Season 2025 | Episode 1

♪ ♪ CASSANDRA: Jane Austen was my sister.

CASSY: You are saddled with me forever.

MARY: Perhaps there is a biography to be written.

CASSANDRA: Everything one needs to know is found within the pages of her novels.

ISABELLA: Did she ever know love?

MARY: There's sure to be letters that will cast up all manner of treasure.

(women giggling) Why ever would you think that?

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (birds chirping) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (breathes deeply) (goats bleating) No, Miss Betty.

That is Miss Harriet's breakfast.

Where are your manners?

A letter for you, Miss Austen.

From Kintbury.

Kintbury?

ISABELLA (voiceover): My dear Cassandra, I am writing to inform you that my father, Fulwar, has only a short time left with us.

It's the Reverend Fowle.

He's dying.

(sighs) ISABELLA: I know this sad news will concern you deeply, but he is in the best of hands, and there is no need to inconvenience yourself with thoughts of coming to Kintbury.

Nancy, my trunk.

♪ ♪ Where are you going, ma'am?

To Kintbury, of course.

ISABELLA: My late mother, Eliza, spoke so fondly of the happy times you and your sister Jane spent here.

I am sure you will wish to be of assistance now, but, please, I must implore you, do not vex yourself by making the long and arduous journey to Kintbury.

NANCY: I don't like the look of this sky, ma'am.

Maybe you should wait till... Out of the question, Nancy.

I have urgent business to attend to at Kintbury.

There are certain items there of a personal nature that belong here.

Now, look after the goats.

Don't overfeed them.

ISABELLA: I will, of course, write again when the sad time comes.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (thunder rumbling) (rain pelting) ♪ ♪ (thunder rumbling) (door bell ringing, dog barking) (door bell ringing, dog barking) (dog barking) Ring again!

Someone will answer eventually.

Keep ringing!

(door bell ringing) (dog barking) MAN: Ma'am, you'll catch your death.

CASSANDRA: I shall be fine.

Ah, at last.

What is all the commotion?

There's a man dying in here.

Please forgive the lateness of my arrival.

I am here to assist Miss Isabella Fowle.

Cassandra?

Did you not get my letter?

Yes, of course.

That's why I'm here.

We weren't expecting you.

At all.

Please forgive me, Isabella.

Time is our enemy.

Your poor father.

This is my, my last duty to your dear mother.

Oh, come inside, it's wild out there.

Yes.

(exhales) MAN: What about her trunk?

Oh, leave it here in the hall.

We'll take care of it.

(exhales) DINAH (softly): Where will she stay, miss?

ISABELLA: I don't know, Dinah.

(exhales) (exhales) (door closes) ISABELLA: We'll put her in the blue room.

DINAH: God save us, miss.

As if we don't have enough on our plate.

Come along, then, my dear.

We must take you out of these wet clothes.

(panting) (exhales): Oh!

Thank you, thank you, my dear.

I know my demeanor may not suggest it, but I, I hope that I am still capable of untying a ribbon.

(panting) If you will forgive me, I really must get back to my father.

Dinah will see you to your room.

If you don't mind, I would like to see Fulwar now, if I may.

Very well, you may look in on him.

Briefly.

Mr. Lidderdale, our surgeon, will not want my father disturbed for long.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ISABELLA: Mr. Lidderdale?

We have a visitor.

Miss Cassandra Austen, a dear family friend.

She will not linger long.

Mr. Lidderdale.

Miss Austen.

How is he?

Much the same, Miss Fowle.

He's been in and out of sleep.

I've given him something for the pain.

He should rest better now.

(whispering): Fulwar.

It's Cassandra.

Cassandra Austen.

(breathes weakly) (softly): Cassy.

Yes.

Oh, my apologies.

I cannot greet you as befits you.

Worry not.

Isabella has served you well.

And I am here now to assist her.

FULWAR: Good.

(exhales) (aloud): Isabella.

Papa.

Please send the surgeon away.

I have no more need of him.

Then I shall take my leave for now.

Try to rest, Reverend Fowle.

Rest?

Where I'm going, I'll, I'll get plenty of rest.

I will show you out, Mr. Lidderdale.

There is no need, Miss Fowle.

I insist.

(door opens) (Fulwar exhales) Cassy.

Now you're here, you must do something for me.

Promise me.

What?

Isabella... ...must live with her sisters.

