39We open to the public this afternoon, if you hadn't noticed.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42So those you pay meagre wages to can hand them
0:02:42 > 0:02:44back to snoop round your house?
0:02:44 > 0:02:48- Can I help you? - You can't even help yourselves!
0:02:49 > 0:02:51I'm warning you, Pryde,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54if you go through with this sale, I swear you'll pay!
0:02:57 > 0:02:58Come on.
0:03:07 > 0:03:08TYRES SCREECH
0:03:08 > 0:03:12Father Brown, how simply miraculous! I was just on my way to see you.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14How simply miraculous.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16Hop in!
0:03:30 > 0:03:33I'm sorry to disturb, Miss Diggle. I wondered
0:03:33 > 0:03:35- if you might like a cup of tea. - No, thank you.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53- A sporty little number! - An engagement present.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55I'm betrothed to the Marquis of Bingley.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58I was just on my way to discuss banns and other such guff.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00Mrs McCarthy's posted the announcement on the parish
0:04:00 > 0:04:05- notice board. I hope you'll be very happy.- Yes, of course I will.
0:04:05 > 0:04:11Bingo's a sweetheart and frightfully generous. What do you think, Father?
0:04:11 > 0:04:13- I think perhaps you should keep your eyes on the road!- Oh, yes!
0:04:15 > 0:04:18- Do you think I'll make a good duchess?- Do you want to be?
0:04:18 > 0:04:20We're not in Catechism class now!
0:04:20 > 0:04:23Can't you just tell me the answer instead of making me work it out?
0:04:23 > 0:04:24It's all so exhausting!
0:04:25 > 0:04:26TYRES SCREECH
0:04:28 > 0:04:30SHE GIGGLES
0:04:30 > 0:04:33I think, if your heart's in it, you'll make a very good duchess.
0:04:35 > 0:04:40If the great unwashed descending in droves to gawp was not bad enough,
0:04:40 > 0:04:45now we have the tenants rebelling on the doorstep!
0:04:45 > 0:04:47They want me to cancel the land sale
0:04:47 > 0:04:50while they raise mortgages to buy their farms.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52I told them it's too little, too late.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54We complete at the end of the month.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59Your daughter has just landed the catch of the century,
0:04:59 > 0:05:02and you'd announce our penury from the battlements
0:05:02 > 0:05:04before the ring's on her finger?
0:05:04 > 0:05:08Our poverty is hardly a secret.
0:05:09 > 0:05:15The assumption is that they're marrying into the landed gentry.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19There is no such thing as a gentleman without land!
0:05:19 > 0:05:21The bank has given me a deadline.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25Either the sale goes through or they foreclose on the castle.
0:05:25 > 0:05:30Hobson's choice. Lose our land or would you prefer to lose your home?
0:05:30 > 0:05:33This would never have happened on your father's watch.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38Man up, St John! Think of something!
0:05:41 > 0:05:46But you ruin that girl's marriage over my dead body!
0:05:51 > 0:05:55- So you've heard my news? - It's the talk of the county.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58One minute, you're the donkey in the Nativity,
0:05:58 > 0:06:02and the next, our very own duchess-to-be!
0:06:02 > 0:06:05I expect Bishop Talbot will be officiating?
0:06:05 > 0:06:08Oh, no! He's got wet hands and a face like a fish.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10Father Brown's doing the honours.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13And I'm counting on you to make the wedding cake.
0:06:13 > 0:06:19- Surely not! Such an honour!- Finest cook in the county. WI champion.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22Your strawberry scones are simply legendary!
0:06:22 > 0:06:25And everybody knows Daddy's stony and you're a jolly sight cheaper.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27But I meant what I said about your patisserie skills.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29And it'll quite probably be in the Tatler.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32"Cake created by Mrs McCarthy of Kembleford." And quite
0:06:32 > 0:06:36probably a photo, too. What do you say, Mrs Mac?
0:06:36 > 0:06:39"Cake created by Mrs McCarthy of Kembleford"?
0:06:39 > 0:06:41Mm.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Oh, is that the time? Must dash. But I'll see you at the Opening.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Do pop in for a sherry beforehand.
0:06:51 > 0:06:52Oh!
0:06:57 > 0:06:59Come on!
0:06:59 > 0:07:01Demonstration's starting!
0:07:01 > 0:07:03Hold that position.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05That's fine there.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07That's great. Thank you. Got it.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12It'll rot your brains.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15Well, if it isn't the saviour of the family fortune!
0:07:15 > 0:07:18Nice try, Cousin, but I'm not asking Bingo to pour money into this
0:07:18 > 0:07:20place just so you can inherit it.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22Your offspring will be of the highest nobility in the land.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Surely Bingo won't expect them
0:07:24 > 0:07:27to visit their grandfather in a cottage?
