Episode 1 The Miniaturist

This programme contains some strong language

Hello.

Johannes Brandt?

Are we to have a menagerie?

Er, his name is Peebo.

He's a parakeet.

I'm Nella.

Short for Petronella.

Are you the housekeeper?

MUFFLED LAUGH

Where is Johannes?

My brother is not at home.

Your brother? So you are...

Marin Brandt.

Otto!

For your feet.

Otto is my brother's manservant.

This is Cornelia, she is the maid.

They will look after you. This is Petronella.

She is the Seigneur's new wife.

I expect you'll want to see your bedroom.

To the kitchen.

Oh, he lives with, um...

Come on!

This used to be my room.

But it had the better view, so we gave it to you.

Oh, no, please, you must keep it.

No, you misunderstand.

The view is of you.

Amsterdammers must see that Johannes Brandt has a new wife.

The Oortmans' grand ancestral seat, is it warm and dry?

It's not that grand...

..and it's damp.

We couldn't afford to maintain the dykes.

Pedigree counts for nothing.

Nothing.

The dykes must be maintained or the waters will rise.

We sent the second-best barge. I hope you weren't offended.

Johannes was using the other one.

No, of course not. Did he know I was coming?

You must be hungry.

I'll have Cornelia bring you something to eat.

Oh, do you have any marzipan?

We do not keep sugar in the house.

The luxury of it sickens the soul.

Cornelia will bring you a herring.

Be still, girl! He'll be here any moment!

Now you listen to me, my girl. You need to marry him.

You need to make him want to marry you, otherwise we are ruined.

For myself, I don't care.

-But for your brother and sister...

-He's coming! He's coming!

And this is Nella...

Petronella, I mean.

Your daughter is very beautiful, Madame Oortman.

-How bad are the debts, exactly?

-The debts?

I know I was not the only one you wrote to.

You would not have done so had you not been desperate.

Did I mention she plays the lute?

Praise God, we are saved. He has asked for your hand.

Do you think you could love him?

-Does it make a difference?

-No. But I want you to be happy.

I think perhaps I could.

I hear they eat chocolate wrapped in gold in Amsterdam!

Come, come.

DOOR SLAMS

DOG BARKS

She's here.

It would have looked better if you'd been here when she arrived.

Perhaps you should go and see her.

No, let her sleep.

-You have to understand...

-I understand.

I have to work. Rzecki, come.

SHE INHALES

That's right, although, Hamburg's a good choice

And Marseilles...

Good morning!

Good morning.

Thank you for my dress.

There are more.

It's a little large.

Marin, don't you think?

Never mind, we'll have it altered. Come and eat something.

We are eating frugally today to demonstrate humility.

Privation as a thrill, you mean. Otto, get me some beer.

And Nella and Marin too.

It gives me indigestion.

Go on, be defiant!

Bravery is the rarest commodity in the city these days.

-How was the voyage?

-Not much to tell.

-The Lombardy silk, who won the import rights?

-I forget.

-Who?

-Henry Field of London.

The English, always the English. Think of the commission, Johannes.

I know what I'm doing, Marin. This house is evidence enough, no?

Have you spoken to Frans Meermans yet about his wife's sugar?

So that's what this is about.

It's been sitting in the warehouse for a month.

You still haven't told them what you plan to do with it.

My sister thinks that sugar rots the soul, Nella,

but of all the things I might sell, she pushes this.

-What do you make of that?

-Sell the sugar!

Don't tell me what to do!

-Where are you going?

-To check on your damned sugar!

I don't believe you.

-PEEBO CHIRPS

-Hello!

Did Johannes collect these on his travels?

The world in a set of plates.

Isn't he rich enough to have someone travel for him?

The Seigneur's spirit belongs on the seas.

He says the ocean is something the land can never be.

No patch ever stays the same.

What are you doing?

Only talking.

He's working. Can't you see?

Leave that.

There are scrolls you need to deliver.

Marin, I think Peebo misses me.

He needs fresh air and light.

His place is down here.

-But Johannes' dog...

-Johannes is the Seigneur.

He may do as he pleases.

Is he away a great deal?

Nobody forced you to marry him.