You promise me?

Oh, worry not.

(sniffs) There is no greater comfort in this world than a sister.

(Fulwar exhales) Come now, miss.

Master needs rest.

I'll show you to your room.

LIDDERDALE: I'll return tomorrow, Miss Fowle.

But if your father worsens in the night, you must send for me.

I will.

Thank you.

How long... ...until... ♪ ♪ Death, like birth, dictates its own course.

But it should not be much longer, Isabe, um... Miss Fowle.

Till tomorrow, Mr. Lidderdale.

♪ ♪ If you'd let Miss Isabella know you were coming, ma'am, we'd have prepared a more welcoming room.

My weary bones will rest wherever they are put, Dinah.

(door opens, closes) (sighs) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (wind blowing outside) (clock pendulum swinging) (dog growling softly) Shh.

DINAH (loudly): Can I help you, ma'am?

(gasps) Oh, Dinah.

I, I'm sorry, I...

I quite lost my bearings for a moment.

Were you looking for something in particular, ma'am?

Do you know, I, I can't remember why I came out in the first place.

That must be tiredness, ma'am.

Best get back to bed.

You're down at the other end, remember?

(chuckles) (clock pendulum swinging) (door closes) (birds chirping and quacking) (Isabella crying) ♪ ♪ (crying) (quietly): Oh, Isabella, I am so sorry.

The end was peaceful, at least.

If you'll excuse me, I have the arrangements to make.

Of course.

If there's anything I can do.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (bell tolling) ♪ ♪ (bell tolling) I am surprised your sisters could not stay longer.

(all talking softly) Surely it would have been the ideal opportunity for the three of you to converse, would it not?

(both talking softly) Isabella?

ISABELLA: It appears my sister Beth has more important business elsewhere.

(Mary exhales) (exhales, sniffs) I, for one, am grateful we women were not allowed to stand by the graveside... (sniffs) ...our grief laid bare for all to witness.

(sniffs) (Dundas clears throat) Uh, Miss Fowle, my heartfelt condolences.

(voice shaking): Thank you, Mr. Dundas.

(coughs softly): Uh, may I introduce my aunt Mary Austen, and our dear friend Miss Cassandra Austen.

Mr. Dundas is to be Kintbury's new vicar.

A position I'm deeply honored to fill.

Austen?

Are you perhaps some relation to Miss Jane Austen, the great lady novelist?

(chuckles) I am delighted to say I am.

She is-- was-- my sister.

And my sister-in-law.

(Dundas inhales) (stammering): I, I am her greatest admirer.

You cannot imagine my despair when she was taken from us so early.

Then allow me to say how sorry I am for your great personal loss.

Most kind, most kind.

I've read all her works.

What is the one with the clergyman... (inhales): Well, they all have... (claps loudly): "Mansfield House."

That's the one.

It's my favorite of all.

The thing about your sister, Miss Austen, and sadly, so few people seem to grasp this, is that her understanding of people of a certain milieu was so profound as to be almost unique.

That is indeed true.

DUNDAS: Strikes me as a great shame there's not been more public acknowledgment of her genius.

In my view, she warrants a substantial biography.

One, perhaps, where we might discover the real Jane Austen.

Everything one needs to know about Jane Austen is to be found within the pages of her novels.

There is nothing more.

Oh, come, Cassandra.

You know that is most certainly not true.

My sister-in-law exaggerates somewhat.

There is nothing more to learn.

If you say so, my dear.

ISABELLA: If you'll excuse me, I must prepare my father's study for the reading of his will.

Uh, before you go, Miss Fowle... (clears throat) I wish to inform you that my wife and I will be taking up residence in the vicarage in a fortnight.

A fortnight?

I trust it will be more than enough time to make arrangements for the removals?

No.

It-- that's too soon.

The retiring family are always granted two months, Mr. Dundas.

That's the custom, as old as the church.

That would be appropriate in the case of a family, Miss Austen.

But there's no family in this instance, only my own.

And my wife is due to give birth to our fourth child within the month.

It's only right she should be settled first.

♪ ♪ And besides, I'm keen to get on and, and do my best for the parish.

(crying) ♪ ♪ (crying softly) (people talking in background) ♪ ♪ MARY: I fear Isabella will need some assistance with the removals.

(sighs) She will be completely at sea if left to her own devices.

Well, I am happy to stay for as long as she needs me.