0:07:27 > 0:07:31- For goodness' sake, Jago! Are you trying to blow us all up?- It's a dud.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34- I swapped it with a boy at school. - Audrey?
0:07:36 > 0:07:38Audrey?
0:07:38 > 0:07:40Where is the wretched woman?
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Rehearsing her guided tour for the hundredth time,
0:07:43 > 0:07:45but you haven't seen the best bit.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51- What on earth are you wearing? - I'm Lady Matilda Pryde,
0:07:51 > 0:07:56wife of the fourth Baron and my direct ancestor.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00- She thought it would "lend colour to her guided tour".- You may have
0:08:00 > 0:08:05been descended from us in the dawn of time, but now you're an employee.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09You're paid not to guide tours nor to write pamphlets
0:08:09 > 0:08:11but to act as my companion!
0:08:11 > 0:08:14- Diggles is in the doghouse again! - You arrogant boy!
0:08:14 > 0:08:16You think you're better than me. You all do,
0:08:16 > 0:08:20when I know for a fact that none of you has anything to be
0:08:20 > 0:08:24- superior about.- What on earth are you wittering about?
0:08:24 > 0:08:27I'm saying - and prepare yourself for a shock -
0:08:27 > 0:08:30because you aren't who you think you are!
0:08:31 > 0:08:32DANBY COUGHS
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Father Brown and Mrs McCarthy.
0:08:35 > 0:08:36Miss Diggle.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40May I say how much I enjoyed the excerpts from your guide?
0:08:40 > 0:08:42And to be left with such a cliffhanger!
0:08:42 > 0:08:46- Do we ever find out what the curse of the Prydes was?- No-one knows.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48It's just a legend.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50Hello, all. Isn't this exciting?
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Knights, are you ready?
0:08:54 > 0:08:55Draw swords!
0:08:56 > 0:08:58..England and St George...
0:09:00 > 0:09:04The outer bailey was rebuilt in the 13th century by the third
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Baron, Udolf, who was condemned
0:09:07 > 0:09:12and delivered sentence on Branwen, the witch, who was rushed through
0:09:12 > 0:09:17those gates to a pyre prepared for her outside the castle walls.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24As she was hauled to her execution site, her son,
0:09:24 > 0:09:29an archer in Udolf's army, let fly an arrow from the battlements
0:09:29 > 0:09:35and shot his mother in the heart in a final, merciful act of love!
0:09:36 > 0:09:38SHE SCREAMS
0:09:40 > 0:09:41POLITE APPLAUSE
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Where did that come from? And how on earth did she do that?
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Gosh!
0:09:50 > 0:09:51Has she been shot?
0:09:54 > 0:09:55Hello?
0:09:55 > 0:09:56Oh, dear!
0:09:56 > 0:09:59SCREAMING
0:10:16 > 0:10:17TYRES SCREECH
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Cordon off the scene and gather the family.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27The victim was shot with an arrow fired from a longbow.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Can't be many of those around these days, though.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33As long as we find the weapon, should be easy to identify.
0:10:36 > 0:10:37Oh, boy!
0:10:44 > 0:10:49My mother, Lady Pryde, daughter, Bunty, and my nephew and ward, Jago.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55- My condolences on the death of your cousin.- Extremely removed.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58What else can you tell me about her?
0:10:59 > 0:11:02- Well, she was a frightful old busybody.- Enough, Bunty!
0:11:02 > 0:11:06- That's no way to speak of the dead. - It's true, though.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08And, as this is a murder investigation,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11I imagine no detail is too insignificant for the police.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13Quite.
0:11:13 > 0:11:14In that case,
0:11:14 > 0:11:18she was an immensely irritating woman, who I wanted to throttle,
0:11:18 > 0:11:21but I draw the line at shooting her through with an arrow.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Do any of you know how to fire a longbow?
0:11:25 > 0:11:28- Naturally! - Pryde's a feudal estate, Inspector.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31Most people round here can trace their ancestors back to
0:11:31 > 0:11:32Agincourt and beyond.
0:11:32 > 0:11:37- Can I ask where you all were at the time of the murder?- I went to bed.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40- And I was in the nursery, listening to music on the wireless.- Me, too.
0:11:44 > 0:11:49- And you are?- Arthur Danby, Sir. I was in the butler's pantry.
0:11:49 > 0:11:50Did anyone see you?
0:11:52 > 0:11:58- I can't say. But I saw no-one. - I was ten yards in front of Audrey,
0:11:58 > 0:12:00which presumably puts me in the clear.
0:12:02 > 0:12:03- I see.- I don't.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08Diggles was a walking, talking target.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Either the murderer was an extremely good shot
0:12:11 > 0:12:13or else a rather poor one.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Are you suggesting Miss Diggle wasn't the intended victim?