DOOR SLAMS

DOG BARKS

Johannes...

I just wondered,

will I see you...

..later?

Tonight...

Tonight, I cannot.

Soon, then?

Nella...

..good night, sweet girl.

I have now been in Amsterdam for over a week.

The city is a glory, like nothing I have ever experienced.

My new home is beautiful, and I want for no material thing.

"He is like a man which built a house

"and laid the foundations upon a rock."

Johannes's sister Marin is very godly,

and takes great interest in our diet.

"..built his house upon the earth."

As for Johannes,

he treats me with great kindness,

but his work takes him away a great deal.

I look forward to spending more time with him.

I hope the dykes are holding.

Please send my love to little...

DOG BARKS

Be quiet!

My God, Johannes, what have you done?

-What? You told me to find a...

-A what?

A wedding gift. For you.

A man at the docks had some cabinets left over.

I had it improved with tortoiseshell and pewter inlays.

But what is it?

A house. Your house.

This house.

-How much?

-The frame was 2,000.

Curtains and furnishings brought it to three.

3,000 guilders? A family could live on that for years.

If you had money to spare, you should have given it to the Church.

Enough of your piety. DOG BARKS

Well, she doesn't like it. Neither do I.

That's a bitch's taste for you.

What about you?

I hoped you might like it.

What am I to do with it, exactly?

You'll think of something.

What are you doing?

Nothing. Your door was open.

I thought you'd prefer it closed.

Smit's List.

It's a register of all the crafts people and businesses in the city.

What for?

To decorate your house.

My brother will pay for everything.

I thought you said it was an extravagance.

The Devil finds work for idle hands.

Miniaturist.

Trained with the great Bruges clockmaker Lucas Windelbreke.

At the sign of the sun.

"Dear Sir, I have a house of nine rooms, on a miniature scale,

"that is to be displayed in a cabinet.

"I venture three requests to you and await your response.

"Item - one lute with strings.

"Item - one cage, suitable for a parakeet.

"Item - one box of marzipan."

How do I get to the Kalverstraat?

What do you want there?

Nothing. To leave a message for someone.

Who?

A craftsman, that's all.

I'll come with you, Madame.

There's no need. I have a good sense of direction.

Why didn't Otto come?

-It's not easy for him.

-What do you mean?

He was on a Portuguese slave ship. 16 years old.

His parents were dead.

The Seigneur saw him and bought him.

You're saying he's a slave.

No. But he owes the Seigneur his life.

Oh, Marzipan! Do you think we can get some?

-Come on, Madame.

-Cornflower! Where've you been?

Well, what you waiting for? Come in!

Please, Madame, have a look around.

The Meermans insisted the Seigneur distribute it.

They know he can get a better price abroad.

And Madame's all for it, even though she hates sugar.

Her and all the rest of the killjoys!

I heard a rumour they want to ban gingerbread men as papist -

can you believe that?

Madame, try anything you like.

Why not sell it here?

There's barely enough to go round.

I think there's more going on.

More? What do you mean...?

Hanna! What are you doing, woman?

I must go. I'll see you soon, Cornflower.

There it is.

The sign of the sun.

I've never noticed that before...

Hello?

Hello?

Madame!

I don't think there's anyone here, Madame.

What happened to the cabinet?

It couldn't stay in the hallway.

It was taking up all the light.

DOG BARKS

KNOCKING ON DOOR

Otto! Cornelia! The door.

KNOCKING CONTINUES

DOG BARKS

Hello.

What the hell are you doing here?

A package. For Nella Oortman.

So, this is your new wife?

Jack Philips, Madame.

Next time, use the lower entrance.

Who was it, Seigneur?

No-one, Otto. No-one.

A delivery, that's all.

What is it in the parcel?

Just some things for the cabinet you bought me.

"Every woman is the architect of her own fortune."

Item - one lute with strings.

Item - one cage, suitable for a parakeet.

Item - one box of marzipan.

"Sir, I thank you for the items I requested.

"Your craftsmanship is exceptional.

"However, I made no request for a cradle,

"nor do I understand why you would wish to send one.

"I must therefore curtail our transactions forthwith.

