# Full Series Script ## Episode 1 Script INT. NORLAND MANOR - GREAT HALL - DAY Cold grey marble floors glint under shadowed chandeliers. Two Tapestry Workers heave an old woven wall hanging down onto the stone, sending up a cloud of dust. **Tapestry Worker** Careful with that. Fanny Dashwood stands at the edge of the hall, pearl necklace glinting, ivory fan loose in her hand. John Dashwood hovers uneasy at her shoulder. **Fanny Dashwood** That tapestry belongs to the new estate. Everything here, down to the last silver spoon, is now legally ours. **John Dashwood** My dear Fanny, perhaps we could slow down a little. Father has barely been laid to rest. The girls— **Fanny Dashwood** You must not let sentimental weakness blind your duty. The law of entail is clear. We are providing them a carriage out of our own charity. Elinor Dashwood steps into the archway at the far end of the hall. Black mourning silk catches the single shaft of daylight falling across her. She does not hurry. **Elinor Dashwood** Your charity, sister-in-law, is as loud as it is hollow. We require nothing that does not belong to us. Fanny laughs, sharp and bright. She snaps her fan half open. **Fanny Dashwood** How wonderfully proud, Elinor. Let us hope this 'pride' keeps you warm in whatever ruined cottage you end up in. The carriage leaves at dawn. Do not overstay your welcome. **Elinor Dashwood** Norland was my father's soul. You may occupy its walls, Fanny. But you will never possess its grace. Good day. Elinor turns and walks away without another glance. --- EXT. NORLAND MANOR - SKY - NIGHT A full moon hangs bright between scudding dark clouds. INT. NORLAND MANOR - UPPER CORRIDOR - NIGHT Elinor moves alone through the black hallway, a single guttering candle held before her. Fanny's voice carries distantly through closed doors. **Fanny Dashwood (V.O.)** Move that wretched mahogany desk out. Throw it on the firewood pile. I want no trace of the old dead man in my house. Elinor stops before a plain oak door set ajar. The candle flame wavers. **Elinor Dashwood (V.O.)** The law demands we mourn and submit. Fading into the shadows of poverty. But a Dashwood woman never surrenders her sovereignty. She pushes the door open. INT. LATE MR DASHWOOD'S STUDY - NIGHT Moonlight slants through leaded windows. Elinor sets the candle down on the carved mahogany desk, kneels, and works open the locked lower drawer with a thin metal pick. Inside rest aged parchment documents, sealed with red wax, and a heavy iron signet ring bearing the Dashwood crest. Elinor closes her fingers around the cold ring. A single drop of blood wells where the sharp edge cuts her palm. **Elinor Dashwood (V.O.)** Tears are the cheapest of legacies. I will buy back my world with their ruin. The study door slams open hard. Fanny Dashwood stands framed in the threshold, gown rustling, face twisted with fury. **Fanny Dashwood** What exactly are you hiding in that hand, little thief? --- TITLE CARD: REASON & DOMINION THE DASHWOOD RECLAMATION *(END OF EPISODE)* ## Episode 2 Script ```fountain 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. ```