0:12:19 > 0:12:23A minor fracas this morning. Estate business.
0:12:23 > 0:12:28- Go on.- My uncle was a few feet away from Audrey.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32All I'm saying is maybe the archer missed his mark.
0:12:32 > 0:12:33HE PRETENDS TO FIRE ARROW
0:12:42 > 0:12:44I say! Can you open that gate, please?
0:12:47 > 0:12:48Open your own gate.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52- How dare you talk to me like that! - I'll talk to you any way I please.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54- Who the hell do you think you are? - This is my land.
0:12:56 > 0:12:57Not for much longer.
0:13:04 > 0:13:05Impudent peasant!
0:13:11 > 0:13:13SHE GIGGLES
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Stop it!
0:13:15 > 0:13:17I want the names of all the tenants demonstrating this morning,
0:13:17 > 0:13:19in particular, the name of the ringleader.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23And get that photographer to hand in his films and get them to the lab immediately.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Good luck with the investigation, Inspector.
0:13:26 > 0:13:27Thank you, Father.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33Incidentally, can you think of anyone who would wish to harm Sir St John?
0:13:34 > 0:13:36Just one line of inquiry.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Oh, in that case, Mrs McCarthy is widely held to be the eyes
0:13:39 > 0:13:43- and ears of Kembleford. - I don't know about that.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Father Brown will tell you I am not one to gossip.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50- Isn't that right, Father?- I prefer to think of it as community wisdom.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Exactly! Community wisdom.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57I can't think of anyone who would want to hurt Sir St John.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59Miss Diggle, on the other hand,
0:13:59 > 0:14:01was a bit of a busybody, if you know what I mean.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04Said the pot to the kettle.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07- But a harmless one?- No such thing as a harmless busybody, Inspector.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11Yes, that business in the parish office only this morning...
0:14:12 > 0:14:15I don't know what she found, but it turned her white as a sheet.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18- Looked as if she'd seen a ghost. - Did she, now?
0:14:22 > 0:14:26Miss Diggle... Parish office... Saw ghost.
0:14:26 > 0:14:27- Sir.- Excuse me.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33You don't happen to notice which register Audrey
0:14:33 > 0:14:34was interested in, did you?
0:14:34 > 0:14:371835 to 1855.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40Not that I was being nosey, you understand.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42Perish the thought, Mrs M!
0:14:47 > 0:14:49I expect you've heard about me and Bingo, then?
0:14:49 > 0:14:51Couldn't you find a man with a proper name?
0:14:54 > 0:14:56- Do you like my ring?- What does it do?
0:14:58 > 0:15:02- Do?- What is it for? What's the purpose of it?
0:15:02 > 0:15:06It doesn't do anything, except be beautiful and be admired.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11In other words, it's just a worthless bit of sparkle.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21- Don't suppose we can do this once I'm married.- Don't suppose we can.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27Of course, I could always jilt Bingo and marry you instead.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29An alliance with the enemy?
0:15:31 > 0:15:35After I've sworn to annihilate your class and everything it stands for?
0:15:39 > 0:15:40Mrs McCarthy?
0:15:43 > 0:15:48- Mrs Mc...- I heard you first time! Have you found something?
0:15:48 > 0:15:51Either there were no marriages, births or
0:15:51 > 0:15:55deaths in Kembleford between February and November 1850 or...
0:15:58 > 0:16:01- ..we have a missing page. - Holy Mother!
0:16:06 > 0:16:07Who would want to kill a busybody?
0:16:12 > 0:16:14I fear the answer is a great many people indeed.
0:16:17 > 0:16:18BELL CHIMES
0:16:20 > 0:16:21Alan Archer?
0:16:21 > 0:16:24I'd like to know your whereabouts at 3:30 this afternoon.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28- Audrey Diggle? I'd barely ever spoken to the woman.- Really?
0:16:28 > 0:16:32I was here. And before you ask, no, I don't have an alibi.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35And the fracas with Sir St John this morning?
0:16:35 > 0:16:37- Not sure of the relevance of the question.- I'll be the judge of that.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41He's drowning in death duties,
0:16:41 > 0:16:44selling off the estate for a Government housing scheme,
0:16:44 > 0:16:47leaving his tenants of centuries without land or livelihood.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50- You're not a tenant, so what's your interest?- I'm their lawyer.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52It's funded by the Socialist Workers Association.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55We're helping them raise mortgages to buy their own land.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57Seems reasonable.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59- Pryde rejected it.- And this morning?
0:17:01 > 0:17:03He ordered us off his land and we left.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06- Is this you?- My father.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09Did he teach you archery?
0:17:11 > 0:17:13I wouldn't be much of a father if I hadn't.