"Yours in good faith, Petronella Brandt."

For the craftsman again?

-Don't open it.

-No, Madame.

There you are. But where on earth is Cornelia?

You need to start getting ready.

Ready? For what?

Johannes is taking you to a feast at the Guild of Silversmiths.

Why are the curtains closed?

The sunlight was too bright, that's all.

We keep them open during the daylight.

Otherwise people will think we have something to hide.

The feast.

Was it his idea?

We agreed it was appropriate you should attend.

You look wonderful.

See, Marin, all that money I spent on dresses was worth it after all.

Why aren't you coming?

I think it is better you're seen with your wife, don't you?

You must remember to invite the Meermans to dinner.

All right. Nella, let's go.

Thank you...for bringing me.

You don't have to thank me.

Then whom should I thank?

I mean, you're my wife.

You shouldn't have to thank me for taking you somewhere.

Will the Meermans be there?

Marin seems very keen for you to sell Frans Meermans' sugar.

It's not his.

It's his wife's.

She sees it as a passport to what she's always wanted -

the power and position Frans couldn't give her -

but Marin doesn't understand the complications.

Which are?

Exactly what he and Agnes will do with the power once they have it.

Turn around.

Close your eyes.

Smile, and don't say anything.

The Guilds have monopoly on trade, and set the prices.

The silversmiths' is one of the richest.

For a merchant like me, who works outside the guilds,

attendance is not simply a mark of respect, but a duty.

Here.

Did you ever think food is where we truly find ourselves?

You see this?

Cumin seeds studding a new cheese

remind me I am capable of delight.

Delft butter, so fine and creamy...

Figs...

..and sour cream, taking me back to childhood...

..only the taste of which I now remember.

You?

My mother used to make marzipan into rolls.

And the smell coming from the kitchen...

..it made my heart race.

Better than herrings.

What do you eat out at sea?

Other men.

BAH!

THEY LAUGH

Johannes! Over here!

Business. Won't be long.

I see Brandt keeps the same standard of wife as he does everything else.

Agnes Meermans.

Petronella, isn't it?

Now tell me, however did Marin find you?

Marin? What do you mean?

A bride for Johannes. She's been searching for so long.

They're so close, of course, brother and sister.

-Sometimes we wondered if...

-Agnes, please...

Frans, this is Petronella Brandt.

Oh, I thought she was a silversmith.

Where's Johannes? I thought we were going to talk to him.

-Here he comes.

-Madame Meermans.

Seigneur. I see you are working your usual magic this evening.

No magic, Madame. Just me.

-About the sugar, Johannes.

-I have it in hand.

We never doubted.

Only, er, when will it sell, do you think?

To get the best price takes time.

What with the black markets in the east,

and the adulterers at home, people are craving good product.

But I will not take your sugar to the bourse.

The trading floor is a circus, the market rigged.

You intend to sell it abroad?

I sail to Venice shortly.

Papists?

Of course, if you prefer, we can dump it all here in Amsterdam,

flood the market, and realise only a quarter of its true value. The choice is entirely yours.

-You're the expert.

-Yes, I am.

Come, Agnes. There's Slabbaert.

We should say hello.

God be with you.

And you.

Who are they?

Schout and Schepenbank. Judge and jury here in Amsterdam.

Why do they look at you like that?

Because they don't control me.

Do they want to? Control you?

No.

They want to destroy me.

You must be tired. Go to bed.

I'm...

..not tired, Johannes.

Still...

..I have to make notes on the men I met tonight.

What do you want?

What do you think I want, Johannes?

I want to be your wife.

You are my wife.

No. As far as I can tell I'm just...

..someone you own.

Someone who's useful to you for purposes I can only guess at.

Like a dog, like Otto.

-Nella, please...

-I've been here 11 days, Johannes.

Longer than it took God to make the world.

Until tonight, you've barely spoken to me.

You're right.

I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you.

Come.

Do I disgust you that much?

You do not disgust me.

-You cannot bear me to touch you.

-It's not that.

I have to share you with her. Is that it?

I think you'd better leave before one of us says something we both regret.

-No, no, Johannes, I know...

-Go. Get out!