Oh, that is a weight from my mind.

(softly): Right.

I mean, I could supervise, of course, but, um, I have other family commitments, which take up a great deal of my time.

You, on the other hand... ...do not.

(sighs): That Mr. Dundas.

(chuckling) He's quite insufferable.

(laughs) His remarks did make me ponder.

Perhaps there is a biography to be written.

About Jane?

(inhales) Not just Jane, but my late husband, James Austen, too.

He was a gifted writer himself.

As well you know.

Jane's writing would be a part of it, of course.

But who would pen this great opus, Mary, now that both the Austen writers have departed this earth?

I mean, my son James Edward springs to mind.

He seems to have inherited his father's great gift.

I must instruct Isabella not to remove any of my sister's private correspondence.

I will take care of that.

There are sure to be letters in Eliza's room that will cast up all manner of treasure.

After all, Jane and Eliza corresponded vigorously.

♪ ♪ As did you and Eliza, if I recall.

Surely you don't intend to do this now, my dear.

After all, the day has been trying enough.

That is true.

That is true, yes, it's been something of an ordeal.

♪ ♪ I will return refreshed and tackle Eliza's correspondence tomorrow.

(door closes) (sighs) ♪ ♪ CASSANDRA: How is Miss Isabella now, Dinah?

She's gone for a walk, ma'am.

Says the fresh air will do her good.

She did not attend her father's will reading, then?

That's men's business, ma'am, or so they say.

(door closes) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (door closes) (drawer opens) ♪ ♪ (drawer opens) (whispering): Where are Jane's letters?

(dog barking) DINAH (in distance): Molly, get that dog out of the master's bedroom.

(Dinah continues indistinctly, dog barking) (door closes in distance) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (quietly): Jane.

(exhales) (breathes deeply) (grunts softly) (exhales) JANE (voiceover): My dearest Eliza, We will be with you in Kintbury shortly.

You and Fulwar should prepare yourselves for a house full of Austens.

ELIZA: Cassy!

Eliza.

JANE: Mother and Father will journey with us.

Cassy.

JANE: Crossing the border from Hampshire into Berkshire can be most treacherous, as you know.

(others talking in background) JANE: As ever, Cassy is the calm at the heart of us all, but I know she cannot wait to see Fulwar's brother Tom.

♪ ♪ You look radiant, Cassy.

Here he comes.

Hush, Jane.

♪ ♪ My dear Cassy.

Uh, may I beg your indulgence and request to speak alone with you?

Alone, Tom Fowle?

What conversation could be so important it requires a private assignation?

Well... CASSY: Pay my sister no heed, Tom.

She sees drama in every encounter.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (birds chirping and quacking) My, my dear Cassy... You, you know what I'm about to say.

Do I?

You must.

Well...

Even so, I'd, I'd dearly love to hear you say it.

I will do my utmost to find the words.

Cassandra Austen.

I have loved you since... (stammering): ...since, well, I, I, I cannot quite remember, but... (chuckles) (laughs) Um, but you are the only woman I, I could, I can, ever, um, contemplate sharing my life with.

So...

Yes.

(laughing): Yes, yes, yes.

ELIZA (voiceover): Finally!

I told you he would.

(laughs) (chuckles): You did.

I'm always correct in these matters.

(sighs): You are.

Well, you said yes, of course?

(whispers): I said yes.

(exclaiming) (laughing) As much as I delight in your rejoicing, I cannot breathe.

(all laughing) (sighs) Cassy.

You are abandoning me to our parents.

You, my own sister.

What is to become of me?

I'm hardly going far.

I'll be here in Berkshire, and you'll be in the next-door county.

You'll see just as much of me.

You say that now, but wait till you have a husband and children.

No, Jane.

She's teasing you, dearest.

(chuckling) We'll be sisters.

The three of us.

Four.

Eliza, how can you forget your own sister Mary?

Yes, how could you forget Mary, Eliza?

Come now, dear sisters, let us go and demonstrate how canasta should be played, and won.

(sighs) Jane.

We cannot play cards without you.

Is Miss Isabella back yet, Dinah?

Not yet, ma'am, but she won't be much longer.

You'll be off soon, then?

There's nothing left for you here now.

Not so, Dinah.

If Miss Isabella is to vacate the vicarage within a fortnight, I'm needed here more than ever.