0:17:17 > 0:17:22Mm! Mm! Heavenly, Mrs Mac! Mm! I'm famished.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25We had to let Cook go and now Nellie's in the kitchen.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29Did your mother teach you how to cook?
0:17:29 > 0:17:33Everything I know. She was the finest cook in County Cork.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37Sometimes I wish...
0:17:37 > 0:17:39I wish that my mother was around so that we could
0:17:39 > 0:17:42talk about wedding stuff.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45All brides get the jitters.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50It's not that I don't love Bingo.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54It'll be awfully good fun being a duchess.
0:17:54 > 0:17:55It's just...
0:17:56 > 0:17:59..well, how does one ever know if it's right?
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Just you remember, you are the luckiest girl in the world
0:18:04 > 0:18:07and will be the bride of the year
0:18:07 > 0:18:10and your cake will be the talk of the county.
0:18:12 > 0:18:13Ah!
0:18:14 > 0:18:19Thank you for a most generous lunch.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21You won't be saying that in the middle of the night.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25Nellie's Yorkshire puddings have a tendency to outstay their welcome.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28I understand, when she died,
0:18:28 > 0:18:31poor Miss Diggle was researching another project.
0:18:33 > 0:18:38She took it upon herself to write a history of the Prydes.
0:18:38 > 0:18:44Fascinating as our family is, I doubt Audrey's tome would appeal.
0:18:44 > 0:18:49- She did have a rather florid style. - The woman was obsessed. Paranoid!
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Claimed people had been reading her papers.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54Look who I found on the doorstep!
0:18:55 > 0:18:59I'd like a word with Sir St John and Lady Pryde, please. In private.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06Father Brown is our trusted spiritual advisor.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08We have nothing to hide.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12It seems there's a widely held belief on the estate
0:19:12 > 0:19:17that Sir St John and your butler are related.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20We share a grandfather. What of it?
0:19:20 > 0:19:24There's no secret Danby's father was the youthful
0:19:24 > 0:19:28indiscretion of the tenth Baron after a fumble with the housemaid.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31It seems paradoxical to find first cousins in the role of master
0:19:31 > 0:19:33and servant because of an accident of birth.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36Actually, the aristocracy have a long tradition of giving preferment
0:19:36 > 0:19:38to their by-blows.
0:19:38 > 0:19:39Quite.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44The woman died in childbirth. What were they supposed to do?
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Cast the infant into the workhouse?
0:19:47 > 0:19:50Danby's father was adopted by a footman.
0:19:50 > 0:19:51He worked his way through the servant's hall
0:19:51 > 0:19:53until he became butler,
0:19:53 > 0:19:56- as did Arthur after him. - But not his son.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58BUNTY DROPS SPOON
0:19:58 > 0:19:59Butterfingers!
0:20:00 > 0:20:05Alan Archer is the prime example of the folly of Rab Butler in trying
0:20:05 > 0:20:07to educate the lower classes.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10He was permitted to march off to a left-wing university,
0:20:10 > 0:20:14from which he returned with ideas above his station.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16The question is,
0:20:16 > 0:20:20does he hate the ruling classes enough to kill for his beliefs?
0:20:20 > 0:20:21Don't be odious, Jago!
0:20:21 > 0:20:24The murderer probably meant to kill Audrey, for all we know.
0:20:24 > 0:20:30- Bunty's right. We are forgetting Audrey.- I've forgotten nothing.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34- She writing a family history. - Codswallop, more like!
0:20:34 > 0:20:36You're welcome to it.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38Thank you, but I find the present more relevant than
0:20:38 > 0:20:40the past at this stage.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49I can't understand why you're interested in Audrey's dreary book.
0:20:49 > 0:20:50I wonder, as you were so close to her heart,
0:20:50 > 0:20:54whether it would be apt to include an extract in her eulogy.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57You might rethink when you've read it.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59'Can you lend me five guineas?
0:20:59 > 0:21:00'Why on earth would I lend you money?'
0:21:00 > 0:21:04Because you're going to be the fourth richest woman in the land.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08And if you don't, I'll tell the inspector that you were with
0:21:08 > 0:21:10the butler's son when you said you were in the nursery.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12'You wouldn't dare!'
0:21:12 > 0:21:14Can I fetch something...
0:21:14 > 0:21:15'Why not?'
0:21:15 > 0:21:16..something to drink?
0:21:16 > 0:21:19Just a touch of heat stroke. Excuse me.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21'My wedding to Bingo would be off
0:21:21 > 0:21:23'and you'd never see a whiff of his money.'
0:21:25 > 0:21:26And I'd have to kill you.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56I trust I'm not interrupting work on next Sunday's homily?