SHE SOBS

Oh, no.

Come on, Madame. You can't stay in bed all day.

Madame Marin wants us

all to go to church to hear Pastor Pellicorne preach.

And there's something for you.

It must be from the artisan. Whatever it was you ordered.

But I didn't order anything.

Well, then. All the more reason to find out what's inside.

Look! They brought the savage.

Seigneur, Madame Meermans.

Where is your brother?

Did Johannes invite you to dine with us?

No, he did not.

But you will come, won't you?

Shouldn't his wife be the one who issues the invitation?

Please, do come tomorrow.

We would be honoured.

Come, let us take our place.

Adultery! Usury! Fornication!

And fouler deeds, too degraded to name in God's house!

Do I talk of Sodom? Of Gomorrah?

No, I speak of Amsterdam!

A city of closed doors, through which no man can see.

Nella! Please!

But God sees!

For too long we have tolerated the iniquities of our fellow men.

But a storm is coming.

So...

..look now into your own hearts

and the hearts of your neighbours,

and consider how you have sinned.

Marin. Marin, are you quite well?

Husbands, love your wives.

Only two of them.

What are you doing?

Where did you get these?

A miniaturist. I don't know their name.

Marin gave me Smit's List. It was the only one in there.

-What did you tell them?

-Nothing.

But you ordered these.

No. No, I didn't order these.

I only ordered the lute, the cage and the marzipan.

These just...came.

How did they know what to make?

I don't know.

No more.

No more, you understand?

I think you're forgetting your place.

What is that?

As a servant.

My place is to protect this house, and all in it, including you.

We stand or fall together.

A wonderful sermon from Pastor Pellicorne on Sunday,

don't you think?

Oh, but of course, you missed it, Johannes.

Let me guess.

He offers absolution for your own sins,

but only if you confess those of your neighbours.

Shall we try the sugar?

Cornelia?

Allow me.

Exquisite.

Cornelia, Otto, what do you think?

Very good, Seigneur. Delicious.

Mmm!

God be thanked, you're going to make our fortunes, Brandt!

When do you go to Venice?

I'll be gone within the month.

I have to know.

What did Brandt get you for a wedding gift?

-AGNES:

-I want one of my own.

And I want mine to be better than hers.

Thank the Lord they've gone. Clear up in the morning.

MUFFLED SHOUTING

MARIN AND JOHANNES ARGUE

-If you had only consented...

-Why should I...

"My darling, I love you like the ever-changing sea,

"always different, and always moving

"You are sunlight through a window which I stand in, warmed.

"One touch lasts a thousand hours.

"I love you from the bottom of my heart..."

Give it to me.

Marin, I'm sorry.

I said give it to me.

Marin, Marin, let go of me.

Marin, you're hurting me!

Get out! Johannes will hear of this!

Where is everyone?

Madame Marin is unwell. I took her her breakfast, but she...

And Johannes?

He left early for his office.

No! Tell me! Where did he go last night?

He didn't come back! And why is Marin so worried?

I told you. He went to his office.

No. No, you're lying to me.

Where are you going, Madame? It isn't even eight o'clock!

You should stay here.

I can go wherever I want.

Otto! Otto!

Johannes.

GASPING

Oh!

No, stop it, stop...

CHIRPING

I brought your creature.

There are rose water wafers with cinnamon and ginger.

Cornelia made them specially.

-You think you can bribe me?

-You haven't eaten in three days.

-Because you drugged me.

-You were beside yourself.

I will not be your prisoner.

Don't be ridiculous. Eat. And then we can talk.

Enough of your orders, Marin. I understand it all.

Your brother is...

..is a sodomite.

He is unlike most husbands, it's true.

You knew?

You all knew.

Dear God, I am your fool.

I have been a fool from the moment I arrived here.

We never laughed at you. Ever.

You knew he would never love me.

He likes you.

Like a pet. Like the dog, Rzecki, only less so.

It's true, isn't it?

He thinks less of me than his dog.

I cannot forgive this...trick.

You knew what this would be like for me.

How can I be happy with a man who is going to burn in Hell?

Your father left you paupers.

It was a kindness to bring you here.