I am resolved to ensure she is settled with her sisters.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ FULWAR: I believe that the interests of our landowners must be protected at all times.

FRANK: I am sure you are right.

Thank you, dear Eliza, I have been waiting for that.

(giggles) FULWAR: The rule of the King must be defended, even if it means... (quietly): Tom seems rather subdued, considering your news.

Perhaps it's because he's with his brother and can't get a word in.

FULWAR: ...as a naval man.

You have a fine pair of sea legs, young Frank Austen.

I'm sure you'll make your family exceedingly proud.

Though I do believe you're soon to have some competition in your seafaring adventures.

Is this not so, Tom?

Please, Fulwar, I'd rather you did not.

(metal tapping glass) FULWAR: Dear friends and family.

I have some glad tidings to impart.

My brother Tom has found himself the most suitable wife in our dear Cassy here.

They are to be married, and we Fowles could not be more delighted.

Not only is Cassy an accomplished and gifted young woman, she is our dearest friend.

FRANK: A toast.

To Tom and Cassy.

May their union be a happy one.

OTHERS: To Tom and Cassy.

FULWAR: But the celebrations do not end there, for Tom has also secured himself a patron.

It is the most esteemed Lord Craven.

His Lordship has asked our very own curate to accompany him on a great adventure: an expedition to the Windward Islands.

(guests gasp, exclaim softly) (chuckling): In the West Indies, no less.

So another toast, to Tom and all his seafaring adventures.

To Tom!

OTHERS: To Tom.

♪ ♪ TOM (voiceover): You're shivering.

♪ ♪ Here.

♪ ♪ My dear Cassy, I know it will be hard, for both of us.

I, I am doing this for us, for our future.

(birds chirping) Lord Craven has promised me my own parish on our return.

My own parish, Cassy.

Our very own vicarage.

It's long been our dream, so what harm is one more year?

A year?

Ah, well, we could not be married for at least a year.

Besides, he's offered to pay me handsomely, beyond anything I could make here.

All shall be set, my love.

For life.

Just one year.

Did you not think to discuss this with me first?

Well, he, he pressed me.

And I knew you would agree.

As we agree on all things.

My ship leaves from Portsmouth in a fortnight.

We have till then.

Oh, Jane.

I was happy with my home-loving curate.

I do not crave a swashbuckling hero.

You and I have read enough novels to know that entitled lords, no matter how personable, cannot always be trusted.

Then we must hope this lord is a man of his word.

Tom is only doing this to secure your future, my dearest.

You are marrying for love, and that is a joy.

Love comes at a price.

Neither of you has a fortune, so he must make one.

All will be well.

I know it.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (door opens) TOM (voiceover): The year will be over before we know it.

(wings fluttering) And you must visit Kintbury often while I'm away.

This is your home now.

I can make myself useful, helping Eliza with the children.

It will be good preparation for when we have our own.

How many children shall we have?

Four-- no, five.

No, six-- it cannot be an odd number.

(chuckles) And what shall we call them?

Jane if our firstborn is a girl.

Fulwar if it's a boy.

Really?

(chuckles) Seems an awfully serious name for a little boy.

Well, he will be a man one day.

(clicks tongue): My darling.

You know I will be happy whatever they are called.

Well...

There are things I must say to you before I leave.

In case I do not return.

(whispers): No.

(aloud): You will come back.

Let us not discuss this.

Cassy, we must.

I have made a will and left you the bulk of my money.

(whispers): Do not say it.

I want you to have it.

You have pledged yourself to me.

Therefore you should be cared for if I... ...if I do not... No.

We are betrothed.

That, that is my choice.

It will give you a little security.

But Cassy, I want you to promise me that this bequest will not make you beholden to my memory.

If you cannot marry me, you must feel free to marry another.

♪ ♪ I promise you, Tom, faithfully, here, before God, that I will never marry any other man but you.

♪ ♪ (inhales) ♪ ♪ (dish placed heavily) (dish placed heavily) (voice trembling): Today has been more difficult than I could ever have imagined.

(sighs) To first lose your dearest mother, and now your father, too.

And I'm sure Mr. Dundas's sudden announcement today did not help.

It was quite unexpected.

Well, at least now your father's will has been read, and you can proceed with the removals.

It would appear so.

We Fowles have lived in this house for three generations, handed down from father to son.

Now I must leave the only home I've ever known.

(crying): I will be on my own for the first time ever.