0:21:57 > 0:22:00History of the Pryde family.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03Illustrious but bloody, full of violent deaths
0:22:03 > 0:22:07and strange disappearances. Is Mrs Clackett ill?
0:22:07 > 0:22:09Oh, she'll be in tomorrow as usual,
0:22:09 > 0:22:13and she won't be finding a godly man in unclean surroundings.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16Well, go on.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20Lots of family members who disappear from their annals
0:22:20 > 0:22:24and then reappear, marked simply "deceased".
0:22:25 > 0:22:28- And all male.- Branwen's curse?
0:22:29 > 0:22:33Destined never to die peacefully in their beds.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36Does this shed any light on our missing page?
0:22:38 > 0:22:41When Audrey died, she was researching St John's grandfather,
0:22:41 > 0:22:45Ralph Pryde, 1829-1901.
0:22:45 > 0:22:50- So in 1850, he would have been... - 21.- Exactly!
0:22:51 > 0:22:55Were there any births, marriages or deaths in the family that year?
0:22:55 > 0:22:56Not one.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02Well, tomorrow's Monday, so no doubt all will become clear then.
0:23:02 > 0:23:03Feet, Father!
0:23:04 > 0:23:06Will it?
0:23:07 > 0:23:11- When you go to the Diocesan Records Office.- Do I?
0:23:11 > 0:23:14Where we keep copies of the parochial registers!
0:23:18 > 0:23:20Angel and saint rolled into one, Mrs M!
0:24:15 > 0:24:17SOUND OF FOOTSTEPS
0:24:21 > 0:24:24Morning, Father. Thank you for coming.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30- I hear he had a lucky escape. - Luckier than you know.
0:24:30 > 0:24:31He was pulled from the pool with a lethal
0:24:31 > 0:24:34dose of barbiturates in his system.
0:24:34 > 0:24:35If he hadn't spewed them
0:24:35 > 0:24:38out, along with a stomach full of water, he'd be dead.
0:24:38 > 0:24:39How were they administered?
0:24:41 > 0:24:45Jago has a habit of filching whisky when our backs are turned.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Traces of drugs were found in his hip flask.
0:24:50 > 0:24:51Who would want to kill a child?
0:24:53 > 0:24:54You have no evidence.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56Your well-documented hatred of the Prydes,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59the imminent completion of the land sale,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02the threat you made on the day of the murder,
0:25:02 > 0:25:04your father a county archery champion.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09- A chip off the old block, I bet. - He taught me to shoot.
0:25:09 > 0:25:15- He taught all of us, Jago and the girl included.- Ah, yes! Jago.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18I suppose you heard what happened yesterday?
0:25:18 > 0:25:20I heard he had a swimming accident.
0:25:22 > 0:25:23We believe it was attempted murder.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29You think I fight with children?
0:25:29 > 0:25:31With Jago dead, Pryde is without male heir
0:25:31 > 0:25:34and the estate passes to an eighth cousin in Canada.
0:25:34 > 0:25:39I think, when your attempt failed on Sir St John, you went after his pup.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43This is all circumstantial.
0:25:43 > 0:25:44Hm.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53This isn't. Taken 15 minutes before the murder.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56So I await your convincing explanation as to why you
0:25:56 > 0:25:58lied as to your whereabouts.
0:25:59 > 0:26:00No comment.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11- Where are you off to in such a hurry?- To see the police.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15- Alan Archer's been arrested.- So I heard. And I can't say I'm surprised.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18- A young man with a lot of anger in him, by all accounts.- It's not anger.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22- It's passion. And he didn't kill Audrey.- What makes you so sure?
0:26:22 > 0:26:25Because he was with me. We'd just met in the walled garden
0:26:25 > 0:26:27when we heard all the screaming and commotion.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30- Oh, sweet baby Jesus! - Look, it's not what you think.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32Or rather, it IS what you think.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35Oh, but I do like him awfully, Mrs Mac.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38And he must like me, too, or he would have told the police he had an alibi.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40But it would never work, child.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44- Yes, that's what he says.- At least one of you has got some sense.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48And though it's a sin, a visit to the confessional and a few Hail Marys -
0:26:48 > 0:26:53well, a few DOZEN Hail Marys - and you'll be as right as rain
0:26:53 > 0:26:56and you can forget about the likes of Alan Archer.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02- Do you really think so, Mrs Mac? - Just youthful indiscretion.
0:27:02 > 0:27:08Put it behind you. Marry your marquis and live happily ever after.
0:27:08 > 0:27:09Thank you, Mrs Mac.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23DOOR OPENS AND SOUND OF FOOTSTEPS
0:27:23 > 0:27:26I popped in to see the invalid and Danby said I'd find you in here.
0:27:26 > 0:27:27What are you up to, Father?