You would have ended up a farmer's wife.

-Who might have loved me.

-And in ten years,

when your hands are red raw with children squealing to be fed?

At least I would have been a proper woman.

You can be a proper woman without spawning brats.

What are you doing?

There's nothing for me here. There never was.

It was a mistake to come.

What will you tell them in Assendelft, Nella? Words are water.

One drop could drown us all.

I don't expect you to care about me,

but what will happen to Otto and Cornelia?

They are not my responsibility.

But you are mistress of this house.

Whose responsibility do you think they are?

Well, then perhaps I should just tell them the truth.

Do you know what they do to men like my brother?

They drown them.

The holy magistrate will tie weights around their necks

and push them in the water.

You would be signing his death warrant.

Is that what you want?

Go. Spread your wings!

Madame!

What are they going to do?

Throw me out?

This is your home now, Madame.

How can this house of secrets ever be called a home?

What is there for you in Assendelft?

From what I hear, there's more cows than there are people.

What do I have here?

You have a friend, Madame.

And more than just one.

Cornelia, did Marin love someone once?

Why do you think Agnes Meermans hates Marin so much?

Marin stole her husband's heart.

Frans?

Madame Marin was little more than a child when she first met him.

He was the Seigneur's friend,

perhaps 18, and Marin was 11 or so.

She first saw him at the Feast of St Nicholas.

She thought he was a prince, so handsome.

He eats too much now, but back then...

You were barely a child then! How do you know all of this?

Keyholes, Madame.

When she was 15, the Seigneur took his first ship out to Batavia.

Frans stayed here - he was seasick - but without a chaperone,

she couldn't meet him.

Then, when Marin was 20, and the Seigneur had returned a rich man,

Frans came to the house and asked for her hand in marriage.

And Johannes...

Refused him utterly.

But why? He loved her enough to wait five years.

Meermans was handsome enough, but he didn't have a good reputation.

Did Marin find out what Johannes had done?

Eventually.

But by then Frans had married Agnes.

So he's married to Agnes, but he still loves Marin?

He sends her gifts every St Nicholas Day, the day they met.

He never puts his name, but we all know they're from him.

Peebo.

Peebo, where are you?

Peebo.

Peebo where are...

No, no, no, no, no, no.

Peebo!

Peebo!

Hello?

Wait!

Wait!

Open up! St George's Militia.

Nothing, nothing at all.

No, there's nobody here.

I just want to talk to you. What are you doing?

Madame, you are needed back in the house.

What are you talking about?

We wondered where you had gone, Madame. Madame Marin was worried.

I was looking for Peebo.

We will help you find him.

"Blue periwinkle for early friends, Persicaria for restoration.

-"I would buy you a new bird but..."

-It would pale in imitation.

Do you think I can be bought with a cabinet, or dresses, or flowers?

-I'm not trying to buy you.

-No, because you already succeeded.

Did she know, my mother, when she sold me?

Nella, please. The fault is mine. Don't blame anyone else.

If they find out, they will drown you.

I've spent my entire life on the sea.

-I am not afraid of drowning.

-And what about me?

You were drowning in Assendelft. Here you are safe, warm and dry.

I wanted love. Not safety.

As did I.

Always. You see?

The truth is...

..you and I,

we are more alike than we are different.

Marin, Cornelia, Otto, they wish for love, but value safety more.

You and I, our hearts are constructed differently.

What made you like this, do you think?

Nothing made me.

It was in my soul from the beginning.

They could cut me open from head to foot and still not get it out.

Here...

Please, they're yours. A peace offering, nothing more.

If you wish to leave, I will not stop you.

Otto will accompany you back to Assendelft,

with enough to settle your family's debts.

The marriage can be annulled.

You would be free to marry another.

What about the others?

They are not your concern.

And what about you?

I would like you to stay.

If I do, it will not be because you gave me flowers.

But because this is my home.

And because you swear to tell me the truth about everything from now on.

Everything, Johannes.

No more secrets.

You have my word.

Was it Jack who delivered this?

It was there when I went to wash the front steps.

What's in it?

Just some things for my cabinet.

You may go, Cornelia.

"Things can change."