No, Isabella, you will not be on your own.

You will be with your sisters.

That is not fully decided yet.

Your father wanted you to live with them.

He was very clear about his wishes.

I know what his wishes were.

His feelings were very strong on the matter, but his feelings were strong on all matters.

♪ ♪ I have never once done anything to displease him, but what of my own feelings?

What of those?

(sighs): They are your sisters.

There is no closer bond.

For this, you should be grateful.

♪ ♪ Grateful?

Yes.

And your comfort will be enhanced in the knowledge that you are living according to your father's dying wish.

(clicks tongue) I find myself strangely tired now.

Quite ready for bed.

♪ ♪ (door closes) JANE (voiceover): My dear Eliza, You must find it in your heart to forgive the tardiness of my reply to your letter.

Aren't these pretty, Jane?

Yes, Mama.

(voiceover): We have arrived back at Steventon, but the truth is, our once-peaceful rectory has been consumed by such a riot of celebration that it's hard to find a quiet place in which to write.

At the far end... JANE: There is so much joy and delight about as to make me feel quite sick and wicked.

CASSY (in distance): Mama?

(continues indistinctly) JANE: I cannot quite remember how we passed our time in the days before my sister's engagement.

♪ ♪ (door opens) MRS. AUSTEN: Jane?

Oh, what do you think?

(laughing) JANE: Beautiful, both Cassy and the veil.

I can only hope it is still in fashion by the time she walks down the aisle.

♪ ♪ Come along, Mama, let us leave Jane in peace.

Of course, we always knew they were the most perfect match.

We just didn't know if Tom would ever get round to asking.

CASSY: Well, he's a man of caution, Mama.

I wouldn't have him any other way.

Well, he'd never find a better peach to pick than you.

Such an accomplished young lady as my eldest daughter would be an asset to any man.

But poor Jane.

(softly, simultaneously): Poor Jane.

We're not sure what's going to become of her.

Mama!

Jane is in the room!

(stammers) I'm, I'm merely saying that while you have a surfeit of competence, my dear Cassandra, your dear sister here is, is less...

Useful?

(chuckles): I think that is the word you are searching for, Mama.

Come, come, Mrs. Austen.

We are blessed with two brilliant daughters.

Even if that brilliance manifests itself differently in each.

Any man would be lucky to have either.

Thank you for that glowing testimonial, Papa, but Mama is right.

Cassy is the peach.

And Tom Fowle is the luckiest man alive.

MRS. AUSTEN: Now, husband, I wish to show you something.

(chuckles) MR. AUSTEN: Lead on, Mrs. Austen.

JANE (voiceover): If there is one drawback to this perfect arrangement, it's that I will somehow have to live without her.

I am not ready to let my beloved sister go.

♪ ♪ ANNA: She's finished.

(Mrs. Austen sighs) MRS. AUSTEN: This silk is perfect, Cassy.

JANE: Perhaps you should store it away, Mama, to prevent it spoiling before Cassy wears it.

I am of the firm belief, Jane, that it is better to be prepared than not.

Mama's right, Jane.

I want everything to be ready.

So, Anna, who shall we make first?

The bride.

(gasps): Ooh, will it be me?

No.

Well, who, then?

Father's bride.

Would you like my son to marry again, Anna?

Then it shall be so.

Why have one wedding when we can have two?

ANNA: Yes!

(Mrs. Austen chuckling) Your aunts and I will find him someone.

That's a splendid idea.

Cassy!

Why not?

I want everyone to be as happy as I am.

Even you, my darling Jane.

I refuse to be involved with your matrimonial schemings.

What about Eliza's sister, Mary Lloyd?

For brother James?

Mother!

I, I can't think of anyone better.

Can you, Cassy?

No one.

She would be perfect.

It shall be done.

We must make two brides now, Anna.

You must ask your Aunt Jane for more paper.

JANE (voiceover): Yes, Eliza, my mother is up to her old matchmaking tricks again.

Thank you.

JANE: She's intent to match our brother James with your sister Mary.

CASSY: What do you think of this, Anna?

JANE: From my mother, this kind of plotting is to be expected.

But it is Cassy's part in it that's far more surprising.

I can only put that down to her elevated status as an engaged woman.

Luckily, no attempts have been made to match me, so I can happily pursue my fated role as an irascible spinster, if Cassy will allow it.