0:27:30 > 0:27:33I was wondering what happened to Jago's father.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36Mm. Simon and his wife died in a car crash in France.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40Poor little chap was only six weeks old.
0:27:40 > 0:27:41France?
0:27:41 > 0:27:43Close enough to have the body repatriated,
0:27:43 > 0:27:46yet conspicuous by his absence in the family tomb.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48I thought it was odd at the time, but then there were
0:27:48 > 0:27:50the rumours about his job.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54Something in the Government. Terribly hush-hush. Is it important?
0:27:54 > 0:27:56I sense the key to this crime is in the past.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00Well, then I'll telephone Monty. He's sitting in the Lords this week.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03- Plenty of right ears he can pop a word in.- Thank you.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07And now, I must away or I'll miss my train to Gloucester.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10- Oh! Are you going to see Bishop Talbot?- Not if I can help it.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18Why didn't you tell the police you were with me?
0:28:19 > 0:28:21- Why do you think?- I don't know.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26Well, I hope it's because you care about me
0:28:26 > 0:28:30- and you don't want to ruin my reputation.- YOUR reputation?
0:28:30 > 0:28:32The arrogance of your class!
0:28:32 > 0:28:34You think I want it known that I've been consorting with
0:28:34 > 0:28:36the likes of you?
0:28:36 > 0:28:40Well, good, because all consorting between us is over!
0:28:40 > 0:28:41I'm going to marry Bingo and you
0:28:41 > 0:28:44and I will never see or speak to each other again!
0:28:49 > 0:28:50Father Brown?
0:28:51 > 0:28:55I'm glad I caught you. I just got off the phone from Monty.
0:28:55 > 0:29:01He found out what happened to Simon Pryde. I hope you're sitting down.
0:29:01 > 0:29:03It gets rather unpleasant from here on in.
0:29:05 > 0:29:10- Thank you for gathering everyone together.- We're all keen to know why.
0:29:10 > 0:29:16To hear the truth, which involves you all. Your son, Simon.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18Absent from the family tomb.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21- He died abroad. - But not in a car crash.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27I've been informed that Simon's body wasn't repatriated
0:29:27 > 0:29:31because a Government department appropriated it.
0:29:31 > 0:29:32What's this got to do with Audrey?
0:29:34 > 0:29:38- Does Jago know the truth? - This is none of your damn business!
0:29:38 > 0:29:40That's enough, St John! It's too late now.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44Jago's a child.
0:29:44 > 0:29:48Do you think we'd want to burden him with the knowledge...
0:29:51 > 0:29:52..that his father...
0:29:54 > 0:29:59- ..slashed his mother's throat before blowing his own brains out?- Daddy?
0:30:00 > 0:30:05Simon was MI6. It was all handled very discreetly.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07We never knew what happened to the bodies.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12- The curse of the Prydes. - It's a legend.
0:30:12 > 0:30:18All legends have some truth, and your family has spent centuries
0:30:18 > 0:30:21covering up the curse of hereditary insanity.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24Everybody knows the Prydes are as mad as a box of frogs.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27Are you seriously suggesting that Audrey was murdered
0:30:27 > 0:30:31because she'd uncovered some imaginary curse?
0:30:31 > 0:30:34I'm suggesting the curse is the reason why you attempted to
0:30:34 > 0:30:35murder your grandson.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40'Why on earth would I lend you money?'
0:30:40 > 0:30:42Because you're going to be the fourth richest woman in the land.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47And if you don't, I'll tell the inspector that you were with
0:30:47 > 0:30:49the butler's son when you said you were in the nursery.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54It wasn't the shock of Bunty's love affair.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57It was the knowledge that Jago didn't have an alibi.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00How dare you insult Mummy like this!
0:31:00 > 0:31:02I insist you leave this castle immediately!
0:31:02 > 0:31:04Who would want to kill a child?
0:31:06 > 0:31:07Someone who loves him the most...
0:31:08 > 0:31:12..like Udolf's archer, who shot his mother to spare her torment.
0:31:13 > 0:31:17Branwen's torment would have been relatively short-lived.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22But Jago's would have lasted a lifetime,
0:31:22 > 0:31:24incarcerated with lunatics.
0:31:24 > 0:31:29- Preposterous! - Oh, do be quiet, St John!
0:31:29 > 0:31:33What choice did I have after what the boy did?
0:31:33 > 0:31:35Will somebody please tell me what you're all talking about?
0:31:35 > 0:31:39I'm so sorry, but it was Jago who killed Audrey.
0:31:50 > 0:31:55AUDREY: ..In a final, merciful act of love.
0:31:55 > 0:31:56SHE SCREAMS
0:31:57 > 0:32:00What possible reason could...
0:32:00 > 0:32:02He was your brother's son!