Cornelia! You're sure you didn't see who delivered that package?

No, Madame. I told you.

It's November now!

By December it'll be too late.

Not to mention the damp in the warehouse spoiling the sugar.

What about the damp in my bones, boat-hopping in that weather?

But you were the one who told them to sell it.

-Get someone else.

-If you are even thinking...

Nella. Did you... Did you have any luck with your parakeet?

Where are you going?

Venice. To sell Agnes' sugar.

We thought it'd be best.

-For whom?

-For all of us.

Do you have the sample loaves?

My word is enough.

Why don't you take her?

She'd only get in the way.

Look after her while I'm gone.

Goodbye.

You put the flowers in your hair.

For restoration.

Didn't you want to see Venice?

I've been, Madame. Once is enough to see the Doge's palace.

He could have taken me.

What are you trying to do to us?

Who have you told about us?

Nobody. No, you don't understand...

Dogs and furniture, I understand.

But Jack Philips?

What are you doing? Marin, no.

You shouldn't have done that.

Don't play with fire, Petronella.

Or you'll get burned along with the rest of us.

SOBBING

SOBBING CONTINUES

SHE GASPS

DOG BARKS

What are you doing here?

Get out. Get out!

Wait. Wait.

I'm back on deliveries.

I have something for you, Madame.

You have no right to be here. Johannes said...

You squeal like a mouse. I need to see him.

Is he back yet? Johannes!

He's not here.

You need to leave.

So, it's true. He's gone to Venice.

Well, don't tell me you believed him

-when he said he was going there to work.

-How dare you!

I know him, Madame, better than you.

No-one works in Venice.

Milan, maybe.

But Venice is all dark canals and courtesans

and pretty little boys like moths, flying to the brightest flame.

What's happening? Why is the front door open?

Get out.

Get out!

How many times have I told you to keep away?

Clean that up.

Your brother would fuck a dog if the price was right.

I said clean it up.

They say he gives it to you, too - that he's the only man that will.

What a tired old insult.

DOG BARKS

How brave are you really, Jack?

Do you dare draw my blood?

Is that what you really want?

Bitch. He said I couldn't work for him any more.

And whose idea was that?

Oh, so that's what this is about?

You child!

Just tell me what it'll cost to get you to go away.

I don't want your money.

I'm here to show you what happens when you meddle.

Otto, he has a knife.

Go.

Before I kill you.

He dresses you up as a lord, but the truth is you're nothing

but a savage.

Do you know what he says about you?

He's going to get rid of you, savage.

Sell you to the highest bidder.

You're nothing to him, boy.

Now go.

Agh!

THEY GASP

JACK SCREAMS

God speed.

What if Jack reports what I did?

You heard what he said - attempted murder,

with a knife and a wound to prove it.

The Militia would arrest me.

When they ask Jack why he was here?

He'd be signing his own death warrant if he told them.

English, a sodomite...

..a former actor in the playhouses?

I can't think of three things the Burgomasters hate more.

He has no money, and he needs it.

A man may do anything when he is desperate.

The Seigneur saved me, he taught me everything.

And look how I've repaid him.

There was never any debt to pay.

Johannes bought you for his own amusement.

He employed me, Madame.

You haven't killed anyone. The boy's alive.

Johannes will be more worried about his dog than you.

I've endangered you.

I've endangered all of you.

Are you reading my mind now?

"Every woman is the architect of her own fortune."

"I fight to emerge."

"Things can change."

"The turnip cannot thrive in the tulip's patch of soil."

Enough of this. Who are you?

What do you want from me?

Are you a spy?

What is your business with Agnes Meermans?

I know you're in there.

You have to come out eventually.

I can wait.

There's no need to bellow. They can hear you in Antwerp.

I need to find the miniaturist.

The what? No-one's been in that building for over a week.

But only yesterday she...

What's your name? I might have something for you.

Petronella Brandt.

Left on that doorstep.

Cornelia.

"Don't let sweet weapons stray."

Madame! The Seigneur has returned.

He's already asking where Rzecki is.

You haven't told him?

Rzecki!

I couldn't do it. It has to be you. Please.

Rzecki!

Johannes.