JANE: Honestly, Cassy.

You and mother are like women possessed.

What's come over you?

Where is my sister?

Nothing's come over me.

I'm Cassy Austen, soon to be Cassy Fowle, the happiest woman in the world.

And if I'm to be this happy, then I want everyone around me to be happy, too.

Happiness isn't like a cold.

You can't just pass it on.

Are you cross with me?

Not cross.

Surprised.

Mary Lloyd and James?

Even you must have doubts on that count.

His eyes follow her everywhere when he's in her company.

That's not love.

What is it, then?

Polite curiosity.

You're supposed to be the romantic one.

(exhales): Though the only problem we might have... Not "we."

...is that brother James is not without his admirers.

Miss Harrison, for one.

Well, that's a mystery, too.

How can a widower of such indifferent humor have so much choice?

Because he's a man.

I'm sorry if you disapprove, Jane, but whatever happens, James must marry again.

That poor child needs a mother.

Mary, though?

Are you sure Miss Harrison will not be there?

You know how your brother admires her, Cassy.

Nonsense.

She towers over him.

No man wants a wife that is taller than he is.

Besides, I've heard that she's out of the country.

ELIZA: Dear sister, he will have eyes for you and you alone.

Isn't that so, Jane?

(ball music playing) (horse neighs) (music continues) JANE (voiceover): The county ball is to be the setting for the advancement of this romantic plot.

I must admit, I have something approaching sympathy for the single man.

I wonder how my brother James would feel to know he is the object of such lively speculation, and how closely the feminine eyes of Basingstoke are soon to be trained upon him.

(laughs) I knew it.

Your brother has not looked at me once.

Not since the moment we arrived.

He is simply talking with friends.

It is not entirely unreasonable of him to be sociable.

It is, after all, a social event.

MARY (voice trembling): I should never have got my hopes up.

Why would a man like James Austen look at me?

(music continues) (crying): Cassy, I wish I was as elegant as you are.

(sniffling) I have never seen you look as elegant as you do tonight, Mary.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that you are positively glowing.

Dear sister, that pale blue does become you so.

I wish I could find a color that suited my complexion so well.

You could wear any color, my dearest Eliza, not just blue.

(chuckles) I, for one, do not intend to spend the whole evening staring at my brother's back.

Come along, Cassy.

Let's take a turn around the room.

Dance with me?

(new upbeat piece playing) MARY: Oh, no.

Miss Harrison has come.

Cassy, you said she was out of the country.

I'm sunk.

Nonsense.

We shall make sure my brother knows that you are here.

No.

JANE: Cassy?

(whispers): Why don't you and I sit here for a moment?

Do you think this is wise?

James seems perfectly contented dancing with Miss Harrison.

He might seem it, but he does not know how much more contented he might be if he danced with Mary.

You are sounding suspiciously like Mama.

(scoffs) Would it not be better to allow James to decide his own fate?

CASSY: That he will do, with a helping hand from his beloved sisters.

But I'm not convinced Mary Lloyd is his ideal match.

The Lloyd sisters are our dearest friends.

Eliza, yes, but not Mary.

Why must you always be so critical of her?

Mary lacks confidence.

Once married, she will bloom.

(music continues) Oh, this is a disaster.

Come along.

(music continues) Beautiful.

Ca... (music continues) (music ends) (people talking in background) Brother.

(people talking, laughing in background) An enjoyable evening, is it not?

Yes, seems to be a success.

I saw you dancing.

You really are rather good.

Oh, do you think so?

Yes.

Miss Mary Lloyd and I were remarking on that very fact.

It might be polite of you to pay her some attention.

Especially as she admires you so.

Ah.

(people talking in background) Miss Lloyd.

Mr. Austen.

Would you care to have this next dance?

(music begins, Mary giggles) JANE (voiceover): Of course, I wish Mary and James the greatest happiness, Eliza.

But I cannot help but worry that our dear niece Anna might be forgotten in all this plotting.

"Plotting"?

What?

I...

I wasn't plotting.

I was thinking only of Anna.

(sighing) (church bells ringing) (all laughing, bells continue) JANE (voiceover): I know Mary is your sister, Eliza, but I do find it difficult to imagine her embracing motherhood.

Perhaps she will surprise us all.

(bells fading) Cassy?

Would you like to hear the latest chapter?

It's finished.

Is it the ball?

Mm-hmm.