0:32:03 > 0:32:07You, of all people, should know that he didn't need a reason.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14From the moment of Simon's birth,
0:32:14 > 0:32:17I knew that there was something missing.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20An emptiness. Call it a curse, if you like.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26When he did what he did, it was almost predictable.
0:32:30 > 0:32:34And after, when Jago came to us...
0:32:36 > 0:32:38..I saw, in an instant, he was the same.
0:32:43 > 0:32:47He didn't need a reason to kill Audrey.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54For all I know, she may have beat him
0:32:54 > 0:32:57at chess or taken the last scone at tea.
0:32:58 > 0:33:00- He did have a reason.- What reason?
0:33:01 > 0:33:04Well, why don't you ask him yourself? You can come out now, Jago.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08Oh, no. Be my guest, Father.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10I wouldn't want to spoil your moment of triumph.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16Audrey found record of a secret marriage between Ralph Pryde
0:33:16 > 0:33:19and Violet Archer three months before she died in childbirth.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25Your father wasn't born the wrong side of the blanket.
0:33:25 > 0:33:27He was the Pryde's legitimate heir.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31That's ridiculous!
0:33:31 > 0:33:33The priest that married them would have said something.
0:33:33 > 0:33:38Father Dominic Gleave, buried August 28th, 1850,
0:33:38 > 0:33:40ten days after the wedding.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43Poor old Diggers! I was winding her up,
0:33:43 > 0:33:47spooking her by messing up her stuff,
0:33:47 > 0:33:49and then she found a letter
0:33:49 > 0:33:52to my great-grandfather from some housemaid
0:33:52 > 0:33:56and went rummaging through all the records. She wasn't exactly
0:33:56 > 0:33:58- subtle about it.- Neither were you.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01You left whisky on the desk
0:34:01 > 0:34:03when you tore the page out of the parish register.
0:34:05 > 0:34:07- That was careless. - You didn't kill her, Jago?
0:34:08 > 0:34:12What did you expect me to do? I did it for you, too, Cuz.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15That piece of paper makes all of us nobodies.
0:34:16 > 0:34:18So now all that's cleared up,
0:34:18 > 0:34:20will you please all line up, facing the wall?
0:34:20 > 0:34:23I'm ordering you, boy! Put down that bow!
0:34:23 > 0:34:24- HE SHOUTS:- Quiet!
0:34:26 > 0:34:28Face the wall! Turn around!
0:34:35 > 0:34:38- Get down!- No, no, no! Don't worry. It's a dud.
0:34:40 > 0:34:41Thanks be to God.
0:34:47 > 0:34:48Just to be on the safe side...
0:34:50 > 0:34:52LOUD EXPLOSION
0:34:54 > 0:34:56Jago!
0:34:56 > 0:34:57Jago!
0:35:10 > 0:35:13- I thought you'd be here.- The murderer returns to the scene of the crime.
0:35:15 > 0:35:19The master tactician withdraws to a height more easily defended.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23- I'll pick them off, one by one. - It's over, Jago.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28- The police are on their way. - It was all Diggles's fault.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31She shouldn't have been so nosey. And now here am I,
0:35:31 > 0:35:34between Scylla and Charybdis! Incarceration or death!
0:35:36 > 0:35:40On balance, suicide would be the more honourable way out.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43- Not in God's eyes. - I don't believe in a supreme being.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47The only god my family worships is the god of pride.
0:35:47 > 0:35:51And I'm sure Granny would approve, especially as she tried to kill me.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55She had me there. My money was on Bunty.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57Take one more step and I'll jump!
0:35:59 > 0:36:03I'm sorry you heard about your parents like that.
0:36:03 > 0:36:04Oh, I don't know.
0:36:04 > 0:36:09I'd rather my father was a spy than a careless driver,
0:36:09 > 0:36:10even if he did kill my mother.
0:36:12 > 0:36:17Remind me, Father. What are the rules on lunatics and Hell?
0:36:21 > 0:36:23Maybe the decision has been made for me.
0:36:23 > 0:36:24Don't let go!
0:36:26 > 0:36:28How do you know I won't pull you down with me?
0:36:28 > 0:36:31I'll take my chance, and I'm not alone.
0:36:32 > 0:36:37Buddha says the secret of existence is to have no fear.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39Never fear what will become of you.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.
0:36:47 > 0:36:48THUD ON GROUND
0:37:02 > 0:37:05I'll soon know if there's a hell or not.
0:37:06 > 0:37:08Hell is only the absence of God.
0:37:11 > 0:37:16If you repent and accept Him, there will only be bliss for ever.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19It sounds nice.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24It's yours for the asking.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34Bunty! Bunty!
0:37:34 > 0:37:35Quick! Quick!
0:37:37 > 0:37:39Requiem...