You're home safe.

Was Venice enjoyable?

Venice was Venice.

The Venetians never shut up, and too much dancing for my knees.

It's good to see you.

Rzecki!

Why is there no fire in this room? The house is freezing. Otto!

Morning, Otto.

Something wrong?

How many loaves did you sell in Venice, brother?

It was slow.

I told you I should have waited until the New Year.

Then perhaps it would be better to build such a gigantic fire

once the sugar is actually sold.

Don't provoke me, Marin.

It was you who forced me

to go out on a ship to Italy in the dead of winter.

You are the provocateur, not me.

And stop talking about this household as if it's yours.

It belongs to Petronella now.

Then she can have it.

I have wasted enough of my life

keeping yours smooth.

We are all nothing but prisoners to your desire, all of us.

Otto, do you feel like a prisoner?

-No, Seigneur.

-What do you expect him to say?!

Look around you, Marin! Amsterdam is closing down like a vice.

This house is the only place any of us are free.

You. You are free.

You think because you have some maps on your wall, some books

and a few animal skulls you know my business better than I do?

Stop! Stop!

All you had to do was marry. The one thing.

-Marry rich, marry well.

-Both of you!

-But no, you couldn't do that.

God knows we tried,

-but all the guilders in Amsterdam...

-Rzecki is dead!

What?

Rzecki. She's dead, Johannes.

Is this true?

Oh, yes. And all your own fault.

Your Englishman came knocking yesterday. Your brothel moth.

He put a dagger through her head right here in your own hallway.

I warned you about him. Over and over.

If it hadn't been for Otto...

-What did you do to him?

-I didn't mean to.

What did you do?

He showed mercy.

Your pretty little English whelp got up and walked away.

"Dear Seigneur Windelbreke, I am writing to

"enquire about an apprentice you once had.

"She is female, with a tall, fair-haired appearance,

"and stares at me as if she would look into my soul.

"She has crept into my life, Seigneur,

"and the miniatures she sends are becoming more unnerving.

"How did she come to you and why did she leave?"

Did you find him?

Who?

Please, Johannes. You swore.

No more lies, remember?

You went to find Jack, didn't you?

It's hard to tell the truth

when your whole life has been built on lies and silence.

Nobody has ever been much interested in hearing it, until now.

This is not the marriage you imagined for yourself, is it?

I was foolish to imagine anything.

Without imagination, what else is there? And you are no fool.

How much of the sugar did you manage to sell in Venice?

What is happening, Johannes?

Why will you not sell their sugar?

Look at me. The truth.

The truth?

Because Frans hates me and would like to destroy me.

And Agnes hates Marin.

While they had no inheritance, they had no power.

But once they have the money from the sugar,

there will be nothing in Amsterdam that will stop them.

Then why agree to sell it in the first place?

Because if I didn't, somebody else would.

You can't hold them at bay for ever.

I know.

The truth.

Now you have it.

You said something earlier that wasn't true.

What was that?

That our marriage was a lie.

Isn't it?

Not a lie.

Just different.

Tell me, Johannes.

How does this end?

I'll tell you how it ends.

Come January, I'll be gone again.

And this time I'll make their profit for them and all will be well.

My stock always sells when I want it to. I promise.

What about you?

I'll take the consequences.

There has to be another way.

Here...

..I've something to show you.

Rzecki.

I've never seen anything like it.

Who on earth could have made such a thing?

I've been asking myself that question for weeks.

DOOR OPENS AND SLAMS

Wake up, Madame, please!

What is it? Cornelia, what's wrong?

Is it Johannes?

No, Madame. It's Otto.

He's gone.

Why did he have to run like that?

I'll check the docks first.

And then the prisons, in case he was arrested.

Cornelia!

Cornelia!

I can't light the kindling.

I told him nothing would happen.

Why didn't he listen to me?

It's better that he's gone. By leaving here, he protected us.

Imagine what would happen to a man like Otto

if the Burgomasters got hold of him.

You knew he was going to leave, didn't you?

Let's just say he saw sense.

You sent him away, Madame?

I suggested it.

Yes, and we all know how your suggestions work.

