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INT. DASHWOOD MANOR LIBRARY - DUSK
Dim candlelight illuminates dark oak bookshelves. A single guttered candle burns on the late master's scarred writing desk.

Elinor Dashwood, in strict black mourning gown, presses a folded cloth tight at her side. Her fingers close around a sharp splinter of wood broken from the desk edge.

The heavy oak doors slam open.

Fanny Dashwood bursts inside, pearl necklace glinting, silk gown rustling, decorative fan clamped in her fist.

FANNY DASHWOOD
Open it! Right now!

She advances across the stone floor, eyes blazing.

FANNY DASHWOOD
You've plundered the estate's vault, haven't you? Let me see what you stole!

Elinor turns slowly, face cold and unyielding.

ELINOR DASHWOOD
Stole? You really project your own vile nature onto everyone else, Fanny.

Elinor holds up the jagged wooden splinter. Blood beads and runs down her palm from where it cut her.

ELINOR DASHWOOD
A splinter from my father's desk. Are you so desperate for ownership that you wish to claim my blood as well?

Fanny recoils, flinging her fan up before her face.

FANNY DASHWOOD
Oh Jesus. You're mad. Utterly mad.

She backs toward the door, skirt brushing the dark flagstones. A dark pool of Elinor's blood spreads slowly on the floor between them.

FANNY DASHWOOD
Keep your filthy blood off my floors. Just get out by dawn.

Fanny flees. Elinor stands alone. The candle flame gilds her face. For the first time, a thin, sharp smile touches her lips.


EXT. MANOR STABLES - LATE DUSK
Mist curls around the timber beams. Hay crunches underfoot. An old white draft horse shifts in its stall.

Elinor enters, black cloak pulled close. She pushes back her hood. The Elderly Stable Servant turns, lantern raised.

Elinor holds out the old master's signet ring. The lantern clatters as the old servant drops to one knee in the straw.

ELDERLY STABLE SERVANT
The master's seal... We thought it was lost. What are your orders, Miss Elinor?

ELINOR DASHWOOD
The old era is dead. Activate the shadow lines. I need secure supply routes, and funds waiting for us in Barton. No one in this house must know.

ELDERLY STABLE SERVANT
Consider it done. The network serves the bloodline.

He rises, picks up his lantern, and moves without another word into the dark of the stable. Elinor tucks the ring away.


EXT. MANOR GATE - DAWN
Drizzle hangs over the cobblestones. The closed iron gates stand behind the waiting carriage.

Mrs. Dashwood, Elinor and Marian Dashwood stand together, all in black mourning. The Carriage Driver drops a heavy wooden crate into the mud at their feet.

CARRIAGE DRIVER
Look, Madam. The new master paid for the carriage, not the cargo. Two extra cases. That will be three gold guineas. Or you can carry them on your backs.

Marian surges forward, face streaked with rain and fury.

MARIAN DASHWOOD
How dare you! Those are our father's books, you opportunistic scumbag!

Mrs. Dashwood pulls Marian back. She fumbles at her neck, tears her husband's mourning locket free.

MRS. DASHWOOD
Take this. It's solid gold. It's worth ten times your fee. Please don't leave the books.

The driver snatches the locket, shoves it into his coat, and hefts the crate back onto the carriage.

Elinor's fist clenches tight at her side. Her knuckles show white through the black fabric of her glove.

MRS. DASHWOOD
(sobbing, hands over her face)
They strip us of our wealth... our dignity, our memories...

Elinor speaks quiet and sharp, eyes fixed on the carriage.

ELINOR DASHWOOD
I will make them choke on every piece of gold they took from us.


EXT. MOUNTAIN PASS ROAD - LATE AFTERNOON
Thick fog clings to the cliff edge. The carriage lurches over loose rock and mud. The driver leans forward, fighting the reins. Loose stones tumble down the precipice beside the track.

INT. CARRIAGE - CONTINUOUS
The three women are thrown against the cracked leather seats. Marian cries out, white with terror.

MARIAN DASHWOOD
Elinor! We are going to die out here! They sent us in a coffin on wheels!

ELINOR DASHWOOD
We will not die, Marian. We are merely descending.

A wheel strikes a boulder. The whole carriage lurches hard, tipping over the cliff edge. Glass shatters. The women are thrown sideways. Elinor grabs Marian, pulling her tight against her chest as the world tilts. Rain and wind scream through the broken window.

Elinor stares out through the splintered wood and shattered glass, her face still and steady, as the carriage hangs over the void.

TITLE CARD APPEARS:
REASON & DOMINION
THE DASHWOOD RECLAMATION

FADE OUT.
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