0:37:39 > 0:37:44HE PRAYS QUIETLY
0:37:44 > 0:37:47..Requiescat in pace.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49Amen.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53If Jago killed Miss Diggle, then who was
0:37:53 > 0:37:56responsible for the attempt on his life?
0:38:00 > 0:38:06- Perhaps he took them himself to avert suspicion.- Is that likely?
0:38:06 > 0:38:07I wouldn't have put it past him.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09Yes, it's just the sort of thing Jago would do.
0:38:13 > 0:38:14I'll see myself out.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23Well, I'd better telephone Bingo.
0:38:23 > 0:38:24I doubt there'll be a wedding now.
0:38:25 > 0:38:29- Would you like me to serve tea? - Don't be ridiculous!
0:38:29 > 0:38:32- This is your house now, isn't it? - You think we want any of this?
0:38:32 > 0:38:36What is it you always say? You don't choose what class you're born into?
0:38:36 > 0:38:40Words spoken by some priest a century ago doesn't make me one of you!
0:38:42 > 0:38:48Don't you see? There is no them and us! The War changed that.
0:38:48 > 0:38:53High and low, shoulder to shoulder, as brave or scared as the next man.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56All your talk of breaking down the class divide whilst you build
0:38:56 > 0:38:58up your own walls!
0:38:58 > 0:39:02You're a fool, boy, for all your fancy education!
0:39:08 > 0:39:09What a bloody mess!
0:39:11 > 0:39:13By rights, I should be devastated.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16Instead, all I feel is a weight lifted from my shoulders.
0:39:18 > 0:39:23- What are we going to do?- God knows! I won't contest it.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27- What if I don't want it? - I'm afraid it's yours,
0:39:27 > 0:39:29whether you want it or not.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53Jago died in the light of God. Of that I am certain.
0:39:55 > 0:39:56Thank you, Father.
0:39:59 > 0:40:01Time to face the music, I think.
0:40:02 > 0:40:04What end would confessing serve, Lavinia?
0:40:05 > 0:40:08Are you saying I shouldn't be held to justice?
0:40:08 > 0:40:09I'm saying no such thing.
0:40:14 > 0:40:15Very well.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27It is decades since I made my last, honest confession.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32In addition to the attempted murder of my own flesh and blood,
0:40:32 > 0:40:37I am guilty of many things, including the sin of pride.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45I fear this may take some time.
0:40:46 > 0:40:48Take as much time as you need.
0:40:55 > 0:40:56I'm so sorry.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03Poor Jago. And Daddy. And...
0:41:03 > 0:41:05And I've just been on the telephone to Bingo.
0:41:07 > 0:41:09- Some things just aren't meant to be. - Thanks.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16You don't understand. Bingo was a total gent.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18Said he couldn't give a fig for scandal or my family
0:41:18 > 0:41:22and that he'll marry me if he damn well pleases, and
0:41:22 > 0:41:26that if his father cuts him off, then so be it, although that would
0:41:26 > 0:41:28probably involve an Act of Parliament.
0:41:29 > 0:41:31And now I don't know what to think.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34I think your marquis sounds like a very fine young man.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37Not a nasty bone in his body.
0:41:40 > 0:41:46And if as fine and as handsome and as rich a man loves you that much,
0:41:46 > 0:41:51and you're stood here crying your eyes out, then that's your answer.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56Don't let pride stand in your way. Go to him.
0:41:59 > 0:42:00You're right, Mrs Mac.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15Not quite what I meant!
0:42:15 > 0:42:18You are an arrogant, fat-headed pig, Alan Archer,
0:42:18 > 0:42:20and an inverted snob to boot!
0:42:20 > 0:42:23And it serves you damn well right you're going to inherit a title!
0:42:23 > 0:42:25"Sir" Alan Pryde. How do you like...
0:42:38 > 0:42:42Daddy and Danby - I mean Arthur - are being frightfully civilised.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45The land's being sold to the tenants to pay off the death duties
0:42:45 > 0:42:48and the castle's being handed over to the National Trust, who'll
0:42:48 > 0:42:50let them stay on as sort of caretakers.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54And even Granny seems to be somehow more at peace with herself,
0:42:54 > 0:42:58- but only when she thinks we aren't looking.- Is it moist enough?
0:42:58 > 0:43:00Scrumptious!
0:43:00 > 0:43:0415 pounds of royal icing, 20 pounds of marzipan
0:43:04 > 0:43:06and six tiers.
0:43:06 > 0:43:08I don't know if I mentioned it...
0:43:08 > 0:43:11That happens to be one more than Princess Elizabeth's!
0:43:17 > 0:43:18How are you?
0:43:22 > 0:43:27Outstanding work, Mrs McCarthy. Outstanding!