BANGING ON DOOR

What if it's the Militia, come for Otto?

Well, they won't find him, will they?

BANGING ON DOOR

-Frans.

-Where is Johannes? Johannes!

He'll be at the bourse.

No, I've been to the bourse, and the Company, and several taverns.

I am not my brother's keeper.

More's the pity for all of us.

Last night I went to the warehouse to see for myself how much

sugar had been sold.

Not a grain has been shifted.

Not a single blasted grain of all that sugar.

But it's worse than that.

Our fortune, our entire fortune,

is mouldering in the dark.

I touched it. Some of it was paste.

No, Frans. That's impossible.

Johannes would never permit that to happen.

I saw it with my own eyes.

God knows, that would be reason enough to ruin Johannes Brandt.

But there was worse to come. Far worse.

Do you know what we saw,

pressed up against the walls?

-We saw his devilry.

-What are you talking about?

Oh, come on, Marin. You've always known it.

You must have. But you... Did you know it?

How he spends his time up against the warehouse walls?

Such a thing cannot be unseen. That's right.

Now you know, and soon the world will have to know,

how your husband takes his vile pleasures - with a boy.

And what's more...

What's more, the boy says he attacked him.

No, you've made a mistake, that's not possible.

Frans.

Frans, please...you're his friend.

Do not seek his punishment.

You know how it will end.

That friendship died years ago.

Our sugar is as abandoned as his soul.

Johannes Brandt is a worm in the fruit of the city.

And I must do my duty as a citizen.

Frans, you will ruin us.

Turn away from this.

Surely, we can... We can come to some arrangement.

-We will sell your sugar and let that be an end.

-No.

I'm a different man now.

DOOR SLAMS

I don't believe...

It can't be true!

Surely, he can't have been such a fool!

Madame, calm, please

Did you not hear him?

He is going straight to the Burgomasters.

Then his arrogance is a gift.

Johannes still has a few hours to escape.

First Otto, now the Seigneur?

But we can't live here, just the three of us.

I don't know how, but we need to find a way to sell the sugar

and buy his silence. It can't all be rotten.

Nothing will keep his silence.

And what do you know of selling sugar?

I am searching for the light, Marin.

There must be some in all this darkness.

DOOR CLOSES

You have to go. You have to leave now.

Nella, what's wrong, what's happening?

Frans and Agnes saw you.

They saw you, Johannes.

At the warehouse, with a young man.

Was it Jack?

How could you, after the way he betrayed you?

It is not Jack Philips who has betrayed me, Nella.

It is this city.

Neighbours watching neighbours, twisting ropes to bind us all.

Well, they cannot bind you if you are not here.

Where will you go?

I have friends in many countries.

What does it open?

The warehouse. Here is the list that I've been working on.

People who may be interested in the sugar.

Give it to Marin.

She's always wanted to run my business and now she can.

But she'll find it's not as simple as she thinks.

Will you ever come back?

Amsterdam is a city like no other, but I have never called it home.

-Well, where is home?

-Wherever comfort is.

But for a man like me, it can be hard to find.

I'll miss you.

I'll miss you, too. More than I ever expected.

Where is Marin? Marin!

She says she is too ill to come down.

Johannes!

Take me with you.

You're serious?

A man travelling with his wife doesn't attract a second glance.

They need you here, Nella.

Otto, Cornelia.

Even Marin, much more than you know. Here.

Promise me you'll come back.

No lies, remember?

I cannot change what I am...

One day, perhaps.

What happened?

The Militia came for her last night.

-You said she'd gone.

-Then why are you here?

-I thought she might have returned.

-So did they.

They left disappointed, but they cleared the place out.

Marin, would you happen to have...

SOBBING

-I'm coming in.

-No, no, no please don't.

What, by all the angels...?

Go away.

What is that in your hand?

-I said go away.

-What is it? Marin!

No! No!

You have no right.

You understand nothing!

I understand everything. Johannes will be safe.

And even if they catch him, I have a list of names.

We will sell the sugar and it will all be fine.

Oh, you stupid, stupid girl.

Don't you see?

It's not about him.

What don't I see?

Now do you see?

My God, Marin.

What have you done?