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)*