Oh, at last.

(chuckling) Does Mary Bennett have to be called Mary?

She's so perfectly dreadful.

It will not go down well when our sister-in-law Mary discovers it.

She won't discover it.

She has rather limited literary taste.

If it wasn't written by James, then it cannot be any good.

(chuckles) JANE (voiceover): It is a delight to see my Cassy in such high spirits.

(breathes deeply) (voiceover): She has waited one whole year for her beloved to come home.

Who are you writing to?

Eliza.

She must be as excited to see Tom as we are.

(sighs): I have such butterflies.

JANE (voiceover): I will admit to some butterflies of my own, Eliza, for it is at this point Cassy and I must separate, and I will take up the position of solitary daughter.

I cannot welcome it, but I suppose I must bear it.

Jane.

♪ ♪ You and I will always be sisters, even when I'm Mrs. Fowle.

You are saddled with me forever.

♪ ♪ It will be strange at first.

But it is something that most sisters must go through.

Most sisters?

Is that how you think of us?

I mistakenly assumed myself of greater significance.

Jane, you know... Of course I know.

We are not most sisters.

(both chuckling) CASSANDRA: We were not most sisters.

Oh.

Excuse me, ma'am.

I, I was just setting the grate.

There's no rest for the wicked.

Uh, leave it.

It's, it's fine for now.

I have started clearing Mrs. Fowle's room.

There's so little time now.

If you say so, ma'am.

(inhales) Oh.

Mrs. Mary Austen is expected soon, ma'am.

(door opens) (door closes) (papers shuffling) ♪ ♪ Mary.

MARY (voiceover): My dear Eliza... We left for Steventon as soon as your letter arrived.

Though I did not relish the task before me, I felt compelled to undertake it with forbearance.

In truth, I felt equal to it, for I am a married woman now, with a husband by my side.

And I am family-- an Austen, too.

When we were in the hall, I could hear Cassy and Jane upstairs laughing.

(Cassy and Jane laughing in distance) They were to be found where they always are, alone, together, a secret sisterhood of two, their door shut on the rest of the world.

"And even Lydia "was too much fatigued "to utter more than the occasional exclamation of, 'Lord, how tired I am,' accompanied by a violent yawn."

(laughs) MARY (voiceover): They do seem to laugh an unusual amount.

What can be so amusing so much of the time?

I used to not mind it, but lately, I have found it a source of great irritation.

(knock at door, laughter stops) Mama never knocks.

MARY (voiceover): As soon as Cassy saw my face, she knew the purpose of my visit.

I judged it best to speak with her alone, without her sister.

MARY: Jane, could you leave us?

No, I'm going nowhere.

Please, Jane.

Cassandra... We have bad tidings to impart, Cassy.

You must prepare yourself.

MARY (voiceover): I came straight to the point.

Tom was dead of yellow fever, and these past two months had lain buried at sea.

♪ ♪ MARY: Cassy, my dear, there is something else that we must tell you.

Something you must know.

You must not blame Lord Craven for taking Tom from you.

He had no knowledge of your engagement.

Tom had kept it from him, knowing full well he would never have taken a betrothed man abroad.

His desire to go was of such intensity... JANE: Cassy, do not believe her.

It is true-- tell her, James.

♪ ♪ It was Tom's own decision.

MARY (voiceover): Cassandra's reaction was quite desperate.

She fell to the floor in a fit of the hysterics.

I have never heard wailing like it.

She was inconsolable.

(quietly): What?

MARY (voiceover): She could not speak a word.

I'm sure that must have been very hard for you both, so, thank you.

MARY (voiceover): How dull and sordid is this business of grief.

(gasps tearfully) MARY: Is it always to be my lot to have to deal with the dramas of my new sisters?

It is not a position I relish, but when bad things happen, the truth must be told.

(sobs) (sobbing) ♪ ♪ (breathes deeply) ♪ ♪ (whispers): You lied.

(paper crumpling) (breath trembling) ♪ ♪ (sniffling) (panting, sniffling) (sniffles, cries) (exhales) ♪ ♪ (breathes) ♪ ♪ MARY: Did you find any letters from Jane?

Not a single one.

JANE: I hope you haven't been sitting in here, when outside, there's all manner of magnificence.

MARY: Wasn't there a gentleman you both met in Sidmouth?

And wasn't there even rivalry?

Rivalry?

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